The coupling between strain and magnetic order arises due to the modifications in orbital overlap and crystal field symmetry, giving rise to strain-induced magnetic anisotropy. Here, we find an evolution of strain-tuned out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy in thin films of double perovskite ${\mathrm{Sm}}_2{\mathrm{CoFeO}}_6$, which possesses room-temperature ferromagnetism. Notably, the magnetization of the thin films is enhanced nearly 40 times compared to its bulk value, making a strong case for strain-induced ferromagnetism. The intrinsic magnetic anisotropy constant increases from 3 ${\mathrm{kJ}/\mathrm{m}}^3$ to 120 ${\mathrm{kJ}/\mathrm{m}}^3$ with the application of tensile strain from 0.7% to 2%. The magnetostriction coefficient is estimated to be as large as $30\times {10}^{-6}$. The strain-induced ferromagnetism in ${\mathrm{Sm}}_2{\mathrm{CoFeO}}_6$ is well supported with density functional theory calculations. Such magnetoelastic coupling-driven magnetic anisotropy tuning is further discussed in the micromagnetic framework.

Close

PrevNext

View figure in article

• Ferromagnetism
• Growth
• Magnetic anisotropy
• Magnetic thin films
• Micromagnetic modeling
• Strain engineering