A foundation for complex oxide electronics -low temperature perovskite epitaxy

As traditional silicon technology is moving fast towards its fundamental limits, all-oxide electronics is emerging as a challenger offering principally different electronic behavior and switching mechanisms. This technology can be utilized to fabricate devices with enhanced and exotic functionality. One of the challenges for integration of complex oxides in electronics is the availability of appreciable low-temperature synthesis routes. Herein we provide a fundamental extension of the materials toolbox for oxide electronics by reporting a facile route for deposition of highly electrically conductive thin films of LaNiO₃ by atomic layer deposition at low temperatures. The films grow epitaxial on SrTiO₃ and LaAlO₃ as deposited at 225 °C, with no annealing required to obtain the attractive electronic properties. The films exhibit resistivity below 100 µΩ cm with carrier densities as high as 3.6 · 10²² cm^-3. This marks an important step in the realization of all-oxide electronics for emerging technological devices.