Antiferromagnetic domain reconfiguration in embedded LaFeO₃ thin film nanostructures

Using photoemission electron microscopy in combination with X-ray magnetic linear dichroism, we report reconfiguration upon nanostructuring of the antiferromagnetic domain structure in epitaxial LaFeO₃ thin films. Antiferromagnetic (AFM) nanoislands were synthesized using a dedicated process, devised to define nanostructures with magnetic order embedded in a paramagnetic matrix. Significant impact on the AFM domain configuration was observed. Extended domains were found to form along edges parallel to the in-plane 〈100〉 crystalline axes of the cubic substrate, with their AFM spin axis parallel to the edge. No such edge-imposed domain configuration was found for nanoislands defined with the edges at 45° with the in-plane crystalline axes. Epitaxial constraints on the film crystalline structure appear to play an important role in the formation of the edge-bound extended AFM domains. The data indicate a magnetostatic origin of this domain reconfiguration.