title: Modulation of metal-insulator transitions by field-controlled strain in NdNiO3/SrTiO3/PMN-PT (001) heterostructures.
abstract: The band width control through external stress has been demonstrated as a useful knob to modulate metal-insulator transition (MIT) in RNiO3 as a prototype correlated materials. In particular, lattice mismatch strain using different substrates have been widely utilized to investigate the effect of strain on transition temperature so far but the results were inconsistent in the previous literatures. Here, we demonstrate dynamic modulation of MIT based on electric field-controlled pure strain in high-quality NdNiO3 (NNO) thin films utilizing converse-piezoelectric effect of (001)-cut Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3)O3-(PbTiO3) (PMN-PT) single crystal substrates. Despite the difficulty in the NNO growth on rough PMN-PT substrates, the structural quality of NNO thin films has been significantly improved by inserting SrTiO3 (STO) buffer layers. Interestingly, the MIT temperature in NNO is downward shifted by ~3.3 K in response of 0.25% in-plane compressive strain, which indicates less effective TMI modulation of field-induced strain than substrate-induced strain. This study provides not only scientific insights on band-width control of correlated materials using pure strain but also potentials for energy-efficient electronic devices.
authors.affiliation: Division of Advanced Materials Science (AMS) and Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seungyang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.affiliation: Division of Advanced Materials Science (AMS) and Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chadol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Man Jin
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Eom
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jun Sung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Functional Ceramics Group, Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), Changwon 641-831, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jungho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.affiliation: Division of Advanced Materials Science (AMS) and Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Junwoo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Son
authors.affiliation: Division of Advanced Materials Science (AMS) and Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Myung
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Jang