We present a comprehensive numerical study on the kinetics of phase transition that is characterized by two non-conserved scalar order parameters coupled by a special linear-quadratic interaction. This particular Ginzburg-Landau theory has been proposed to describe the coupled charge- and magnetic transition in nickelates and the collinear stripe phase in cuprates. The inhomogeneous state of such systems at low temperatures consists of magnetic domains separated by quasi-metallic domain-walls where the charge-order is reduced. By performing large-scale cell dynamics simulations, we find a two-stage phase-ordering process in which a short period of independent evolution of the two order parameters is followed by a correlated coarsening process. The long-time growth and coarsening of magnetic domains is shown to follow the Allen-Cahn power law. We further show that the nucleation-and-growth dynamics during phase transformation to the ordered states is well described by the Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami theory in two dimensions. On the other hand, the presence of quasi-metallic magnetic domain walls in the ordered states gives rise to a very different kinetics for phase transition to the high temperature paramagnetic phase. In this new scenario, the phase transformation is initiated by the decay of magnetic domain walls into two insulator-metal boundaries, which subsequently move away from each other. Implications of our findings to recent nano-imaging experiments on nickelates are also discussed.
We present a systematic study of the electronic structure of several prototypical correlated transition-metal oxides: VO2, V2O3, Ti2O3, LaTiO3, and YTiO3. In all these materials, in the low-temperature insulating phases the local and semilocal density approximations (LDA and GGA) of density-functional theory yield a metallic Kohn-Sham band structure. Here we show that, without invoking strong-correlation effects, the role of non-local exchange is essential to cure the LDA/GGA delocalization error and provide a band-structure description of the electronic properties in qualitative agreement wit…
A new minimal model is constructed for the doped manganese oxides which exhibit colossal magnetoresistance (CMR), involving broad spin-majority conduction band as well as nearly localised spin-minority electron states. A simple mean field analysis yields a temperature-dependent hybridised band structure with suppressed carrier weight at the Fermi level. Spin stiffness is complex, indicating unusually strong spin wave damping. Experimental and theoretical investigations are needed to further verify the relevance of the proposed model.
Correlated oxide heterostructures pose a challenging problem in condensed matter research due to their structural complexity interweaved with demanding electron states beyond the effective single-particle picture. By exploring the correlated electronic structure of SmTiO$_3$ doped with few layers of SrO, we provide an insight into the complexity of such systems. Furthermore, it is shown how the advanced combination of band theory on the level of Kohn-Sham density functional theory with explicit many-body theory on the level of dynamical mean-field theory provides an adequate tool to cope with …
We present transport and thermal data for the quadruple-perovskites MCu3(Ti1-xRux)4O12 where 0 < x < 1. A metal-insulator transition (MIT) occurs for Ru concentrations x~0.75. At the same time, the Cu2+ antiferromagnetic state is destroyed and it's magnetic entropy suppressed by Ru on a 1:1 basis. This implies that each Ru transfers an electron to a Cu ion and thus the MIT correlates with filling the Cu 3d shell. The Cu spin entropy in this strongly correlated electron material provides a unique probe among MIT systems.
Manipulating the orbital occupation of valence electrons via epitaxial strain in an effort to induce new functional properties requires considerations of how changes in the local bonding environment affect the band structure at the Fermi level. Using synchrotron radiation to measure the x-ray linear dichroism of epitaxially strained films of the correlated oxide CaFeO3, we demonstrate that the orbital polarization of the Fe valence electrons is opposite from conventional understanding. Although the energetic ordering of the Fe 3d orbitals is confirmed by multiplet ligand field theory analysis …
Oxide heterointerfaces are ideal for investigating strong correlation effects to electron transport, relevant for oxide-electronics. Using hot-electrons, we probe electron transport perpendicular to the La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$ (LSMO)- Nb-doped SrTiO$_3$ (Nb:STO) interface and find the characteristic hot-electron attenuation length in LSMO to be 1.48 $\pm$ 0.10 unit cells (u.c.) at -1.9 V, increasing to 2.02 $\pm$ 0.16 u.c. at -1.3 V at room temperature. Theoretical analysis of this energy dispersion reveals the dominance of electron-electron and polaron scattering. Direct visualization o…
We describe an ab initio theory of finite temperature magnetism in strongly-correlated electron systems. The formalism is based on spin density functional theory, with a self-interaction corrected local spin density approximation (SIC-LSDA). The self-interaction correction is implemented locally, within the KKR multiple-scattering method. Thermally induced magnetic fluctuations are treated using a mean-field `disordered local moment' (DLM) approach and at no stage is there a fitting to an effective Heisenberg model. We apply the theory to the 3d transition metal oxides, where our calculations …
An explicit expression for the Kadowaki-Woods ratio in correlated metals is derived by invoking saturation of the (high-frequency) Fermi-liquid scattering rate at the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit. Significant deviations observed in a number of oxides are quantitatively explained due to variations in carrier density, dimensionality, unit cell volume and the number of individual sheets in the Brillouin zone. A generic re-scaling of the original Kadowaki-Woods plot is also presented.
