Yb₂Ti₂O₇—An Illustration of the Need for Multi-Modal Characterization in the Synthesis of Quantum Materials

The Rare rare earth pyrochlore oxide Yb₂Ti₂O₇ and a variety of other pyrochlore structural analogues have been explored for decades as potential spin liquid candidate materialsnovel quantum magnets. More rRecent work has instead identified this materialYb₂Ti₂O₇ as playing host to competing FM/AFM magnetism – a revelation made possible through detailed, multi-modal characterization of an exceedingly high-quality sample. In this worktalk, we will summarize the history of Yb₂Ti₂O₇ and demonstrate how the use of limited characterization methods during the synthesis stage resulted in the further study of low-quality samples rather than the perfection of synthetic techniques, ultimately delaying the identification of the true ground state of this material. We will then present new synthetic studies identifying key characteristics of high-quality samples and their potential impact on the magnetic properties of the materialcomparison to quantum annealer simulations. This new work makes use of a broad suite of complementary characterization techniques at the synthesis stage and illustrates how careful characterization at every stage of materials study may result in faster, more reliable, and more accurate materials science, while also showing the strengths and limits of emerging quantum information methods.