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Long-period ordering induced by hydrogen doping in NdNiO3 films on SrTiO3 (001) substrates

Tomoki Deguchi1,*, Takeshi Hara1, Yuta Ishii2, Hao-Bo Li3, Azusa N. Hattori3, Hidekazu Tanaka3, Hajime Sagayama4,†, and Yusuke Wakabayashi1,‡

  • *Contact author: deguchi.tomoki.q6@dc.tohoku.ac.jp
  • †Present address: Nagoya University Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NUSR), Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan.
  • ‡Contact author: wakabayashi@tohoku.ac.jp
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Phys. Rev. B 113, 174113 – Published 18 May, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/gd7h-6967

Abstract

Hydrogen doping offers a versatile method to dynamically control the doping level of metal oxides over a wide range, yet it introduces strong lattice modulation whose structural details have been poorly investigated. Here, we elucidate the hydrogen-induced structural modulation in NdNiO3 thin films using synchrotron x-ray diffraction. While the strain relaxed pristine film exhibits a bulklike 2×2×2 structure, the hydrogen-induced insulating phase adopts a 1×1×2 structure with some incommensurate modulation. Our results provide the first direct experimental evidence for hydrogen-induced formation of a superstructure in rare-earth nickelates.

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Phys. Rev. B 113, 174113– Published 18 May, 2026
  • Received 21 November 2025
  • Revised 6 March 2026
  • Accepted 31 March 2026
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