Modulation of ultrafast laser-induced magnetization precession in BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-coated La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films

The ultrafast laser-excited magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic (FM) La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ (LSMO) thin films with BiFeO₃ (BFO) coating layers grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy are investigated using the optical pump-probe technique. Uniform magnetization precessions are observed in the films under an applied external magnetic field by measuring the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. The magnetization precession frequencies of the LSMO thin films with the BFO coating layers are lower than those of uncoated LSMO films, which is attributed to the suppression of the anisotropy field induced by the exchange interaction at the interface between the antiferromagnetic order of BFO and the FM order of LSMO.     

Magnetic field annealing effects on self-oriented BiFeO3 thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition

Self-oriented BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films are prepared via chemical solution deposition method with magnetic field in-situ annealing process. The effects of magnetic annealing on the microstructure, magnetic and dielectric properties as well as magnetoelectric coupling effect of the BFO thin films are investigated. With increasing the annealing magnetic field, the crystallization quality, texture, grain boundary connectivity and densification of the films are enhanced, which is attributed to the improvement of connection and diffusion of components. The magnetization of the field-annealing films and dielectric constant as well as remanent polarization increases with increasing the strength of annealing magnetic field. In addition, it is observed that magnetocapacitance value of the magnetic-field-annealing BFO thin film is higher than the non-field-annealing one. Moreover the BFO thin films annealed at 3 kOe magnetic field show the magnetoelectric effect with 4% under 2 kOe at room temperature.     

Effects of BaTiO_3 and SrTiO_3 as the buffer layers of epitaxial BiFeO_3 thin films

BiFeO_3 (BFO) thin films with BaTiO_3 (BTO) or SrTiO_3 (STO) as buffer layer were epitaxially grown on SrRuO_3-covered SrTiO_3 substrates. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the BTO buffer causes tensile strain in the BFO films, whereas the STO buffer causes compressive strain. Different ferroelectric domain structures caused by these two strain statuses are revealed by piezoelectric force microscopy. Electrical and magnetical measurements show that the tensile-strained BFO/BTO samples have reduced leakage current and large ferroelectric polarization and magnetization, compared with compressively strained BFO/STO. These results demonstrate that the electrical and magnetical properties of BFO thin films can be artificially modified by using a buffer layer.     

Magnetic Anisotropy Induced by Orbital Occupation States in La_(0.67)Sr_(0.33)MnO_3 Films

Interface engineering is an effective and feasible method to regulate the magnetic anisotropy of films by altering interfacial states between films.Using the technique of pulsed laser deposition,we prepared La_(0.67)Sr_(0.33)MnO_3(LSMO) and La_(0.67)Sr_(0.33)MnO_3/SrCoO_(2.5)(LSMO/SCO) films on(110)-oriented La_(0.3)Sr_(0.7)Al_(0.65)Ta_(0.35)O_3 substrates.By covering the SCO film above the LSMO film,we transformed the easy magnetization axis of LSMO from the [001] axis to the [110] axis in the film plane.Based on statistical analyses,we find that the corresponding Mn-Mn ionic distances are different in the two types of LSMO films,causing different distortions of Mn-O octahedron in LSMO.In addition,it also induces diverse electronic occupation states in Mn~(3+) ions.The eg electron of Mn~(3+)occupies 3 z~2-r~2 and x~2-y~2 orbitals in the LSMO and LSMO/SCO,respectively.We conclude that the electronic spin reorientation leads to the transformation of the easy magnetization axis in the LSMO films.     

不同生长方向的La0.7Sr0.3MnO3薄膜结构及性能研究

利用磁控溅射方法,在(100),(110)和(111)LaAlO3(LAO)衬底上制备得到了不同生长方向的La0.7Sr0.3MnO3(LSMO)薄膜并对其结构及磁电学性能进行了系统研究.结果表明:LSMO薄膜完全按LAO衬底取向生长;(111)生长方向的薄膜由于晶格畸变程度最小,磁畴方向能较好的保持一致性,从而具有最大的磁饱和强度值;高的磁有序度减弱了巡游电子eg的自旋无序相关散射,有效降低了电阻.但外加磁场后电阻变化不明显,最大磁电阻值只有5.1%.     

