Interfacial Control of Magnetic Properties at LaMnO3/LaNiO3 Interfaces

Abstract : The functional properties of oxide heterostructures ultimately rely on how the electronic and structural mismatches occurring at interfaces are accommodated by the chosen materials combination. We discuss here LaMnO$_3$/LaNiO$_3$ heterostructures, which display an intrinsic interface structural asymmetry depending on the growth sequence. Using a variety of synchrotron-based techniques, we show that the degree of intermixing at the monolayer scale allows interface-driven properties such as charge transfer and the induced magnetic moment in the nickelate layer to be controlled. Further, our results demonstrate that the magnetic state of strained LaMnO$_3$ thin films dramatically depends on interface reconstructions.