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Emergent Metal–Insulator Transitions Associated with Electronic Inhomogeneities in Low-Dimensional Complex Oxides

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Functional Metal Oxide Nanostructures

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Materials Science ((SSMATERIALS,volume 149))

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Abstract

A prominent feature of complex oxides is the coexistence of competing electronic phases. The separation of metallic and insulating phases is believed to be responsible for a variety of emergent transport phenomena, including quantum criticality in ruthenates and colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) in manganites. Interestingly, the phase boundaries between neighboring phases can often be displaced by small perturbations such as chemical doping, heating, stress, and electric or magnetic field, leading to intriguing metal–insulator transitions (MITs). The association of the emergent MIT with electronic inhomogeneities is particularly pronounced in low-dimensional materials which are uniquely suited to studying the MIT and phase evolutions in response to modification of the order parameters. Here, we present a few examples to illustrate the intimate interplay between emergent MIT and the competing electronic phases in functional metal oxide materials, including a percolative MIT near the critical temperature of the Mott transition in a Mn-doped bilayer ruthenate Sr3Ru2O7 crystal surface, and the abrupt conductance changes and reemergent MIT in manganite nanowires of La5/8 − x Pr x Ca3/8MnO3. This experimental research has benefited from new developments in the fabrication and characterization of low-dimensional oxide materials and nanostructures. A rare glimpse of the microscopic phase separation, the dynamic phase percolation, and the strain-tuned MIT has been provided. The results indicate the critical role of electron–lattice interactions in phase separation and suggest that the origin of phase coexistence is much more strongly influenced by strain than local chemical inhomogeneity, both for ruthenates and manganites.

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Acknowledgments

This research was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is sponsored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by the Division of Scientific User Facilities (APL) and the Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering (TZW), Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA

    An-Ping Li

  2. Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA

    Thomas Z. Ward

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  1. An-Ping Li
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Correspondence to An-Ping Li .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dept. Materials Science & Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, 94270-1760, California, USA

    Junqiao Wu

  2. , Energy Storage & Conversion Materials, GE Global Research, Research Circle 1, Niskayuna, 12309, New York, USA

    Jinbo Cao

  3. , Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, 11973, New York, USA

    Wei-Qiang Han

  4. , Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, 93106-5050, New York, USA

    Anderson Janotti

  5. , Almaden Research Center, IBM Research Division, Harry Road 650, San Jose, 95120-6099, New York, USA

    Ho-Cheol Kim

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Li, AP., Ward, T.Z. (2012). Emergent Metal–Insulator Transitions Associated with Electronic Inhomogeneities in Low-Dimensional Complex Oxides. In: Wu, J., Cao, J., Han, WQ., Janotti, A., Kim, HC. (eds) Functional Metal Oxide Nanostructures. Springer Series in Materials Science, vol 149. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9931-3_4

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