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 YAlO ₃ 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.