Temperature and angle dependence of magnetic damping in manganite thin films

Magnonics and magnonic materials have attracted widespread interest in the spintronics community and demonstrate potential for applications in the next generation of information technology. Recent advances in manganite thin films highlight their promise for magnonics, in which enhanced film quality and strain control of spin and electronic structures play a crucial role in reducing magnetic damping. Here, we report the fabrication of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ thin films of varying quality via pulsed laser deposition. The quality of epitaxial films is characterized using atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction. A pronounced fourfold anisotropy in the magnetic damping (with a ratio of about 150%) is observed, where the minimum damping occurs along the 110 crystalline orientation. Notably, improved sample quality significantly reduces the magnetic damping at low temperatures. The highest-quality sample, featuring atomic-scale terraces, exhibits a magnetic damping of ∼ 2.5 × 10⁻³ at 5 K. Our results not only demonstrate effective reduction of low-temperature magnetic damping in high-quality correlated oxide systems but also provides a strategy and material platform for exploring novel quantum phenomena and for designing low-temperature magnonic devices.