title: Metal-Insulator Transition of strained SmNiO3Thin Films: Structural, Electrical and Optical Properties.
abstract: Samarium nickelate (SmNiO3) thin films were successfully synthesized on LaAlO3and SrTiO3substrates using pulsed-laser deposition. The Mott metal-insulator (MI) transition of the thin films is sensitive to epitaxial strain and strain relaxation. Once the strain changes from compressive to tensile, the transition temperature of the SmNiO3samples shifts to slightly higher values. The optical conductivity reveals the strong dependence of the Drude spectral weight on the strain relaxation. Actually, compressive strain broadens the bandwidth. In contrast, tensile strain causes the effective number of free carriers to reduce which is consistent with the d-band narrowing.
authors.affiliation: INRS-EMT, 1650 Lionel-Boulet, C. P. 1020, Varennes Québec, J3X 1S2, Canada.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Torriss
authors.affiliation: Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, CP. 6128 Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Margot
authors.affiliation: INRS-EMT, 1650 Lionel-Boulet, C. P. 1020, Varennes Québec, J3X 1S2, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chaker