Critical thickness and orbital ordering in ultrathin La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 films

Mark Huijben, L.W. Martin, Y.H. Chu, M.B. Holcomb, P. Yu, Augustinus J.H.M. Rijnders, David H.A. Blank, R. Ramesh

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Abstract

Detailed analysis of transport, magnetism, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements on ultrathin La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 films with thicknesses from 3 to 70 unit cells resulted in the identification of a lower critical thickness for a nonmetallic nonferromagnetic layer at the interface with the SrTiO3 (001) substrate of only three unit cells (~12 Å). Furthermore, linear-dichroism measurements demonstrate the presence of a preferred (x2-y2) in-plane orbital ordering for all layer thicknesses without any orbital reconstruction at the interface. A crucial requirement for the accurate study of these ultrathin films is a controlled growth process, offering the coexistence of layer-by-layer growth and bulklike magnetic/transport properties.
Original languageUndefined
Pages (from-to)094413-
Number of pages7
JournalPhysical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics)
Volume78
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008

Keywords

  • METIS-252540
  • IR-59900

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