Print Email Facebook Twitter Striped nanoscale phase separation at the metal-insulator transition of heteroepitaxial nickelates Title Striped nanoscale phase separation at the metal-insulator transition of heteroepitaxial nickelates Author Mattoni, G. (TU Delft QN/Caviglia Lab; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft) Zubko, P. (University College London (UCL)) Maccherozzi, F. (Diamond Light Source) Van Der Torren, A. J H (Universiteit Leiden) Boltje, D. B. (Universiteit Leiden) Hadjimichael, M. (University College London (UCL)) Manca, N. (TU Delft QN/Caviglia Lab; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft) Catalano, S. (University of Geneva) Gibert, M. (University of Geneva) Liu, Y (Diamond Light Source) Aarts, J.M. (Universiteit Leiden) Triscone, J. M. (University of Geneva) Dhesi, S. S. (Diamond Light Source) Caviglia, A. (TU Delft QN/Caviglia Lab; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft) Date 2016-11-02 Abstract Nucleation processes of mixed-phase states are an intrinsic characteristic of first-order phase transitions, typically related to local symmetry breaking. Direct observation of emerging mixed-phase regions in materials showing a first-order metal-insulator transition (MIT) offers unique opportunities to uncover their driving mechanism. Using photoemission electron microscopy, we image the nanoscale formation and growth of insulating domains across the temperature-driven MIT in NdNiO3 epitaxial thin films. Heteroepitaxy is found to strongly determine the nanoscale nature of the phase transition, inducing preferential formation of striped domains along the terraces of atomically flat stepped surfaces. We show that the distribution of transition temperatures is a local property, set by surface morphology and stable across multiple temperature cycles. Our data provide new insights into the MIT of heteroepitaxial nickelates and point to a rich, nanoscale phenomenology in this strongly correlated material. To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:9401751d-624d-48c8-a78f-d71cfaa383f0 DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13141 ISSN 2041-1723 Source Nature Communications, 7, 1-7 Bibliographical note Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2016 G. Mattoni, P. Zubko, F. Maccherozzi, A. J H Van Der Torren, D. B. Boltje, M. Hadjimichael, N. Manca, S. Catalano, M. Gibert, Y Liu, J.M. Aarts, J. M. Triscone, S. S. Dhesi, A. Caviglia Files PDF ncomms13141_1.pdf 1.42 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:9401751d-624d-48c8-a78f-d71cfaa383f0/datastream/OBJ/view