Spin-orbit-lattice coupling and magnetostriction of strained La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 films

Abstract

We investigated correlation of orbital and magnetic anisotropies in strained ferromagnetic La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 films epitaxially grown on different substrates, using the magnetic circular dichroism at Mn L-2,L-3 absorption edges. The obtained in-plane and out-of-plane orbital moments explain consistently the magnetic anisotropy varying with the substrate, even though the moments are very small with values much less than 0.1 mu(B)/Mn. The results quantify the magnetostriction energy and open up the microscopic understanding of the spin-orbit-lattice coupling.