Increased Curie temperature and magnetoresistive response by modifying Fe/Mo ratio in Sr2FeMoO6 thin films

We investigated the effect of deposition distance on a set of otherwise identically grown Sr2FeMoO6 (SFMO) thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. Based on the detailed magnetic and transport measurements, we found that the optimal properties can be realized at longer deposition distances than earlier expected. The achieved onset Curie temperature of the order of 400 K with the middle transition value of 372 K, which are clearly the highest presented in the literature for the SFMO thin films. In addition, the increased metallicity and magnetoresistive response is observed in films deposited at longer distances. The improvements are widely discussed in the light of discovered stoichiometric imbalance between the cations Fe and Mo, which modify the magnetic interactions and thus magnetic and electric properties. Therefore, this study shows a new approach in the deposition process to provide the SFMO thin films and multilayers of high quality for future spin valve devices working at room temperature.

Automated summary

The effect of deposition distance on SFMO thin films was investigated, and it was found that optimal properties can be achieved at longer deposition distances than previously expected. The films deposited at longer distances showed increased metallicity and magnetoresistive response, with an onset Curie temperature of about 400 K and a middle transition value of 372 K.