Influence of epitaxial growth on phase competition in Pr0.5Sr0.5MnO3 films

Abstract A series of Pr 0.5 Sr 0.5 MnO 3 (PSMO) films with various thickness were epitaxially grown on substrates of (0 0 1)-oriented (LaAlO 3 ) 0.3 (SrAl 0.5 Ta 0.5 O 3 ) 0.7 (LSAT), LaAlO 3 (LAO) and SrTiO 3 (STO), and (0 1 1)-oriented STO using pulse laser deposition. Influence of epitaxial growth on phase competition was investigated. A ferromagnetic metal to antiferromagnetic insulator (FMM–AFI) transition upon cooling is present in both largely compressed situations deposited on LAO (0 0 1) and tensile cases deposited on STO (0 0 1) but absent in little strained films grown on LSAT (0 0 1), indicating that the antiferromagnetic insulating state is favored by strains. On the other hand, the 400 nm films deposited on (0 1 1)-oriented STO as well as LAO substrates show FMM–AFI transition. These results reveal that both the orientation of epitaxial growth and substrate-induced strain affect the FMM–AFI transition.