Pulsed-laser deposition was used to make thin films of NdNiO3 on a variety
of substrates. The films were found to be single phase perovskite in all ca
ses. However, the transport behavior varied strongly as a function of the s
ubstrate used: the films were semiconducting on MgO, but showed a metal-sem
iconductor phase transition on SrTiO3 and NdGaO3. The best electrical-switc
hing properties corresponded to films grown on NdGaO3, with the resistivity
changing abruptly by more than two orders of magnitude at T(MI)similar to
185 K. Very thin films (similar to 35 nm) were also grown on NdGaO3 substra
tes to investigate the epitaxial strain effect on the transition. It appear
s that biaxial tensile strain stabilizes the high temperature metallic phas
e, thus lowering T-MI. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021- 8979
(99)05424-9].