Growth of Pr₂Ir₂O₇ thin films using solid phase epitaxy

(111)-oriented pyrochlore Pr$2$Ir$2$O$7$ epitaxial thin films were successfully fabricated on yttria-stabilized zirconia (111) substrates by means of solid phase epitaxy, namely, the combination of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of an amorphous precursor film at room temperature, followed by epitaxial crystallization in an ex situ post-annealing process in air. The Pr$2$Ir$2$O$7$ phase cannot be obtained in a conventional in situ PLD process because of severe Ir loss. The Pr$2$Ir$2$O$7$ thin films showed metallic electronic conductivity and the spontaneous Hall effect. These transport properties are similar to the ones reported for bulk single crystal samples, indicating that the thin films had high crystalline quality.