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Register a new userHard x-ray standing-wave photoemission study of the interfaces in a BiFeO$_3$/La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ superlattice
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Added by
Henrique Perin Martins
Publication date
2020
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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Hybrid multiferroics such as BiFeO$_3$ (BFO) and La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ (LSMO) heterostructures are highly interesting functional systems due to their complex electronic and magnetic properties. One of the key parameters influencing the emergent properties is the quality of interfaces, where varying interdiffusion lengths can give rise to different chemistry and distinctive electronic states. Here we report high-resolution depth resolved chemical and electronic investigation of BFO/LSMO superlattice using standing-wave hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy in the first-order Bragg as well as near-total-reflection geometry. Our results show that the interfaces of BFO on top of LSMO are atomically abrupt, while the LSMO on top of BFO interfaces show an interdiffusion length of around 1.2 unit cells. The two interfaces also exhibit different chemical gradients, with the BFO/LSMO interface being Sr-terminated by a spectroscopically distinctive high binding energy component in Sr 2p core-level spectra, which is spatially contained within 1 unit cell from the interface. From the electronic point of view, unique valence band features were observed for bulk-BFO, bulk-LSMO and their interfaces. Our X-ray optical analysis revealed a unique electronic signature at the BFO/LSMO interface, which we attribute to the coupling between those respective layers. Valence band decomposition based on the Bragg-reflection standing-wave measurement also revealed the band alignment between BFO and LSMO layers. Our work demonstrates that standing-wave hard x-ray photoemission is a reliable non-destructive technique for probing depth-resolved electronic structure of buried layers and interfaces with sub-unit-cell resolution. Equivalent investigations can be successfully applied to a broad class of material such as perovskite complex oxides with emergent interfacial phenomena.
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Using polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR), we observe an induced magnetization of 75$pm$ 25 kA/m at 10 K in a La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ (LSMO)/BiFeO$_3$ superlattice extending from the interface through several atomic layers of the BiFeO$_3$ (BFO). The induced magnetization in BFO is explained by density functional theory, where the size of bandgap of BFO plays an important role. Considering a classical exchange field between the LSMO and BFO layers, we further show that magnetization is expected to extend throughout the BFO, which provides a theoretical explanation for the results of the neutron scattering experiment.
The magnetic dead layers in films a few nanometers thick are investigated for La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ on (001)-oriented SrTiO$_3$ (STO), LaAlO$_3$ (LAO) and (LaAlO$_3$)$_{0.3}$(Sr$_2$TaAlO$_6$)$_{0.7}$ (LSAT) substrates. An anomalous moment found to persist above the Curie temperature of the La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ films is not attributed to the films, but to oxygen vacancies at or near the surface of the substrate. The contribution to the moment from the substrate is as high as 20 $mu$B/nm$^2$ in the case of STO or LSAT. The effect is increased by adding an STO cap layer. Taking this d-zero magnetism into account, extrapolated magnetic dead layer thicknesses of 0.8 nm, 1.5 nm and 3.0 nm are found for the manganite films grown on LSAT, STO and LAO substrates, respectively. An STO cap layer eliminates the LSMO dead layer.
Charge transfer induced interfacial ferromagnetism and its impact on the exchange bias effect in La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$/NdNiO$_3$ correlated oxide heterostructures were investigated by soft x-ray absorption and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectra in a temperature range from 10 to 300 K. Besides the antiferromagnetic Ni$_3^+$ cations which are naturally part of the NdNiO$_3$ layer, Ni$_2^+$ ions are formed at the interface due to a charge transfer mechanism involving the Mn element of the adjacent layer. They exhibit a ferromagnetic behavior due to the exchange coupling to the Mn$_4^+$ ions in the La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ layer. This can be seen as detrimental to the strength of the unidirectional anisotropy since a significant part of the interface does not contribute to the pinning of the ferromagnetic layer. By analyzing the line shape changes of the x-ray absorption at the Ni L$_{2,3}$ edges, the metal-insulator transition of the NdNiO$_3$ layer is resolved in an element specific manner. This phase transition is initiated at about 120 K, way above the paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition of NdNiO$_3$ layer which measured to be 50 K. Exchange bias and enhanced coercive fields were observed after field cooling the sample through the Neel temperature of the NdNiO$_3$ layer. Different from La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$/LaNiO$_3$, the exchange bias observed in La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$/NdNiO$_3$ is due to the antiferromagnetism of NdNiO$_3$ and the frustration at the interface. These results suggest that reducing the interfacial orbital hybridization may be used as a tunable parameter for the strength of the exchange bias effect in all-oxide heterostructures which exhibit a charge transfer mechanism.
Superlattices composed of ferromagnetics, namely La$_{0.7}$Ca$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ (LCMO), and ferroelectrics, namely, BaTiO$_3$(BTO) were grown on SrTiO$_3$ at 720$^o$C by pulsed laser deposition process. While the out-of-plane lattice parameters of the superlattices, as extracted from the X-ray diffraction studies, were found to be dependent on the BTO layer thickness, the in-plane lattice parameter is almost constant. The evolution of the strains, their nature, and their distribution in the samples, were examined by the conventional sin$^2psi $ method. The effects of structural variation on the physical properties, as well as the possible role of the strain on inducing the multiferroism in the superlattices, have also been discussed.
We report on first principles calculations of the electronic structure of La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$/SrTiO$_{3}$ junction with two possible types of interface terminations. We find that the La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$O/TiO$_{2}$ interface preserves the interlayer ferromagnetic coupling between the interface MnO$_{2}$ layer and the bulk. The other interface, MnO$_{2}$/SrO, favours antiferromagnetic coupling with the bulk. By inserting two unit cells of undoped LaMnO$_{3}$ at the interface the ferromagnetism is recovered. This is understood in terms of the doping level and the mobility of carriers near the interface.
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