Materials with strong electronic Coulomb interactions play an increasing role in modern materials applications. "Thermochromic" systems, which exhibit thermally induced changes in their optical response, provide a particularly interesting case. The optical switching associated with the metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide (VO2), for example, has been proposed for use in "intelligent" windows, which selectively filter radiative heat in hot weather conditions. In this work, we develop the theoretical tools for describing such a behavior. Using a novel scheme for the calculation of the …
Using an effective one-band Hubbard model with disorder, we consider magnetic states of the correlated oxide interfaces, where effective hole self-doping and a magnetially ordered state emerge due to electronic and ionic reconstructions. By employing the coherent potential approximation, we analyze the effect of random oxygen vacancies on the two-dimensional magnetism. We find that the random vacancies enhance the ferromagnetically ordered state and stabilize a robust magnetization above a critical vacancy concentration of about c=0.1. In the strong-correlated regime, we also obtain a nonmonot…
Using the example of Zn-doped La2CuO4, we demonstrate that a spinless impurity doped into a non-frustrated antiferromagnet can induce substantial frustrating interactions among the spins surrounding it. This counterintuitive result is the key to resolving discrepancies between experimental data and earlier theories. Analytic and quantum Monte Carlo studies of the impurity-induced frustration are in a close accord with each other and experiments. The mechanism proposed here should be common to other correlated oxides as well.
Using resonant X-ray spectroscopies combined with density functional calculations, we find an asymmetric bi-axial strain-induced $d$-orbital response in ultra-thin films of the correlated metal LaNiO$_3$ which are not accessible in the bulk. The sign of the misfit strain governs the stability of an octahedral "breathing" distortion, which, in turn, produces an emergent charge-ordered ground state with an altered ligand-hole density and bond covalency. Control of this new mechanism opens a pathway to rational orbital engineering, providing a platform for artificially designed Mott materials.
We have systematically investigated substrate-strain effects on the electronic structures of two representative Sr-iridates, a correlated-insulator Sr$_2$IrO$_4$ and a metal SrIrO$_3$. Optical conductivities obtained by the \emph{ab initio} electronic structure calculations reveal that the tensile strain shifts the optical peak positions to higher energy side with altered intensities, suggesting the enhancement of the electronic correlation and spin-orbit coupling (SOC) strength in Sr-iridates. The response of the electronic structure upon tensile strain is found to be highly correlated with t…
Signatures of symmetry-stabilized Dirac fermions in correlated oxide CaNbO3 thin films
Oak Ridge National Laboratory(橡树岭国家实验室);Kyung Hee University(庆熙大学);Pusan National University(釜山国立大学);Florida State University(佛罗里达州立大学);Los Alamos National Laboratory(洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室);Argonne National Laboratory(阿贡国家实验室);Gachon University(嘉泉大学)
Oxide heterostructures and superlattices have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years owing to the rich exotic properties encountered at their interfaces. We focus on the potential of tunable correlated oxides by investigating the spectral function of the prototypical correlated metal SrVO3, using soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering (RIXS) to access both unoccupied and occupied electronic states, respectively. We demonstrate a remarkable level of tunability in the spectral function of SrVO3 by varying its thickness within the SrVO3/…
The x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), developed in these last 40 years using synchrotron radiation, is a unique tool probing electronic correlations in complex systems via quantum many body final state effects. Multi electron excitations have been observed first in the sixties in x-ray absorption spectra of atoms and later in molecules and solids. The applications of XANES many body final states to probe unique features of electronic correlation in heavy fermions, mixed valence systems, mixed valence oxides and high temperature superconductors are discussed.
