Effect of Interfacial Octahedral Behavior in Ultrathin Manganite Films

• Published in: Nano letters 2014-05, Vol.14 (5), p.2509-2514
• Main Authors: Moon, E. J, Balachandran, P. V, Kirby, B. J, Keavney, D. J, Sichel-Tissot, R. J, Schlepütz, C. M, Karapetrova, E, Cheng, X. M, Rondinelli, J. M, May, S. J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Electronic transport in multilayers, nanoscale materials and structures; Epitaxial growth; Exact sciences and technology; Joining; Magnetization; Manganites; Nanoscale materials: clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystals; Nanostructure; Oxides; Perovskites; Physics; Resistivity; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl500235f

We investigate structural coupling of the MnO6 octahedra across a film/substrate interface and the resultant changes of the physical properties of ultrathin La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) films. In order to isolate the effect of interfacial MnO6 octahedral behavior from that of epitaxial strain, LSMO films are grown on substrates with different symmetry and similar lattice parameters. Ultrathin LSMO films show an increased magnetization and electrical conductivity on cubic (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 (LSAT) compared to those grown on orthorhombic NdGaO3 (NGO) substrates, an effect that subsides as the thickness of the films is increased. This study demonstrates that interfacial structural coupling can play a critical role in the functional properties of oxide heterostructures.