High-temperature insulating ferromagnetic state in charge-disproportionated and spin-state-disproportionated strained SrCoO2.5 thin film

Ferromagnetic insulators (FMIs) have widespread applications in microwave devices, magnetic tunneling junctions, and dissipationless electronic and quantum-spintronic devices. However, the sparsity of the available high-temperature FMIs has led to the quest for a robust and controllable insulating ferromagnetic state. Here, we present compelling evidence of modulation of the magnetic ground state in a SrCoO2.5 (SCO) thin film via strain engineering. The SCO system is an antiferromagnetic insulator with a Neel temperature, TN, of ∼550 K. Applying in-plane compressive strain, the SCO thin film reveals an insulating ferromagnetic state with an extraordinarily high Curie temperature, TC, of ∼750 K. The emerged ferromagnetic state is associated with charge-disproportionation (CD) and spin-state-disproportionation (SSD), involving high-spin Co2+ and low-spin Co4+ ions. The density functional theory calculation also produces an insulating ferromagnetic state in the strained SCO system, consistent with the CD and SSD, which is associated with the structural ordering in the system. Transpiring the insulating ferromagnetic state through modulating the electronic correlation parameters via strain engineering in the SCO thin film will have a significant impact in large areas of modern electronic and spintronic applications.