Electronic excitations and structure of Li2IrO3 thin films grown on ZrO${}_2$:Y (001) substrates

Abstract

Thin films are a prerequisite for application of the emergent exotic ground states in iridates that result from the interplay of strong spin-orbit coupling and electronic correlations. We report on pulsed laser deposition of Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$ films on ZrO${}_2$:Y(001) single crystalline substrates. X-ray diffraction confirms preferential (001) and (10-1) out-of-plane crystalline orientations with well defined in-plane orientation. Resistivity between 35 and 300 K is dominated by a three-dimensional variable range hopping mechanism. The dielectric function is determined by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry and, complemented by Fourier transform infrared transmission spectroscopy, reveals a small optical gap of $\approx$ 300 meV, a splitting of the $5d$-$t_{2g}$ manifold, and several in-gap excitations attributed to phonons and possibly magnons.

arXiv comment6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

References in corpus (25)

• Fault-tolerant quantum computation by anyons
• Non-Abelian Anyons and Topological Quantum Computation
• Anyons in an exactly solved model and beyond
• Mott Insulators in the Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling Limit: From Heisenberg to a Quantum Compass and Kitaev Models
• Novel Jeff = 1/2 Mott State Induced by Relativistic Spin-Orbit Coupling in Sr2IrO4
• Kitaev-Heisenberg Model on Honeycomb Lattice: Possible Exotic Phases in Iridium Oxides $A_2$IrO${}_3$
• Mott physics and band topology in materials with strong spin-orbit interaction
• Relevance of the Heisenberg-Kitaev model for the honeycomb lattice iridates A_2IrO_3
• Spin waves and revised crystal structure of honeycomb iridate Na2IrO3
• Bandwidth-Controlled Insulator-Metal Transition and Correlated Metallic State in 5$d$ Transition Metal Oxides Sr${}_{n+1}$Ir${}_n$O${}_{3n+1}$ ($n$=1, 2, and $\infty$)
• Isospin Dynamics in Sr2IrO4 : Forging Links to Cuprate Superconductivity
• Quantum spin Hall effect in a transition metal oxide Na2IrO3
• Direct evidence of a zigzag spin chain structure in the honeycomb lattice: A neutron and x-ray diffraction investigation on single crystal $\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{a}}_2\mathrm{Ir}{\mathrm{O}}_3$
• Long range magnetic ordering in Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Crystal field splitting and correlation effect on the electronic structure of A2IrO3
• Na2IrO3 as a spin-orbit-assisted antiferromagnetic insulator with a 340 meV gap
• Finite-temperature phase diagram of the Heisenberg-Kitaev model
• Na2IrO3 as a molecular orbital crystal
• Electronic structures of layered perovskite Sr2MO4 (M=Ru, Rh, and Ir)
• Topological Quantum Phase Transition in 5$d$ Transition Metal Oxide Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Spiral order in the honeycomb iridate Li2IrO3
• Spin-Orbital Locking, Emergent Pseudo-Spin, and Magnetic order in Honeycomb Lattice Iridates
• Origin of the insulating state in honeycomb iridates and rhodates
• Mott Variable Range Hopping and Weak Antilocalization Effect in Heteroepitaxial Na2IrO3 Thin Films
• Epitaxially stabilized iridium spinel oxide without cations in the tetrahedral site

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Analysis of the optical conductivity for A2IrO3 (A = Na, Li) from first principles
• Interlayer Coupling Effect on a Bilayer Kitaev Model
• Kitaev magnetism through the prism of lithium iridate
• Honeycomb oxide heterostructure: a new platform for Kitaev quantum spin liquid
• Electron-plasmon interaction induced plasmonic-polaron band replication in epitaxial perovskite SrIrO${}_3$ films
• Doping effects on the magnetic frustration in the honeycomb iridates
• Topological Characterization of Kitaev Spin Nanoribbons with Ordered Flux Configurations
• Signatures of Floquet Engineering in the proximal Kitaev Quantum Spin Liquid H${}_3$LiIr${}_2$O${}_6$ by tr-RIXS