Quasicrystalline oxide interfaces by twisting SrTiO3 membranes
Abstract
Quasicrystals reveal that long-range order can exist without translational periodicity, but deterministic routes for designing strongly bonded quasicrystalline interfaces remain unexplored. Here, we show that such interfaces can be engineered by growing epitaxial SrTiO3 membranes on a sacrificial layer, releasing them, twisting them by prescribed angles, and bonding them onto a chosen substrate. SrTiO3 bilayers twisted by 45° form an octagonal quasicrystalline interface with eight-fold rotational symmetry, whereas trilayers assembled with successive 30° rotations form a dodecagonal interface with twelve-fold symmetry. Selected-area and nano-beam electron diffraction, multislice electron ptychography, atomic-resolution dark field imaging, Fourier analysis, and real-space tiling establish long-range quasicrystalline order with electronic reconstruction evident from electron energy-loss spectroscopy after annealing. Atomistic simulations based on machine-learned interatomic potentials show that octagonal order emerges as the bilayer twist angle approaches 45°. Polarization-dependent X-ray absorption spectroscopy in 1.5 nm twisted bilayers reveals a twist-dependent electronic response, and terahertz-field-induced second-harmonic generation circular dichroism identifies a symmetry-dependent nonlinear optical response at the 45° quasicrystalline condition. Twisted oxide membranes therefore provide an extendable route to engineer quasiperiodic order and couple it to interfacial bonding, orbital reconstruction, and nonlinear optical response in complex oxides.
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BibTeX
@misc{varshney2026quasicrystalline,
title = {{Quasicrystalline oxide interfaces by twisting SrTiO3 membranes}},
author = {Shivasheesh Varshney and Sooho Choo and Huan Liu and In Hyeok Choi and Nicolas Gauquelin and John Mangeri and Seung Gyo Jeong and Edwin Dollekamp and William Sandholt and Andrea Roberto Insinga and Nikolas Vitaliti and Bridget R. Denzer and Bonnie Y. X. Lin and Andrew T. Danbury and Majid Mohseni and Uditha Mihiranga Jayathilake and Sharup Sheikh and Lidia A. Lapinski and Jonas M. Hansen and Seungjun Lee and Dong Kyu Lee and Jitin Sathish Kumar and Shivam Sharma and Rishi Raj and Jay Shah and Alevtina Smekhova and Florian Kronast and Juan Maria García Lastra and K. Andre Mkhoyan and Tony Low and James M. LeBeau and Alexander X. Gray and Jo Verbeek and Keith A. Nelson and Nini Pryds and Richard D. James and Bharat Jalan},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.09222},
eprint = {2610.09222},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.09222},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Quasicrystalline oxide interfaces by twisting SrTiO3 membranes
AU - Shivasheesh Varshney
AU - Sooho Choo
AU - Huan Liu
AU - In Hyeok Choi
AU - Nicolas Gauquelin
AU - John Mangeri
AU - Seung Gyo Jeong
AU - Edwin Dollekamp
AU - William Sandholt
AU - Andrea Roberto Insinga
AU - Nikolas Vitaliti
AU - Bridget R. Denzer
AU - Bonnie Y. X. Lin
AU - Andrew T. Danbury
AU - Majid Mohseni
AU - Uditha Mihiranga Jayathilake
AU - Sharup Sheikh
AU - Lidia A. Lapinski
AU - Jonas M. Hansen
AU - Seungjun Lee
AU - Dong Kyu Lee
AU - Jitin Sathish Kumar
AU - Shivam Sharma
AU - Rishi Raj
AU - Jay Shah
AU - Alevtina Smekhova
AU - Florian Kronast
AU - Juan Maria García Lastra
AU - K. Andre Mkhoyan
AU - Tony Low
AU - James M. LeBeau
AU - Alexander X. Gray
AU - Jo Verbeek
AU - Keith A. Nelson
AU - Nini Pryds
AU - Richard D. James
AU - Bharat Jalan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.09222
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.09222
AB - Quasicrystals reveal that long-range order can exist without translational periodicity, but deterministic routes for designing strongly bonded quasicrystalline interfaces remain unexplored. Here, we show that such interfaces can be engineered by growing epitaxial SrTiO3 membranes on a sacrificial layer, releasing them, twisting them by prescribed angles, and bonding them onto a chosen substrate. SrTiO3 bilayers twisted by 45° form an octagonal quasicrystalline interface with eight-fold rotational symmetry, whereas trilayers assembled with successive 30° rotations form a dodecagonal interface with twelve-fold symmetry. Selected-area and nano-beam electron diffraction, multislice electron ptychography, atomic-resolution dark field imaging, Fourier analysis, and real-space tiling establish long-range quasicrystalline order with electronic reconstruction evident from electron energy-loss spectroscopy after annealing. Atomistic simulations based on machine-learned interatomic potentials show that octagonal order emerges as the bilayer twist angle approaches 45°. Polarization-dependent X-ray absorption spectroscopy in 1.5 nm twisted bilayers reveals a twist-dependent electronic response, and terahertz-field-induced second-harmonic generation circular dichroism identifies a symmetry-dependent nonlinear optical response at the 45° quasicrystalline condition. Twisted oxide membranes therefore provide an extendable route to engineer quasiperiodic order and couple it to interfacial bonding, orbital reconstruction, and nonlinear optical response in complex oxides.
ER -