Improved properties of epitaxial YNixMn1-xO3 films by annealing under high magnetic fields

The effect of annealing under a magnetic field on the microstructure and properties of YNixMn1-xO3 (x=0.33 and 0.5) films has been investigated. It is found that the ferromagnetic transition temperature is significantly enhanced after post annealing in the presence of an 8 T magnetic field. Characterization study shows that the microstructure is affected, obtaining larger grains of uniform size when films are annealed under a magnetic field. The improvement in the ordering temperature of all films is interpreted in terms of the grain growth caused by the magnetic-field driving force for boundary motion where the exchange coupling is high.