Magnetic Effects on the Dielectric and Polarization
Properties in BiAlO
3
/La
0.67
Sr
0.33
MnO
3
Heterostructure
Yanan Zhao, Bingcheng Luo, Changle Chen,* Hui Xing, Jianyuan Wang, and Kexin Jin
BiAlO
3
/La
0.67
Sr
0.33
MnO
3
heterostructure was fabricated on LaAlO
3
(111)
substrate by pulsed laser deposition technology. A remarkable magneto-
resistivity effect was detected at H ¼ 1 T near the metal–insulator phase
transition temperature (T
MI
)ofLa
0.67
Sr
0.33
MnO
3
. The magneto-dielectric
constant shows an anomaly near T
MI
of La
0.67
Sr
0.33
MnO
3
, whereas the
ferroelectric polarization increases under magnetic field and its variation
shows the similar anomaly near T
MI
of La
0.67
Sr
0.33
MnO
3
, which could be
assigned to the important role of the phase transformation of
La
0.67
Sr
0.33
MnO
3
. The magnetic moment of the BiAlO
3
/La
0.67
Sr
0.33
MnO
3
heterostructure distinctly arises compared to the single La
0.67
Sr
0.33
MnO
3
layer, probably on account of the spin–orbit coupling effect at the interface,
and the relative magnetization variation also shows an anomaly near T
MI
of
La
0.67
Sr
0.33
MnO
3
.
Artificial thin film heterostructures composed of ferroelectric
and ferromagnetic materials could also obtain magnetoelec-
tric coupling, like in the case of single-phase materials.
[1,2]
The
well-known BiMO
3
ferroelectric oxides (M ¼ Mn,Fe,Al,and
In), known as lead-free ferroelectrics, have attracted signifi-
cant interest on ac count of the stereochemical active 6s
2
lone
pair on Bi
3þ
.
[3–5]
Especially, bulk BiAlO
3
(BAO) has po lar R3c
symmetry with the large remnant polarization (P
r
)of
75.6 mCcm
2
and high Curie temperature (T
C
)around
820 K.
[6,7]
Therefore, ferroelectric BAO layer could be used
for the composition of heterostructures, resembling the
situationobservedinBiFeO
3
(BFO).
[8]
On the other hand,
La
0.67
Sr
0.33
MnO
3
(LSMO) is a half-metallic material not only
used as a ferromagnetic layer but also as the b ottom electrode
in heterostructures, and it exhibits a colossal negative
magneto-resistance (MR) effect
[9]
with appropriate lattice
parameter (3.87 A
)
[10]
which matches well that of the
perovskite ferroelectric material. Besides, LSMO has a
metal–insulator transition temperature
(T
MI
) near the Curie temperature (T
C
),
but with different depositing and anneal-
ing processes the T
C
may be greater or
less than T
MI
.
[11]
Several experimental researches dem-
onstrated that the P
r
of bulk BAO
polycrystalline was 9.5 or 12 mCcm
2
at
room temperature (RT),
[12,13]
and was
about 29 mCcm
2
in tetragonal phase of
BAO thin films at RT,
[14]
respectively.
Very recently, we analyzed the tempera-
ture dependence of conduction mecha-
nism of BAO thin films.
[15]
Notably,
Silveira et al.
[16]
theoretically indicated
that BAO could exhibit a coexistence of
ferroelectricity and Rashba-type spin
splitting effect. Hence, the BAO-based
oxide heterostructures may initiate many considerable and
fancy interface and surface effects, e.g., for the improved
magnetic moment and the two-dimensional electron gas
(2DEG)
[17]
at interfaces, which is the motivation behind our
work. However, so far BAO combined with half-metallic
ferromagnetic LSMO as multifunctional heterostructures,
have not been reported, especially under e xternal magnetic
fields. In this paper, we focus on the variation tendencies of
resistance, dielectric, and polarization properties of the BA O/
LSMO heterostructure under magnet ic field in different
temperature regions. The result s will open a broad perspective
that BAO/LSMO heterostructures are used for functional
microelectronic devices, and give useful guidelin es to analyze
the magnetic effects on different art ificial multiferroic
heterostructures more deeply.
The LSMO target was prepared by solid state reaction
technique, and BAO target was purchased commercially,
respectively. The ferroelectric BAO (top layer, 80 nm) and
ferromagnetic LSMO (bottom layer, 20 nm) layers were
successively deposited on LAO (111) substrate by pulse laser
deposition technology (PLD), and the detailed deposition process
has been described in our previous report.
[15]
For electrical measurements, Top electrodes Pt were sputtered
on surface by magnetron sputtering at RT, and subsequently
annealed for 5 min at 673 K. The resistance and dielectric
properties of the sample were measured using a 6487 Keithley
electrometer and an Agilent 4980E LCR meter in the
temperature region from 20 to 300 K. The ferroelectric hysteresis
loops (P–E) and magnetic hysteresis loops (M–H) of the
heterostructure were, respectively, performed by ferroelectric
test systems (Precision LC, Radiant Technologies Inc., USA) and
superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) in the
Prof. C. Chen, Dr. Y. Zhao, Prof. B. Luo,
Prof. H. Xing, Prof. J. Wang, Prof. K. Jin
Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Condensed Matter
Structures and Properties, Northwestern
Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, P.R. China
E-mail: chenchl@nwpu.edu.cn
Dr. Y. Zhao
College of Engineering Management, Shaanxi
Radio and Television University, Xi’an 710019,
P.R. China
The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article
can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/pssr.201700155.
DOI: 10.1002/pssr.201700155
Magnetoelectric Coupling www.pss-rapid.com
RAPID RESEARCH LETTER
Phys. Status Solidi RRL 2017, 1700155 © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim1700155 (1 of 5)