Nanoscale Magnetic Structure of Ferromagnet/Antiferromagnet Manganite Multilayers

Journal Article · Fri Dec 14 00:00:00 EST 2007 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.99.247207· OSTI ID:21024573

Niebieskikwiat, D ^[1]; Hueso, L E ^[2]; Borchers, J A ^[3]; Mathur, N D ^[2]; Salamon, M B ^[1]

---

1. Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)
2. Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3QZ (United Kingdom)
3. NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States)

We use polarized neutron reflectometry and dc magnetometry to obtain a comprehensive picture of the magnetic structure of a series of La{sub 2/3}Sr{sub 1/3}MnO{sub 3}/Pr{sub 2/3}Ca{sub 1/3}MnO{sub 3} (LSMO/PCMO) superlattices, with varying thickness of the antiferromagnetic (AFM) PCMO layers (0{<=}t{sub A}{<=}7.6 nm). While LSMO presents a few magnetically frustrated monolayers at the interfaces with PCMO, in the latter a magnetic contribution due to ferromagnetic (FM) inclusions within the AFM matrix is maximized at t{sub A}{approx}3 nm. This enhancement of FM moment occurs at the matching between layer thickness and cluster size, implying the possibility of tuning phase separation by imposing appropriate geometrical constraints which favor the accommodation of FM nanoclusters within the ''non-FM'' material.

• OSTI ID: 21024573
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 99, Issue 24; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.247207; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ANTIFERROMAGNETISM
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
FERROMAGNETISM
LANTHANUM COMPOUNDS
LAYERS
MANGANATES
NANOSTRUCTURES
NEUTRONS
PRASEODYMIUM COMPOUNDS
STRONTIUM COMPOUNDS
SUPERLATTICES
THICKNESS