Impact of substrate on magnetic phase coexistence in bicritical Sm0.53Sr0.47MnO3 thin films

Sm0.53Sr0.47MnO3 thin films were deposited on single crystal LaAlO3 (LAO/(001)) and SrTiO3 (STO/(001)) substrates by DC magnetron sputtering. The θ - 2 θ and ω - 2 θ scans show that these films have very good crystallinity and the films on LAO and STO are under compressive and tensile strain, respectively. The films on LAO and STO substrates show ferromagnetic (insulator–metal) transition at T C ∼ 126 K (at T I M ∼ 128 K ) and 120 K ( T I M ∼ 117 K ), respectively. The magnetic state at T < T C is akin to cluster glass, which is formed by the presence of charge ordered-antiferromagnetic clusters in the ferromagnetic matrix. Huge drop in the resistivity at T I M and the associated hysteresis with respect to cooling and warming cycles reveal the bicritical and the first order nature of phase transition, which is also confirmed by the Banerjee criterion. The differences and similarities in the functional properties of films are explained in terms of substrate modified magnetic phase coexistence.