Ferromagnetism in LaFeO3/LaNiO3 superlattices with high Curie temperature
Interfacing complex oxides in atomically engineered layered structures can give rise to a wealth of exceptional electronic and magnetic properties that surpass those of the individual building blocks. Herein, we demonstrate a ferromagnetic spin order with a high Curie temperature of 608 K in superlattices consisting of otherwise paramagnetic perovskite LaNiO<sub>3</sub> (LNO) and antiferromagnetic LaFeO<sub>3</sub> (LFO). The ferromagnetism likely results from the covalent exchange due to interfacial charge transfer from Fe to Ni cations. By deliberately controlling the thickness of the LNO sublayers thus the amount of charge transfer, a robust ferromagnetism of 4 u<sub>B</sub> is realized for a stacking periodicity consisting of one single unit cell of both LNO and LFO, an emergent double perovskite phase of La<sub>2</sub>FeNiO<sub>6</sub> with B-site layered ordering configurations. The ferromagnetic LFO/LNO superlattices offer great potential for the search of emergent magnetodielectric and/or multiferroic properties as well as applications in spintronics and electrocatalysts.
Authors
- Jirong Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4531-4794)
- Shaojin Qi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5229-7174)
- Fengxia Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0383-0213)
- Minghang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0983-5074)
- Yuansha Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7291-5088)
- Yunzhong Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8368-5823)
- Yuchen Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1593-6614)
- Tianlin Zhou
- Xinzhe Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4400-4471)
- Qinghua Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9086-7000)
- Jianjie Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7632-5432)
- Y.‐L. He
- Fei Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4343-0276)
- Baogen Shen
Institutions
- FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ)
- Jiangxi Academy of Environmental Sciences (CN)
- Institute of Physics (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Ningbo Institute of Industrial Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-04-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58968-z
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.14
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Canadian Light Source
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China