Frustrated rare-earth pyrochlore titanates, Yb2Ti2O7, and Tb2Ti2O7 have been proposed as promising candidates to realize quantum spin ice (QSI). Multiple exotic quantum phases, including Coulombic ferromagnet, quantum valence-bond solid, and quadrupolar ordering, have been predicted to emerge in the QSI state upon application of a (111)-oriented external magnetic field. Here, we report on the primal successful layer-by-layer growth of ultra-thin films of frustrated quantum pyrochlores, R2Ti2O7 (R = Er, Yb, and Tb), along the (111) direction. We confirm their high crystallinity and proper chemical composition by a combination of methods, including in-situ RHEED, x-ray diffraction, reciprocal space mapping, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The availability of large area (111)-oriented QSI structures with planar geometry offers a new complementary to the bulk platform to explore strain and magnetic field dependent properties in the quasi-2D limit.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2010.16379,
title = {Epitaxial stabilization of (111)-oriented frustrated quantum pyrochlore thin films},
author = {Fangdi Wen and Tsung-Chi Wu and Xiaoran Liu and Michael Terilli and Mikhail Kareev and Jak Chakhalian},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2010.16379},
year = {2021}
}