Computational chemistry

Chemistry

Materials science

Physics

Work (physics)

Charge (physics)

Heterojunction

Ferromagnetism

Work function

Manganite

Quantum mechanics

Nanotechnology

Condensed matter physics

Superlattice

Layer (electronics)

Thermodynamics

Density functional theory

Chemical physics

Nano Letters

Charge transfer in superlattices consisting of SrIrO$_3$ and SrMnO$_3$ is investigated using density functional theory. Despite the nearly identical work function and non-polar interfaces between SrIrO$_3$ and SrMnO$_3$, rather large charge transfer was experimentally reported at the interface between them. Here, we report a microscopic model that captures the mechanism behind this phenomenon, providing a qualitative understanding of the experimental observation. This leads to unique strain dependence of such charge transfer in iridate-manganite superlattices. The predicted behavior is consistently verified by experiment with soft x-ray and optical spectroscopy. Our work thus demonstrates a new route to control electronic states in non-polar oxide heterostructures.

Charge Transfer in Iridate-Manganite Superlattices