Spatial Electronic Textures in Rare Earth Nickelate Thin Films

Rare earth nickelates (RENiO₃) exhibit metal-insulator transitions accompanied by the appearance of charge and spin order, at times concurrently. The description of the ground state of these correlated systems is hindered by the existence of multiple competing orders which are generally susceptible to multiple perturbations (strain, defects, disorder), leading to a highly inhomogeneous electronic fabric. Very recently, electron doping has been successfully realized in rare earth RENiO₃ via control of the oxygen stoichiometry. In this talk, I will present recent Raman, photoemission electron microscopy, nano- (resonant) scattering and spectroscopy measurements on both pristine and electron doped RENiO₃ thin films. Our results cast new light on the granular nature of the electronic and magnetic texture of RENiO₃.