Electrolyte gating Sr₂IrO₄ single crystal

The 5d iridates have intriguing electromagnetic properties due to the interplay of spin-orbit interaction and Coulomb interaction of comparable magnitude. Novel electronic phases are predicted and discovered. The compound Sr₂IrO₄, which identified as spin-orbit Mott insulator, has been studied extensively at various doping level primarily in search of superconductivity, due to its crystal structure similarity to La₂CuO₄. We used different electrolytes to dope the cleaved ab plane surface of a Sr₂IrO₄ single crystal. We found a 2D-Mott variable range hoping state upon hole doping accompanied with a positive to negative magnetoresistance transition at low temperature, while minimal gating effect is observed on electron doping. Transport property measurement of Lithium intercalated surface state achieved by gating with electrolyte consist of lithium ions will be reported.