Tuning the Two-Dimensional Electron Gas at Oxide Interfaces with Ti-O Configurations: Evidence from X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy.

Chemical redox reaction can lead to a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the interface between a TiO2-terminated SrTiO3 (STO) substrate and an amorphous LaAlO3 (a-LAO) capping layer. When replacing the STO substrate with rutile and anatase TiO2 substrates, considerable differences in interfacial conduction are observed. Based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transport measurements, we conclude that the interfacial conduction comes from redox reactions, and that the differences among the materials systems result mainly from variations in the activation energies for the diffusion of oxygen vacancies at substrate surfaces.