Iridium & # 39; loses its identity & # 39; when it is interfaced with nickel

Materials Physicists and Materials Scientists: You'd better reassess your work if you are studying iridium-based materials, members of the platinum family, when they are ultra-thin.

Iridium "loses its identity" and its electrons act strangely in an ultra-thin film when it is interfaced with nickel-based layers, which have an unexpected impact on iridium ions, according to physicist Jak Chakhalian of the 39 Rutgers University-New Brunswick, author Rutgers study in the newspaper Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists have also discovered a new type of magnetic state when they created extra-fine artificial superstructures containing iridium and nickel. Their discoveries could lead to greater manipulation of quantum materials and a deeper understanding of the quantum state for new electronics.

"It seems that nature has new tricks that will force scientists to re-evaluate theories of these special quantum materials because of our work," said Chakhalian, Claud Lovelace professor of experimental physics at the Department of Physics and Physics. Astronomy of the School of Arts. Sciences. "Physics by analogy does not work, our results call for a careful evaluation and reinterpretation of experiments on" spin-orbit physics "and magnetism when the interfaces or surfaces of materials containing platinum group atoms are involved. "

A thorough understanding of the phenomenon has been achieved through the most recent calculations supported by Rutgers co-authors, Michele Kotiuga, a postdoctoral fellow, and Professor Karin Rabe.

Scientists have discovered that at the interface of a layer containing nickel and an iridium-containing layer, an unusual form of magnetism emerges that strongly affects the behavior of the spin and orbital motion of the electrons. The newly discovered behavior is important because quantum materials with a very large spin-orbit interaction are popular candidates for new topological materials and exotic superconductivity.