Quantum Confinement Induced Metal-Insulator Transition in Strongly Correlated Quantum Wells of SrVO$_3$ Superlattice

TL;DR

This study uses DFT+DMFT to explore how quantum confinement induces a metal-insulator transition in SrVO3 superlattices, revealing the microscopic mechanisms and potential for tuning electron correlations.

Contribution

It demonstrates how quantum confinement affects electron correlations and induces a MIT in SrVO3, providing insights into controlling correlated electronic states.

Findings

Quantum confinement causes a metal-insulator transition in SrVO3 superlattices.

Subband mass enhancement is linked to quantization of V states.

Electron correlation strength can be tuned via quantum confinement.

Abstract

Dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) has been employed in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT+DMFT) to investigate the metal-insulator transition (MIT) of strongly correlated $3d$ electrons due to quantum confinement. We shed new light on the microscopic mechanism of the MIT and previously reported anomalous subband mass enhancement, both of which arise as a direct consequence of the quantization of V $xz(yz)$ states in the SrVO$_3$ layers. We therefore show that quantum confinement can sensitively tune the strength of electron correlations, leading the way to applying such approaches in other correlated materials.