Photoinduced Phase Transition in Infinite-Layer Nickelates

The quantum phase transition caused by regulating the electronic correlation in strongly correlated quantum materials has been a research hotspot in condensed matter science. Herein, a photon-induced quantum phase transition from the Kondo-Mott insulating state to the low temperature metallic one accompanying with the magnetoresistance changing from negative to positive in the infinite-layer NdNiO₂ films is reported, where the antiferromagnetic coupling among the Ni¹⁺ localized spins and the Kondo effect are effectively suppressed by manipulating the correlation of Ni-3d and Nd-5d electrons under the photoirradiation. Moreover, the critical temperature T_c of the superconducting-like transition exhibits a dome-shaped evolution with the maximum up to ≈42 K, and the electrons dominate the transport process proved by the Hall effect measurements. These findings not only make the photoinduction a promising way to control the quantum phase transition by manipulating the electronic correlation in Mott-like insulators, but also shed some light on the possibility of the superconducting in electron-doped nickelates.