Electronic Excitations of Strained LaCoO₃ Thin Films Investigated by Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering

The spin-state transition of perovskite LaCoO₃ is an interest and important subject, which has received much attention for decades. Here we present measurements of high-resolution resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) at Co L-edge on LaCoO₃ thin films grown on LSAT substrates of various orientations, including (110) and (111), by pulse laser deposition. The change in the magnetic transition of LaCoO₃ thin films shows that magnetic structure is sensitive to tensile-strain. We will present RIXS results to discuss the change of dd excitations and related elementary electronic excitations in response to different tensile-strain in the thin films. Our data provide an effective method to quantify the ratio of high-spin and and low-spin states in the thin films.