摘要
Strain engineering serves as an effective approach for tuning the properties of transition metal oxides and their heterostructures. However, conventional epitaxial approaches are fundamentally constrained by the limited choice of substrates, which restricts the ability to achieve continuous strain modulation. The emergence of freestanding oxide thin films has significantly expanded the scope of strain manipulation, allowing the application of larger tensile strains and the induction of novel functionalities. Nevertheless, current freestanding film technologies face a critical limitation: strain modulation has so far been confined to tensile strain, while the application of compressive strain remains inaccessible. To overcome this challenge, we designed a symmetric tri-layer structure composed of clamping layer/nickelate/clamping layer, which enables modulation of the metal-insulator transition in freestanding Nd NiO_(3) and La NiO_(3) thin films under both tensile and compressive strain. This clamping-layermediated strain engineering approach can be readily generalized to other freestanding oxide systems, providing a versatile platform for manipulating the physical properties of freestanding thin films.
基金
supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.2023YFA1406404)
the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.12504152,52572144,12374094,and 12074365)
China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No.2024M763130)
the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation-Anhui joint Support Program (Grant No.2024T007AH)
the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.WK9990000158)
Chinese Academy of Sciences Project for Young Scientists in Basic Research(Grant No.YSBR-084)
Innovation Program for Quantum Science and Technology (Grant No.2024ZD0301300)
Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Grant No.2308085MA15)。
