Characterization and control of orbital, spin and charge order in nickel oxide superlattices

This talk will provide an overview of spectroscopic experiments on the structural [1,2] and electronic [3-7] properties of nickel oxide superlattices grown by pulsed laser deposition and molecular beam epitaxy. We will discuss recent progress in the quantitative characterization of the Ni d-orbital polarization as a function of epitaxial strain, spatial confinement, and chemical composition [4,5] and discuss its influence on spin [6] and charge [7] order in these systems. The power of spectroscopic methods such as resonant x-ray scattering, spectral ellipsometry, and Raman scattering for the characterization of electronic ordering phenomena in metal-oxide heterostructures and superlattices will be emphasized. \\[4pt] [1] E. Detemple et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 211903 (2011).\\[0pt] [2] A. Frano et al., Adv. Mater. (2013); doi: 10.1002/adma.201303483.\\[0pt] [3] A.V. Boris et al., Science 332, 937 (2011).\\[0pt] [4] E. Benckiser et al., Nature Mater. 10, 189 (2011).\\[0pt] [5] M. Wu et al., Phys. Rev. B 88, 125124 (2013).\\[0pt] [6] A. Frano et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 106804 (2013).\\[0pt] [7] A. Frano, M. Hepting et al., unpublished.