Tuning the metal-insulator transition via epitaxial strain and Co doping in NdNiO3 thin films grown by polymer-assisted deposition

Abstract

The epitaxial NdNi1-xCoxO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.10) thin films on (001) LaAlO3 and (001) SrTiO3 substrates were grown by a simple polymer-assisted deposition technique. The co-function of the epitaxial strain and Co doping on the metal-insulator transition in perovskite nickelate NdNiO3 thin films is investigated. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy reveal that the as-prepared thin films exhibit good crystallinity and heteroepitaxy. The temperature dependent resistivities of the thin films indicate that both the epitaxial strain and Co doping lower the metal-insulator (MI) transition temperature, which can be treated as a way to tune the MI transition. Furthermore, under the investigated Co-doping levels, the MI transition temperature (TMI) shifts to low temperatures with Co content increasing under both compressive and tensile strain, and the more distinction is in the former situation. When x is increased up to 0.10, the insulating phase is completely suppressed under the compressive strain. With the strain increases from compression to tension, the resistivities are enhanced both in the metal and insulating regions. However, the Co-doping effect on the resistivity shows a more complex situation. As Co content x increases from zero to 0.10, the resistivities are reduced both in the metal and insulating regions under the tensile strain, whereas they are enhanced in the high-temperature metal region under the compressive strain. Based on the temperature dependent resistivity in the metal regions, it is suggested that the electron-phonon coupling in the films becomes weaker with the increase of both the strain and Co-doping.