Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter

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Scaling like behaviour of resistivity observed in
LaNiO3 thin films grown on SrTiO3 substrate by
pulsed laser deposition
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https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/27/48/485307
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1143/JJAP.41.6877
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http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/39/11/019
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/39/11/019
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/46/6/065307
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http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/46/6/065307
http://iopscience.iop.org/0953-8984/30/37/375701
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http://iopscience.iop.org/0953-8984/30/37/375701
http://iopscience.iop.org/0953-8984/30/37/375701
http://iopscience.iop.org/0953-8984/30/37/375701
http://iopscience.iop.org/0953-8984/30/37/375701
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.07.155
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.07.155
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.07.155
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1 © 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK

1. Introduction

Recently, ferroelectric thin films have rekindled discussion 
about their potential applications in non-volatile random 
memory and microsensors devices [1–4]. Of special interest 
are LaNiO3 (LNO) based materials [5, 6] which exhibit prop-
erties quite different from the other members of the nickelates 
family RNiO3 (R being a rare-earth element). Namely, LNO 
does not undergo a metal-insulator transition (MIT) from 
paramagnetic metal to antiferromagnetic insulator. Recall 
that LNO has the perovskite structure with the pseudo-cubic  
lattice parameter a  =  0.38 nm and when it is manufactured in 
the form of thin films it has a rather good compatibility with 
oxide substrates typically used for deposition, such as SrTiO3 
(STO) and LaAlO3 (LAO), important for applications in fer-
roelectric FE-RAM.

Based on the substrate properties and intrinsically induced 
strain in film/substrate heterostructure, it was found [7–10] 
that magnetic and transport characteristics of deposited LNO 

films could be drastically changed. More specifically, a par-
tial suppression of the charge ordering (responsible for MIT 
in nickelates) can be achieved by simply changing the film 
thickness which leads to formation of a principally new mag-
netic structure, the so-called pure spin-density wave (SDW) 
material, exhibiting properties of an antiferromagnetic metal  
[11–16] (with Neel temperatures   < <T50 K 100N  K). Besides, 
an important influence of both composition and strain on the 
electrical properties of LNO thin films has been reported [17].

This work reports on the successful preparation, char-
acterization and transport measurements of highly (l00)-
oriented LNO thin films grown on oriented STO substrates 
by using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. All the 
obtained resistivity data (as a function of temperature and film  
thickness) for three different films are found to collapse into 
a universal curve, exhibiting a scaling like behaviour domi-
nated by conduction electrons scattering on spin fluctuations  
(supported by formation of SDW within heterostructure inter-
face) for the entire temperature interval.

Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter

Scaling like behaviour of resistivity 
observed in LaNiO3 thin films grown on 
SrTiO3 substrate by pulsed laser deposition

S Sergeenkov1,2, L Cichetto Jr2,3,4, M Zampieri3, E Longo3,4  
and F M Araújo-Moreira2

1 Departamento de Física, CCEN, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58051-970 João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
2 Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 13565-905 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
3 LIEC: Department of Chemistry, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 13565-905 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
4 Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual Paulista: Unesp, 14801-907 Araraquara, SP, Brazil

E-mail: sergei@df.ufscar.br

Received 3 September 2015, revised 18 October 2015
Accepted for publication 29 October 2015
Published 16 November 2015

Abstract
We discuss the origin of the temperature dependence of resistivity ρ observed in highly 
oriented LaNiO3 thin films grown on SrTiO3 substrate by a pulsed laser deposition 
technique. All the experimental data are found to collapse into a single universal curve 

( ) [ ( )]ρ ∝T d T T d, / sf
3/2 for the entire temperature interval (   < <T20 K 300 K) with ( )T dsf  being 

the onset temperature for triggering a resonant scattering of conduction electrons by spin 
fluctuations in LaNiO3/SrTiO3 heterostructure.

