Role of antiferromagnetic spin axis on magnetic reconstructions at the (111)-oriented La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/LaFeO3 interface

Abstract

Engineering of emergent properties at oxide interfaces is an exciting route towards realizing oxide electronics. Such properties are often the result of a balance between cooperating and competing mechanisms in the materials which are difficult to decouple. In this paper, we address the interplay between an antiferromagnetic spin axis and the occurrence of magnetic reconstructions at the (111)-oriented $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{0.7}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{r}}_{0.3}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}/\mathrm{LaFe}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ interface. We report a critical $\mathrm{LaFe}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ thickness where we observed a magnetic interface reconstruction with a net switchable Fe moment only for thicknesses less than or equal to 16 ${d}_{111}$ layers of $\mathrm{LaFe}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$. A change from an out-of-plane to in-plane antiferromagnetic spin axis is found at the same critical thickness. We ascribe the interfacial moment to a successively decreased out-of-plane canting of the antiferromagnetic spin axis towards the in-plane $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{0.7}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{r}}_{0.3}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ magnetization at the interface. This points towards the importance of the local antiferromagnetic order interacting with concurrent structural reconstructions to establish a magnetically reconstructed interface.