Anisotropic electrical transport properties of a two-dimensional electron gas at SrTiO3–LaAlO3 interfaces

Experimental evidence of strong in-plane anisotropy in electrical properties of the confined electron gas at the SrTiO3–LaAlO3 interface on top of (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO3)0.7 substrates is provided by detailed transport measurements. Structured measurement geometries in multiple directions are used to show dependence of the sheet resistance with the in-plane angle θ, which is fitted with a sine function with a period of 180°. The carrier density remains constant and a directional dependence of the carrier mobility of more than one order of magnitude is determined with respect to the orientation of the unit cell height steps present at the SrTiO3–LaAlO3 interface.