Superflexibility in single-crystalline manganite oxide membranes with gigantic bending curvature and strain

Abstract

High-quality flexible membranes have promoted a myriad of applications in soft electronics or spintronic devices. Nevertheless, magnetic membranes that can withstand strong folding and rolling distortions have rarely been reported. Here, we found that the few to tens of nanometer thick LaMnO3 membranes with single-crystalline qualities exhibit superflexibility, demonstrated by self-folding and rolling into few-micron and sub-micron features. The combined scanning transmission electron microscope and selected area electron diffraction experiments simultaneously confirm the 180° folded single crystalline structure and the associated bending curvature and strain as large as 2  μm−1 and 4%. Furthermore, the scanning electron microscope revealed that as the membrane thickness decreases from 40 to 20 nm and 8 nm, the 180° folding is replaced by self-rolling into few-micron size tubes. Magnetization measurements revealed a large saturation (remnant) magnetization enhancement of 21% (34%) achieved in a macroscopically forced bending state under a similar bending strain of 4.9%. This work demonstrates the superflexibility of manganite oxide membranes which promise superior potential in flexible magnetic device applications.