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arXiv · 1204.2039

Strain-controlled band engineering and self-doping in ultrathin LaNiO$_3$ films

E. J. Moon·J. M. Rondinelli·N. Prasai·B. A. Gray·M. Kareev·J. Chakhalian·J. L. Cohn
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Abstract

We report on a systematic study of the temperature-dependent Hall coefficient and thermoelectric power in ultra-thin metallic LaNiO$_3$ films that reveal a strain-induced, self-doping carrier transition that is inaccessible in the bulk. As the film strain varies from compressive to tensile at fixed composition and stoichiometry, the transport coefficients evolve in a manner strikingly similar to those of bulk hole-doped superconducting cuprates with varying doping level. Density functional calculations reveal that the strain-induced changes in the transport properties are due to self-doping in the low-energy electronic band structure. The results imply that thin-film epitaxy can serve as a new means to achieve hole-doping in other (negative) charge-transfer gap transition metal oxides without resorting to chemical substitution.

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E. J. Moon, J. M. Rondinelli, N. Prasai, B. A. Gray, M. Kareev, J. Chakhalian, J. L. Cohn. 2012-04-10. Strain-controlled band engineering and self-doping in ultrathin LaNiO$_3$ films. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.85.121106

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