Sign reversal of magnetoresistance in a perovskite nickelate by electron doping

Abstract

We present low temperature resistivity and magnetotransport measurements conducted on pristine and electron doped SmNiO3 (SNO). The low temperature transport in both pristine and electron-doped SNO shows a Mott variable range hopping with a substantial decrease in localization length of carriers by one order in the case of doped samples. Undoped SNO films show a negative magnetoresistance (MR) at all temperatures characterized by spin fluctuations with the evolution of a positive cusp at low temperatures. In striking contrast, upon electron doping of the films via hydrogenation, we observe a crossover to a linear nonsaturating positive MR∼0.2% at 50 K. The results signify the role of localization phenomena in tuning the magnetotransport response in doped nickelates. Ionic doping is therefore a promising approach to tune magnetotransport in correlated perovskites.