Spatially Controlled Octahedral Rotations and Metal-Insulator Transitions in Nickelate Superlattices

Overview

Journal Nano Lett

Publisher American Chemical Society

Specialty Biotechnology

Date 2021 Jan 20

PMID 33470113

Citations 4

Authors

Binbin Chen

Nicolas Gauquelin

Robert J Green

Jin Hong Lee

Cinthia Piamonteze

Matjaz Spreitzer

Daen Jannis

Johan Verbeeck

Manuel Bibes

Mark Huijben

Guus Rijnders

Gertjan Koster

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The properties of correlated oxides can be manipulated by forming short-period superlattices since the layer thicknesses are comparable with the typical length scales of the involved correlations and interface effects. Herein, we studied the metal-insulator transitions (MITs) in tetragonal NdNiO/SrTiO superlattices by controlling the NdNiO layer thickness, in the unit cell, spanning the length scale of the interfacial octahedral coupling. Scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals a crossover from a modulated octahedral superstructure at = 8 to a uniform nontilt pattern at = 4, accompanied by a drastically weakened insulating ground state. Upon further reducing the predominant dimensionality effect continuously raises the MIT temperature, while leaving the antiferromagnetic transition temperature unaltered down to = 2. Remarkably, the MIT can be enhanced by imposing a sufficiently large strain even with strongly suppressed octahedral rotations. Our results demonstrate the relevance for the control of oxide functionalities at reduced dimensions.

Citing Articles

Improved conduction and orbital polarization in ultrathin LaNiO sublayer by modulating octahedron rotation in LaNiO/CaTiO superlattices.

Shi W, Zhang J, Yu B, Zheng J, Wang M, Li Z Nat Commun. 2024; 15(1):9931.

PMID: 39548075 PMC: 11567965. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54311-0.

Thickness-Dependent Interface Polarity in Infinite-Layer Nickelate Superlattices.

Yang C, Ortiz R, Wang Y, Sigle W, Wang H, Benckiser E Nano Lett. 2023; 23(8):3291-3297.

PMID: 37027232 PMC: 10141440. DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c00192.

Dimensionality-Controlled Evolution of Charge-Transfer Energy in Digital Nickelates Superlattices.

Lu X, Liu J, Zhang N, Xie B, Yang S, Liu W Adv Sci (Weinh). 2022; 9(21):e2105864.

PMID: 35603969 PMC: 9313943. DOI: 10.1002/advs.202105864.

Emergent interface vibrational structure of oxide superlattices.

Hoglund E, Bao D, OHara A, Makarem S, Piontkowski Z, Matson J Nature. 2022; 601(7894):556-561.

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