Processing and phase separation of LSMO-based multiferroic composite ceramics

In this paper, the effect of processing conditions on phase separation and crystal structure of (x) La0.625Sr0.375MnO3–(1 − x) LuMnO3 composite system was studied by XRD and SEM. The results confirm that there is a solid solution of monoclinic phase of space group P1121/a in this system, i.e. (La0.625Sr0.375)x Lu1−xMnO3 is formed for x = 0.980–1.0. For 0 < x ≤ 0.975, the immiscibility region shows clear separation of both La-rich and Lu-rich phases. The optimal preparation conditions were found for this system: sintering at 1250 and 1350 °C for samples of monoclinic La-rich phase and for the immiscibility region, respectively.