Oxygen Diode Formed in Nickelate Heterostructures by Chemical Potential Mismatch

Deliberate control of oxygen vacancy formation and migration in perovskite oxide thin films is important for developing novel electronic and iontronic devices. Here, it is found that the concentration of oxygen vacancies (V-O) formed in LaNiO3 (LNO) during pulsed laser deposition is strongly affected by the chemical potential mismatch between the LNO film and its proximal layers. Increasing the V-O concentration in LNO significantly modifies the degree of orbital polarization and drives the metal-insulator transition. Changes in the nickel oxidization state and carrier concentration in the films are confirmed by soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy and optical spectroscopy. The ability to unidirectional-control the oxygen flow across the heterointerface, e.g., a so-called oxygen diode, by exploiting chemical potential mismatch at interfaces provides a new avenue to tune the physical and electrochemical properties of complex oxides.