New Opportunities at Quantum Heterointerfaces—From Oxides to Nitrides

Novel electric and magnetic properties can be achieved in materials engineered at nanometer dimensions. The emergence of new functionalities is attributed to the atomic, charge, spin, or orbital structure of the heterointerfaces. For decades, extensive effort and significant success have been achieved with oxide heterostructures. However, transition metal nitrides, as emerging stars in quantum materials, have garnered increasing attention in recent years due to their chemical stability, diverse bonding geometries, and intriguing physical effects. In this talk, I will focus on: (1) room-temperature ferromagnetism at oxide-nitride interfaces, (2) substantial exchange bias at a ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic nitride interface, and (3) the induction of a large magnetic moment at ferromagnetic/superconducting nitride interfaces. We anticipate that these findings on nitride heterointerfaces will kindle significant interest in the rapidly evolving field, fostering a deeper understanding of magnetic proximity behaviors at quantum heterointerfaces for future spintronic devices.
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