Evidence for a Correlated Insulator to Antiferromagnetic Metal Transition in CrN

We investigate the electronic structure of chromium nitride (CrN) across the first-order magneto-structural transition at T-N similar to 286 K. Resonant photoemission spectroscopy (PES) shows a gap in the 3d partial density of states at the Fermi level and an on-site Coulomb energy U similar to 4.5 eV, indicating strong electron-electron correlations. Bulk-sensitive high-resolution (6 meV) laser PES reveals a clear Fermi edge indicating an antiferromagnetic metal below T-N. Hard x-ray Cr 2p core-level PES shows T-dependent changes across T-N which originate from screening due to coherent states as substantiated by cluster model calculations using the experimentally observed U. Electrical resistivity confirms an insulator above T-N (E-g similar to 70 meV) becoming a disordered metal below T-N. Thus, CrN transforms from a correlated insulator to an antiferromagnetic metal, coupled to the magnetostructural transition.