Abstract
Magnetic oxide superlattices consisting of ferromagnetic oxide La 2/3 Ca 1/3 MnO 3 (LCMO) and paramagnetic oxide LaNiO 3 (LNO) have been successfully grown on SrTiO 3 (STO) substrate by rf magnetron sputtering. Measurements of X-ray reflectivity and high-resolution X-ray diffraction were employed to characterize the microstructure of these films. An azimuthal scan about the surface Bragg peak of the film shows the epitaxial relationship between the film and the substrate. The clearly discernible main feature and satellite features observed in the (002) crystal-truncation-rod indicate the high quality of the LCMO/LNO artificial superlattice structure formed on a SrTiO 3 substrate. Hysteresis measurements show magnetic properties to be highly correlated with interfacial strain between the substrate and the film: the smaller is the LNO spacer thickness, the larger is the in-plane lattice strain of the films present, and the larger is the ratio of remnant magnetization to saturation magnetization and the magnetic coercivity field. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.