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Ferroelectric Polarization Induced Magnetic Order and Topological Hall Effect at the PbZr<sub>0.2</sub>Ti<sub>0.8</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/SrIrO<sub>3</sub> Heterointerface

ORAL

Abstract

The 5d Iridate SrIrO3 (SIO) is a paramagnetic semimetal with strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) when prepared in the orthorhombic phase. In this study, we explore the possibility of inducing magnetic order and nontrivial chiral spin structures in ultrathin SIO films using the polarization field of a neighboring ferroelectric layer. We have fabricated high quality epitaxial PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 (PZT)/SIO (1.6-2 nm) heterostructures and demonstrated nonvolatile ferroelectric field-effect modulation of channel resistance. For the 1.6 nm SIO channel, we can reversibly control SIO between the metallic and insulating phases by switching the polarization field of PZT. More interestingly, in the insulating phase, the Hall effect measurements reveal features of hysteresis and topological Hall effect, suggesting a polarization-induced antiferromagnetic order. We ascribe it to the emerging interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction due to strong SOC and polarization-enhanced inversion symmetry breaking. Our results demonstrate a feasible way to achieve electrically controlled magnetic order and design topological electronics at the heterointerface of complex oxides.

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Presenters

  • Le Zhang

    Department of Physics and Astronomy & Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Authors

  • Le Zhang

    Department of Physics and Astronomy & Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Myung-Geun Han

    Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Yimei Zhu

    Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Lab, Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Department of Energy Science and Technology, Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Xia Hong

    University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Department of Physics and Astronomy & Nebraska Center of Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Department of Physics and Astronomy & Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska - Lincoln