Strain controlled metal-insulator transition in epitaxial NdNiO{sub 3} thin films

Journal Article · Sat Dec 28 00:00:00 EST 2013 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4858455· OSTI ID:22267764

Zhong, N.; Duan, C. -G.; Tang, X. D.; Hu, Z. G.; Yang, P. X.; Zhu, Z. Q.; Chu, J. H. ^[1]

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1. Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education, Department of Electronic Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241 (China)

We have fabricated epitaxial thin films of NdNiO{sub 3} (NNO) on various single crystal substrates. The transport properties of NNO films are very sensitive to substrate-controlled epitaxial strain. As the strain varies from tensile to compressive, the Mott metal-insulator transition of NNO films shifts to low temperatures. Under a larger compressive strain, the film on LaSrAlO{sub 4} substrate exhibits a practically metallic transport characteristic. We have found that the conductivities of NNO films at low temperatures follow Mott's variable range hopping mechanism rather than thermal activation model and the epitaxial strain has a strong effect on Mott's parameters of NNO films. These findings demonstrate that the electronic transport of NNO thin films can be tuned by the epitaxial strain for next-generation perovskite-based microelectronic devices.

• OSTI ID: 22267764
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 114, Issue 24; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
EPITAXY
METALS
MONOCRYSTALS
PEROVSKITE
STRAINS
SUBSTRATES
THIN FILMS