Abstract
Quantum spin liquids, where the frustrated magnetic ground state hosts highly entangled spins resisting long-range order to 0 K, are exotic quantum magnets proximate to unconventional superconductivity and candidate platforms for topological quantum computing. Although several quantum spin liquid material candidates have been identified, thin films crucial for device fabrication and further tuning of properties remain elusive. Recently, hexagonal TbInO3 has emerged as a quantum spin liquid candidate which also hosts improper ferroelectricity and exotic high-temperature carrier transport. Here, we synthesize thin films of TbInO3 and characterize their magnetic and electronic properties. Our films present a highly frustrated magnetic ground state without long-range order to 0.4 K, consistent with bulk crystals. We further reveal a rich ferroelectric domain structure and unconventional non-local transport near room temperature, suggesting hexagonal TbInO3 as a promising candidate for realizing exotic magnetic and transport phenomena in epitaxial heterostructures.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 9469 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2025 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The authors would like to thank Sandesh Kalantre, David Goldhaber-Gordon, EliseAnne Koskelo, Megan Holtz, and Jennifer Hoffman for fruitful discussions. We acknowledge support on the XMCD measurements from Christoph Klewe at the Advanced Light Source. This work was supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory, Project Grant FA95502110429. This work used resources of the Advanced Light Source, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility under contract no. DE-AC02-05CH11231. Electron microscopy was carried out through the use of MIT.nano facilities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Additional electron microscopy work was performed at Harvard University’s Center for Nanoscale Systems, a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure Network, supported by the NSF under Grant No. 2025158. Low-temperature SQUID measurements were performed at the Laukien-Purcell Instrumentation Center with assistance from Claire Casaday, Kevin Anderton, and Dongtao Cui. Nanofabrication work was performed at the University of Michigan Lurie Nanofabrication Facility. J.A.M. acknowledges support from the Packard Foundation and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s EPiQS Initiative, Grant GBMF6760. J.N. acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation under Project No. P2EZP2_195686. C.T. acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation under Project No. P2EZP2_191801. H.E.S. and I.E.B. acknowledge support from the Rowland Institution at Harvard.