Overview
This collaborative study realizes epitaxial films of the quantum spin-liquid candidate hexagonal TbInO₃. Structural, magnetic, ferroelectric, and nonlocal transport measurements show that strong magnetic frustration persists in the thin-film limit while revealing unconventional transport near room temperature.
Key resultThe films show no long-range magnetic order down to 0.4 K and reveal unconventional transport above 300 K.
My contributionDensity-functional-theory calculations within the experimental thin-film collaboration.
Research question
Can the frustrated magnetic state of bulk TbInO₃ survive in a device-ready thin film, and what new transport behavior becomes accessible in that geometry?
Approach
- Reactive-oxide molecular-beam epitaxy of TbInO₃ on YSZ(111)
- X-ray diffraction and atomic-resolution STEM characterization
- DC and AC magnetometry down to 0.4 K
- Improper-ferroelectric domain mapping and nonlocal inverse-spin-Hall transport measurements
What emerged
- Single-phase, highly crystalline films retain strong magnetic frustration and show no long-range magnetic order down to 0.4 K.
- A nanoscale improper-ferroelectric domain pattern forms during synthesis, with an estimated local polarization of about 7 μC cm⁻².
- The low-temperature response is consistent with slowing spin fluctuations, although spin freezing or disorder effects cannot be excluded.
- Nonlocal measurements reveal unconventional carrier transport above 300 K that is unrelated to magnetic long-range order.
Explain the work
Media and supporting material
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