Modification of magnetic properties through the control of growth orientation and epitaxial strain in SrRuO3 thin films

We studied the correlation between the magnetic properties and the structural modifications in SrRuO3 thin films. Previous results on the control of growth orientation in SrRuO3 thin film have been rather limited. For example, only orthorhombic a-axis growth could be obtained for SrRuO3 film on SrTiO3 (110) substrates. Here we were able to obtain various SrRuO3 films with (100)(o), (010)(o), and (111)(o) growth orientations, as well as with different amount of strain on SrTiO3 (110) substrates by using (Ca, Sr) SnO3 and CaHfO3 buffer layers. The magnetic properties were found to change systematically with the structural distortion of the SrRuO3 thin films. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3334727]