Electrical transport properties and laser-induced voltage effect in La0.8Ca0.2MnO3 epitaxial thin films

La_0.8Ca_0.2MnO₃ (LCMO) thin films about 200 nm thickness were grown on untilted and tilted (5°, 10° and 15°) LaAlO₃ (100) single crystal substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique. Electrical properties of the epitaxial thin films were studied by conventional four-probe technique and the anisotropic thermoelectric properties of the films grown on the tilted substrates have been investigated by laser-induced voltage (LIV) measurements. X-ray diffraction analysis and atomic force microscopy results show that the prepared LCMO thin films have a single phase and high crystalline quality. The remarkably large temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) values (above 11 %/K) are observed in the all films. TCR value reaches 18 %/K on the film grown on 10° tilted substrate. The intensity of LIV signals monotonously increases with the tilting angles, and the largest signal is 148 mV with the fast time response 229 ns for the film grown on 15° tilted substrate.