Magnetic anisotropy in single crystal high entropy perovskite oxide La(Cr0.2Mn0.2Fe0.2Co0.2Ni0.2)O3 films

TL;DR

This study synthesizes and characterizes single crystal high entropy perovskite oxide films, revealing how local disorder influences magnetic anisotropy and long-range magnetic order, with implications for designing functional correlated materials.

Contribution

It demonstrates the successful creation of epitaxial high entropy perovskite films with uniform transition metal distribution and explores their magnetic properties influenced by lattice anisotropy.

Findings

Excellent crystallinity and uniform metal mixing in films

Magnetic properties depend on substrate-induced anisotropy

Evidence of long-range magnetic order in disordered materials

Abstract

Local configurational disorder can have a dominating role in the formation of macroscopic functional responses in strongly correlated materials. Here, we use entropy-stabilization synthesis to create single crystal epitaxial ABO3 perovskite thin films with equal atomic concentration of 3d transition metal cations on the B-site sublattice. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy of La(Cr0.2Mn0.2Fe0.2Co0.2Ni0.2)O3 (L5BO) films demonstrate excellent crystallinity, smooth film surfaces, and uniform mixing of the 3d transition metal cations throughout the B-site sublattice. The magnetic properties are strongly dependent on substrate-induced lattice anisotropy and suggest the presence of long-range magnetic order in these exceptionally disordered materials. The ability to populate multiple elements onto a single sublattice in complex crystal structures opens new possibilities to design functionality in correlated systems and enable novel fundamental studies seeking to understand how diverse local bonding environments can work to generate macroscopic responses, such as those driven by electron-phonon channels and complex exchange interaction pathways.