Electric-Field Control of the Local Thermal Conductivity in Charge Transfer Oxides

Abstract

Phonons, the collective excitations responsible for heat transport in crystalline insulating solids, lack electric charge or magnetic moment, which complicates their active control via external fields. This presents a significant challenge in designing thermal equivalents of basic electronic circuit elements, such as transistors or diodes. Achieving these goals requires precise and reversible modification of thermal conductivity in materials. In this work, the continuous tuning of local thermal conductivity in charge-transfer SrFeO3-x and La0.6Sr0.4CoO3-x oxides using a voltage-biased Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) tip at room temperature is demonstrated. This method allows the creation of micron-sized domains with well-defined thermal conductivity, achieving reductions of up to 50%, measured by spatially resolved Frequency Domain Thermoreflectance (FDTR). By optimizing the oxide's chemical composition, the thermal states remain stable under normal atmospheric conditions but can be reverted to their original values through thermal annealing in air. A comparison between Mott–Hubbard and charge-transfer oxides reveals the critical role of redox-active lattice oxygen in ensuring full reversibility of the process. This approach marks a significant step toward fabricating oxide-based tunable microthermal resistances and other elements for thermal circuits.