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Yan F, Mi Z, Chen J, Hu H, Gao L, Wang J, Chen N, Jiang Y, Qiao L, Chen J. Revealing the role of interfacial heterogeneous nucleation in the metastable thin film growth of rare-earth nickelate electronic transition materials. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:9333-9344. [PMID: 35383792 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp05347g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Although rare-earth nickelates (ReNiO3, Re ≠ La) exhibit abundant electronic phases and widely adjustable metal to insulator electronic transition properties, their practical electronic applications are largely impeded by their intrinsic meta-stability. Apart from elevating the oxygen reaction pressure, heterogeneous nucleation is expected to be an alternative strategy that enables the crystallization of ReNiO3 at low meta-stability. In this work, the respective roles of high oxygen pressure and heterogeneous interface in triggering ReNiO3 thin film growth in the metastable state are revealed. ReNiO3 (Re = Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd and Dy) thin films grown on a LaAlO3 single crystal substrate show effective crystallization at atmospheric pressure without the necessity to apply high oxygen pressure, suggesting that the interfacial bonding between the ReNiO3 and substrates can sufficiently reduce the positive Gibbs formation energy of ReNiO3, which is further verified by the first-principles calculations. Nevertheless, the abrupt electronic transitions only appear in ReNiO3 thin films grown at high oxygen pressure, in which case the oxygen vacancies are effectively eliminated via high oxygen pressure reactions as indicated by near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) analysis. This work unveils the synergistic effects of heterogeneous nucleation and high oxygen pressure on the growth of high quality ReNiO3 thin films.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengbo Yan
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Zhishan Mi
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China. .,Material Digital R&D Center, China Iron & Steel Research Institute Group, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Jinhao Chen
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Haiyang Hu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Lei Gao
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China. .,Corrosion and Protection Center, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Jiaou Wang
- Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Nuofu Chen
- School of Renewable Energy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Yong Jiang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Lijie Qiao
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China. .,Corrosion and Protection Center, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Jikun Chen
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
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Serrano-Sánchez F, Martínez JL, Fauth F, Alonso JA. On the lack of monoclinic distortion in the insulating regime of EuNiO 3 and GdNiO 3 perovskites by high-angular resolution synchrotron X-ray diffraction: a comparison with YNiO 3. Dalton Trans 2021; 50:7085-7093. [PMID: 33949539 DOI: 10.1039/d1dt00646k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Rare-earth nickelates RNiO3 (R = Y, LaLu) are electron-correlated perovskite materials where the interplay between charge and spin order results in a rich phase diagram, evolving from antiferromagnetic insulators to paramagnetic metals. They are well-known to undergo metal-insulator (MI) transitions as a function of temperature and the size of the rare-earth ion. For intermediate-size Eu3+ and Gd3+ ions, the MI transitions are described to happen at TMI = 463 K and 511 K, respectively. We have investigated their structural evolution across TMI with the excellent angular resolution of synchrotron X-ray diffraction, using high-crystalline quality samples prepared at elevated hydrostatic pressures. Unlike YNiO3, synthesized and measured under the same conditions, exhibiting a characteristic monoclinic phase (space group P21/n) in the insulating regime (below TMI), the present EuNiO3 and GdNiO3 samples do not exhibit such a symmetry, but their crystal structures can be defined in an orthorhombic superstructure of perovskite (space group Pbnm) in all the temperature interval, between 100 and 623 K for Eu and 298 K and 650 K for Gd. Nevertheless, an abrupt evolution of the unit-cell parameters is observed upon metallization above TMI. A prior report of a charge disproportionation effect by Mössbauer spectroscopy on Fe-doped perovskite samples seems to suggest that the distribution of two distinct Ni sites must not exhibit the required long-range ordering to be effectively detected by diffraction methods. An abrupt contraction of the b parameter of EuNiO3 in the 175-200 K range, coincident with the onset of antiferromagnetic ordering, suggests a magnetoelastic coupling, not described so far in rare-earth nickelates. The magnetic susceptibility is dominated by the paramagnetic signal of the rare-earth ions; however, the AC susceptibility curves yield a Néel temperature corresponding to the antiferromagnetic ordering of the Ni moments of TN = 197 K for EuNiO3, corroborated by specific heat measurements. For GdNiO3, a χT vs. T plot presents a clear change in the slope at TN = 187 K, also consistent with specific heat data. Magnetization measurements at 2 K under large fields up to 14 T show a complete saturation of the magnetic moments with a rather high ordered moment of 7.5μB per f.u.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Serrano-Sánchez
- Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, E-28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - José Luis Martínez
- Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, E-28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - François Fauth
- CELLS-ALBA Synchrotron, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, E-08290, Spain
| | - José Antonio Alonso
- Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, E-28049, Madrid, Spain.
