Tuning interlayer coupling in Pd(Cr_xCo_1-x)O₂ films to manipulate electronic and magnetic properties in a delafossite

Interface interactions give rise to exotic quantum effects, making their understanding crucial for unlocking the mysteries of correlated electrons and developing their applications. Metalic delafossite materials, such as PdCoO₂ and PdCrO₂, present a unique opportunity to explore these phenomena, as they naturally form heterostructures with alternating layers of nearly free and Mott-localized electrons. In particular, PdCrO₂ exhibits both antiferromagnetic and metallic behavior at low temperatures, where the spins in the CrO₂ layer contribute to antiferromagnetic order, unlike the nonmagnetic CoO₂ layer in PdCoO₂. The spins in the CrO₂ layer are coupled to the conducting electrons in the Pd layer; however, the underlying mechanism of this interlayer coupling remains poorly understood, limiting the potential for further application development in these materials. In this study, we synthesized Pd(Cr_xCo_1-x)O₂ (0 <= x <= 1) films to systematically investigate the evolution of interactions between the spins from the (Cr_xCo_1-x)O₂ layers and the conducting electrons in the Pd layer. We explore how these interactions influence the electronic and magnetic properties of these materials.