The search for materials with novel and unusual electronic properties is at the heart of condensed matter physics as well as the basis to develop conceptual new technologies. In this context, the correlated honeycomb transition metal oxides attract large attention for both, being a possible experimental realization of the theoretically predicted magnetic Kitaev exchange and the theoretical prospect of topological nontriviality. The Mott insulating sodium iridate is prototypical among these materials with the promising prospect to bridge the field of strongly correlated systems with topology, f…
We report infrared spectroscopic properties of the strongly correlated layered cobalt oxide [BiBa$_{0.66}$K$_{0.36}$O$_2$]CoO$_2$. These measurements performed on single crystals allow us to determine the optical conductivity as a function of temperature. In addition to a large temperature dependent transfer of spectral weight, an unconventional low energy mode is found. We show that both its frequency and damping scale as the temperature itself. In fact, a basic analysis demonstrates that this mode fully scales onto a function of $ω$/T up to room temperature. This behavior suggests low energy…
Electron-phonon origins of unconventional resistivity in moderately correlated perovskite oxides
Center for Computational Quantum Physics, Flatiron Institute(Flatiron研究所计算量子物理中心);Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Cologne(科隆大学理论物理研究所);Collège de France(法兰西公学院);CPHT, CNRS, École Polytechnique, IP Paris(巴黎综合理工学院CNRS CPHT中心);DQMP, Université de Genève(日内瓦大学DQMP);Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University(石溪大学物理与天文学系)
Multiterminal measurements have typically been employed to examine electronic properties of strongly correlated electronic materials such as transition metal oxides without the influence of contact effects. In contrast, in this work we investigate the interface properties of Fe$_3$O$_4$ with different metals, with the contact effects providing a window on the physics at work in the correlated oxide. Contact resistances are determined by means of four-terminal electrical measurements as a function of source voltage and temperature. Contact resistances vary systematically with the work function …
We have investigated the spin dynamics in the strongly correlated chain copper oxide SrCuO$_2$ for energies up to $\gtrsim 0.6$ eV using inelastic neutron scattering. We observe an acoustic band of magnetic excitations which is well described by the "Muller-ansatz" for the two-spinon continuum in the S=1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chain. The lower boundary of the continuum extends up to $\approx 360$ meV, which corresponds to an exchange constant $J = 226(12)$ meV. Our finding that an effective Heisenberg spin Hamlitonian adequately describes the spin sector of this 1D electron system…
We report on susceptibility measurements in the strongly correlated layered cobalt oxide [BiBa0.66K0.36O2]CoO2, which demonstrate the existence of a magnetic quantum critical point (QCP) governing the electronic properties. The investigated low frequency susceptibility displays a scaling behavior with both the temperature T and the magnetic field B ranging from the high-T non-Fermi liquid down to the low-T Fermi liquid. Whereas the inferred scaling form can be discussed within the standard framework of the quantum critical phenomena, the determined critical exponents suggest an unconventional …
The collective behavior of correlated electrons in the VO$_2-$interface layer of LaVO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ heterostructure is studied within a quarter-filled $t_{2g}$-orbital Hubbard model on a square lattice. We argue that the ground state is ferromagnetic driven by the double exchange mechanism, and is orbitally and charge ordered due to a confined geometry and electron correlations. The orbital and charge density waves open gaps on the entire Fermi surfaces of all orbitals. The theory explains the observed insulating behavior of the $p$-type interface between LaVO$_3$ and SrTiO$_3$.
