D. Stornaiuolo1, D. Li1, A. Fête1, S. Gariglio1, M. Gabay2, B. Sacépé1, A. Morpurgo1, M. Reinle-Schmitt3, C. Cancellieri3, P. Willmott3 and J.-M. Triscone1

1DPMC, University of Geneva, 24 quai E.-Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland

2Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université de Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay, Cedex, France

3Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland

The interface between LaAlO3 and SrTiO3, two good band insulators, which was found in 2004 to be conducting [1], and, in some doping range, superconducting with a maximum critical temperature of about 200 mK [2] is attracting of lot of attention. The electron gas has a thickness of a few nanometers at low temperatures and a low electronic density, typically 5 1013 electrons/cm2. Being naturally sandwiched between two insulators, it is ideal for performing electric field effect experiments that allow the carrier density to be tuned.

I will discuss the origin of the electron gas [3]; superconductivity [2,4]; field effect experiments and the phase diagram of the system [4]; the role of spin orbit [5,6]; the physics of high mobility samples that display Shubnikov de Haas oscillations [7], before to present recent experiments on nanostructures that reveal a remarkable tuning of the electronic properties and allow weak localization and weak anti-localization as a function of doping and temperature to be followed.

[1] A. Ohtomo, H. Y. Hwang, Nature 427, 423 (2004).

[2] N. Reyren, S. Thiel, A. D. Caviglia, L. Fitting Kourkoutis, G. Hammerl, C. Richter, C. W. Schneider, T. Kopp, A.-S. Ruetschi, D. Jaccard, M. Gabay, D. A. Muller, J.-M. Triscone and J. Mannhart, Science 317, 1196 (2007).

[3] M.L. Reinle-Schmitt, C. Cancellieri, D. Li, D. Fontaine, S. Gariglio, M. Medarde, E. Pomjakushina, C.W. Schneider, Ph. Ghosez, J.-M. Triscone, and P.R. Willmott, Nature Communications, 3, 932 (2012).

[4] A. Caviglia, S. Gariglio, N. Reyren, D. Jaccard, T. Schneider, M. Gabay, S. Thiel, G. Hammerl, J. Mannhart, and J.-M. Triscone, Nature 456, 624 (2008).

[5] A.D. Caviglia, M. Gabay, S. Gariglio, N. Reyren, C. Cancellieri, and J.-M. Triscone, Physical Review 104, 126803 (2010).

[6] A. Fête, S. Gariglio, A. D. Caviglia, M. Gabay, J.-M. Triscone, Physical Review B (RC) 86, 201105 (2012).

[7] A.D. Caviglia, S. Gariglio, C. Cancellieri, B. Sacépé, A.Fête, N. Reyren, M. Gabay, A.F. Morpurgo, J.-M. Triscone, Physical Review Letters 105, 236802 (2010).