Interfacial Control of Magnetic Properties at LaMnO₃/LaNiO₃ heterostructures

The functional properties of oxide heterostructures ultimately rely on how the electronic and structural mismatches occurring at interfaces are accommodated by the chosen materials combination. We discuss here LaMnO₃/LaNiO₃ heterostructures, which display an intrinsic interface structural asymmetry depending on the growth sequence. Using a X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measured at the X-Treme beamline, SLS, in conjunction with X-ray reflectivity measured at the SEXTANTS beamline, SOLEIL, we show that the degree of intermixing at the monolayer scale allows interface-driven properties such as charge transfer and the induced magnetic moment in the nickelate layer to be controlled. Further, our results demonstrate that the magnetic state of strained LaMnO₃ thin films dramatically depends on interface reconstructions.