Selective interlayer ferromagnetic coupling between the Cu spins in YBa$_2$ Cu$_3$ O$_{7-x}$ grown on top of La$_{0.7}$ Ca$_{0.3}$ MnO$_3$

TL;DR

This study uncovers a novel c-axis ferromagnetic coupling between Cu spins in YBCO when grown on LCMO, influenced by interfacial termination, with implications for exploring exotic quantum states in engineered heterostructures.

Contribution

It reveals a new interlayer ferromagnetic coupling in YBCO/LCMO heterostructures and links it to interfacial termination effects, advancing understanding of bulk magnetic interactions in superconductor/ferromagnet systems.

Findings

Ferromagnetic coupling exists in both normal and superconducting states.

Coupling is only observed with MnO₂ interfacial termination.

Interfacial termination influences spin transfer and magnetic behavior.

Abstract

Studies to date on ferromagnet/d-wave superconductor heterostructures focus mainly on the effects at or near the interfaces while the response of bulk properties to heterostructuring is overlooked. Here we use resonant soft x-ray scattering spectroscopy to reveal a novel c-axis ferromagnetic coupling between the in-plane Cu spins in YBa$_2$ Cu$_3$ O$_{7-x}$ (YBCO) superconductor when it is grown on top of ferromagnetic La$_{0.7}$ Ca$_{0.3}$ MnO$_3$ (LCMO) manganite layer. This coupling, present in both normal and superconducting states of YBCO, is sensitive to the interfacial termination such that it is only observed in bilayers with MnO_2but not with La$_{0.7}$ Ca$_{0.3}$ interfacial termination. Such contrasting behaviors, we propose, are due to distinct energetic of CuO chain and CuO$_2$ plane at the La$_{0.7}$ Ca$_{0.3}$ and MnO$_2$ terminated interfaces respectively, therefore influencing the transfer of spin-polarized electrons from manganite to cuprate differently. Our findings suggest that the superconducting/ferromagnetic bilayers with proper interfacial engineering can be good candidates for searching the theorized Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state in cuprates and studying the competing quantum orders in highly correlated electron systems.