Strain induced metal-insulator transition in ultrathin films of SrRuO${}_3$

Abstract

The ultrathin film limit has been shown to be a rich playground for unusual low dimensional physics. Taking the example of SrRuO${}_3$ which is ferromagnetic and metallic at the bulk limit, one finds that it becomes antiferromagnetic and insulating at the three monolayers limit when grown on SrTiO${}_3$. The origin of the insulating state is traced to strongly orbital dependent exchange splittings. A modest compressive strain of 1% of the SrTiO${}_3$ substrate is then found to drive the system into a highly confined two-dimensional 100% spin polarized metallic state. This metal-insulator transition driven by a modest strain could be useful in two state device applications.

arXiv commentAccept in Phys. Rev. B

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• A route to room temperature ferromagnetic ultrathin SrRuO${}_3$ films
• Materials challenges for SrRuO3: from conventional to quantum electronics
• Robust skyrmion-bubble textures in SrRuO${}_3$ thin films stabilized by magnetic anisotropy
• The origin of insulating and non-ferromagnetic SrRuO3 monolayers
• Quasiparticle self-consistent GW calculation of Sr${}_2$RuO${}_4$ and SrRuO${}_3$:
• Magnetic ground state of SrRuO${}_3$ thin film and applicability of standard first-principles approximations to metallic magnetism
• Strain Healing of Spin-Orbit Coupling: A Cause for Enhanced Magnetic Moment in Epitaxial SrRuO3 Thin Films
• On the crystalline structure of orthorhombic SrRuO${}_3$: A benchmark study of DFT functionals
• Abrupt orthorhombic relaxation in compressively strained ultra-thin SrRuO3 films
• Staggered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and canting angle in centrosymmetric altermagnetic and ferromagnetic phases: influence on the anomalous Hall effect and Weyl points