Abstract
The material class of rare earth nickelates with high Ni3+ oxidation state is generating continued interest due to the occurrence of a metal-insulator transition with charge order and the appearance of non-collinear magnetic phases within this insulating regime. The recent theoretical prediction for superconductivity in LaNiO3 thin films has also triggered intensive research efforts. LaNiO3 seems to be the only rare earth nickelate that stays metallic and paramagnetic down to lowest temperatures. So far, centimeter-sized impurity-free single crystal growth has not been reported for the rare earth nickelates material class since elevated oxygen pressures are required for their synthesis. Here, we report on the successful growth of centimeter-sized LaNiO3 single crystals by the floating zone technique at oxygen pressures of up to 150 bar. Our crystals are essentially free from Ni2+ impurities and exhibit metallic properties together with an unexpected but clear antiferromagnetic transition.
Highlights
The material class of rare earth nickelates with high Ni3+ oxidation state is generating continued interest due to the occurrence of a metal-insulator transition with charge order and the appearance of non-collinear magnetic phases within this insulating regime
Whereas an enhancement of the insulating properties and an increase of the MI transition temperature TMI can be observed for decreasing R-ionic radius, the antiferromagnetic transition temperature and the strength of the exchange interactions decrease with decreasing R-ionic radius and Ni–O–Ni bond angles
We report on the successful growth of large LaNiO3 single crystals by the floating zone technique
Summary
The material class of rare earth nickelates with high Ni3+ oxidation state is generating continued interest due to the occurrence of a metal-insulator transition with charge order and the appearance of non-collinear magnetic phases within this insulating regime. Centimeter-sized impurity-free single crystal growth has not been reported for the rare earth nickelates material class since elevated oxygen pressures are required for their synthesis. The rare earth nickelates RNiO3 (R = rare earth, Y) with the high Ni3+ oxidation state have continued to attract enormous interest due to the famous bandwidth controlled metal-insulator (MI) transition and associated unusual charge and spin-order phenomena occurring in this system[1,2] with even the possibility for multiferroicity[3]. Special about LaNiO3 is that it is very close to an insulating state, making LaNiO3 an intriguing quantum material, probably close to a quantum critical point, where strong local electronic correlations at the Ni sites are likely to interfere in an intricate manner with Fermi surface effects
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