Strain control of the metal-insulator transition in epitaxial SrCrO${}_3$ thin films

In the perovskite oxide SrCrO${}_3$ the interplay between crystal structure, strain and orbital ordering enables a transition from a metallic to an insulating electronic structure under certain conditions. We identified a narrow window of oxygen partial pressure in which highly strained SrCrO${}_3$ thin films can be grown using radio-frequency (RF) off-axis magnetron sputtering on three different substrates, (LaAlO${}_3$)${}_{0.3}$-(Sr${}_2$TaAlO${}_6$)${}_{0.7}$ (LSAT), SrTiO${}_3$ (STO) and DyScO${}_3$ (DSO). X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy confirmed the quality of the films and a metal-insulator transition driven by the substrate induced strain was demonstrated.