Raman spectroscopy of the Jahn-Teller phonons in a magnetic LaMnO3 thin film grown on KTaO3

Bulk LaMnO3 is an A-type antiferromagnetic material in which the Jahn-Teller (JT) planes each have a ferromagnetic arrangement, but are stacked in antiparallel. Here, we report the growth of epitaxial LaMnO3 films on (001)-oriented cubic KTaO3 substrates in such a way that the JT plane is parallel to the nonmagnetic substrate. We verify the presence of the JT distortion and confirm the orientation of the plane by symmetry analysis with angle-resolved polarized Raman spectroscopy. The temperature evolution of the Raman spectra indicates that the B-1g JT phonon softens below the magnetic transition temperature of & SIM;145 K, where ferro- or ferri-magnetism with magnetic easy axis along the out-of-plane direction is exhibited.

Automated summary

We report the growth of epitaxial LaMnO3 films on KTaO3 substrates and demonstrate the presence of magnetic and structural properties. Raman spectroscopy analysis reveals the ferro- or ferri-magnetic behavior of LaMnO3 films below 145K. This study is important for understanding the magnetic behavior of LaMnO3 and the influence of Jahn-Teller distortion.