Investigation of Nonlinear Differential Conductance in NdNiO$_{3}$ Thin Films

We will report on recent investigations of the voltage and temperature dependence of the nonlinear differential conductance, dI/dV, of the insulating state in thin films of NdNiO$_{3}$. This compound exhibits a metal-insulator transition near 100 K [1] between a high temperature paramagnetic metal and a low temperature charge-transfer insulator. These investigations are motivated by previous observations in Fe$_{3}$O$_{4}$, a strongly correlated material that undergoes the Verwey transition at a similar temperature scale, in which hysteretic, voltage-driven breakdown of the insulating state has been reported [2]. We examine the evolution of the nonlinear conductance, as well as its dependence on the device geometry, in planar devices at temperatures near the transition.\\[4pt] [1] Son, Junwoo, Bharat Jalan, Adam P. Kajdos, Leon Balents, S. James Allen, and Susanne Stemmer. ``Probing the Metal-Insulator Transition of NdNiO$_{3}$ by Electrostatic Doping.'' App. Phys. Lett. 99, 192107 (2011).\\[0pt] [2] Fursina, A.A., R.G.S. Sofin, I.V. Shvets, and D. Natelson. ``The Origin of Hysteresis in Resistive Switching in Magnetite is Joule Heating.'' Phys. Rev. B 79, 245131 (2009).