Effects of BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> and SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> as the buffer layers of epitaxial BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films

BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films with BaTiO₃ (BTO) or SrTiO₃ (STO) as buffer layer were epitaxially grown on SrRuO₃-covered SrTiO₃ substrates. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the BTO buffer causes tensile strain in the BFO films, whereas the STO buffer causes compressive strain. Different ferroelectric domain structures caused by these two strain statuses are revealed by piezoelectric force microscopy. Electrical and magnetical measurements show that the tensile-strained BFO/BTO samples have reduced leakage current and large ferroelectric polarization and magnetization, compared with compressively strained BFO/STO. These results demonstrate that the electrical and magnetical properties of BFO thin films can be artificially modified by using a buffer layer.     

Enhanced magnetoresistance in La0.82Sr0.18MnO3-π-conjugated semiconducting polymer heterostructure

We report a large enhancement (∼90%) in magnetoresistance in La_0.82Sr_0.18MnO₃ (LSMO) layers by incorporating a π-conjugated semiconducting polymer layer in between them. The epitaxial LSMO layers were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering on SrTiO₃ single crystal substrates and have FM transition temperature (T_C)∼310 K. A semiconducting polymer poly(3-octylthiophene) (P3OT) layer was deposited over the epitaxial LSMO layer by solution dip coating technique and with subsequent deposition of another epitaxial LSMO layer, forming a LSMO-P3OT-LSMO heterostructure. The effect of P3OT incorporation on magnetotransport properties of this heterostructure has been examined in the temperature range 77-350 K. Large MR enhancement observed near room temperature in the FM regime is explained in terms of efficient magnetic field dependent carrier injection at LSMO/P3OT interface.     

Thickness dependent magnetic and ferroelectric properties of LaNiO3 buffered BiFeO3 thin films

BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films with thickness increasing from 40 to 480 nm were successfully grown on LaNiO₃ (LNO) buffered Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrate and the effects of thickness evolution on magnetic and ferroelectric properties are investigated. The LNO buffer layer promotes the growth and crystallization of BFO thin films. Highly (100) orientation is induced for all BFO films regardless of the film thickness together with the dense microstructure. All BFO films exhibited weak ferromagnetic response at room temperature and saturation magnetization is found to decrease with increase in film thickness. Well saturated ferroelectric hysteresis loops were obtained for thicker films; however, the leakage current dominated the ferroelectric properties in thinner films. The leakage current density decreased by three orders of magnitude for 335 nm film compared to 40 nm film, giving rise to enhanced ferroelectric properties for thicker films. The mechanisms for the evolution of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric characteristics are discussed.     

Modification in structure of La and Nd co‐doped epitaxial BiFeO3 thin films probed by micro Raman spectroscopy

The influence of La and Nd co‐substitution on structure, electric and magnetic properties of epitaxial thin films of BiFeO₃ (BFO) was examined. We demonstrate structural phase transition in co‐doped La and Nd BFO thin films using Raman spectroscopy. Based on group theoretical analysis of the number and symmetry of Raman lines, we provide strong experimental evidence that the structure has been changed from rhombohedral to monoclinic due to co‐doping in BFO. The change in structure was also reflected in morphology of these films. Room temperature magnetic hysteresis curves showed that doped films exhibit enhanced ferromagnetic properties with remnant magnetization of ~10 emu/cm³ and coercive field of 1.2 kOe. The enhanced magnetic properties highlight the potential applications of doped BLNFO thin film for smart devices. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temperature evolution of anisotropic stress induced highly ordered stripe magnetic domains in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin film on (110) NdGaO3 substrate

Highly ordered ferromagnetic (FM) domain patterns with out-of-plane magnetization have been observed in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO) thin film on (110) NdGaO₃ (NGO). Crystal structure and strain state analyses show that this remarkable domain pattern originates from the in-plane anisotropic stress induced by the substrate. Magnetic force microscope (MFM) images at different temperatures show that the FM domain contrast gradually decreases upon heating and disappears around the transition temperature. The root mean square (RMS) of the MFM images coincides with the resistivity measurement, suggesting that the change in resistivity with temperature is mainly due to carrier scattering by thermal spin fluctuation.     

Field-Induced Spin-Modulated Transitions in Epitaxial (001) BiFeO3 Films

Physics of the Solid State - Alterations in the ground state of thin (001) films of a BiFeO3 (BFO)-type multiferroic in a magnetic field are studied theoretically, with changes in the energy of...     

