Room-temperature magnetism in LaVO3/SrVO3 superlattices by geometrically confined doping

Based on the Hubbard model of strongly correlated systems, a reduction in the bandwidth of the electrons can yield a substantial change in the properties of the material. One method to modify the bandwidth is geometrically confined doping, i.e., the introduction of a (thin) dopant layer in a material. In this Rapid Communication, the magnetic properties of LaVO3/SrVO3 superlattices, in which the geometrically confined doping is produced by a one monolayer thick SrVO3 film, are presented. In contrast to the solid solution La1-xSrxVO3, such superlattices have a finite magnetization up to room temperature. Furthermore, the total magnetization of the superlattice depends on the thickness of the LaVO3 layer, indicating an indirect coupling of the magnetization that emerges at adjacent dopant layers. Our results show that geometrically confined doping, like it can be achieved in superlattices, reveals a way to induce otherwise inaccessible phases possibly even with a large temperature scale.