Strain control of the metal-insulator transition in epitaxial SrCrO$_{3}$ thin films

Abstract: 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.