Strain modulated large magnetocaloric effect in Sm0.55Sr0.45MnO3 epitaxial films

Abstract

Epitaxial Sm0.55Sr0.45MnO3 thin films were deposited on LAO (001), LSAT (001), and STO (001) single crystalline substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique to investigate the correlation between the substrate induced film lattice strain and magnetocaloric effect (MCE). The film on LAO substrate (S_LAO), which is under compressive strain, undergoes ferromagnetic → paramagnetic transition at TC ∼ 165 K. The films on STO (S_STO) and LSAT (S_LSAT) substrates are under tensile strain and have TC ∼ 120 K and 130 K, respectively. At T < TC, the zero field cooled and field cooled magnetization curves of all the films show huge bifurcation. In case of S_STO and S_LSAT films, hysteresis is also observed between field cooled cooling and warming cycle in magnetization versus temperature measurement at low magnetic field similar to first order-like magnetic phase transition. No signature of first order magnetic phase transition has been observed in the case of S_LAO film. Most interestingly, both normal (i.e., negative ΔSM) and inverse (i.e., positive ΔSM) MCE around TC and above Tp, respectively, for S_STO and S_LSAT films have been observed with maximum value of MCE ∼ 10 J kg−1 K−1. The S_STO film also exhibits a large relative cooling power of 142 J/kg for a magnetic field change of 1 T. Our findings of substrate-induced strain modulated large MCE in epitaxial Sm0.55Sr0.45MnO3 films have been well explained through the substrate induced film lattice strain, and it may be useful for active magnetic refrigerant materials.