Solid-phase epitaxial synthesis of films with robust metal-insulator transition under atmosphere
Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 095003 – Published 14 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/jgtg-hxsc
Abstract
We report a solid-phase epitaxial approach that overcomes the difficulty of synthesizing films with bulk-like electrical properties. The synthesis method consists of highly reproducible processes in which amorphous precursor films are deposited on substrates at room temperature and subsequently annealed situ in an atmosphere. By optimizing the annealing temperature to , the films exhibited a clear metal–insulator transition (MIT) at approximately 160 K with a resistivity jump of nearly six orders of magnitude. The MIT characteristics are comparable to the MIT properties of stoichiometric bulk and high-quality films grown directly using conventional physical vapor deposition methods. X-ray diffraction measurements confirmed epitaxial growth of the films on isostructural substrates with -, -, and -plane orientations. Our study establishes a reproducible route for synthesizing films with robust MIT characteristics for Mott-transition-based electronic devices.