Structural control of magnetic anisotropy in a strain driven multiferroic EuTiO3 thin film

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how strain-induced octahedral distortions in EuTiO3 thin films can control magnetic anisotropy, revealing strong magnetoelectric coupling with potential for multifunctional device applications.

Contribution

It provides new insights into strain-driven control of magnetic anisotropy through octahedral tilting and ferroelectric polarization in EuTiO3 thin films.

Findings

Strong in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy observed

Magnetic anisotropy correlates with octahedral tilting and polarization

Potential for enhanced magnetoelectric coupling in strained films

Abstract

Octahedral distortion plays a key role in engineering the physical properties of heterostructures composed of perovskite oxides. We observe a strong in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in a strain-enabled multiferroic EuTiO3 thin film epitaxially grown on a (110)o DyScO3 substrate. First principles calculations show that the magnetic anisotropy is closely correlated with the uniaxial TiO6 octahedral tilting and the ferroelectric polarization of the film, indicating potential strong magnetoelectric coupling in the strain-engineered multiferroic system.