Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Investigations Of Metastable Ca2Iro4 Epitaxial Thin-Films: Systematic Comparison With Sr2Iro4 And Ba2Iro4, Maryam Souri, John H. Gruenewald, Jsaminka Terzic, Joseph W. Brill, Gang Cao, Sung S. Ambrose Seo

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We have synthesized thermodynamically metastable Ca₂IrO₄ thin-films on YAlO₃ (110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The epitaxial Ca₂IrO₄ thin-films are of K₂NiF₄-type tetragonal structure. Transport and optical spectroscopy measurements indicate that the electronic structure of the Ca₂IrO₄ thin-films is similar to that of J_eff = 1/2 spin-orbit-coupled Mott insulator Sr₂IrO₄ and Ba₂IrO₄, with the exception of an increased gap energy. The gap increase is to be expected in Ca₂IrO₄ due to its increased octahedral rotation …