In-situ fabrication and magneto-transport properties of (111) oriented Y2Ir2O7 epitaxial thin film*

The interplay between topological phases and strong electronic correlations can induce novel phases of matter, which can push forward our understanding of many-body quantum phenomena. However, presently there is a scarcity of materials candidates that possess correlated electrons entwined with non-trivial band topology. Here, we report on the first successful fabrication of (111) oriented thin films of pyrochlore iridate Y2Ir2O7, a magnetic topological material candidate, employing solid phase epitaxy. Towards this, we have developed all in situ growth and annealing protocol, which is superior to the established ex-situ route that requires multi-hour annealing to stabilize the proper pyrochlore structure. The excellent morphological quality of the films with a pure pyrochlore phase has been confirmed. The magnetotransport properties regarding its Weyl semimetallic nature have been studied. These findings reveal the system presents an interplay of the Weyl semi-metallic phase, weak anti-localization effect, and the non-collinear antiferromagnetic ordering.