Engineering topological band conduction into KTaO3’s two-dimensional electron gases

Abstract Two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) systems generated at oxide interfaces that exhibit novel physics phenomena have opened up a new era for oxide-based electronics, photonics, and spintronics. The recent discovery of superconductivity plus the strong spin-orbital coupling naturally existing in the 2DEGs of KTaO3 (KTO) makes KTO an exciting platform for the interplay of the electronic and spin degree of freedom to create new physical properties. By directly placing KTO’s 2DEGs next to another strongly-correlated oxide with nontrivial topological nodes, we reveal direct evidence of topological states in the electronic transport properties of the KTO’s 2DEGs, due to the electronic reconstruction caused by the proximity effect. This adds potential for new functionality in KTO heterostructures.