Abstract
The perovskite crystal structure is known to exhibit a multitude of interesting physical phenomena owing to the intricate coupling of the electronic and magnetic properties to the structure. Fluoroperovskites offer an alternative chemistry to the much more widely studied oxide materials, which may prove advantageous for applications. It is demonstrated here for the first time that the antiferromagnetic perovskite fluoride, NaNiF3, can be synthesized in thin film form. The films were grown via molecular beam epitaxy on SrTiO3 (100) substrates to produce high quality epitaxial films in the thickness range of 5–50 nm. The Pnma structure of the films was confirmed by x-ray diffraction. There was a decrease in the out-of-plane lattice spacing from the bulk value corresponding to a maximum strain of 1.7% in the thinnest film. Canted antiferromagnetism was measured in all films using magnetometry and a negative change in the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature of ΔTN = - 9.1 ± 0.7 K was observed with increasing strain.
Highlights
Perovskite materials host a huge variety of interesting properties ranging from high temperature superconductivity,1 ferroelectricity,2 and piezoelectricity3 to both ferro- and antiferromagnetic order as well as metal-to-insulator transitions.4 The flexibility of the bond angles within the perovskite crystal leads to an intimate connection between its exact structure and its electronic and magnetic properties
A schematic illustrating both axes with respect to the sample plane is shown in Fig. 2(e) along with the extended phi range showing the STO (013) and NNF (222) diffraction peaks observed every 90○, indicating that the sample is twinned in the plane
The films showed a reduction in the out-of-plane d spacing, which was sustained throughout the films in thicknesses up to 30 nm, after which the structure relaxed toward the bulk NNF, as did the magnetic ordering temperature, TN
Summary
Perovskite materials host a huge variety of interesting properties ranging from high temperature superconductivity, ferroelectricity, and piezoelectricity to both ferro- and antiferromagnetic order as well as metal-to-insulator transitions. The flexibility of the bond angles within the perovskite crystal leads to an intimate connection between its exact structure and its electronic and magnetic properties. Perovskite materials host a huge variety of interesting properties ranging from high temperature superconductivity, ferroelectricity, and piezoelectricity to both ferro- and antiferromagnetic order as well as metal-to-insulator transitions.. The flexibility of the bond angles within the perovskite crystal leads to an intimate connection between its exact structure and its electronic and magnetic properties. This results in the potential for high tunability of physical properties within composition ranges, heterostructures, or via externally applied stimuli (such as electric field or strain), providing an exciting playground for fundamental science as well as diverse functionality. Fluoroperovskites have been suggested as potential electrode materials in Li/Na-ion rechargeable batteries, demonstrating more robust chemistry and performance than their oxide counterparts.. It is important to understand whether the fluoroperovskites retain their physical properties in thin film form
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