We describe the ground- and excited-state electronic structure of bulk MnO and NiO, two prototypical correlated electron materials, using coupled cluster theory with single and double excitations (CCSD). As a corollary, this work also reports the first implementation of unrestricted periodic ab initio equation-of motion CCSD. Starting from a Hartree-Fock reference, we find fundamental gaps of 3.46 eV and 4.83 eV for MnO and NiO respectively for the 16 unit supercell, slightly overestimated compared to experiment, although finite-size scaling suggests that the gap is more severely overestimated…
Correlated electrons in transition metal oxides (TMOs) exhibit a variety of emergent phases. When TMOs are confined to a single-atomic-layer thickness, experiments so far have shown that they usually lose diverse properties and become insulators. In an attempt to extend the range of electronic phases of the single-atomic-layer oxide, we search for a metallic phase in a monolayer-thick epitaxial SrRuO$_3$ film. Combining atomic-scale epitaxy and angle-resolved photoemission measurements, we show that the monolayer SrRuO$_3$ is a strongly correlated metal. Systematic investigation reveals that t…
V2O3 thin films about 10 nm thick were grown on Al2O3 (0001) by pulsed laser deposition. The XRD analysis is in agreement with R-3c space group. Some of them exhibit the metal / insulator transition characteristic of V2O3 bulk material and others samples exhibit a metallic behavior. For the latter, the XPS analysis indicates an oxidation state of +III for vanadium. There is no metal / insulator transition around 150 K in this sample and a strongly correlated Fermi liquid rho = AT2 behavior of the resistivity at low temperature is observed, with a value of A of 1.2 10-4 ohm cm, 3 times larger t…
We studied the nano-scale structure of the short-range incommensurate magnetic order in La1.5Sr0.5CoO4 by elastic neutron scattering. We find that magnetic diffuse scattering is isotropic in the a-b plane, in contrast with the naive expectation based on the popular stripe model. Indeed, charge segregation into lines favoring certain lattice direction(s) would facilitate linear stacking faults in an otherwise robust antiferromagnetism of un-doped material, leading to anisotropic disorder, with a characteristic symmetry pattern present in the neutron scattering data.
We investigate the magnetic properties of archetypal transition-metal oxides MnO, FeO, CoO and NiO under very high pressure by x-ray emission spectroscopy at the Kβline. We observe a strong modification of the magnetism in the megabar range in all the samples except NiO. The results are analyzed within a multiplet approach including charge-transfer effects. The pressure dependence of the emission line is well accounted for by changes of the ligand field acting on the d electrons and allows us to extract parameters like local d-hybridization strength, O-2p bandwidth and ionic crystal field acro…
We have performed both in-plane resistivity, Hall effect and specific heat measurements on the thermoelectric cobalt oxide Ca$_{3}$Co$_{4}$O$_{9}$. Four distinct transport regimes are found as a function of temperature, corresponding to a low temperature insulating one up to $T_{min}\approx $63 K, a strongly correlated Fermi liquid up to $T^*\approx $140 K, with $ρ=ρ_0+AT^2$ and $A\approx 3.63$ $10^{-2} μΩcm/K^{2}$, followed by an incoherent metal with $k_Fl\leq 1$ and a high temperature insulator above T$^{**}\approx $510 K . Specific heat Sommerfeld coefficient $γ= 93$ mJ/(mol.K$^{2}$) confi…
We highlight recent advances in the theory, materials fabrication, and experimental characterization of strongly correlated and topological states in [111] oriented transition metal oxide thin films and heterostructures, which are notoriously difficult to realize compared to their [001] oriented counterparts. We focus on two classes of complex oxides, with the chemical formula ABO3 and A2B2O7, where the B sites are occupied by an open-shell transition metal ion with a local moment, and the A sites are typically a rare earth. The [111] oriented quasi-two-dimensional lattices derived from these …
Obtaining accurate band structures of correlated solids has been one of the most important and challenging problems in first-principles electronic structure calculation. There have been promising recent active developments of wave function theory for condensed matter, but its application to band-structure calculation remains computationally expensive. In this Letter, we report the first application of the biorthogonal transcorrelated (BiTC) method: self-consistent, free from adjustable parameters, and systematically improvable many-body wave function theory, to solid-state calculations with d …
