Phase transitions and magnetic domain coexistence in Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 thin films

ORAL

Abstract

We present a study of the physical properties of perovskite oxide Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 (NSMO) thin films grown on (110)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates. In bulk form, NSMO displays magnetic and electronic transitions from paramagnetic/insulator to ferromagnetic (FM)/metal and then to antiferromagnetic (AFM)/charge-ordered insulating phase with decreasing temperature. In thin films, AFM ordering only occurs in an anisotropic strain state such as those obtained in (110)-oriented substrates which allows for Jahn-Teller distortions of the MnO6 octahedral and MnO6 bond length distortions [1]. In this work, resonant x-ray reflectivity and magnetometry measurements showed that the NSMO film breaks up into three layers with different density and magnetic properties. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism confirmed the FM-AFM transition occurs between 80 K and 160 K for the main portion of the NSMO film, while x-ray magnetic linear dichroism provided a clear signature of the AFM phase at 80 K. At an intermediate temperature of 110 K, photoemission electron microscopy demonstrated the coexistence of FM and AFM domains. These temperature-dependent transitions have strong potential applications in next generation memory devices.

[1] S. Y. Jang et al., Solid State Commun., 149, 1760-1764 (2009)

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Presenters

  • I-Ting Chiu

    Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis

Authors

  • I-Ting Chiu

    Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis

  • Apurva Mehta

    Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, SLAC

  • Alexander Michael Kane

    University of California, Davis, Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Davis, Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Davis

  • Rajesh V Chopdekar

    University of California, Davis, Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Davis, Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA, LBNL Advanced Light Source

  • Christopher Rouleau

    The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Alpha N'Diaye

    Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Advanced Light Source, Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA

  • Elke Arenholz

    Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Advanced Light Source

  • Yayoi Takamura

    University of California, Davis, Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Davis, Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Davis