Orbital Selective Switching of Ferromagnetism in an Oxide Quasi Two-Dimensional Electron Gas

Multi-orbital physics in quasi-two-dimensional electron gases (q2DEGs) triggers intriguing phenomena not observed in bulk materials, such as unconventional superconductivity and magnetism. Here, we investigate the mechanism of orbital selective switching of the spin-polarization in the oxide q2DEG formed at the (001) interface between the LaAlO 3 , EuTiO 3 and SrTiO 3 band insulators. By using density functional theory calculations, transport, magnetic and x-ray spectroscopy measurements, we find that the filling of titanium-bands with 3d xz /3d yz orbital character in the EuTiO 3 layer and at the interface with SrTiO 3 induces an antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic switching of the exchange interaction between Eu-4f 7 magnetic moments. The results explain the observation of the carrier density-dependent ferromagnetic correlations and anomalous Hall effect in this q2DEG, and demonstrate how combined theoretical and experimental approaches can lead to a deeper understanding of emerging electronic phases and serve as a guide for the materials design of advanced electronic applications.