Tunable conductivity threshold at polar oxide interfaces

in Nature Communications (2012)

The physical mechanisms responsible for the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas at the interface between insulating SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 have remained a contentious subject since its discovery in ... [more ▼]

The physical mechanisms responsible for the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas at the interface between insulating SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 have remained a contentious subject since its discovery in 2004. Opinion is divided between an intrinsic mechanism involving the build-up of an internal electric potential due to the polar discontinuity at the interface between SrTiO3 and LaAlO3, and extrinsic mechanisms attributed to structural imperfections. Here we show that interface conductivity is also exhibited when the LaAlO3 layer is diluted with SrTiO3, and that the threshold thickness required to show conductivity scales inversely with the fraction of LaAlO3 in this solid solution, and thereby also with the layer’s formal polarization. These results can be best described in terms of the intrinsic polar-catastrophe model, hence providing the most compelling evidence, to date, in favour of this mechanism. [less ▲]

Heisenberg-limited sensitivity with decoherence-enhanced measurements

in Nature Communications (2011), 2(223), 1-9

Quantum-enhanced measurements use quantum mechanical effects to enhance the sensitivity of the measurement of classical quantities, such as the length of an optical cavity. The major goal is to beat the ... [more ▼]

Quantum-enhanced measurements use quantum mechanical effects to enhance the sensitivity of the measurement of classical quantities, such as the length of an optical cavity. The major goal is to beat the standard quantum limit (SQL), that is, an uncertainty of order 1/ N, where N is the number of quantum resources (for example, the number of photons or atoms used), and to achieve a scaling 1/N, known as the Heisenberg limit. So far very few experiments have demonstrated an improvement over the SQL. The required quantum states are generally highly entangled, difficult to produce, and very prone to decoherence. Here, we show that Heisenberg- limited measurements can be achieved without the use of entangled states by coupling the quantum resources to a common environment that can be measured at least in part. The method is robust under decoherence, and in fact the parameter dependence of collective decoherence itself can be used to reach a 1/N scaling. [less ▲]