Magnetic anisotropy of epitaxial La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 thin films on SrTiO3 with different orientations

Epitaxial La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 thin films with different crystallographic orientations were fabricated on (001)-, (110)-, and (111)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy was studied with the field angle fixed at 0°, 30°, 60°, and 90° relative to the film surface. The results show that there is a remarkable dependence of the magnetization on the magnetic field direction and crystallographic orientation. Furthermore, the (110)- and (111)-oriented thin films show stronger angular-dependent magnetic anisotropy than the (001) film, and the (110)-oriented one can reach the saturated magnetization more easily than the other two films. Such findings are correlated with the strain imposed on the films via substrates with different orientations. Our results have implications for the better understanding of magnetic anisotropy and the tunability of the magnetoelectric coupling coefficient involving multiferroic composite thin films.