Optical properties of transition metal oxide quantum wells

Fabrication of a quantum well, a structure that confines the electron motion along one or more spatial directions, is a powerful method of controlling the electronic structure and corresponding optical response of a material. For example, semiconductor quantum wells are used to enhance optical properties of laser diodes. The ability to control the growth of transition metal oxide films to atomic precision opens an exciting opportunity of engineering quantum wells in these materials. The wide range of transition metal oxide band gaps offers unprecedented control of confinement while the strong correlation of d-electrons allows for various cooperative phenomena to come into play. Here, we combine density functional theory and tight-binding model Hamiltonian analysis to provide a simple physical picture of transition metal oxide quantum well states using a SrO/SrTiO3/SrO heterostructure as an example. The optical properties of the well are investigated by computing the frequency-dependent dielectric functions. The effect of an external electric field, which is essential for electro-optical devices, is also considered. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.