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Tunable resistivity exponents in the metallic phase of epitaxial nickelates. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2949. [PMID: 32527995 PMCID: PMC7289814 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16740-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We report a detailed analysis of the electrical resistivity exponent of thin films of NdNiO3 as a function of epitaxial strain. Thin films under low strain conditions show a linear dependence of the resistivity versus temperature, consistent with a classical Fermi gas ruled by electron-phonon interactions. In addition, the apparent temperature exponent, n, can be tuned with the epitaxial strain between n = 1 and n = 3. We discuss the critical role played by quenched random disorder in the value of n. Our work shows that the assignment of Fermi/Non-Fermi liquid behaviour based on experimentally obtained resistivity exponents requires an in-depth analysis of the degree of disorder in the material. Strong electronic correlations in rare-earth nickelates make them prone to unconventional behaviour but extrinsic effects hamper the interpretation of data. Guo et al. show that apparent non-Fermi liquid transport in NdNiO3 is tuned by strain and disorder, suggesting a more conventional origin.
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Stemmer S, Allen SJ. Non-Fermi liquids in oxide heterostructures. REPORTS ON PROGRESS IN PHYSICS. PHYSICAL SOCIETY (GREAT BRITAIN) 2018; 81:062502. [PMID: 29651990 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6633/aabdfa] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the anomalous transport properties of strongly correlated materials is one of the most formidable challenges in condensed matter physics. For example, one encounters metal-insulator transitions, deviations from Landau Fermi liquid behavior, longitudinal and Hall scattering rate separation, a pseudogap phase, and bad metal behavior. These properties have been studied extensively in bulk materials, such as the unconventional superconductors and heavy fermion systems. Oxide heterostructures have recently emerged as new platforms to probe, control, and understand strong correlation phenomena. This article focuses on unconventional transport phenomena in oxide thin film systems. We use specific systems as examples, namely charge carriers in SrTiO3 layers and interfaces with SrTiO3, and strained rare earth nickelate thin films. While doped SrTiO3 layers appear to be a well behaved, though complex, electron gas or Fermi liquid, the rare earth nickelates are a highly correlated electron system that may be classified as a non-Fermi liquid. We discuss insights into the underlying physics that can be gained from studying the emergence of non-Fermi liquid behavior as a function of the heterostructure parameters. We also discuss the role of lattice symmetry and disorder in phenomena such as metal-insulator transitions in strongly correlated heterostructures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Stemmer
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5050, United States of America
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Middey S, Meyers D, Kareev M, Cao Y, Liu X, Shafer P, Freeland JW, Kim JW, Ryan PJ, Chakhalian J. Disentangled Cooperative Orderings in Artificial Rare-Earth Nickelates. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2018; 120:156801. [PMID: 29756872 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.120.156801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Revised: 03/06/2018] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Coupled transitions between distinct ordered phases are important aspects behind the rich phase complexity of correlated oxides that hinder our understanding of the underlying phenomena. For this reason, fundamental control over complex transitions has become a leading motivation of the designer approach to materials. We have devised a series of new superlattices by combining a Mott insulator and a correlated metal to form ultrashort period superlattices, which allow one to disentangle the simultaneous orderings in RENiO_{3}. Tailoring an incommensurate heterostructure period relative to the bulk charge ordering pattern suppresses the charge order transition while preserving metal-insulator and antiferromagnetic transitions. Such selective decoupling of the entangled phases resolves the long-standing puzzle about the driving force behind the metal-insulator transition and points to the site-selective Mott transition as the operative mechanism. This designer approach emphasizes the potential of heterointerfaces for selective control of simultaneous transitions in complex materials with entwined broken symmetries.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Middey
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - D Meyers
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
| | - M Kareev
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
| | - Yanwei Cao
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
| | - X Liu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
| | - P Shafer
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - J W Freeland
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
| | - J-W Kim
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
| | - P J Ryan
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
| | - J Chakhalian
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
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Mikheev E, Hauser AJ, Himmetoglu B, Moreno NE, Janotti A, Van de Walle CG, Stemmer S. Tuning bad metal and non-Fermi liquid behavior in a Mott material: Rare-earth nickelate thin films. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2015; 1:e1500797. [PMID: 26601140 PMCID: PMC4640588 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2015] [Accepted: 08/28/2015] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Resistances that exceed the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit (known as bad metal behavior) and non-Fermi liquid behavior are ubiquitous features of the normal state of many strongly correlated materials. We establish the conditions that lead to bad metal and non-Fermi liquid phases in NdNiO3, which exhibits a prototype bandwidth-controlled metal-insulator transition. We show that resistance saturation is determined by the magnitude of Ni eg orbital splitting, which can be tuned by strain in epitaxial films, causing the appearance of bad metal behavior under certain conditions. The results shed light on the nature of a crossover to a non-Fermi liquid metal phase and provide a predictive criterion for Anderson localization. They elucidate a seemingly complex phase behavior as a function of film strain and confinement and provide guidelines for orbital engineering and novel devices.
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