Magnetic properties of the insulating ferromagnetic phase in strained Pr0.6Ca0.4MnO3 thin films
Abstract
Bulk magnetization in Pr0.6Ca0.4MnO3 thin films with tensile (SrTiO3) and compressive (LaAlO3) substrate-induced strain is compared to the magnetooptical Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements. In the absence of an external magnetic field, in both films, a stable ferromagnetic insulating majority phase coexists with an antiferromagnetic insulating phase below ~120K. MOKE measurements indicate that at 5K a metastable ferromagnetic metallic (FM) phase is formed at the surface of the stretched film in a magnetic field below 1.1T already, while in the bulk the FM phase starts to form in the field above ~4T in both films.
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