  We report and compare the structural, magnetic, and optical properties of
ordered La2NiMnO6 thin films and its disordered LaNi0.5Mn0.5O3 counterpart. An
x-ray diffraction study reveals that the B-site Ni/Mn ordering induces
additional XRD reflections as the crystal symmetry is transformed from a
pseudocubic perovskite unit cell in the disordered phase to a monoclinic form
with larger lattice parameters for the ordered phase. Polarized Raman
spectroscopy studies reveal that the ordered samples are characterized by
additional phonon excitations that are absent in the disordered phase. The
appearance of these additional phonon excitations is interpreted as the
clearest signature of Brillouin zone folding as a result of the long-range
Ni/Mn ordering in La2NiMnO6. Both ordered and disordered materials display a
single ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic transition. The ordered films display also
a saturation magnetization close to 4.8 mB/f.u. and a transition temperature
(FM-TC) around 270 K, while the disordered ones have only a 3.7 mB/f.u.
saturation magnetization and a FM-TC around 138 K. The differences in their
magnetic behaviours are understood based on the distinct local electronic
configurations of their Ni/Mn cations.
