Metal-insulator transition in SrTi$_{\mathrm{1-x}}$V$_{\mathrm{x}}$O$_{3}$ thin films

Epitaxial SrTi$_{\mathrm{1-x}}$V$_{\mathrm{x}}$O$_{3}$ (0 $\le $ x $\le $ 1) thin films with thicknesses of $\sim$ 16 nm were grown on (001)-oriented LSAT substrates using the pulsed electron-beam deposition technique. The transport study revealed a temperature driven metal-insulator transition (MIT) at 95 K for the film with x $=$ 0.67. The films with higher vanadium concentration (x \textgreater 0.67) were metallic, and the electrical resistivity followed the T$^{2}$ law corresponding to a Fermi liquid system. In the insulating region of x \textless 0.67, the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity for the x $=$ 0.5 and 0.33 films can be scaled with Mott's variable range hopping model. The possible mechanism behind the observed MIT might be associated the interplay between electron-electron interactions and disorder-induced localization. The Ti$^{4+}$ ion substitution introduces Anderson-localized states as well as lattice distortions that result in a reduction in the effective 3d bandwidth W.