Epitaxial antiperovskite/perovskite heterostructures for materials design.

Quintela, Camilo X; Song, Kyung; Shao, Ding-Fu; Xie, Lin; Nan, Tianxiang; Paudel, Tula R; Campbell, Neil; Pan, Xiaoqing et al. · Sci Adv · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Engineered heterostructures formed by complex oxide materials are a rich source of emergent phenomena and technological applications. In the quest for new functionality, a vastly unexplored avenue is interfacing oxide perovskites with materials having dissimilar crystallochemical properties. Here, we propose a unique class of heterointerfaces based on nitride antiperovskite and oxide perovskite materials as a previously unidentified direction for materials design. We demonstrate the fabrication of atomically sharp interfaces between nitride antiperovskite Mn<sub>3</sub>GaN and oxide perovskites (La<sub>0.3</sub>Sr<sub>0.7</sub>)(Al<sub>0.65</sub>Ta<sub>0.35</sub>)O<sub>3</sub> and SrTiO<sub>3</sub>. Using atomic-resolution imaging/spectroscopic techniques and first-principles calculations, we determine the atomic-scale structure, composition, and bonding at the interface. The epitaxial antiperovskite/perovskite heterointerface is mediated by a coherent interfacial monolayer that interpolates between the two antistructures. We anticipate our results to be an important step for the development of functional antiperovskite/perovskite heterostructures, combining their unique characteristics such as topological properties for ultralow-power applications.