Growth orientation and magnetic properties of GdVO$_3$ tailored by epitaxial strain engineering

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how epitaxial strain engineering in GdVO$_3$ thin films can tailor their structural and magnetic properties, revealing the importance of growth orientation control for designing novel functionalities.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how strain influences the structure and magnetic transition temperature of GdVO$_3$ thin films, combining experimental growth with DFT calculations.

Findings

Strain affects the orthorhombic unit cell orientation.

Strain influences the Néel temperature.

Growth orientation correlates with magnetic properties.

Abstract

Transition-metal oxides with an ABO$_3$ perovskite structure exhibit significant coupling between spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom, highlighting the crucial role of lattice distortion in tuning the electronic and magnetic properties of these systems. In this study, we grow a series of antiferromagnetic GdVO$_3$ thin films on different substrates introducing various strain values. The results demonstrate that the strain not only affects the material's structure and magnetic transition temperature but also influences the growth direction of the orthorhombic unit cell. A correlation is observed between the orientation of the orthorhombic long axis direction and the material's N\'eel temperature. DFT calculations highlighting the link between strain, lattice distortions and magnetic characteristics confirm these conclusions. Our findings demonstrate that the development of novel features in RVO$_3$ through material design requires control of growth orientation through strain engineering.