Statistical metal–insulator transition properties of electric domains in NdNiO3 nanowires

Abstract

Neodymium nickelate, NdNiO3 (NNO), with a perovskite structure shows resistance change of 1–2 orders owing to insulator–metal-transition (IMT) and metal–insulator-transition (MIT) at around 200 K and its IMT/MIT properties are affected by strain effects (Ni–O–Ni angular distribution). Since the resistance changes in the NNO system are considered to be dominated by competing nanoscale electronic phases, the reduction in sample size down to the individual domain scale could realize the direct investigation of single electric domains. In this study, 100 nm wide NNO nanowire structures were produced on NdGaO3(110) and LSAT(100) substrates, and the statistical IMT/MIT properties of electric domains under different strained structures were investigated. The nanowires showed prominent step resistance changes reflecting intrinsic first-order transition properties with different transition temperature distributions. A statistical transition model unveils the quantitative relationship between the IMT properties of the NNO nano-electronic phase and the strain effect due to the Ni–O–Ni angular distribution in NNO.