Single crystal growth and electronic structure of Rh-doped Sr3Ir2O7

Ruddlesden-Popper iridate Sr3Ir2O7 is a spin-orbit coupled Mott insulator. Hole doped Sr3Ir2O7 provides an ideal platform to study the exotic quantum phenomena that occur near the metal-insulator transition (MIT) region. Rh substitution of Ir is an effective method to induce hole doping into Sr3Ir2O7. However, the highest doping level reported in Sr-3(Ir1-x Rh (x) )(2)O-7 single crystals was only around 3%, which is far from the MIT region. In this paper, we report the successful growth of single crystals of Sr-3(Ir1-x Rh (x) )(2)O-7 with a doping level of similar to 9%. The samples have been fully characterized, demonstrating the high quality of the single crystals. Transport measurements have been carried out, confirming the tendency of MIT in these samples. The electronic structure has also been examined by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements. Our results establish a platform to investigate the heavily hole doped Sr3Ir2O7 compound, which also provide new insights into the MIT with hole doping in this material system.

Automated summary

In this study, single crystals of Sr-3(Ir1-x Rh (x) )(2)O-7 with a doping level of about 9% were successfully grown and fully characterized, demonstrating their high quality. Transport measurements confirmed the tendency of metal-insulator transition (MIT) in these samples. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements were also conducted to examine the electronic structure. This research provides a platform to investigate heavily hole-doped Sr3Ir2O7 compound and offers new insights into the MIT with hole doping in this material system.