Structural and physical properties of ReN i03 (Re=Sm, N d) nanostructured films prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Abstract

Very few systems allow the study of the relationship between structural changes and physical properties in such a clear way as rare earth nickelate ReNi03 perovskites (Re (rare earth) = Pr, Nd, Sm and Gd). Synthesized for the first time by Demazeau et al [1] in 1971 and completely forgotten for almost twenty years, these compounds have regained interest since the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity and giant magnetoresistive effects in other perovskite-related systems. Due to its Metal-Insulator Transition (MIT) and thermochromic properties, the rare earth nickelate perovskite ReNi03 has received a great deal of attention for the past ten years in their thin films form [12]. Such unusual electronic and optical features are all the more interesting since the metal-insulator transition temperature (TMn) can be tuned by changing the Re cation: LaNi03 is metallic. No minimum of the metallic conductivity of Sm0 . ssNd 0.45Ni03, as observed by Gire et al [12] (entropic effect), was reported by Ambrosini and Hamet [11]. It has been suggested by Obradors et al. [13] that changing the rare earth cation in the ReNi03 system, acts as internal chemical pressure (increasing internal pressure by substituting the rare earth cation with another one of larger ionic radius) which can lead, as for the isostatic pressure experiment, to a tunability of the metal-insulator transition temperature [14, 15]. Obradors et al [13] reported on a decrease of T MIT upon increasing isostatic pressure but with remaining metallic properties of PrNi03 and NdNi03 (same magnitude and thermal dependence of the electrical resistivity)