EPJ Web of Conferences (Jan 2013)

Growth, structure, surface topography and magnetic properties of GdMnO3 multiferroic epitaxial thin films

  • Mukovskii Ya.,
  • Van Haesendonck C.,
  • Volodin A.,
  • Tabachkova N.,
  • Sviridova T.,
  • Chichkov V.,
  • Andreev N.

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20134015014
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 40
p. 15014

Abstract

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Epitaxial GdMnO3 thin films were grown in various regimes on (001) NdGaO3 and (001) SrTiO3 substrates by RF magnetron sputtering. X-ray analysis revealed that the films grown at a substrate temperature of 650-900 °C are single phase (GdMnO3 with orthorhombic Pbnm structure). Films grown on NdGaO3 substrates at lower temperature (750 °C) reveal two orientations, i.e. GdMnO3(001)||NdGaO3(001) and GdMnO3(110)||NdGaO3(001). These results are confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Films grown on SrTiO3 substrates have two orientations, i.e. GdMnO3(001)||SrTiO3(001) and GdMnO3(110)||SrTiO3(001), in the whole temperature range in which the phase exists. Using atomic force microscopy the correlation between the topography of the films and their crystallographic structure was studied. The magnetic properties of the films differ from those of bulk samples and revealed spin-glass behavior.