Electronic transport measurements of high impedance Heisenberg-Kitaev materials

In our previous experiments on the Heisenberg-Kitaev material Sodium Iridate (Na2IrO3) [1] the highly insulating character of this material precluded electronic transport measurements at low temperatures. Here, we show preliminary results on α-Ruthenium Trichloride (α-RuCl3), also a highly insulating Heisenberg-Kitaev system, using a custom-made probe that utilizes triaxial lines, capable of guarded electrical measurements. This technique allows to probe α-RuCl3 at temperatures below its magnetic ordering transition, exploring ground states predicted in the frame of the Heisenberg-Kitaev model. Electronic devices were made by mechanically exfoliating bulk crystals of α-RuCl3 and standard nanofabrication techniques.

[1] Josue Rodriguez, Gilbert Lopez, Francisco Ramirez, Nicholas P. Breznay, Alessandra Lanzara, James G. Analytis and Claudia Ojeda-Aristizabal “Competition between magnetic order and charge localization in Na2IrO3 thin crystal devices” Phys. Rev. B 101, 235415 (2020).