Epitaxial thin films of LaNiO2, which is an oxygen-deficient perovskite with “infinite layers” of Ni1+O2, were prepared by a low-temperature reduction of LaNiO3 single-crystal films on NdGaO3 substrates. We report the high-angle annular dark-field and bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy observations of infinite NiO2 planes of c-axis-oriented LaNiO2 epitaxial thin films with a layer stacking sequence of NiO2/La/NiO2. Resistivity measurements on the films show T 2 dependence between 400 and 150 K and a negative Hall coefficient.

The electronic phase diagram of the cuprates remains enigmatic and is still a key ingredient to understand the mechanism of high-T c superconductivity. It has been believed for a long time that parent compounds of cuprates were universally antiferromagnetic Mott insulators (charge-transfer insulators) and that high-T c superconductivity would develop upon doping holes or electrons in a Mott-Hubbard insulator ("doped Mott-insulator scenario"). However, our recent discovery of superconductivity in the parent compounds of square-planar cuprates with the Nd 2 CuO 4 (T') structure and the revised electronic phase diagram in T' cuprates urged a serious reassessment to the above scenario. In this review, we present the main results derived from our synthesis and experiments on T' cuprates in the undoped or heavily underdoped regime over 20 years, including material issues and basic physics. The key material issue is how to remove excess oxygen ions at O ap without introducing oxygen vacancies in the CuO 2 planes. In order to put this into practice, the basic knowledge of complex solid-state chemistry in T' cuprates is required, which is also included in this review.

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