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  • Letter

Reconfigurable oxide nanoelectronics by tip-induced electron delocalization

Chengyuan Huang1,*, Changjian Ma1,*, Mengke Ha1,*, Longbing Shang3,†, Zhenlan Chen1,2, Qing Xiao1, Zhiyuan Qin1,2, Danqing Liu1, Haoyuan Wang1 et al.

Dawei Qiu1, Qianyi Zhao1, Ziliang Guo1, Yanling Liu1, Dingbang Chen1, Chengxuan Ye1, Zhenhao Li1, Chang-Kui Duan1,2, and Guanglei Cheng1,2,‡

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: lbShang@jxnu.edu.cn
  • ‡Contact author: glcheng@ustc.edu.cn

Phys. Rev. Applied 25, L051003 – Published 7 May, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/pv6m-63fz

Abstract

Reconfigurable oxide nanoelectronics, enabled by conductive atomic force microscope (cAFM) lithography, have established complex oxide interfaces as a promising platform for quantum engineering that harnesses emergent phenomena for advanced functionalities. However, this cAFM nanofabrication process can occur only in air, with simultaneous device decay described under the “water-cycle” writing mechanism. These restrictions pose ongoing challenges for device optimization in the quantum regime at millikelvin temperatures. Here we demonstrate a “waterless” cAFM lithography approach that is compatible with vacuum and cryogenic environments. Through oxygen vacancy engineering at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface, we have achieved nonvolatile and reconfigurable cAFM control of nanoscale interfacial polaron-electron liquid transition at millikelvin temperatures with an ultrafine line resolution of 0.85 nm. Supported by first-principles calculations and drift-diffusion modeling, we show that tip-controlled oxygen vacancy electromigration plays a key role. This advancement bridges reconfigurable device fabrication and concurrent characterization in situ at millikelvin temperatures, and establishes a versatile Hubbard toolbox for engineering programmable quantum phases in correlated oxides.

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