Ferroelectric domain structures and polarization switching characteristics of polycrystalline BiFeO3 thin films on glass substrates

We investigated ferroelectric characteristics of BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films on SrRuO₃ (SRO)/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/glass substrates grown by pulsed laser deposition. YSZ buffer layers were employed to grow highly crystallized BFO thin films as well as SRO bottom electrodes on glass substrates. The BFO thin films exhibited good ferroelectric properties with a remanent polarization of 2P_r = 59.6 μC/cm² and fast switching behavior within about 125 ns. Piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) study revealed that the BFO thin films have much smaller mosaic ferroelectric domain patterns than epitaxial BFO thin films on Nb:SrTiO₃ substrates. Presumably these small domain widths which originated from smaller domain energy give rise to the faster electrical switching behavior in comparison with the epitaxial BFO thin films on Nb:SrTiO₃ substrates.     

Structure and magnetic properties of CrN thin films on La0.67Sr0.33MnO3

High crystalline quality CrN thin films have been grown on La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ (LSMO) templates by molecular beam epitaxy. The structure and magnetic properties of CrN/LSMO heterojunctions are investigated combining with the experiments and the first-principles simulation. The Nėel temperature of the CrN/LSMO samples is found to be 281 K and the saturation magnetization of CrN/LSMO increases compared to that of LSMO templates. The magnetic property of CrN/LSMO heterostructures mainly comes from Cr atoms of (001) CrN and Mn atoms of (001) LSMO. The (001) LSMO induces and couples the spin of the CrN sublattice at CrN/LSMO interface.     

顺磁性La2/3Sr1/3MnO3层对Bi0.8Ba0.2FeO3薄膜多铁性能的影响

界面效应在提升异质结构材料的多铁性能方面有着重要的作用. 本文采用脉冲激光沉积技术在SrTiO₃(STO)基片上制备了Bi_0.8Ba_0.2FeO₃(BBFO)/La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃(LSMO)异质结. X-射线衍射图谱表明异质结呈现单相外延生长, 利用高分辨透射电镜进一步证实了BBFO为四方相结构. X-射线光电子能谱证实异质结中只存在Fe³⁺ 离子, 没有产生价态的变化, 揭示了异质结铁电和铁磁性的增强与BBFO/LSMO的界面有关. 同时, 测试了磁电阻(MR)和磁介电(MD), 当磁场强度为0.8 T, 温度为70 K时, MR约为-42.2%, MD约为21.2%. 并且发现在180 K时出现磁相的转变. 实验结果揭示出异质界面效应在提升材料的多铁性和磁电耦合效应方面具有超常的优点, 是加快多铁材料实际应用的有效途径.     

Study on ferroelectric polarization induced resistive switching characteristics of neodymium-doped bismuth ferrite thin films for random access memory applications

The present work reports on resistive switching (RS) characteristics of Neodymium (Nd)-doped bismuth ferrite (BFO) layers. The Nd (2–10 at%) doped BFO thin film layers were deposited using a spray pyrolysis method. The structural analysis reveals that a higher Nd doping concentration in BFO leads to significant distortion of the prepared Nd:BFO thin films from rhombohedral to tetragonal characteristics. The morphological analysis shows that all the deposited Nd:BFO thin films have regularly arranged grains. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis reveals that the prepared Nd:BFO thin films have a higher Fe ³⁺/Fe ²⁺ratio and less oxygen vacancy (V_O) defects which enriches the ferroelectric characteristics in Nd:BFO layers. The polarization-electric field (P-E) and RS characteristics of the fabricated Nd:BFO-based RS device were examined. It was observed that the Nd (7 at%) doped BFO RS device shows large remnant polarization (P _r) of 0.21 μC/cm² and stable RS characteristics.     

Effect of bilayer structure and a SrRuO3 buffer layer on ferroelectric properties of BiFeO3 thin films

Effects of the BiFe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃ thickness and a SrRuO₃ (SRO) buffer layer on the microstructure and electrical properties of BiFeO₃/BiFe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃ (BFO/BFMO) bilayered thin films were investigated, where BFO/BFMO bilayered thin films were fabricated on the SRO/Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrate by a radio frequency sputtering. All thin films are of a pure perovskite structure with a mixture of (110) and (111) orientations regardless of the BFMO layer thickness. Dense microstructure is demonstrated in all thin films because of the introduction of BFMO layers. The SRO buffer layer can also further improve the ferroelectric properties of BFO/BFMO bilayered thin films as compared with those of these thin films without a SRO buffer layer. The BFO/BFMO bilayered thin film with a thickness ratio of 220/120 has an enhanced ferroelectric behavior of 2P _r??165.23???C/cm² and 2E _c??518.56?kV/cm, together with a good fatigue endurance. Therefore, it is an effective way to enhance the ferroelectric and fatigue properties of bismuth ferrite thin films by constructing such a bilayered structure and using a SRO buffer layer.     

