Magnetic properties of the (LaMnO3)N/(SrTiO3)N atomic layer superlattices

We studied the magnetic properties of atomic layer superlattices of (LaMnO3)(N)/(SrTiO3)(N) (N = 1,2,8) fabricated by ozone-assisted atomic layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy. Compared to a reference LaMnO3 thin film, the N - 8 superlattice exhibits enhanced magnetization, while the N = 1 and 2 superlattices exhibit suppressed magnetization. The onset temperature of the ferromagnetic transition is lowered in all superlattices. Moreover, the Brillouin function fits to the magnetic hysteresis curves indicate that the ground state of the superlattices consists of non-uniform spin interactions. The electric transport measurements suggest a very small variation of Mn valence (similar to +/- 0.015) that may not be enough to induce the observed large change in the magnetic property. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.