查看文章

We report the strain state and transport properties of V 2 O 3 layers and V 2 O 3/Cr 2 O 3 bilayers deposited by molecular beam epitaxy on (0001)-Al 2 O 3. By changing the layer on top of which V 2 O 3 is grown, we change the lattice parameters of ultrathin V 2 O 3 films significantly. We find that the metal-insulator transition is strongly attenuated in ultrathin V 2 O 3 layers grown coherently on Al 2 O 3. This is in contrast with ultrathin V 2 O 3 layers grown on Cr 2 O 3 buffer layers, where the metal-insulator transition is preserved. Our results provide evidence that the existence of the transition in ultrathin films is closely linked with the lattice deformation.