Structural and magnetic properties of pulsed laser deposited SrRuO3/CoFe2O4/La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 magnetic oxide heterostructures on SrTiO3(001) and MgO(001)

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Vol. 110; no. 4; pp. 889 - 894
• Main Authors: Äkäslompolo, Laura, Sánchez, Ana M., Qin, Qi Hang, Hakola, Antti, Kajava, Timo, van Dijken, Sebastiaan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.03.2013
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Deposition; Diffraction; Electrodes; Interfacial dislocations; Machines; Magnetic properties; Manufacturing; Materials science; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Processes; Reduction; Saturation (magnetic); Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Misfit Dislocation; High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy Image; Magnetic Tunnel Junction; Inverse Structure; LSMO Film
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-012-7192-z

We report on the growth of all-oxide SrRuO 3 /CoFe 2 O 4 /La 2/3 Sr 1/3 MnO 3 and La 2/3 Sr 1/3 MnO 3 /CoFe 2 O 4 /SrRuO 3 heterostuctures on SrTiO 3 (001) and MgO(001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Structural analyses by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy clearly indicate the preservation of epitaxial relations when the La 2/3 Sr 1/3 MnO 3 layer is grown first, whereas trilayers with SrRuO 3 at the bottom are more disordered. Both the substrate material and the deposition sequence strongly influence the formation of various structural defects such as interfacial dislocations and sub-grain structures, and this is clearly reflected by a reduction of the saturation magnetization in the top electrode. When the substrate material and the deposition sequence are correctly chosen, however, the magnetic moments of the La 2/3 Sr 1/3 MnO 3 and SrRuO 3 layers reverse independently, and the La 2/3 Sr 1/3 MnO 3 layer retains bulk-like magnetic properties.