Scanning probe manipulation of magnetism at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterointerface.

Kalisky, Beena; Bert, Julie A; Bell, Christopher; Xie, Yanwu; Sato, Hiroki K; Hosoda, Masayuki; Hikita, Yasuyuki; Hwang, Harold Y et al. · Nano Lett · 2012

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Manipulation of magnetism is a longstanding goal of research in exotic materials. In this work, we demonstrate that the small ferromagnetic patches in LaAlO(3)/SrTiO(3) heterostructures can be dramatically changed by in situ contact of a scanning probe. Our results provide a platform for manipulation of small magnets through either a strong magneto-elastic coupling or sensitivity to surface modification. The ability to locally control magnetism is particularly interesting due to the presence of superconductivity with strong spin-orbit coupling in LaAlO(3)/SrTiO(3).