Evidence for resonant scattering of electrons by spin fluctuations in $LaNiO_3/LaAlO_3$ heterostructures grown by pulsed laser deposition

TL;DR

This study reports a universal T^{3/2} resistivity dependence in LaNiO_3 films, attributed to resonant electron scattering by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations at the heterostructure interface.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of resonant electron scattering by spin fluctuations in LaNiO_3/LaAlO_3 heterostructures, revealing a universal resistivity behavior across a wide temperature range.

Findings

Resistivity follows a universal T^{3/2} dependence from 20K to 300K.

Resonant scattering of electrons is caused by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations.

Characteristic energy of spin fluctuations is approximately 2.1 meV.

Abstract

We present measurements of resistivity $\rho$ in highly oriented $LaNiO_3$ films grown on $LaAlO_3$ substrates by using a pulsed laser deposition technique. The experimental data are found to follow a universal $\rho (T) \propto T^{3/2}$ dependence for the entire temperature interval ($20K<T<300K$). The observed behavior has been attributed to a resonant scattering of electrons on antiferromagnetic fluctuations (with a characteristic energy $\hbar \omega _{sf}\simeq 2.1meV$) triggered by spin-density wave propagating through the interface boundary of $LaNiO_3/LaAlO_3$ sandwich.