Competition between magnetic order and charge localization in Na2IrO 3 thin crystal devices

Spin orbit assisted Mott insulators such as sodium iridate (Na2IrO3) have been an important subject of study in recent years. In these materials, the interplay of electronic correlations, spin-orbit coupling, crystal field effects, and a honeycomb arrangement of ions bring exciting ground states, predicted in the frame of the Kitaev model. The insulating character of Na2IrO3 has hampered its integration to an electronic device, desirable for applications, such as the manipulation of quasiparticles interesting for topological quantum computing. Here we show through electronic transport measurements supported by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments, that electronic transport in Na2IrO3 is ruled by variable range hopping and it is strongly dependent on the magnetic ordering transition known for bulk Na2IrO3, as well as on external electric fields. Electronic transport measurements allow us to deduce a value for the localization length and the density of states in our Na2IrO3 thin crystal devices, and offer an alternative approach to study insulating 2D-materials.