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Kinetically stable glassy phase formation in neodymium nickelate thin films as evidenced by Hall effect and electrical resistivity measurements

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Abstract

In this study, we are reporting the time- and temperature-dependence of the electrical resistivity and temperature-dependence of the Hall voltage in neodymium nickelate thin films. The films were deposited on a lanthanum aluminate substrate [LaAlO3 (001)] by a pulsed laser deposition technique, with thicknesses ranging from 0.6 to 120 nm. Time-dependent electrical transport measurements indicated the formation of a kinetically stable metallic glassy phase rather than a stable insulating phase on cooling below the transition temperature, TM-I. Comparisons of the low-temperature behavior with that of common insulators further supported this claim. Hall effect measurements on the 1.2-nm sample showed a local maximum in the carrier concentration just below the TM-I on both the heating and cooling cycles. This again confirmed the proposed low-temperature structure, in that, for the 1.2-nm sample, there was a minimal degree of supercooling before transitioning to a kinetically stable glassy phase.

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Acknowledgment

Financial support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Award Nos. DMR-0746486 and DMR-1121252 is thankfully acknowledged.

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  1. Nanostructured Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, s[Utah, 84112, USA

    Megan Campbell Prestgard & Ashutosh Tiwari

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  1. Megan Campbell Prestgard
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  2. Ashutosh Tiwari
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Correspondence to Ashutosh Tiwari.

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Prestgard, M.C., Tiwari, A. Kinetically stable glassy phase formation in neodymium nickelate thin films as evidenced by Hall effect and electrical resistivity measurements. Journal of Materials Research 28, 1699–1706 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2013.35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2013.35

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