We investigated size effects on thermoelectricity in thin films of a strongly correlated layered cobaltate. At room temperature, the thermopower is independent of thickness down to 6 nm. This unusual behavior is inconsistent with the Fuchs-Sondheimer theory, which is used to describe conventional metals and semiconductors, and is attributed to the strong electron correlations in this material. Although the resistivity increases, as expected, below a critical thickness of $\sim$ 30 nm. The temperature dependent thermopower is similar for different thicknesses but resistivity shows systematic ch…
Two pathways to break the insulating state in a correlated transition metal oxide
GREMAN - UMR7347 CNRS, Université de Tours, INSA Centre Val de Loire(图尔大学);Université de Rennes, CNRS, IPR (Institut de Physique de Rennes) - UMR 6251(雷恩大学);DYNACOM IRL2015 University of Tokyo - CNRS - UR1(东京大学);European Synchrotron Radiation Facility(欧洲同步辐射装置);Department of Materials Science, Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba(筑波大学);Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Tokyo(东京大学);Nantes Université, CNRS, Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, IMN, UMR 6502(南特大学)
Moiré engineering has recently emerged as a capable approach to control quantum phenomena in condensed matter systems. In van der Waals heterostructures, moiré patterns can be formed by lattice misorientation between adjacent atomic layers, creating long range electronic order. To date, moiré engineering has been executed solely in stacked van der Waals multilayers. Herein, we describe our discovery of electronic moiré patterns in films of a prototypical magnetoresistive oxide La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) epitaxially grown on LaAlO3 (LAO) substrates. Using scanning probe nano-imaging, we observe mi…
We investigated the electronic structures of the 5$d$ Ruddlesden-Popper series Sr$_{n+1}$Ir$_{n}$O$_{3n+1}$ ($n$=1, 2, and $\infty$) using optical spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. As 5$d$ orbitals are spatially more extended than 3$d$ or 4$d$ orbitals, it has been widely accepted that correlation effects are minimal in 5$d$ compounds. However, we observed a bandwidth-controlled transition from a Mott insulator to a metal as we increased $n$. In addition, the artificially synthesized perovskite SrIrO$_{3}$ showed a very large mass enhancement of about 6, indicating that it was in…
At interfaces between conventional materials, band bending and alignment are classically controlled by differences in electrochemical potential. Applying this concept to oxides in which interfaces can be polar and cations may adopt a mixed valence has led to the discovery of novel two-dimensional states between simple band insulators such as LaAlO3 and SrTiO3. However, many oxides have a more complex electronic structure, with charge, orbital and/or spin orders arising from correlations between transition metal and oxygen ions. Strong correlations thus offer a rich playground to engineer funct…
We employ density functional theory plus dynamical mean field theory and identify the physical origin of why two layers of SrVO$_3$ on a SrTiO$_3$ substrate are insulating: the thin film geometry lifts the orbital degeneracy which in turn triggers a Mott-Hubbard transition. Two layers of SrVO$_3$ are just at the verge of a Mott-Hubbard transition and hence ideally suited for technological applications of the Mott-Hubbard transition: the heterostructure is highly sensitive to strain, electric field, and temperature. A gate voltage can also turn the insulator into a metal, so that a transistor w…
The possibility of investigating the dynamics of solids on timescales faster than the thermalization of the internal degrees of freedom has disclosed novel non-equilibrium phenomena that have no counterpart at equilibrium. Transition metal oxides (TMOs) provide an interesting playground in which the correlations among the charges in the metal $d$-orbitals give rise to a wealth of intriguing electronic and thermodynamic properties involving the spin, charge, lattice and orbital orders. Furthermore, the physical properties of TMOs can be engineered at the atomic level, thus providing the platfor…
Magnetic interfaces and the phenomena arising from them drive both the design of modern spintronics and fundamental research. Recently, it was revealed that through designing magnetic frustration in configurationally complex entropy stabilized oxides, exchange bias can occur in structurally single crystal films. This eliminates the need for complex heterostructures and nanocomposites in the design and control of magnetic response phenomena. In this work, we demonstrate through hole doping of a high entropy perovskite oxide that tuning of magnetic responses can be achieved. With detailed magnet…
The ferroelectric (FE) control of electronic transport is one of the emerging technologies in oxide heterostructures. Many previous studies in FE tunnel junctions (FTJs) exploited solely the differences in the electrostatic potential across the FTJs that are induced by changes in the FE polarization direction. Here, we show that in practice the junction current ratios between the two polarization states can be further enhanced by the electrostatic modification in the correlated electron oxide electrodes, and that FTJs with nanometer thin layers can effectively produce a considerably large elec…
