Control of the magnetic easy axis in SrRuO3 thin films on SrTiO3 (110) substrates

had previously been demonstrated by introducing tunable anisotropic strain via a

CaHfO3 buffer layer. However, this method was not directly applicable; due to the

existence of twins in the CaHfO3 layer that grew on a SrTiO3 (001) substrate. The

twins appeared partly because of the crystal structure of CaHfO3, which had a large

orthorhombic distortion of (a−b)/a = 2.5%. Here, a mis-cut SrTiO3 (001) substrate

was used to create a twin-free CaHfO3 layer on the substrate, even though the large

mismatch between the CaHfO3 and SrTiO3 (001) substrates led to a relaxed growth

behaviour. The crystal quality of the CaHfO3 layer, as determined by the shape of

the rocking curve and existence of twins, was markedly improved by using the miscut

substrate. In addition, SrRuO3 film grown on top of this buffer layer was of

high quality and tensile strain and had an in-plane magnetic easy axis.

Tuning of Magnetism in SrRuO3 Thin Films on SrTiO3 (001) Substrate by Control

of the Twin and Strain Amount in the Buffer Layer. B.W.Lee, C.U.Jung,

M.Kawasaki, Y.Tokura: Journal of Applied Physics, 2008, 104[10], 103909