Induction of a Metallic State in LaMnPO Thin Films

D.G. FRANCO; G. NIEVA; J. GUIMPEL; J. W. SIMONSON; M. C. ARONSON

San Carlos de Bariloche

Conferencia; Advanced Topics in Magnetism and Superconductivity; 2014

Recently, superconductivity was discovered in Fe based pcnictides [1], contrary to the Mn based pcnictides where an insulating state is usually found. Recent studies on LaMnPO show that a transition from an insulating antiferromagnetic to a conductive ferromagnetic state can be induced with modest pressures [2]. In view of this, changing the electronic states with biaxial strains induced by a substrate on a thin film seems possible. In an attempt to stabilize a superconducting phase, we have grown LaMnPO thin films by dc magnetron sputtering on SrTiO3 and MgO substrates. Preliminary results are presented on the magnetic and the electrical transport properties showing the induction of a metallic state down to 2K, probably due to the biaxial strains. [1] Y. Kamihara et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130 (2008) 3296. [2] J.W. Simonson et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109 (2012) E1815.