Tuning the electronic properties of J_eff=1/2 correlated semimetal in epitaxial perovskite SrIrO3

Jian Liu; J. -H. Chu; C. Rayan Serrao; D. Yi; J. Koralek; C. Nelson; C. Frontera; D. Kriegner; L. Horak; E. Arenholz; J. Orenstein; A. Vishwanath; X. Marti; R. Ramesh

arXiv · 1305.1732

Tuning the electronic properties of J_eff=1/2 correlated semimetal in epitaxial perovskite SrIrO3

Jian Liu·J. -H. Chu·C. Rayan Serrao·D. Yi·J. Koralek·C. Nelson·C. Frontera·D. Kriegner·L. Horak·E. Arenholz·J. Orenstein·A. Vishwanath·X. Marti·R. Ramesh

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Abstract

We investigated the electronic properties of epitaxially stabilized perovskite SrIrO3 and demonstrated the effective strain-control on its electronic structure. Comprehensive transport measurements showed that the strong spin-orbit coupling renders a novel semimetallic phase for the J_eff=1/2 electrons rather than an ordinary correlated metal, elucidating the nontrivial mechanism underlying the dimensionality-controlled metal-insulator transition in iridates. The electron-hole symmetry of this correlated semimetal was found to exhibit drastic variation when subject to bi-axial strain. Under compressive strain, substantial electron-hole asymmetry is observed in contrast to the tensile side, where the electron and hole effective masses are comparable, illustrating the susceptivity of the J_eff=1/2 to structural distortion. Tensile strain also shrinks the Fermi surface, indicative of an increasing degree of correlation which is consistent with optical measurements. These results pave a pathway to investigate and manipulate the electronic states in spin-orbit-coupled correlated oxides, and lay the foundation for constructing 5d transition metal heterostructures.

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Jian Liu, J. -H. Chu, C. Rayan Serrao, D. Yi, J. Koralek, C. Nelson, C. Frontera, D. Kriegner, L. Horak, E. Arenholz, J. Orenstein, A. Vishwanath, X. Marti, R. Ramesh. 2013-05-08. Tuning the electronic properties of J_eff=1/2 correlated semimetal in epitaxial perovskite SrIrO3. https://arxiv.org/abs/1305.1732

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