Metal-insulator transition induced in SrTi_{1-x}V_xO_3 thin films

Epitaxial SrTi1-xVxO3 thin films with thicknesses of ~16 nm were grown on (001)-oriented LSAT substrates using the pulsed electron-beam deposition technique. The transport study revealed a temperature driven metal-insulator transition (MIT) at 95 K for the film with x = 0.67. The films with higher vanadium concentration (x > 0.67) were metallic, and the electrical resistivity followed the T^2 law corresponding to a Fermi liquid system. In the insulating region of x < 0.67, the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity for the x = 0.5 and 0.33 films can be scaled with the variable range hopping model. The possible mechanisms behind the observed MIT were discussed, including the effects of electron correlation, lattice distortion and Anderson localization.

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