In-situ fabrication and magneto-transport properties of (111) oriented Y2Ir2O7 epitaxial thin film

The interplay between topological phases and strong electronic correlations can induce novel phases of matter, which can push forward our understanding of many-body quantum phenomena. However, presently there is a scarcity of materials candidates that possess correlated electrons entwined with non-trivial band topology. Here, we report on the first successful fabrication of (111) oriented thin films of pyrochlore iridate Y2Ir2O7, a magnetic topological material candidate, employing solid phase epitaxy. Towards this, we have developed all in situ growth and annealing protocol, which is superior to the established ex-situ route that requires multi-hour annealing to stabilize the proper pyrochlore structure. The excellent morphological quality of the films with a pure pyrochlore phase has been confirmed. The magnetotransport properties regarding its Weyl semimetallic nature have been studied. These findings reveal the system presents an interplay of the Weyl semi-metallic phase, weak anti-localization effect, and the non-collinear antiferromagnetic ordering.