Nanoscale Enhancement of the Local Optical Conductivity near Cracks in Metallic SrRuO<sub>3</sub> Film.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37094108.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acsnano.2c12333 and PMC identifier 10173690.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Cracking has been recognized as a major obstacle degrading material properties, including structural stability, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity. Recently, there have been several reports on the nanosized cracks (nanocracks), particularly in the insulating oxides. In this work, we comprehensively investigate how nanocracks affect the physical properties of metallic SrRuO<sub>3</sub> (SRO) thin films. We grow SRO/SrTiO<sub>3</sub> (STO) bilayers on KTaO<sub>3</sub> (KTO) (001) substrates, which provide +1.7% tensile strain if the SRO layer is grown epitaxially. However, the SRO/STO bilayers suffer from the generation and propagation of nanocracks, and then, the strain becomes inhomogeneously relaxed. As the thickness increases, the nanocracks in the SRO layer become percolated, and its <i>dc</i> conductivity approaches zero. Notably, we observe an enhancement of the local optical conductivity near the nanocrack region using scanning-type near-field optical microscopy. This enhancement is attributed to the strain relaxation near the nanocracks. Our work indicates that nanocracks can be utilized as promising platforms for investigating local emergent phenomena related to strain effects.