Electron mobility in oxide heterostructures

Next-generation integrated circuit devices based on transition-metal-oxides are expected to boast a variety of extraordinary properties, such as superconductivity, transparency in the visible range, thermoelectricity, giant ionic conductivity and ferromagnetism. However, the realisation of this so-called oxide electronics as well as the study of their unconventional physics is stalled by inferior carrier mobilities compared to conventional semiconductor materials. Over the past 10 years, bulk conducting oxides and oxide heterostructures with superior carrier mobilities have nonetheless seen significant progress. This progress is signifying the approaching era of oxide-based electronic circuits along with novel solid-state phenomena originating from the combination of hybridized oxygen p orbitals, transition-metal d orbitals and electronic correlations. Here, we review the recent advancements and results on high mobility oxide heterostructures based on SrTiO3 and ZnO as well as other prominent oxides.