Engineering new electronic and structural phases by combining complex materials into heterostructures is a task taken on with widespread enthusiasm around the world. Amongst others, heterostructures comprising 113-rare-earth nickelates RNiO 3 (RNO), where R is any rare earth metal in the Lanthanum line, have become very popular. In the bulk, the RNO family of materials display a phase diagram which reflects the complexity of TMOs. It has several electronic phases which are accessible by small structural changes. In this chapter, we will review some of the most relevant aspects of the RNO family, spanning research done over more than a decade. In the end of this summary, we will outline theories of how the ground state of these materials can be described, motivating the study of this Ph.D. In the experimental part, we will present evidence of a novel kind of magnetic order in LaNiO 3 (LNO)based superlattices (SLs), as well as in RNO films grown under epitaxial strain, using RSXS. We will attempt in the discussion to connect these findings to a spin density wave (SDW) instability in the FS of these materials.
Properties of Bulk RNOTo summarize the properties of 113 rare-earth nickelate family, the following section was collected from body of literature developed between 1992 to the present, including most prominently Refs. [1-5].
Electronic Configuration and the Torrance Phase DiagramWe begin the discussion of the properties of bulk RNO with a brief description of the its electronic configuration shown in Fig. 3.1(left). Formally, the Ni 3+ ion inside a perovskite building block is in a 3d 7 valence electron configuration. The lowerlying t 2g -levels are all full with six antiparallel electrons. This leaves one electron A.