Evidence of the metal-insulator transition in ultrathin unstrained V2O3 thin films

We report the strain state and transport properties of V2O3 layers and V2O3/Cr2O3 bilayers deposited by molecular beam epitaxy on (0001)-Al2O3. By changing the layer on top of which V2O3 is grown, we change the lattice parameters of ultrathin V2O3 films significantly. We find that the metal-insulator transition is strongly attenuated in ultrathin V2O3 layers grown coherently on Al2O3. This is in contrast with ultrathin V2O3 layers grown on Cr2O3 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.