Terahertz spectroscopic evidence of electron correlations in SrVO3 epitaxial thin films

Electron correlation in transition metal oxides (TMOs) is an intriguing topic in condensed matter physics, revealing a wide variety of exotic physical properties. Investigating low-energy carrier dynamics by terahertz (THz) spectroscopy is an efficient route to obtain the essential insights into electron correlation. In the present study, THz-time-domain spectroscopy is employed to probe electron correlation in SrVO3 epitaxial thin films. The low energy carrier dynamics of SrVO3 in the range of 0.2-6.0 meV shows a typical metallic behavior as overserved in dc transport measurements. The obtained temperature-dependent optical parameters provide evidence of mass renormalization in the low energy regime and carrier momentum relaxation happens via the electron-electron scattering mechanism. Overall, the frequency and temperature-dependent optical parameters indicate the Fermi liquid ground state in a Mott-Hubbard type correlated metal SrVO3 thin film. Our results provide significant insight on low energy carrier dynamics in the correlated electron system, particularly perovskite-based d (1) TMOs.