AUTHOR=Pomar Alberto , Konstantinović Zorica , Bagués Núria , Roqueta Jaume , López-Mir Laura , Balcells Lluis , Frontera Carlos , Mestres Narcis , Gutiérrez-Llorente Araceli , Šćepanović Maja , Lazarević Nenad , Popović Zoran V. , Sandiumenge Felip , Martínez Benjamín , Santiso José 

TITLE=Formation of Self-Organized Mn3O4 Nanoinclusions in LaMnO3 Films

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physics

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physics/articles/10.3389/fphy.2016.00041

DOI=10.3389/fphy.2016.00041

ISSN=2296-424X

ABSTRACT=<p>We present a single-step route to generate ordered nanocomposite thin films of secondary phase inclusions (Mn<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>) in a pristine perovskite matrix (LaMnO<sub>3</sub>) by taking advantage of the complex phase diagram of manganese oxides. We observed that in samples grown under vacuum growth conditions from a single LaMnO<sub>3</sub> stoichiometric target by Pulsed Laser Deposition, the most favorable mechanism to accommodate Mn<sup>2+</sup> cations is the spontaneous segregation of self-assembled wedge-like Mn<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> ferrimagnetic inclusions inside a LaMnO<sub>3</sub> matrix that still preserves its orthorhombic structure and its antiferromagnetic bulk-like behavior. A detailed analysis on the formation of the self-assembled nanocomposite films evidences that Mn<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> inclusions exhibit an epitaxial relationship with the surrounding matrix that it may be explained in terms of a distorted cubic spinel with slight (~9°) c-axis tilting. Furthermore, a Ruddlesden-Popper La<sub>2</sub>MnO<sub>4</sub> phase, helping to the stoichiometry balance, has been identified close to the interface with the substrate. We show that ferrimagnetic Mn<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> columns influence the magnetic and transport properties of the nanocomposite by increasing its coercive field and by creating local areas with enhanced conductivity in the vicinity of the inclusions.</p>