Preparation of a heteroepitaxial LaxSryMnzO3/BiFeO3 bilayer by r.f. magnetron sputtering with various oxygen gas flow ratios

BiFeO3 (BFO) and LaxSryMnzO3 (LSMO) films were epitaxially grown on SrTiO3 (100) substrates by r.f. magnetron sputtering with various oxygen gas flow ratios (FO2). Compositional ratios of each atom in both of BFO and LSMO could be controlled kept to around 10 at.% by changing FO2. Adjusting the compositional ratio to La0.35Sr0.15Mn0.5O3 not only increase Tc of LSMO but also produces sufficient oxygen to form a perovskite lattice. For an LSMO/BFO heterostructure, detailed observation by cross sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that the lattice of rhombohedral (SG: R-3c) LSMO was shrank by a clamping effect from the SrTiO3 substrates, and then the BFO was grown in two layers: (i) an interfacial BFO layer (7 nm thick) with evenly shrunk a-axis and c-axis, and (ii) an upper BFO layer (25 nm thick) expanded along the c-axis. Neither misfit strain nor dislocations appeared at the interface between the shrunken BFO and LSMO layers, and these heterostructures did not show exchange bias. These results suggest that BFO is suitable for a tunneling barrier combine with LSMO electrode.