title: Artificial construction of the layered Ruddlesden-Popper manganite La2Sr2Mn3O10 by reflection high energy electron diffraction monitored pulsed laser deposition.
abstract: Pulsed laser deposition has been used to artificially construct the n = 3 Ruddlesden-Popper structure La(2)Sr(2)Mn(3)O(10) in epitaxial thin film form by sequentially layering La(1-x)Sr(x)MnO(3) and SrO unit cells aided by in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction monitoring. The interval deposition technique was used to promote two-dimensional SrO growth. X-ray diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy indicated that the trilayer structure had been formed. A site ordering was found to differ from that expected thermodynamically, with the smaller Sr(2+) predominantly on the R site due to kinetic trapping of the deposited cation sequence. A dependence of the out-of-plane lattice parameter on growth pressure was interpreted as changing the oxygen content of the films. Magnetic and transport measurements on fully oxygenated films indicated a frustrated magnetic ground state characterized as a spin glass-like magnetic phase with the glass temperature T(g) ≈ 34 K. The magnetic frustration has a clear in-plane (ab) magnetic anisotropy, which is maintained up to temperatures of 150 K. Density functional theory calculations suggest competing antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic long-range orders, which are proposed as the origin of the low-temperature glassy state.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Palgrave
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borisov
authors.forename: Matthew S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dyer
authors.forename: Sean R C
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: McMitchell
authors.forename: George R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Darling
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Claridge
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Batuk
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verbeeck
authors.forename: Joke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hadermann
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rosseinsky