Tailoring the electronic transitions of NdNiO$_3$ films through (111)$_{pc}$ oriented interfaces

S. Catalano (1) , M. Gibert (1) , V. Bisogni (2) , F. He (3) , R. Sutarto (3) , M. Viret (1, 4) , P. Zubko (1) , R. Scherwitzl (1) , G. A. Sawatzky (5) , T. Schmitt (2) , J.-M. Triscone (1)

1 UNIGE - Université de Genève = University of Geneva
2 SLS-PSI - The Swiss Light Source (SLS)
3 Canadian Light Source
4 LNO - Laboratoire Nano-Magnétisme et Oxydes
5 UBC - University of British Columbia

Bulk NdNiO$_3$ and thin films grown along the pseudocubic (001)$_{pc}$ axis display a 1st order metal to insulator transition (MIT) together with a Néel transition at T = 200 K. Here, we show that for NdNiO$_3$ films deposited on (111)$_{pc}$ NdGaO$_3$, the MIT occurs at T = 335 K and the Néel transition at T = 230 K. By comparing transport and magnetic properties of layers grown on substrates with different symmetries and lattice parameters, we demonstrate a particularly large tuning when the epitaxy is realized on (111)$_{pc}$ surfaces. We attribute this effect to the specific lattice matching conditions imposed along this direction when using orthorhombic substrates.

Keywords: Epitaxy; Metallic thin films; Insulating thin films; Antiferromagnetism; Metal insulator transitions

Domains: Physics [physics]

S. Catalano, M. Gibert, V. Bisogni, F. He, R. Sutarto, et al.. Tailoring the electronic transitions of NdNiO$_3$ films through (111)$_{pc}$ oriented interfaces. APL Materials, 2015, 3, pp. 062506 ⟨10.1063/1.4919803⟩. ⟨cea-01498292⟩