Tuning the magneto-electrical properties of multiferroic multilayers through interface strain and disorder

Abstract

Artificially engineered superlattices were designed and fabricated to induce different growth mechanisms and structural characteristics. DC sputtering was used to grow ferromagnetic (La0.8Ba0.2MnO3)/ferroelectric (Ba0.25Sr0.75TiO3 or BaTiO3) superlattices. We systematically modified the thickness of the ferromagnetic layer to analyze dimensional and structural disorder effects on the superlattices with different structural characteristics. The crystalline structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The magnetic and electronic properties were investigated by SQUID magnetometry and resistance measurements. The results show that both strain and structural disorder can significantly affect the physical properties of the systems. Ba0.25Sr0.75TiO3 based superlattices with a low thickness of the ferromagnetic layers (4 nm) present compressive strain that decreases the ferromagnetic transition temperature from 250 K corresponding to the unstressed samples to 230 K. In these samples, the localization energy of the charge carrier through the electron-phonon interaction decreases at low temperatures (∼100 meV). Ba0.25Sr0.75TiO3 based superlattices with thicknesses of the ferromagnetic layers higher than 12 nm present tensile strain that reduces the charge carrier localization energy at low temperatures (∼1 meV), increasing the ferromagnetic transition temperature (Tc∼265 K). Structural defects in BaTiO3 based superlattices have a stronger influence on the magnetic properties than on the transport properties. Nevertheless, disorder blocks the ferromagnetic transition for highly disordered samples (thickness of the ferromagnetic layer < 3 nm). These results help to further understand the role of strain and interface effects in the magnetic and transport properties of manganite based multiferroic systems.