Keywords: nickelates, thin films, resistivity, spin fluctuations, scaling

(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

S Sergeenkov et al

Scaling behavior of resistivity in LaNiO3 thin films grown on SrTiO3

Printed in the UK

485307

JCOMEL

© 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd

2015

27

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter

CM

0953-8984

10.1088/0953-8984/27/48/485307

Papers

48

Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter

IOP

0953-8984/15/485307+5$33.00

doi:10.1088/0953-8984/27/48/485307J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 27 (2015) 485307 (5pp)

mailto:sergei@df.ufscar.br
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S Sergeenkov et al

2

2. Experimental methods

In order to provide high quality samples (with atomically 
smooth surfaces compatible with that of the target at a wide 
range of oxygen pressure), PLD technique was used to 
deposit thin films of LNO on ( )1 0 0  oriented STO substrate 
with typical dimensions of × ×5 5 0.5 mm3. Laser wave-
length and repetition rate were λ = 248 nm (KrF laser with 
25 ns pulse duration) and f  =  2 Hz, respectively. The laser 
energy was maintained constant during the deposition and the 
beam was focused on the ceramic targets by a quartz lens to a  
fluency of around 1.2 J cm−2for all the samples. During abla-
tion, the target was rotated (20 rpm) in order to reduce non 
uniform erosion and to get the films as homogeneous as pos-
sible. The heater power was monitored by a computer during 
the increase and decrease of the temperature. The temperature 
during deposition was measured by a thermocouple in contact 
with the heater and the bottom (back side) of the substrate. 
The substrate was placed parallel to the target and the distance 
between them was around 4.8 cm which was the best distance 
found due to the length of the plume. Before deposition, the 
base pressure of ⩽ −P 10base

7 mbar was applied and then the 
substrates were heated at 800 °C for 20 min to get a carbon 
free and high crystalline surface. Deposition temperature for 
all films was defined as T  =  625 °C under a flowing oxygen 
pressure of =P 0.22dep  mbar maintained by a computerized 
mass flow controller to 80.0 SCCM (standard cubic centi-
metres per minute). After the deposition, the samples were  
in situ annealed at the same temperature for 1 h under 500 
mbar oxygen pressure to improve the quality of films and 
decrease the oxygen vacancy. The dense and crack-free LNO 
ceramic circular target with diameter of 5 cm and thickness 
of 1.25 cm was prepared from highly pure polymeric pre-
cursors by Pechini method [18] using La2(CO3) ×H3 2O 
(99.9% Aldrich) and Ni(OCOCH3) × 4H O2 2  (98% Aldrich). 
Calcination and sintering were performed in the air at 900 °C 
for 4 h and at 1200 °C for 6 h, respectively. The target was pol-
ished after every film deposition to ensure comparable deposi-
tion conditions, especially the deposition rate. After that, the 
pre-ablation process was carried out for 30s to prevent the 
deposition of the weakly bonded particles.

The electrical resistivity ( )ρ T  was measured using the 
conventional four-probe method. To avoid Joule and Peltier 
effects, a dc current I  =  100 μA was injected (as a one second 
pulse) successively on both sides of the sample. The voltage 
drop V across the sample was measured with high accuracy by 
a KT 256 nanovoltmeter.

3. Results and discussion

Microstructure and crystallographic orientation of the films 
were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) scans. The 
surface morphology was studied by atomic force micros-
copy (AFM) and films thickness was confirmed by using 
field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FEG SEM). 
Typical XRD spectra and FEG SEM images for the thickest 

LNO films deposited on STO substrate are shown in figures 1  
and 2, respectively. AFM scans of LNO/STO hybrid structures 
(for three LNO films with thickness of d  =  26 nm, 33 nm, and 
46 nm) are depicted in figure 3. Figure 4 shows the deduced 
from AFM scans relation between film thickness d and the 
grain size Rg. The results show that for the thinnest films this 
relation is practically linear. Figure 5 shows the typical results 
for the temperature dependence of the resistivity ( )ρ T  in our 
LaNiO3/SrTiO3 thin films heterostructure.

Given the above discussion on appearance of magnetic 
order in LNO/STO hybrid structure, it is quite reasonable to 
assume that the observed temperature behaviour of resistivity 
can be attributed to the manifestation of strong long-range 
spin fluctuations with a characteristic energy ω �� k Tsf B sf 
corresponding to low-energy spin dynamics spectrum meas-
ured by inelastic neutron scattering experiments. It should be 
pointed out that a rather significant scattering of conduction 
electrons by spin fluctuations is well documented for many 
different materials, see, e.g. [19–26] and further references 
therein. Recently, we suggested a simple phenomenolog-
ical model based on the resonant like features of SDW type 
spectrum which result in the observed universal temperature 
dependence of the resistivity, see [27] for more discussion.

Figure 1. Typical XRD spectrum of LNO films deposited on 
oriented STO substrate.

Figure 2. Typical FEG SEM image of LNO films deposited on 
oriented STO substrate.

