Structure and properties of epitaxial perovskite Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 heterostructures

The morphology, crystalline structure of epitaxial heterostructures of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48) O-3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (PZT/LSMO) grown on single crystalline SrTiO3 substrates by pulse laser deposition (PLD), have been investigated. The morphology results show that the LSMO layers and PZT layers are smooth and homogenous. The crystalline structure measurements indicate that good epitaxial relationships between LSMO and PZT and STO were obtained. The effects of applied electric and magnetic fields on the physical properties of epitaxial perovskite ferroelectric/ferromagnetic heterostructures were investigated. The results show that the polarized electric field has a very significant influence on the transport properties of LSMO layers while has little influence on the magnetization, and the magnetic field has an obvious influence on the ferroelectric behavior of the PZT layer. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3677866]