Journal
SYMMETRY-BASEL
Volume 14, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/sym14030464
Keywords
Ruddlesden-Popper faults; NNO thin films; EELS; HAADF image
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Funding
- European Union [823717-ESTEEM3]
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) [TRR 80]
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This study investigates the microstructural characteristics and electronic structure of a NdNiO3 film grown by layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy. The researchers observe different configurations of Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) faults through aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy. They also demonstrate the relationship between the valence change of nickel and strain and structure variation.
The NdNiO3 (NNO) system has attracted a considerable amount of attention owing to the discovery of superconductivity in Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO2. In rare-earth nickelates, Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) faults play a significant role in functional properties, motivating our exploration of its microstructural characteristics and the electronic structure. Here, we employed aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy to study a NdNiO3 film grown by layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We found RP faults with multiple configurations in high-angle annular dark-field images. Elemental intermixing occurs at the SrTiO3-NdNiO3 interface and in the RP fault regions. Quantitative analysis of the variation in lattice constants indicates that large strains exist around the substrate-film interface. We demonstrate that the Ni valence change around RP faults is related to a strain and structure variation. This work provides insights into the microstructure and electronic-structure modifications around RP faults in nickelates.
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