The following article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics 111.2 (2012): 024307 and may be found at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/111/2/10.1063/1.3677985Strain-induced self-assembled La0.7Sr0.3MnO 3 nanoislands of lateral size 50-150 nm and height 10-40 nm have been grown on yttria-stabilized zirconia (001)-substrates from ultradiluted chemical solutions based on metal propionates. The nanoislands grow highly relaxed withstanding the epitaxial relation (001)LSMO[110]//(001) Ysz[010] and show bulk-like average magnetic properties in terms of Curie temperature and saturation magnetization. The interplay of the magnetocrystalline and shape anisotropy within the nanoisland ensemble results in an in-plane magnetic anisotropy with a magnetocrystalline constant K 1(150K) = -(5±1) kJ/m3 and in-plane easy axis along the [110] -La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 direction as measured, for the first time, through ferromagnetic resonance experiments. Magnetic force microscopy studies reveal the correlation between nanoisland size and its magnetic domain structure in agreement with micromagnetic simulations. In particular, we have established the required geometric conditions for single domain, multidomain, and vortex configurations.We acknowledge the financial support from MEC (MAT2008-01022, Consolider NANOSELECT and FPU), Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (CAM S2009/MAT-1467),
Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Pla de Recerca 2009-SGR- 770 and XaRMAE), and EU (NESPA). R. D. Zysler and C. A. Ramos acknowledge support from PIP-1333(2007) CONICET and PICT 829 (2006) and PICT 832(2006) ANPCyT of Argentina. Serveis Científic-Tècnics from Universitat de Barcelona and Servei de Micròscopia from Universitat Auto`noma de Barcelona are acknowledged for TEM facilities
