Abstract
Electrical control of structural and physical properties is a long-sought, but elusive goal of contemporary science and technology. We demonstrate that a combination of strong spin-orbit interactions (SOI) and a canted antiferromagnetic Mott state is sufficient to attain that goal. The antiferromagnetic insulator Sr2IrO4 provides a model system in which strong SOI lock canted Ir magnetic moments to IrO6 octahedra, causing them to rigidly rotate together. A novel coupling between an applied electrical current and the canting angle reduces the Néel temperature and drives a large, nonlinear lattice expansion that closely tracks the magnetization, increases the electron mobility, and precipitates a unique resistive switching effect. Our observations open new avenues for understanding fundamental physics driven by strong SOI in condensed matter, and provide a new paradigm for functional materials and devices.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 017201 |
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 120 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 4 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2018 American Physical Society.
Funding
G.\u2009C. is indebted to Dr. Xiangang Wan, Dr. Daniel Khomskii, Dr. Feng Ye, Dr. Natalie Perkins, and S.-W. Cheong for stimulating discussions. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation via Grants No. DMR-1712101 (University of Colorado) and No. DMR-1506979 (L.\u2009E.\u2009D.), and by Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Science, Materials Science through the award DEFG02-84ER45872 (P.\u2009S.\u2009R.).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| DOE Basic Energy Sciences | |
| U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory U.S. Department of Energy National Science Foundation National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center | |
| University of Colorado Hospital Denver | DMR-1506979 |
| University of Colorado Hospital Denver | |
| U.S. Department of Energy Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project Oak Ridge National Laboratory Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment National Science Foundation National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center National Natural Science Foundation of China | DMR-1712101 |
| U.S. Department of Energy Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project Oak Ridge National Laboratory Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment National Science Foundation National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center National Natural Science Foundation of China | |
| National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center | DEFG02-84ER45872 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy