title: Spatial control of functional properties via octahedral modulations in complex oxide superlattices.
abstract: Control of atomic structure, namely the topology of the corner-connected metal-oxygen octahedra, has emerged as an important route to tune the functional properties at oxide interfaces. Here we investigate isovalent manganite superlattices (SLs), [(La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3))n/(Eu(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3))n] × m, as a route to spatial control over electronic bandwidth and ferromagnetism through the creation of octahedral superstructures. Electron energy loss spectroscopy confirms a uniform Mn valence state throughout the SLs. In contrast, the presence of modulations of the MnO(6) octahedral rotations along the growth direction commensurate with the SL period is revealed by scanning transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. We show that the Curie temperatures of the constituent materials can be systematically engineered via the octahedral superstructures leading to a modulated magnetization in samples where the SL period is larger than the interfacial octahedral coupling length scale, whereas a single magnetic transition is observed in the short-period SLs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, 344 LeBow Engineering Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Colby
authors.affiliation: Lujan Neutron Scattering Center, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karapetrova
authors.affiliation: X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Schlepütz
authors.affiliation: Lujan Neutron Scattering Center, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fitzsimmons
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, 344 LeBow Engineering Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: May