Oxide Nanoelectronics On Demand

Jeremy Levy

Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, 3941 O’Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Abstract

Electronic confinement at nanoscale dimensions remains a central means of science and technology.  In this talk, I will describe a recent breakthrough that enables us to create extreme nanoscale electronic confinement at the interface between two normally insulating oxides, LaAlO₃ and SrTiO₃. Using a conducting atomic-force-microscope probe, we can create nanoscale conducting islands, nanowires, tunnel junctions and field-effect transistors, all with spatial dimensions comparable to the diameter of a single-wall carbon nanotube (~2 nm).  These structures can be modified or erased without complex or irreversible lithographic procedures.  This new, on-demand nanoelectronics platform has the potential for widespread technological application.