Light control of the nanoscale phase separation in heteroepitaxial nickelates

Journal article (2018)

Authors

G. Mattoni QN/Caviglia Lab - AS
N. Manca QN/Caviglia Lab - AS
S.S. Dhesi Diamond Light Source
A. Caviglia QN/Caviglia Lab - AS
M. Hadjimichael University College London
P. Zubko University College London
J.H. van der Torren Universiteit Leiden
C Yin Universiteit Leiden
S. Catalano University of Geneva
M. Gibert University of Geneva
F. Maccherozzi Diamond Light Source
Y Liu Diamond Light Source
Research Group
QN/Caviglia Lab (AS) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2018 G. Mattoni, N. Manca, M. Hadjimichael, P. Zubko, J.H. van der Torren, C. Yin, S. Catalano, M. Gibert, F. Maccherozzi, Y. Liu, S.S. Dhesi, A. Caviglia
DOI
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https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.2.085002
Conductivity X-ray photoemission electron microscopy X-ray absorption spectroscopy Nucleation Critical phenomena First order phase transitions Metal-insulator transition Microphase separation ConductivityCritical phenomenaFirst order phase transitionsMetal-insulator transitionMicrophase separation Heterostructures Single crystal materials Strongly correlated systems Terminal techniques High-resolution electron microscopy Photoexcitation
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Published Date

2018

Language

English

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Applied Sciences

Department

QN/Quantum Nanoscience

Research Group

QN/Caviglia Lab

Abstract

Strongly correlated materials show unique solid-state phase transitions with rich nanoscale phenomenology that can be controlled by external stimuli. Particularly interesting is the case of light–matter interaction in the proximity of the metal–insulator transition of heteroepitaxial nickelates. In this work, we use near-infrared laser light in the high-intensity excitation regime to manipulate the nanoscale phase separation in NdNiO3. By tuning the laser intensity, we can reproducibly set the coverage of insulating nanodomains, which we image by photoemission electron microscopy, thus semipermanently configuring the material state. With the aid of transport measurements and finite element simulations, we identify two different timescales of thermal dynamics in the light–matter interaction: a steady-state and a fast transient local heating. These results open interesting perspectives for locally manipulating and reconfiguring electronic order at the nanoscale by optical means.