Effect of substrate orientation on formation of cluster glass state in epitaxial LaMnO3 thin films

Abstract

Cluster glass state, which is closely related to some special physical phenomena, has attracted extensive attention. Herein, we report a new phenomenon that is the substrate orientation can influence the formation of the cluster glass state in LaMnO3 (LMO) films. To explore the effect of substrate orientation on the formation of cluster glass state, the LMO thin films are epitaxially grown on (001)-, (110)- and (111)-oriented LaAlO3 (LAO) single crystal substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), and the cluster glass state in which is investigated. The results show that the substrate orientation has a great influence on the formation of cluster glass state in the LMO epitaxial films. The LMO thin film grown on (001)-oriented LAO substrates is more likely to form cluster glass state than those grown on (110)- and (111)-oriented LAO substrates. This can be attributed to the different degrees of the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions, which is caused by the different crystalline orientations and strain states of the epitaxial LMO thin films.