An experimental and theoretical investigation on magnetic and electronic properties of LaFeO3/SrTiO3(001) heterostructure

Abstract

Here, we present the structural, magnetic, and electrical properties of ortho-ferrite-based perovskite thin films. To understand the competition of different interactions in the interface, LaFeO3(LFO)/SrTiO3(STO) heterostructure was grown by PLD on TiO2 terminated STO (001) substrates by varying thickness. We show that in films with thickness greater than 6�nm exhibit antiferromagnetic order, while a weak magnetic order is established in the film with thickness lower than 6�nm. Magnetic anisotropy is also visible in the film with thickness lower than the 6�nm. The first-principle calculations were performed based on first-principle density functional theory to shed light on the experimental results. The results of the calculations show that the G-type antiferromagnetic order is stabilized for the bulk LaFeO3, whereas a mixture of antiferro and ferri magnetic ordering is established in the heterostructure for the p (SrO/FeO2) and n-type (TiO2/LaO) of interfaces. Our research highlights the crucial part of how the arrangement of atoms across the interface plays an essential role in deciding its magnetic and electronic properties. � The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.