Abstract
Electrical manipulation of magnetism presents a promising way towards using the spin degree of freedom in very fast, low-power electronic devices. Though there has been tremendous progress in electrical control of magnetic properties using ferromagnetic (FM) nanostructures, an opportunity of manipulating antiferromagnetic (AFM) states should offer another route for creating a broad range of new enabling technologies. Here we selectively probe the interface magnetization of SrTiO3/La0.5Ca0.5MnO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 heterojunctions and discover a new spin-polarized current injection induced interface magnetoelectric (ME) effect. The accumulation of majority spins at the interface causes a sudden, reversible transition of the spin alignment of interfacial Mn ions from AFM to FM exchange-coupled, while the injection of minority electron spins alters the interface magnetization from C-type to A-type AFM state. In contrast, the bulk magnetization remains unchanged. We attribute the current-induced interface ME effect to modulations of the strong double-exchange interaction between conducting electron spins and local magnetic moments. The effect is robust and may serve as a viable route for electronic and spintronic applications.
Highlights
The STO/LSMO interface has been well studied[19], because of its relevance in various electronic devices, such as diodes[20,21], transistors[22], and magnetic tunnel junctions[23]
A 1-nm thick La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 interlayer is inserted between LSMO and STO to improve the properties of the interfacial LSMO layer
The ITO (30 nm)/ STO (200 nm)/LCMO (1 nm)/LSMO (50 nm) heterostructures are epitaxially grown on STO (100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition
Summary
The STO/LSMO interface has been well studied[19], because of its relevance in various electronic devices, such as diodes[20,21], transistors[22], and magnetic tunnel junctions[23]. Working devices have been reported, it is well known that the properties of LSMO are deteriorating at the interface[24], resulting in an interfacial “dead layer” for both conductivity and magnetization[25]. This reduction has been attributed to either a valence change at the polar interface[26], a change in orbital ordering[27], or interfacial strain[28,29]. Careful studies to clarify the relationship between magnetic ordering and electronic properties at the STO/LSMO interface are of great interest
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