American Institute of Physics, Applied Physics Letters, 15(102), p. 152414
DOI: 10.1063/1.4802732
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We examine, by means of ab initio pseudopotential calculations, La2/3Sr1/3MnO3/SrTiO3 (LSMO/STO) heterojunctions in which one unit layer of La1−xSrxMnO3 (with 0<x<1) is inserted at the interface. The optimal interlayer doping x for a robust interface ferromagnetism is investigated by considering the energy differences between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic alignment of the MnO2-interface layer relative to bulk LSMO. The optimal doping is found to be close to x = 1/3, which corresponds to an abrupt TiO2 (001)-layer termination of STO. This is also the composition which gives the largest p-type Schottky barrier height in our calculations.