Epitaxial stabilization of ultra-thin films of EuNiO3

We report on the synthesis of ultra-thin films of highly distorted EuNiO3 (ENO) grown by interrupted pulse laser epitaxy on YAlO3 perovskite (YAP) substrates. Samples were then investigated with reflection high energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy, x-ray diffraction, reciprocal space mapping, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Combined, the measurements revealed the samples exhibited high structural and electronic quality that is of critical importance to the observed electronic and magnetic properties of the rare-earth nickelates. Growth of ultra-thin films of this highly distorted nickelate system in precisely controlled environments provides the ability to thoroughly investigate electronic phases with decoupled metal-to-insulator/charge-order and anti-ferromagnetic transitions.