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The electronic behaviour of complex oxides such as LaNiO₃ depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors, making it challenging to identify microscopic mechanisms. Here the authors demonstrate the influence of oxygen vacancies on the thickness-dependent metal-insulator transition of LaNiO₃ films.

Complex oxide interfaces are important for electronic and spintronic applications. In this study, the authors show the emergence of spontaneous magnetism at one such interface between two phases of BiFeO₃due to strain effects and piezoelectric coupling.

The mechanism underpinning the frequency mismatch between THz magnons and the GHz spin currents observed in antiferromagnetic insulators remains unknown. Here, the authors demonstrate that, in a Py/Ag/CoO/Ag/Fe₇₅Co₂₅/MgO(001) heterostructure, a GHz spin current transmits coherently across the antiferromagnetic CoO insulating layer to drive a coherent spin precession of the ferromagnetic Fe₇₅Co₂₅ layer.

Bulk vanadium dioxide undergoes a metal–insulator transition near room temperature. It is now shown that by putting a thin layer of vanadium dioxide on a buffer, and varying the buffer’s thickness, the orbital occupancy in the metallic state and the transition temperature can be tuned.

Skyrmions—vortex-like spin textures—are conventionally only seen in materials that exhibit the right magnetic properties. Li et al.now create so-called artificial skyrmions using a cobalt disk embedded in a magnetized nickel film, thus presenting a platform for controlling skyrmions.

X-ray magnetic circular dichroism is an element-specific technique that uses circularly polarized X-rays to probe the spin and orbital magnetic moments of materials and explore their magnetic structures, including spin textures and dynamic behaviours. This Primer looks at the fundamental principles of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, its application in advanced imaging methods and in investigating a wide array of magnetic phenomena.

One major challenge for antiferromagnetic spintronics is how to control the antiferromagnetic state. Here Jani et al. demonstrate the reversible ionic control of the room-temperature magnetic anisotropy and spin reorientation transition in haematite, via the incorporation and removal of hydrogen.

In thin magnetic films with confined geometry, the magnetization can adopt vortex-shaped arrangements. Such vortex states have been studied intensely in ferromagnetic films, but this paper reports the first direct observation of them in an antiferromagnetic system.

Understanding the nature of competing phases is a key to understanding the superconducting mechanism of unconventional superconductors. Here, the authors demonstrate a three-dimensional charge ordering state which competes with superconductivity in epitaxial YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x thin films grown on La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃substrates.

Materials that combine metallic behaviour with stable electric polarization are scarce despite being proposed in the 1960s. Here the authors engineer a perovskite heterostructure where 2D polar metallic behavior coexists with built-in electric polarization from the displacement of B-site titanium cations.

Ionic substitution is a useful way to manipulate structural, electronic, magnetic phase transitions in strongly correlated materials. Here, the authors report electric-field controlled protonation in SrRuO₃, resulting in a large structural expansion and a ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic phase transition.

To fully exploit the potential of multiferroic materials the control of their intrinsic degrees of freedom is a prerequisite. Here, the control of spin orientation in strained BiFeO₃ films is demonstrated elucidating the microscopic mechanism of the complex interplay of polar and magnetic order.

Magnetic memory devices are typically based on ferromagnetic materials. Now, a memory resistor based on the antiferromagnetic alloy FeRh is demonstrated at room temperature.

Many complex oxides already have rich functional behavior but oxide heterostructures can exhibit new emergent properties. Yi et al. show that LSMO/SIO superlattices have a reversible electric-field-controlled structural phase transition that is not present in the constituent materials.

Chiral polar-skyrmion bubbles are observed in superlattices of titanium-based perovskite oxides at room temperature.

A new form of charge ordering is observed in a cuprate superconductor. At low doping, a fully rotationally symmetric ordering appears before becoming locked to the Cu–O bond directions at high doping. The link between charge correlations and fermiology give a perspective on the phase diagram.

A single-phase multiferroic material is constructed, in which ferroelectricity and strong magnetic ordering are coupled near room temperature, enabling direct electric-field control of magnetism.

In material systems with several interacting degrees of freedom, the complex interplay between these factors can give rise to exotic phases; now superlattices consisting of alternating layers of PbTiO₃ and SrTiO₃ are found to exhibit an unusual form of ferroelectric ordering in the PbTiO₃ layers, in which the electric dipoles arrange themselves into regular, ordered arrays of vortex–antivortex structures.

To achieve net-zero carbon emissions, we must close the carbon cycle for industries that are difficult to electrify. Developing the needed science to provide carbon alternatives and non-fossil carbon will accelerate advances towards defossilization.

Electrical control of the spin degree of freedom has enabled various vital applications in modern electronic devices, ranging from magnetoelectronics and spintronics to high-frequency devices. We demonstrate a new approach to ‘write’ enhanced magnetization in a single-phase multiferroic thin film by the application of an electric field. The induced magnetization can be controlled with nanoscopic precision via the assistance of scanning probe techniques, thus offering high potential for use in multifunctional, low power consumption and green nanoelectronics.