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Phys. Rev. B 77, 174409 (2008) [5 pages]

Magnetically asymmetric interfaces in a LaMnO3/SrMnO3 superlattice due to structural asymmetries

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S. J. May1,*, A. B. Shah2, S. G. E. te Velthuis1, M. R. Fitzsimmons3, J. M. Zuo2, X. Zhai4, J. N. Eckstein4, S. D. Bader1,5, and A. Bhattacharya1,5,†
1Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
2Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA
3Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
4Department of Physics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA
5Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA

Received 13 September 2007; published 7 May 2008

Polarized neutron reflectivity measurements of a ferromagnetic [(LaMnO3)11.8/(SrMnO3)4.4]6 superlattice reveal a modulated magnetic structure with an enhanced magnetization at the interfaces where LaMnO3 was deposited on SrMnO3 (LMO/SMO). However, the opposite interfaces (SMO/LMO) are found to have a reduced ferromagnetic moment. The magnetic asymmetry is accompanied by a corresponding asymmetry in the lateral structural roughness of the two interfaces observed via electron microscopy, with enhanced ferromagnetism present at the interfaces that are atomically smooth over tens of nanometers. This result demonstrates that atomic-scale roughness can destabilize interfacial phases in complex oxide heterostructures.

© 2008 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.77.174409
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevB.77.174409
PACS:
75.70.Cn, 61.05.fj, 75.47.Jn

*smay@anl.gov

†anand@anl.gov

 
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