Magnetic domain tuning and the emergence of bubble domains in the bilayer manganite La2-2xSr1+2xMn2O7 (x=0.32)

Abstract

We report a magnetic force microscopy study of the magnetic domain evolution in the layered manganite La2-2xSr1+2xMn2O7 (with x=0.32). This strongly correlated electron compound is known to exhibit a wide range of magnetic phases, including a recently uncovered biskyrmion phase. We observe a continuous transition from dendritic to stripelike domains, followed by the formation of magnetic bubbles due to a field- and temperature-dependent competition between in-plane and out-of-plane spin alignments. The magnetic bubble phase appears at comparable field and temperature ranges as the biskyrmion phase, suggesting a close relation between both phases. Based on our real-space images we construct a temperature-field phase diagram for this composition. © 2015 American Physical Society