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Nano-resolved insulator-metal domain textures in a polar bilayer ruthenate

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Abstract

The 4d transition metal oxides of the Can+1RunO3n+1 perovskite family have recently garnered interest for their correlated electron physics and strong sensitivity to external stimuli like strain, temperature, and even electric current. The bilayer ruthenate Ca3Ru2O7 exhibits a structural distortion producing a polar metal and, under Ti substitution for Ru, a correlated antiferromagnetic insulator. Through low-temperature nano-infrared imaging, we reveal a spontaneous striped texture of coexisting insulating and metallic domains in single crystals across their insulator-metal phase transition at T=70-100K. Under in situ uniaxial strain, we image anisotropic nucleation and growth of these domains, rationalized through on-demand control of a spontaneous Jahn-Teller distortion. Through high resolution transmission electron microscopy, we also reveal the detailed interplay between this textured phase coexistence and the displacive orientations, volumetric structures, and domain boundaries among polar twin domains in these crystals. These novel imaging methods afford new insights into strain- and structure-mediated manipulation of the insulator-metal transition in 4d metal oxides and the ubiquity of phase coexistence even in pristine single crystals.

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Presenters

  • Alexander McLeod

    Columbia Univ, Columbia University, Physics, Columbia University

Authors

  • Alexander McLeod

    Columbia Univ, Columbia University, Physics, Columbia University

  • Ran Jing

    Columbia University, The Department of Physics, Columbia University, Peking University, China, Physics, Columbia University

  • Jedrzej Wieteska

    Columbia Univ, Physics, Columbia University

  • Leixin Miao

    Materials Science and Engineering, Penn State University, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania state University

  • Ben Foutty

    Physics, Columbia University

  • Rui Zu

    Materials Science and Engineering, Penn State University, Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University

  • Giuliano Chiriaco

    Columbia Univ, Physics, Columbia University

  • Qiang Han

    Physics, Columbia University, Department of Physics, Columbia University

  • Danilo Puggioni

    Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Northwestern University

  • James Rondinelli

    Northwestern University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Deparment of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University

  • Andrew Millis

    Columbia Univ, Center for Computational Quantum Physics, The Flatiron Institute, Columbia University, Physics, Columbia University, Department of Physics, Columbia University, Center for Computational Quantum Physics, Flatiron Institute, Department of Physics, Columbia University, Center for Computational Quantum Physics, Flatiron Institute, Physics/CCQ, Columbia University and Flatiron Institute

  • Venkatraman Gopalan

    Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania State University, Materials Science and Engineering, Penn State University

  • Zhiqiang Mao

    Pennsylvania State University, Tulane University, Physics, Pennsylvania State University, Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA, Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, Penn State University, Physics, Penn State University, The Pennsylvania State University

  • Nasim Alem

    Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, Materials Science and Engineering, Penn State University

  • Abhay Pasupathy

    Columbia University, Physics Department, Columbia University, Columbia Univ, Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA, Physics, Columbia University, Department of Physics, Columbia University

  • Dimitri Basov

    Columbia Univ, Physics, Columbia University