Electric field induced reversal of spin polarization, magnetic anisotropy and tailored Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction in underoxidized SrRuO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures

Electric field tailored magnetic properties of the perovskite-type oxide heterostructures are important in spintronic devices with low energy consumption and small size. Here, the electric field modulated magnetic properties of underoxidized SrRuO3 (SRO)/SrTiO3 (STO) heterostructures are investigated using first-principles calculations. The spin polarization of underoxidized SRO/STO heterostructures turns from negative to positive as the electric field changes from −0.2 to 0.2 V nm−1. The underoxidized SRO/STO heterostructure with 7 SRO atomic layers turns from perpendicular magnetic anisotropy to in-plane magnetic anisotropy as the electric field turns from −0.2 to 0.2 V nm−1, which can be attributed to the in-plane dx2–y2 and out-of-plane dxz, dyz orbitals. The Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction of underoxidized SRO/STO heterostructures can also be effectively tailored using an electric field. These results indicate that the use of electric field is an effective method to modulate magnetic properties of perovskite-type oxide heterostructures, which is beneficial for the development of the high-performance spintronic devices.