Metal-to-insulator phase transitions in complex oxide thin films are exciting phenomena which may be useful for device applications, but in many cases the physical mechanism responsible for the transition is not fully understood. Here we demonstrate that epitaxial strain generates local disproportionation of the NiO6 octahedra, driven through changes in the oxygen stoichiometry, and that this directly modifies the metal-to-insulator phase transition in epitaxial (001) NdNiO3 thin films. Theoretically, we predict that the Ni-O-Ni bond angle decreases, while octahedral tilt and local disproporti…
Using interlayer interaction to control functional heterostructures with atomic-scale designs has become one of the most effective interface-engineering strategies nowadays. Here, we demonstrate the effect of a crystalline LaFeO3 buffer layer on amorphous and crystalline LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures. The LaFeO3 buffer layer acts as an energetically favored electron acceptor in both LaAlO3/SrTiO3 systems, resulting in modulation of interfacial carrier density and hence metal-to-insulator transition. For amorphous and crystalline LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures, the metal-to-insulator transitio…
We have investigated the low temperature specific heat properties as a function of magnetic field in the strongly correlated layered cobalt oxide [BiBa$_{0.66}$K$_{0.36}$O$_2$]CoO$_2$. These measurements reveal two kinds of magnetic field dependent contributions in qualitative agreement with the presence of a previously inferred magnetic Quantum Critical Point (QCP). First, the coefficient of the low temperature T$^3$ behavior of the specific heat turns out to sizeably decrease near a magnetic field consistent with the critical value reported in a recent paper. In addition, a moderate but sign…
We develop a model approach to describe charge fluctuations and different charge phases in strongly correlated 3d oxides. As a generic model system one considers that of centers each with three possible valence states described in frames of pseudo-spin (isospin) formalism by an effective anisotropic non-Heisenberg Hamiltonian. Simple uniform mean-field phases include an insulating monovalent phase, mixed-valence binary disproportionated phase, and mixed-valence ternary under-disproportionated phase. We consider two first phases in more details focusing on the problem of electron/hole states an…
Metallic behavior of band-insulator/ Mott-insulator interfaces was observed in artificial perovskite superlattices such as in nanoscale SrTiO3/LaTiO3 multilayers. Applying a semiclassical perspective to the parallel electronic transport we identify two major ingredients relevant for such systems: i) the quantum confinement of the conduction electrons (superlattice modulation) leads to a complex, quasi-two dimensional subband structure with both hole- and electron-like Fermi surfaces. ii) strong electron-electron interaction requires a substantial renormalization of the quasi-particle dispersio…
We propose silver-based oxides with layered perovskite structure as candidates of exhibiting intriguing feature of strongly correlated electrons. The compounds show unique covalence between Ag d and O p orbitals with the strong electron correlation of their antibonding orbital similar to the copper oxide high-temperature superconductors, but stronger covalency and slightly smaller correlation strength. We examine $A_2$AgO$_2X_2$ with $A$ =Sr and Ba and $X$ =F, I and Cl in detail. Among them, Sr$_2$AgO$_2$F$_2$ has the largest effective onsite Coulomb repulsion and shows an antiferromagnetic in…
Auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) has repeatedly demonstrated itself as one of the most accurate quantum many-body methods, capable of simulating both real and model systems. In this article we investigate the application of AFQMC to realistic strongly correlated materials in periodic Gaussian basis sets. Using nickel oxide (NiO) as an example, we investigate the importance of finite size effects and basis set errors on the structural properties of the correlated solid. We provide benchmark calculations for NiO and compare our results to both experiment measurements and existing theo…
For heterostructures of ultrathin, strongly correlated copper-oxide films and dielectric perovskite layers, we predict inhomogeneous electronic interface states. Our study is based on an extended Hubbard model for the cuprate film. The interface is implemented by a coupling to the electron and phonon degrees of freedom of the dielectric oxide layer. We find that electronic ordering in the film is associated with a strongly inhomogeneous polaron effect. We propose to consider the interfacial tuning as a powerful mechanism to control the charge ordering in correlated electronic systems.