Stabilization and functional properties of La3NiAlMnO9 and La3CoAlMnO9 magnetoelectric triple perovskites

Ferromagnetic La3NiAlMnO9 (LNAMO) and La3CoAlMnO9 (LCAMO) triple-perovskite thin films are stabilized in the 750-860 oC temperature range in 100 to 900 mTorr O2 pressure range using pulsed-laser deposition. The LCAMO and LNAMO films exhibit ferromagnetism up to 190 K and 130 K respectively. The structural, optical and magnetic properties of these films demonstrate that the B-site 3d-cations, Al, Mn and Co or Ni ions, are structurally short-range ordered. The strong spin-lattice-polarization coupling in LCAMO is evidenced by the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant and the softening of the phonon frequencies starting in the vicinity of the ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic phase transition mimicking the behaviours of La2CoMnO6 double perovskite.