S. Hühn

Fabrication of high quality plan-view TEM specimens using the focused ion beam

We describe a technique using a focused ion beam instrument to fabricate high quality plan-view specimens for transmission electron microscopy studies. The technique is simple, site-specific and is capable of fabricating multiple large, >100 μm(2) electron transparent windows within epitaxially grown thin films. A film of La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 is used to demonstrate the technique and its structural and functional properties are surveyed by high resolution imaging, electron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and Lorentz electron microscopy. The window is demonstrated to have good thickness uniformity and a low defect density that does not impair the films Curie temperature. The technique will enable the study of in-plane structural and functional properties of a variety of epitaxial thin film systems.

Exchange bias in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/SrMnO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 trilayers

Exchange bias (EB) has been observed for all-manganite La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/SrMnO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 trilayers with ferromagnetic La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 and G-type antiferromagnetic SrMnO3 (SMO) layers, grown on (001) SrTiO3 substrates by metalorganic aerosol deposition. The field shift of the magnetic hysteresis loop HE and the coercivity HC decay exponentially with temperature. HE exhibits a global maximum as a function of SMO interlayer thickness at tSMO≈4.5 nm. We argue that EB behaviour can be explained by the interplay of a spinglass state at the interface and theoretically proposed mechanism based on the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.

Atomic layer epitaxy of Ruddlesden-Popper SrO(SrTiO3)n films by means of metalorganic aerosol deposition

We report an atomic layer epitaxial growth of Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) thin films of SrO(SrTiO3)n (n = ∞, 2, 3, 4) by means of metalorganic aerosol deposition (MAD). The films are grown on SrTiO3(001) substrates by means of a sequential deposition of Sr-O/Ti-O2 atomic monolayers, monitored in-situ by optical ellipsometry. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal the RP structure with n = 2–4 in accordance with the growth recipe. RP defects, observed by TEM in a good correlation with the in-situ ellipsometry, mainly result from the excess of SrO. Being maximal at the film/substrate interface, the SrO excess rapidly decreases and saturates after 5–6 repetitions of the SrO(SrTiO3)4 block at the level of 2.4%. This identifies the SrTiO3 substrate surface as a source of RP defects under oxidizing conditions within MAD. Advantages and limitations of MAD as a solution-based and vacuum-free chemical deposition route were discussed in comparison with molecular beam epitaxy.

Modeling of colossal magnetoresistance in La0.67Ca0.33MnO3/Pr0.67Ca0.33MnO3 superlattices: Comparison with individual (La1−yPry)0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films

Colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) and nm-scale electronic inhomogeneity close to the first order phase transition in perovskite manganites, e.g., (La1−yPry)0.67Ca0.33MnO3 still remain a puzzling phenomenon. We experimentally model a metal-insulator phase coexistence by growing a short period (LCMOn/PCMOn)m superlattices (SLs) with the same thickness for both components. CMR effect was studied as a function of the individual layer thickness n = 2–8 and then compared with chemically homogeneous (La1−yPry)0.67Ca0.33MnO3 LPCMO films. We show that SLs can be superimposed in the phase diagram of LPCMO. The results also point out the importance of the nm-scale electronic rather than chemical separation for realization of the CMR effect as well as limits the lowest boundary for the thickness of an individual manganite material to n∼4u.c.

Domain wall transformations and hopping in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 nanostructures imaged with high resolution x-ray magnetic microscopy

We investigate the effect of electric current pulse injection on domain walls in La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3) (LSMO) half-ring nanostructures by high resolution x-ray magnetic microscopy at room temperature. Due to the easily accessible Curie temperature of LSMO, we can employ reasonable current densities to induce the Joule heating necessary to observe effects such as hopping of the domain walls between different pinning sites and nucleation/annihilation events. Such effects are the dominant features close to the Curie temperature, while spin torque is found to play a small role close to room temperature. We are also able to observe thermally activated domain wall transformations and we find that, for the analyzed geometries, the vortex domain wall configuration is energetically favored, in agreement with micromagnetic simulations.

Efficient spin transfer torque in La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 nanostructures

We carry out low temperature magnetotransport measurements on nanostructured La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 wires to study the interaction between spin-polarized current and magnetization in this half metallic material. We selectively position domain walls by applying external fields. The domain wall resistance is found to be positive, in contrast to conventional 3d metals. The depinning field is reduced when current pulses are injected into the wire. By comparing measurements for both current polarities, we can disentangle heating and spin transfer torque effects. The determined spin transfer torque efficiency is of the order of 4 × 10−14 Tm2/A, which is significantly higher than in permalloy.

Interface-controlled magnetism and transport of ultrathin manganite films

We report ferromagnetic, TC=240 K, and metallic, TMI=250 K, behaviors of a three unit cell thick interface engineered lanthanum manganite film, grown by metalorganic aerosol deposition technique on SrTiO3(100) substrates. Atomically resolved electron microscopy and chemical analysis show that ultrathin manganite films start to grow with La-O layer on a strongly Mn/Ti-intermixed interface, engineered by an additional deposition of 2 u.c. of Sr-Mn-O. Such interface engineering results in a hole-doped manganite layer and stabilizes ferromagnetism and metallic conductivity down to the thickness of d = 3 u.c. The films with d = 8 u.c. demonstrate a bulk-like transport behavior with TMI∼TC=310−330 K.