Epitaxially constrained magnetic ordering in semimetallic SrIrO3 thin films

Strain engineering provides a powerful route to inducing striking emergent phenomena in quantum materials, particularly those governed by a delicate interplay between electron correlations and spin–orbit coupling, such as orthorhombic SrIrO3. Here, we report the epitaxial growth of orthorhombic SrIrO3 thin films under systematically controlled tensile strain. A pronounced hysteresis in the magnetoresistance is observed in SrIrO3/TbScO3 films below 40 K, indicating the emergence of long-range magnetic order driven by the epitaxial strain. Further investigations of SrIrO3 films grown on SmScO3 and NdScO3 substrates reveal a substantial enhancement of the magnetic transition temperature up to ∼110 K, demonstrating effective modulation of magnetic ordering. Moreover, first-principles calculations show that the monoclinic distortion facilitates the stabilization of a magnetic ground state. Our work establishes tensile strain and lattice distortion as key ingredients for realizing emergent magnetism in 5d transition metal oxides.