Giant reversible nanoscale piezoresistance at room temperature in Sr2IrO4 thin films
Publication Type
Journal Article
Authors
Domingo, N., L. López-Mir, M. Paradinas, V. Holy, J. Železný, D. Yi, S.J. Suresha, J. F. Liu, Rayan Serrao, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, C. Ocal, X. Marti, G. Catalan
DOI
Abstract
Layered iridates have been the subject of intense scrutiny on account of their unusually strong spin-orbit coupling, which opens up a narrow bandgap in a material that would otherwise be a metal. This insulating state is very sensitive to external perturbations. Here, we show that vertical compression at the nanoscale, delivered using the tip of a standard scanning probe microscope, is capable of inducing a five orders of magnitude change in the room temperature resistivity of Sr2IrO4. The extreme sensitivity of the electronic structure to anisotropic deformations opens up a new angle of interest on this material, with the giant and fully reversible perpendicular piezoresistance rendering iridates as promising materials for room temperature piezotronic devices. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Journal
Nanoscale
Volume
7
Year of Publication
2015
ISSN
20403364