Limits to the strain engineering of layered square-planar nickelate thin films

Dan Ferenc Segedin; Berit H. Goodge; Grace A. Pan; Qi Song; Harrison LaBollita; Myung-Chul Jung; Hesham El-Sherif; Spencer Doyle; Ari Turkiewicz; Nicole K. Taylor; Jarad A. Mason; Alpha T. N'Diaye; Hanjong Paik; Ismail El Baggari; Antia S. Botana; Lena F. Kourkoutis; Charles M. Brooks; Julia A. Mundy

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-37117-4

paper

Limits to the strain engineering of layered square-planar nickelate thin films

arXiv:2302.14283 · doi:10.1038/s41467-023-37117-4

Abstract

The layered square-planar nickelates, Nd $_{n + 1}$ Ni $_{n}$ O $_{2 n + 2}$ , are an appealing system to tune the electronic properties of square-planar nickelates via dimensionality; indeed, superconductivity was recently observed in Nd $_{6}$ Ni $_{5}$ O $_{12}$ thin films. Here, we investigate the role of epitaxial strain in the competing requirements for the synthesis of the $n = 3$ Ruddlesden-Popper compound, Nd $_{4}$ Ni $_{3}$ O $_{10}$ , and subsequent reduction to the square-planar phase, Nd $_{4}$ Ni $_{3}$ O $_{8}$ . We synthesize our highest quality Nd $_{4}$ Ni $_{3}$ O $_{10}$ films under compressive strain on LaAlO $_{3}$ (001), while Nd $_{4}$ Ni $_{3}$ O $_{10}$ on NdGaO $_{3}$ (110) exhibits tensile strain-induced rock salt faults but retains bulk-like transport properties. A high density of extended defects forms in Nd $_{4}$ Ni $_{3}$ O $_{10}$ on SrTiO $_{3}$ (001). Films reduced on LaAlO $_{3}$ become insulating and form compressive strain-induced $c$ -axis canting defects, while Nd $_{4}$ Ni $_{3}$ O $_{8}$ films on NdGaO $_{3}$ are metallic. This work provides a pathway to the synthesis of Nd $_{n + 1}$ Ni $_{n}$ O $_{2 n + 2}$ thin films and sets limits on the ability to strain engineer these compounds via epitaxy.

Limits to the strain engineering of layered square-planar nickelate thin films

Abstract

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