Tailoring the electronic transitions of NdNiO3 films through (111)pc oriented interfaces

Bulk NdNiO3 and thin films grown along the pseudocubic (001)(pc) axis display a 1st order metal to insulator transition (MIT) together with a Neel transition at T = 200 K. Here, we show that for NdNiO3 films deposited on (111)(pc) NdGaO3, the MIT occurs at T = 335 K and the Neel transition at T = 230 K. By comparing transport and magnetic properties of layers grown on substrates with different symmetries and lattice parameters, we demonstrate a particularly large tuning when the epitaxy is realized on (111)(pc) surfaces. We attribute this effect to the specific lattice matching conditions imposed along this direction when using orthorhombic substrates. (C) 2015 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.