Giant magnetic anisotropy changes in Sr2CrReO6 thin films on BaTiO3

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that temperature-induced phase transitions in BaTiO3 substrates can cause significant and abrupt changes in the magnetic anisotropy and coercive field of Sr2CrReO6 thin films, highlighting their high sensitivity to mechanical deformation.

Contribution

It reveals the strong coupling between ferroelectric substrate phase transitions and magnetic properties in Sr2CrReO6 thin films, showing giant magnetic anisotropy changes.

Findings

Abrupt coercive field changes up to 1.2T

Resistance changes up to 6.5%

Magnetic anisotropy is highly sensitive to mechanical deformation

Abstract

The integration of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials into hybrid heterostructures yields multifunctional systems with improved or novel functionality. We here report on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of the ferromagnetic double perovskite Sr2CrReO6, grown as epitaxial thin film onto ferroelectric BaTiO3. As a function of temperature, the crystal-structure of BaTiO3 undergoes phase transitions, which induce qualitative changes in the magnetic anisotropy of the ferromagnet. We observe abrupt changes in the coercive field of up to 1.2T along with resistance changes of up to 6.5%. These results are attributed to the high sensitivity of the double perovskites to mechanical deformation.