Electronic structure of lanthanum hydrides with switchable optical properties

Recent dramatic changes in the optical properties of LaH2+x and YH2+x films discovered by Huiberts et al. [Nature (London) 380, 231 (1996)] suggest their electronic structure is described best by a local model. Electron correlation is important in H- centers and in explaining the transparent insulating behavior of LaH3. The metal-insulator transition at x ∼ 0.8 takes place in a band of highly localized states centered on the H vacancies in the LaH3 structure.link_to_subscribed_fulltex