Induction of Large Magnetic Anisotropy Energy and Formation of Multiple Dirac States in SrIrO$_3$ Films: Role of correlation and spin-orbit coupling

TL;DR

This study shows that ultrathin SrIrO$_3$ films exhibit large magnetic anisotropy energy and multiple Dirac states due to the interplay of correlation, spin-orbit coupling, and confinement effects, promising novel electronic properties.

Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence of large magnetic anisotropy and multiple Dirac states in SrIrO$_3$ films driven by correlation, SOC, and confinement, which is a novel finding in iridate oxides.

Findings

Large magnetic anisotropy energy (2-7 meV/Ir) in SrIrO$_3$ films.

Multiple Dirac states across a 2 eV energy window.

Potential for unique transport properties upon experimental realization.

Abstract

The 5$d$ transition metal oxides, in particular iridates, host novel electronic and magnetic phases due to the interplay between onsite Coulomb repulsion ($U$) and spin-orbit coupling (SOC). The reduced dimensionality brings another degree of freedom to increase the functionality of these systems. By taking the example of ultrathin films of SrIrO$_3$,theoretically, we demonstrate that confinement led localization can introduce large magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) in the range 2-7 meV/Ir which is one to two orders higher than that of the traditional MAE compounds formed out of transition metals and their multilayers. Furthermore, in the weak correlation limit, tailored terminations can yield multiple Dirac states across a large energy window of 2 eV around the Fermi energy which is a rare phenomena in correlated oxides and upon experimental realization it will give rise to unique transport properties with excitation and doping.