Investigation of substrate-induced strain effects in La0.7Ca0.15Sr0.15MnO3 thin films using ferroelectric polarization and the converse piezoelectric effect

We have fabricated manganite film/ferroelectric crystal heterostructures by growing La0.7Ca0.15Sr0.15MnO3 (LCSMO) films on ferroelectric 0.67Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3−0.33PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) single-crystal substrates. The efficient mechanical coupling at the interface, originated from ferroelectric polarization or the converse piezoelectric effect in the PMN-PT substrate, gives rise to large changes in the strain state, electrical resistance, magnetoresistance, and insulator-to-metal transition temperature (TP) of the film. We interpreted all these changes in terms of substrate-induced strain, which modifies the tetragonal distortion of MnO6 octahedra and the electron-lattice coupling strength in the film. Quantitative relationships between TP and induced strain in the LCSMO film have been established.