Microstructures and electrical properties of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 films synthesized by sol-gel method

La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ (LSMO) thin films were fabricated on alumina substrates by an improved sol-gel dip-coating process. It was found that multiple dip-coating process could not be performed until the pre-firing temperature reached 600 °C. Different amounts of LSMO powders were added to precursor solution with an aim to avoid cracks in LSMO thin films during calcining caused by the shrinkage mismatch between the film and the substrate. The structure and surface morphology of the films prepared from precursors with and without LSMO powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the addition of 56.4 wt.% LSMO powders into the sol-gel precursor solution significantly modified the microstructure of films. A single LSMO perovskite phase was obtained on alumina substrate after calcining at 800 °C for 4 h by the improved sol-gel method. The sheet resistance of the films prepared with different processing parameters was measured by four-point dc method. Results indicated that the sheet resistance of films decreased with increasing the number of coating applications and the amount of LSMO powders.     

Strain relaxation in the epitaxy of La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 grown by pulsed-laser deposition on SrTiO3(001)

With a Curie point at 370?K, the half-metal (La_0.7Sr_0.3)MnO₃ (LSMO) is one of the most interesting candidates for electronic devices based on tunnel magnetoresistance. SrTiO₃ (STO) is up to now the best substrate for the epitaxy of suitable thin films of LSMO. The pseudocubic unit cell of rhombohedral LSMO has a parameter a _LSMO such that (a _STO ? a _LSMO)/a _LSMO = +?0.83% (where a _STO is the parameter of cubic STO) and an angle of 90.26°. As strained growth is tetragonal, relaxation implies recovery of both the pseudocubic parameter and of the original angle. In the LSMO layers that we prepare by pulsed-laser deposition, we show that these two processes are quite independent. The angular distortion is partially recovered by twinning in films 25?nm thick, while recovery of the parameter never occurs in the thickness range that we explored (up to 432?nm). A relaxation, however, takes place above a thickness of 100?nm, associated with a transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional columnar growth. It is accompanied by chemical fluctuations. Our magnetic measurements exhibit Curie temperatures and magnetic moments very close to the bulk values in those layers where the crystal parameter is strained but the angle partially relaxed.     

1-3型纳米多铁复合薄膜中电场诱导的磁化研究

运用Landau-Devonshire热力学唯像理论,考虑铁电相和铁磁相的电致伸缩、磁致伸缩效应以及产生于铁电/铁磁和薄膜/基底界面的弹性应力作用,两次重整介电和磁作用系数得到了这种多铁系统在Landau自由能函数下的本征二次方磁电耦合形式,从而研究了外延1-3型纳米多铁复合薄膜中极化、磁化随薄膜厚度、温度的变化以及该薄膜中外加电场诱导的磁化变化.结果表明薄膜平面内的应压力的弛豫使得磁化强度和极化强度随薄膜厚度的增加而减少,外加电场不仅能诱导铁电相极化场翻转,而且由于铁电和铁磁相界面竖直方向的弹性耦合导致 关键词： 多铁 磁电效应 磁致伸缩 薄膜     

Influence of microstructures on exchange bias behaviors of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/La0.33Ca0.67MnO3 bilayers

Ferromagnetic La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO) and antiferromagnetic La_0.33Ca_0.67MnO₃ (LCMO) layers were grown on SrTiO₃ (STO) substrates by the pulsed laser deposition technique. LSMO films had rougher surfaces and larger grain sizes than LCMO films. Fully strained bilayers, in which each layer was as thin as 10 nm, were prepared by changing their stacking sequences, i.e. LSMO/LCMO/STO and LCMO/LSMO/STO. The former had higher T_C (350 K) than the latter (300 K), and exchange bias effects were only observed in the former bilayers. This revealed that microstructures could play an important role in the transport and magnetic properties of manganese oxide thin films.