title: Multiband optical absorption controlled by lattice strain in thin-film LaCrO3.
abstract: Experimental measurements and ab initio modeling of the optical transitions in strained G-type antiferromagnetic LaCrO(3) resolve two decades of debate regarding the magnitude of the band gap and the character of the optical absorption spectrum in the visible-to-ultraviolet (up to ∼5  eV) range in this material. Using time-dependent density functional theory and accounting for thermal disorder effects, we demonstrate that the four most prominent low-energy absorption features are due to intra-Cr t(2g)-e(g) (2.7, 3.6 eV), inter-Cr t(2g)-t(2g) (4.4 eV), and interion O 2p-Cr 3d (from ∼5  eV) transitions and show that the excitation energies of the latter type can be strongly affected by the lattice strain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics & Astronomy and the London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Peter V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Sushko
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bowden
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Tamas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Varga
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Exarhos
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33174, USA.
authors.forename: Frank K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Urban
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33174, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Chambers