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 27 (2015) 485307



S Sergeenkov et al

3

( )
⎛
⎝
⎜

⎞
⎠
⎟ρ ρ ρ= +T

T

Tr 0
sf

3/2

 (1)

where ρr is the total residual resistivity and Tsf is the onset 
temperature at which spin fluctuations begin to dominate the 
scattering process in our thin films heterostructure.

Figure 6 shows the best fit of the resistivity data for the 
thickest film (with d  =  46 nm) according to equation (1) with 
ρ = 49r  µΩcm, ρ = 0.340  µΩcm and =T 21.5sf  K. The latter 
corresponds to ω = �� k T 2sf B sf  meV in the inelastic neutron 
scattering spectrum due to antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations 

[21, 27]. Now, using equation (1), we can deduce the depend-
ence of the residual resistivity ( )ρ dr  and of the onset spin-fluc-
tuation temperature ( )T dsf  on film thickness d. The obtained 

Figure 3. AFM surface scans for LNO films of different thickness d 
deposited on oriented STO substrate: (a) d  =  26 nm, (b) d  =  33 nm, 
and (c) d  =  46 nm.

Figure 4. Deduced from AFM scans relation between film 
thickness d and the grain size Rg.

Figure 5. Temperature dependence of the resistivity ( )ρ T  measured 
for three LNO thin films deposited on oriented STO substrate.

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 27 (2015) 485307



S Sergeenkov et al

4

results are presented in figures 7 and 8, respectively. Recall 
that within the free electron gas model, ( )ρ dr  is related to 
the electron density ne as ( ) ( )ρ ∝d n d1/r e . Thus, expectedly, 
according to figure  7, the electron density increases with 
increasing the film thickness. On the other hand, according 

to figure 8, the thinner is the film, the lower is the spin fluc-
tuations onset temperature triggering the scattering processes 
in our films. Based on the deduced information about ( )ρ dr  
and ( )T dsf , we are able now to fit all the data for all the films 
by assuming a simple scaling like temperature behaviour of 
the normalized resistivity ( ) ( )ρ ρ∆ T d d, / r  as a function of the 
reduced temperature T/T0(d) where

( ) ( ) ( )ρ ρ ρ∆ = −T d T d d, , r (2)

and

( )
( )

( )
⎡

⎣
⎢

⎤

⎦
⎥

ρ
ρ

=T d
d

T dr
0

0

2/3

sf (3)

Figure 9 is the main result of this paper. As we can see, all 
the data points (for all temperatures and all films) collapse 
nicely into a single line fitted (solid line) by equations (1)–(3).

And finally, to justify the universality of the observed T 3/2 
behaviour over the entire measured temperatures, it was sug-
gested [20, 27] that the resonant scattering of conducting 
electrons by intraband spin fluctuations replenishes the elec-
tron distribution (depleted by interband inelastic scattering) 
while having a little effect on the current, thus making intra-
band scattering mechanism responsible for the robustness of 
the T 3/2 behaviour in intrinsically strained thin films based 
heterostructure.

4. Conclusion

In summary, by analysing the temperature dependence of 
the resistivity for three different LaNiO3 thin films grown 

Figure 6. The best fit of the experimental data for the thickest film 
(d  =  46 nm) according to equation (1).

Figure 7. Deduced thickness film d dependence of the residual 
resistivity ( )ρ dr  for three LNO thin films deposited on oriented 
STO.

Figure 8. Deduced thickness film d dependence of the onset spin-
fluctuation temperature ( )T dsf  for three LNO thin films deposited on 
oriented STO.

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 27 (2015) 485307



S Sergeenkov et al

5

on oriented SrTiO3 substrate (using a pulsed laser deposition 
technique) we were able to successfully fit all the experi-
mental data by assuming a universal film thickness dependent 
scaling like law dominated by resonant scattering of con-
ducting electrons on spin fluctuations supported by spin-
density wave propagation through the interface boundary of 
LaNiO3/SrTiO3 heterostructure.

Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to H Kamimura and R C Gouveia from 
NanO LaB for their help with resistivity measurements. We 
would like to thank LMA-IQ for allowing us to use FEG-SEM 
facilities. This work was financially supported by Brazilian 
agencies FAPESQ (DCR-PB), FAPESP and CNPq. We are 
very thankful to FAPESP (CEPID CDMF 2013/07296-2 

and 2014/01371-5) for continuous support of our project on 
nickelates.

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Figure 9. Scaling like behaviour of the normalized resistivity 
( ) ( )ρ ρ∆ T d d, / r  as a function of temperature T and film thickness d 

for all three films shown in figure 5.

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 27 (2015) 485307

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