Structural percolation evolution throughout the metal-to-insulator transition in NdNi O3

Authors

Gomes M.M., Manjunath B., Vilarinho R., Bassou A.A., Silva B., Oliveira J., Çaha I., Deepak F.L., Almeida B., Almeida A., Kreisel J., Tavares P.B., Íniguez J., Moreira J.A.

Reference

Physical Review B, vol. 109, n° 22, art. no. 224109, 2024

Description

This work presents the structural phase percolation during the entire temperature range of metallic-to-insulating phase transition (MIT) in a high quality NdNiO3 thin film deposited onto (001)-oriented LaAlO3 substrate. The results show the correlation between the symmetry breaking oxygen-breathing distortion and the occurrence of the MIT. From Raman scattering experiments, the monoclinic and orthorhombic phases' coexistence was fully characterized, and their volume fractions determined as a function of temperature. At the critical threshold of the insulating domain percolation, the monoclinic volume fraction attains the predicted 2/3 for a three-dimensional lattice, evidencing a structural percolative process. The experimental results here reported give a more general insight into percolative phenomena in NdNiO3 thin films.

Link

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.109.224109