Strain-Enhanced Charge Transfer and Magnetism at a Manganite/Nickelate Interface

The strain effect on charge transfer in correlated oxide La0.8Sr0.2MnO3/NdNiO3 (LSMO/NNO) heterostructures is investigated. This is achieved by carefully tailoring the strain on the two layers using various substrates. In contrast to bare LSMO films, the strain dependence of the enhanced magnetic moment of the LSMO/NNO bilayers strongly suggests that the charge transfer can be controlled via strain engineering in complex oxide heterostructures. Furthermore, our study also reveals that the coercive field, exchange bias, and conductivity are dramatically affected by the strain-modulated charge transfer in LSMO/NNO heterostructures. Our work thus points out a new path to control electronic states in oxide heterostructures to advance the use of interfaces in oxide-based electronics.