The Influence of Pressure on the Formation of FM/AF Configurations in LSMO Films: A Monte Carlo Approach

Abstract

In this work, Monte Carlo simulations of magnetic properties of thin films, including the influence of an external pressure, are presented. These simulations were developed using a Hamiltonian composed by terms that represent the exchange interaction, dipolar interaction, Zeeman effect, monocrystalline anisotropy, and pressure influence. The term that represents the pressure influence on the magnetic properties was included, since for many applications, magnetic materials are a part of a multiferroic material together with a piezoelectric or a ferroelectric compound. Initially, the model was developed using generic parameters, in order to probe its suitable performance; after that, parameters were adjusted for simulating thin films of La0.67Sr0.33MnO3, a manganite with several technological applications because its Curie temperature is greater than room temperature. Including the pressure influence, it was observed the formation of several kind of FM/AF configurations as strip, labyrinth, and chess board forms. Furthermore, it was observed that, as the pressure increased, the critical temperature tended to decrease, and this result was in agreement with experimental reports.

Keywords

• manganites
• Heisenberg
• dipolar interaction
• pressure
• strips
• labyrinths