Semimetal CaIrO3 thin films as revealed by electrical resistivity and photoemission spectroscopy

We have investigated the structural, transport properties and electronic structure of CaIrO3 (CIO) thin film on (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 (100) substrate. X-ray diffraction results reveal the phase purity and the epitaxial growth of the film with partial tensile strain. The overall behavior of the temperature dependent electrical resistivity is insulating like whereas residual resistivity ratio indicates that the semi-metallic like transport in the CIO thin film. The semi-metallic nature was further confirmed by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) from the observation of screening mechanism present in Ir 4f state and finite density of states at the Fermi level.