Investigation of interface magnetism of complex oxide heterostructures using polarized neutron reflectivity

Abstract Multilayered structures with artificial oxide hetero-interfaces have recently been dominating the field of new states of matter. The unexpected properties and related functionalities at the interface of complex oxide heterostructures as a consequence of the symmetry breaking, electronic reconstruction etc., make these complex oxide interfaces particularly challenging for understanding the fundamental mechanism and interaction across the interfaces. Magnetic modulation, novel magnetic coupling and emerging interface induced magnetization at the interfaces of complex oxide heterostructures have made the search for their technological applications as an intense field of research in recent time. However to study the structure and magnetism in such interfaces require tools with interface specificity. Polarized neutron reflectivity is a non-destructive technique which has played a decisive role in investigation of interfacial magnetic structures and in understanding the underlying physics in this rapidly developing field. This article presents a review of some recent experimental results on emerging magnetization at the interfaces of complex oxide heterostructures specifically investigated using polarized neutron reflectivity.