Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 132504 (2011)

M. Ziese, I. Vrejoiu, E. Pippel, E. Nikulina, D. Hesse

Abstract

High-quality Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3/SrRuO3 superlattices were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition and were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and SQUID magnetometry. Superlattices with orthorhombic and tetragonal SrRuO3 layers were investigated. The superlattices grew coherently; in the growth direction Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 layers were terminated by MnO2- and SrRuO3 layers by RuO2-planes. All superlattices showed antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling in low magnetic fields. The coupling strength was significantly higher for orthorhombic than for tetragonal symmetry of the SrRuO3 layers. The strong interlayer exchange coupling in the superlattice with orthorhombic SrRuO3 layers led to a magnetization reversal mechanism with a partially inverted hysteresis loop.