Competition between magnetic order and charge localization in Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$ thin crystal devices

Abstract

Spin orbit assisted Mott insulators such as sodium iridate (Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$) have been an important subject of study in the recent years. In these materials, the interplay of electronic correlations, spin-orbit coupling, crystal field effects and a honeycomb arrangement of ions bring exciting ground states, predicted in the frame of the Kitaev model. The insulating character of Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$ has hampered its integration to an electronic device, desirable for applications, such as the manipulation of quasiparticles interesting for topological quantum computing. Here we show through electronic transport measurements supported by Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments, that electronic transport in Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$ is ruled by variable range hopping and it is strongly dependent on the magnetic ordering transition known for bulk Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$, as well as on external electric fields. Electronic transport measurements allow us to deduce a value for the localization length and the density of states in our Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$ thin crystals devices, offering an alternative approach to study insulating layered materials.

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Pressure tuning of structure, magnetic frustration and carrier conduction in Kitaev spin liquid candidate Cu${}_2$IrO${}_3$: X-ray, Raman, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity and first-principles analysis
• Conductivity of Dirac-like surface states in correlated honeycomb transition metal oxide Mott insulators
• Spectrum of the hole excitation in spin-orbit Mott insulator Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Electronic transport mechanisms in a thin crystal of the Kitaev candidate $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ probed through guarded high impedance measurements
• Metallic conductivity on Na-deficient structural domain walls in the spin-orbit Mott insulator Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$