Electronics with Correlated Oxides: SrVO3/SrTiO3 as a Mott Transistor

We employ density functional theory plus dynamical mean field theory and identify the physical origin of why two layers of SrVO3 on a SrTiO3 substrate are insulating: the thin film geometry lifts the orbital degeneracy, which in turn triggers a first-order Mott-Hubbard transition. Two layers of SrVO3 are just at the verge of a Mott-Hubbard transition and hence ideally suited for technological applications of the Mott-Hubbard transition: the heterostructure is highly sensitive to strain, electric field, and temperature. A gate voltage can also switch between metal (ON) and insulator (OFF), so that a transistor with ideal ON-OFF switching properties is realized.