Precise control of $J_{\mathrm{eff}}=1/2$ magnetic properties in Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$ epitaxial thin films by variation of strain and thin film thickness

Abstract

We report on a comprehensive investigation of the effects of strain and film thickness on the structural and magnetic properties of epitaxial thin films of the prototypal $J_{\mathrm{eff}}=1/2$ compound Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$ by advanced X-ray scattering. We find that the Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$ thin films can be grown fully strained up to a thickness of 108 nm. By using X-ray resonant scattering, we show that the out-of-plane magnetic correlation length is strongly dependent on the thin film thickness, but independent of the strain state of the thin films. This can be used as a finely tuned dial to adjust the out-of-plane magnetic correlation length and transform the magnetic anisotropy from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) behavior by incrementing film thickness. These results provide a clearer picture for the systematic control of the magnetic degrees of freedom in epitaxial thin films of Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$ and bring to light the potential for a rich playground to explore the physics of $5d$-transition metal compounds.

References in corpus (51)

• Electronic Structure of Pyrochlore Iridates: From Topological Dirac Metal to Mott Insulator
• 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
• Multiferroicity, The coupling between magnetic and polarization
• Correlated quantum phenomena in the strong spin-orbit regime
• Mott physics and band topology in materials with strong spin-orbit interaction
• 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
• Fermi Arcs in a Doped Pseudospin-1/2 Heisenberg Antiferromagnet
• Observation of a $d$-wave gap in electron-doped Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$
• Monte Carlo study of an unconventional superconducting phase in Ir-oxide J_{eff}=1/2 Mott insulators induced by carrier doping
• The magnetic and crystal structures of Sr2IrO4: A neutron diffraction study
• Lattice-Driven Magnetoresistivity and Metal-Insulator Transition in Single-Layered Iridates
• Evidence of an odd-parity hidden order in a spin-orbit coupled correlated iridate
• Two-dimensional Heisenberg behavior of Jeff = 1/2 isospins in the paramagnetic state of spin-orbital Mott insulator Sr2IrO4
• Universal Window for Two Dimensional Critical Exponents
• Signature of high temperature superconductivity in electron doped Sr2IrO4
• Odd-parity triplet superconductivity in multi-orbital materials with strong spin-orbit coupling: applications to doped Sr2IrO4
• Dimensionality Driven Spin-Flop Transition in Layered Iridates
• Universality of pseudogap and emergent order in lightly doped Mott insulators
• Robustness of basal-plane antiferromagnetic order and the $J_{eff}=1/2$ state in single-layer iridate spin-orbit Mott insulators
• Tuning electronic structures via epitaxial strain in Sr2IrO4 thin films
• Slaving of the magnetic moment canting to the correlated oxygen rotation in Sr2IrO4 revealed by X-ray resonant scattering
• Neutron scattering study of correlated phase behavior in Sr2IrO4
• A structural distortion induced magneto-elastic locking in Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$ revealed through nonlinear optical harmonic generation
• Laser molecular beam epitaxy of ZnO thin films and heterostructures
• Anisotropic Magnetic Couplings and Structure-Driven Canted to Collinear Transitions in Spin-orbit Coupled Sr2IrO4
• Epitaxial TbMnO3 thin films on SrTiO3 substrates: A structural study
• Epitaxy-distorted spin-orbit Mott insulator in Sr2IrO4 thin films
• Resonant X-ray scattering and the $j_{\mathrm{eff}}=1/2$ electronic ground state in iridate perovskites
• Tuning Magnetic Coupling in Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$ Thin Films with Epitaxial Strain
• Time-reversal symmetry breaking hidden order in Sr${}_2$(Ir,Rh)O${}_4$
• Ab initio determination of excitation energies and magnetic couplings in correlated, quasi two-dimensional iridates
• Pseudospin-lattice coupling in the spin-orbit Mott insulator Sr2IrO4
• Multipole superconductivity in nonsymmorphic Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$
• Structure symmetry determination and magnetic evolution in $\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{r}}_2\mathrm{I}{\mathrm{r}}_{1-\mathrm{x}}\mathrm{R}{\mathrm{h}}_{\mathrm{x}}{\mathrm{O}}_4$
• Crystal growth and intrinsic magnetic behavior of Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$
• The importance of XY anisotropy in Sr2IrO4 revealed by magnetic critical scattering experiments
• Magnetic structural change of Sr2IrO4 upon Mn doping
• Temperature evolution of magnetic and transport behavior in 5\textit{d} Mott insulator Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$: Significance of magneto-structural coupling
• Dimensionality-strain phase diagram of strontium iridates
• Spin and Orbital Contributions to Magnetically Ordered Moments in 5d Layered Perovskite Sr2IrO4
• The Jeff=1/2 antiferromagnet Sr2IrO4: A golden avenue toward new physics and functions
• Advanced Non-Destructive in Situ Characterization of Metals with the French Collaborating Research Group D2AM/BM02 Beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
• Dual gate control of bulk transport and magnetism in the spin-orbit insulator Sr2IrO4
• The magnetic ground state of Sr2IrO4 and implications for second-harmonic generation
• Substrate-tuning of correlated spin-orbit oxides
• Crystal field splitting in Sr${}_{n+1}$Ir${}_n$O${}_{3n+1}$ ($n$ = 1, 2) iridates probed by x-ray Raman spectroscopy
• Magnetic properties of bilayer Sr${}_3$Ir${}_2$O${}_7$: role of epitaxial strain and oxygen vacancies
• Electronic structure and optical properties of Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$ under epitaxial strain
• Compressive-strain induced enhancement of exchange interactions and short-range magnetic order in Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$ investigated by Raman spectroscopy

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Flexomagnetoelectric effect in Sr2IrO4 thin films
• Emergent interlayer magnetic order via strain-induced orthorhombic distortion in the 5d Mott insulator Sr2IrO4
• Modeling multiorbital effects in Sr2IrO4 under strain and a Zeeman field