Strong Pressure Dependence of Electrical Transport in V$_{2}$O$_{3}$ Thin Films*

We present results of electrical transport measurements in V$_{2}$O$_{3}$ thin films under hydrostatic pressure from 100 KPa to 1.6 GPa. Uniaxial pressure and strain dependences of the metal-insulator transition temperature in V$_{2}$O$_{3}$ were extracted using a method previously established for high Tc superconductors [1]. Strain in the $z$ direction was calculated using V$_{2}$O$_{3}$ stiffness along the growth direction, while lateral strain was determined by the substrate properties. V$_{2}$O$_{3}$ thin films (100 nm) were grown epitaxially on three differently oriented single crystal Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ substrates (a-plane, m-plane, and r-plane). Crystal phase purity and film quality were confirmed using high angle X-ray diffraction and X-ray reflectometry. All of the films showed a more than a four order of magnitude resistance change between the metallic and insulating states. The obtained pressure and strain dependences of the transition temperature may lead to novel device applications. \\[4pt] [1] S Bud'ko, J. Guimpel, O. Nakamura, M. Maple and I. K. Schuller, Phys. Rev. B, 1992, 46 1257