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Modulation of the electronic states of perovskite SrCrO3 thin films through protonation via low-energy hydrogen plasma implantation approaches

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Abstract

Hydrogenation of transition metal oxides offers a powerful platform to tailor physical functionalities as well as for potential applications in modern electronic technologies. An ideal nondestructive and efficient hydrogen incorporation approach is important for the realistic technological applications. We demonstrate the proton injection on SrCrO3 thin films via an efficient low-energy hydrogen plasma implantation experiments, without destroying the original lattice framework. Hydrogen ions accumulate largely at the interfacial regions with amorphous character which extend about one-third of the total thickness. The HxSrCrO3 (HSCO) thin films appear like exfoliated layers which however retain the fully strained state with distorted perovskite structure. Proton doping induces the change of Cr oxidation state from Cr4+ to Cr3+ in HSCO thin films and a transition from metallic to insulating phase. Our investigations suggest an attractive platform in manipulating the electronic phases in proton-based approaches and may offer a potential peeling off strategy for nanoscale devices through low-energy hydrogen plasma implantation approaches.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the valuable discussion with X. P. Yang and the provision of synchrotron radiation at NSRL. This project was funded by National Natural Science foundation of China (Grant No. 11704317) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2016M602064). We also acknowledge the supports by the Natural Science Foundation of Shenzhen University (Grant No. 827-000198). Epitaxial film growth and characterization were supported by the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science and Engineering under award No. 10122 and was carried out at the W. R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a DOE User Facility sponsored by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research at PNNL, a multi-program national laboratory operated for DOE by Battelle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Semiconductors and Applications, Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Semiconductors and Efficient Devices, Department of Physics, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Meng Wu, Jin-Cheng Zheng & Hui-Qiong Wang

  2. Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Shanquan Chen & Chuanwei Huang

  3. School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China

    Xing Ye & Haiping Zhou

  4. State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Xiaochun Huang & Kelvin H. L. Zhang

  5. National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230029, China

    Wensheng Yan

  6. Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973-5000, USA

    Lihua Zhang & Kisslinger Kim

  7. Physical Sciences Division, Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    Yingge Du & Scott Chambers

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  1. Meng Wu
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  2. Shanquan Chen
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  3. Chuanwei Huang
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  7. Kelvin H. L. Zhang
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  9. Lihua Zhang
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  11. Yingge Du
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  12. Scott Chambers
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Correspondence to Chuanwei Huang, Kelvin H. L. Zhang or Hui-Qiong Wang.

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Wu, M., Chen, S., Huang, C. et al. Modulation of the electronic states of perovskite SrCrO3 thin films through protonation via low-energy hydrogen plasma implantation approaches. Front. Phys. 15, 13601 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-019-0923-2

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