Bilayers of the oxide 3d ferromagnet La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) and the 5d paramagnet SrIrO3 (SIO) with large spin–orbit coupling (SOC) have been investigated regarding the impact of interfacial SOC on magnetic order. For the growth sequence of LSMO on SIO, ferromagnetism is strongly altered and large out-of-plane-canted anisotropy associated with lacking magnetic saturation up to 4 T has been observed. Thin bilayer films have been grown coherently in both growth sequences on SrTiO3 (001) by pulsed laser deposition and structurally characterized by scanning transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. Measurements of magnetization and field-dependent Mn L2,3 edge x-ray magnetic circular dichroism reveal changes of the LSMO magnetic order, which are strong in LSMO on SIO and weak in LSMO underneath SIO. We attribute the impact of the growth sequence to the interfacial lattice structure, which is known to influence the interfacial magnetic coupling governed by MnO6 octahedral rotations and/or distortions.
