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arXiv · 1504.05245

Giant reversible nanoscale piezoresistance at room temperature in Sr2IrO4 thin films

Neus Domingo·Laura López-Mir·Marcos Paradinas·Vaclav Holy·Jakuv Zelezny·Di Yi·Siriyara J. Suresha·Jian Liu·Claudy Rayan-Serrao·Ramamoorthy Ramesh·Carmen Ocal·Xavi Martí·Gustau Catalan
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Abstract

Layered iridates have been the subject of intense scrutiny on account of their unusually strong spin-orbit coupling, which opens up a narrow gap in a material that would otherwise be a metal. This insulating state is very sensitive to external perturbations. Here, we show that vertical compression at the nanoscale, delivered using the tip of a standard scanning probe microscope, is capable of inducing a five orders of magnitude change in the room temperature resistivity of Sr2IrO4. The extreme sensitivity of the electronic structure to anisotropic deformations opens up a new angle of interest on this material, and the giant and fully reversible perpendicular piezoresistance makes iridates a promising material for room temperature piezotronic devices.

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Neus Domingo, Laura López-Mir, Marcos Paradinas, Vaclav Holy, Jakuv Zelezny, Di Yi, Siriyara J. Suresha, Jian Liu, Claudy Rayan-Serrao, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Carmen Ocal, Xavi Martí, Gustau Catalan. 2015-04-20. Giant reversible nanoscale piezoresistance at room temperature in Sr2IrO4 thin films. https://doi.org/10.1039/c4nr06954d

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