Nano-Resolved Current-Induced Insulator-Metal Transition in the Mott Insulator
Abstract
The Mott insulator Ca2RuO4 is the subject of much recent attention following reports of emergent nonequilibrium steady states driven by applied electric fields or currents. In this paper, we carry out infrared nano-imaging and optical-microscopy measurements on bulk single crystal Ca2RuO4 under conditions of steady current flow to obtain insight into the current-driven insulator-tometal transition. We observe macroscopic growth of the current-induced metallic phase, with nucleation regions for metal and insulator phases determined by the polarity of the current flow. A remarkable metal-insulator-metal microstripe pattern is observed at the phase front separating metal and insulator phases. The microstripes have orientations tied uniquely to the crystallographic axes, implying a strong coupling of the electronic transition to lattice degrees of freedom. Theoretical modeling further illustrates the importance of the current density and confirms a submicron-thick surface metallic layer at the phase front of the bulk metallic phase. Our work confirms that the electrically induced metallic phase is nonfilamentary and is not driven by Joule heating, revealing remarkable new characteristics of electrically induced insulator-metal transitions occurring in functional correlated oxides.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1494869
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1496044
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; SC0012704; SC0012375
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review. X
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Physical Review. X Journal Volume: 9 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2160-3308
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
Citation Formats
Zhang, Jiawei, McLeod, Alexander S., Han, Qiang, Chen, Xinzhong, Bechtel, Hans A., Yao, Ziheng, Gilbert Corder, S. N., Ciavatti, Thomas, Tao, Tiger H., Aronson, Meigan, Carr, G. L., Martin, Michael C., Sow, Chanchal, Yonezawa, Shingo, Nakamura, Fumihiko, Terasaki, Ichiro, Basov, D. N., Millis, Andrew J., Maeno, Yoshiteru, and Liu, Mengkun. Nano-Resolved Current-Induced Insulator-Metal Transition in the Mott Insulator Ca 2 RuO 4. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011032.
Zhang, Jiawei, McLeod, Alexander S., Han, Qiang, Chen, Xinzhong, Bechtel, Hans A., Yao, Ziheng, Gilbert Corder, S. N., Ciavatti, Thomas, Tao, Tiger H., Aronson, Meigan, Carr, G. L., Martin, Michael C., Sow, Chanchal, Yonezawa, Shingo, Nakamura, Fumihiko, Terasaki, Ichiro, Basov, D. N., Millis, Andrew J., Maeno, Yoshiteru, & Liu, Mengkun. Nano-Resolved Current-Induced Insulator-Metal Transition in the Mott Insulator Ca 2 RuO 4. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011032
Zhang, Jiawei, McLeod, Alexander S., Han, Qiang, Chen, Xinzhong, Bechtel, Hans A., Yao, Ziheng, Gilbert Corder, S. N., Ciavatti, Thomas, Tao, Tiger H., Aronson, Meigan, Carr, G. L., Martin, Michael C., Sow, Chanchal, Yonezawa, Shingo, Nakamura, Fumihiko, Terasaki, Ichiro, Basov, D. N., Millis, Andrew J., Maeno, Yoshiteru, and Liu, Mengkun. Fri .
"Nano-Resolved Current-Induced Insulator-Metal Transition in the Mott Insulator Ca 2 RuO 4". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011032.
@article{osti_1494869,
title = {Nano-Resolved Current-Induced Insulator-Metal Transition in the Mott Insulator Ca 2 RuO 4},
author = {Zhang, Jiawei and McLeod, Alexander S. and Han, Qiang and Chen, Xinzhong and Bechtel, Hans A. and Yao, Ziheng and Gilbert Corder, S. N. and Ciavatti, Thomas and Tao, Tiger H. and Aronson, Meigan and Carr, G. L. and Martin, Michael C. and Sow, Chanchal and Yonezawa, Shingo and Nakamura, Fumihiko and Terasaki, Ichiro and Basov, D. N. and Millis, Andrew J. and Maeno, Yoshiteru and Liu, Mengkun},
abstractNote = {The Mott insulator Ca2RuO4 is the subject of much recent attention following reports of emergent nonequilibrium steady states driven by applied electric fields or currents. In this paper, we carry out infrared nano-imaging and optical-microscopy measurements on bulk single crystal Ca2RuO4 under conditions of steady current flow to obtain insight into the current-driven insulator-tometal transition. We observe macroscopic growth of the current-induced metallic phase, with nucleation regions for metal and insulator phases determined by the polarity of the current flow. A remarkable metal-insulator-metal microstripe pattern is observed at the phase front separating metal and insulator phases. The microstripes have orientations tied uniquely to the crystallographic axes, implying a strong coupling of the electronic transition to lattice degrees of freedom. Theoretical modeling further illustrates the importance of the current density and confirms a submicron-thick surface metallic layer at the phase front of the bulk metallic phase. Our work confirms that the electrically induced metallic phase is nonfilamentary and is not driven by Joule heating, revealing remarkable new characteristics of electrically induced insulator-metal transitions occurring in functional correlated oxides.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011032},
journal = {Physical Review. X},
number = 1,
volume = 9,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2019},
month = {Fri Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2019}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011032
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Cited by: 44 works
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Figures / Tables:
FIG. 1: dc transport characterization and optical photographs of a Ca2RuO4 bulk single crystal at different stages of the IMT. (a) A dc I-V curve with optical images taken by a CCD camera in the visible range. The insets show the emergence and expansion of the L phase (dark region)more »
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