Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026
06:49
Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering of GdBa2Cu3O7−δ/ La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 Quasi-bilayer Films on SrTiO3 (STO) Single-crystal Substrates
Published on: April 12, 2019
KNbO3-based multiferroic heterostructures: a lead-free alternative for strain-driven magnetic modulations
Hemanita Sharma1,2, Deepak Dagur2, Federico Motti2
1Department of Physics, University of Trieste Piazzale Europa, 1 Trieste 34127 Italy.
Nanoscale Advances
|June 1, 2026
Summary
We developed novel multiferroic heterostructures using lead-free potassium niobate (KNbO3) substrates with nickel and lanthanum strontium manganite films. These structures show tunable magnetic properties influenced by the substrate's temperature-dependent structural changes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Artificial multiferroic heterostructures enable magnetic property engineering via strain and magnetoelectric coupling.
- Potassium niobate (KNbO3) is a lead-free ferroelectric material with potential for multiferroic applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the growth and magnetic properties of Ni and La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 thin films on KNbO3 (100) substrates.
- To understand the influence of KNbO3's temperature-dependent structural transitions on the magnetic behavior of the overlying films.
Main Methods:
- Growth of ferromagnetic thin films (Ni, La0.67Sr0.33MnO3) on KNbO3 single crystals.
- Combined structural and magneto-optical characterizations.
- Temperature-dependent magnetic measurements.
Main Results:
- Observed sensitive modifications in KNbO3 ferroelectric domain composition upon cooling through structural transitions.
- Demonstrated a transition from in-plane anisotropic to isotropic magnetization in Ni films due to KNbO3 phase changes.
- Reported modulation of coercivity in both Ni and La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 films across structural transitions, indicating strain-driven coupling.
Conclusions:
- Successfully fabricated the first reported KNbO3-based multiferroic heterostructures.
- Established KNbO3 as a promising lead-free substrate for functional metallic magnetostrictive and complex oxide thin films.
- Highlighted the potential for strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling in these novel heterostructures.
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