Magnetoresistance of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> epitaxial films grown on a substrate with low lattice mismatch

The structure, electrical resistivity, and magnetoresistance of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ heteroepitaxial films (120-nm thick) practically unstrained by lattice mismatch with the substrate were studied. A strong maximum of negative magnetoresistance of ≈27% (for μ₀H = 4 T) was observed at T ≈360 K. While the magnetoresistance decreased monotonically in magnitude with decreasing temperature, it was still in excess of 2% at 150 K. For T < 250 K, the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity ρ of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ films is fitted well by the relation ρ = ρ₀ + ρ ₁(H)T^2.3, where ρ₀ = 1.1×10^?4 Ω cm, ρ₁(H = 0) = 1.8×10^?9 Ω cm/K^2.3, and ρ₁(μ₀H = 4 T)/ρ₁(H = 0) ≈0.96. The temperature dependence of a parameter γ characterizing the extent to which the electrical resistivity of the ferromagnetic phase of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ films is suppressed by a magnetic field (μ ₀H = 5 T) was determined.     

Response of the electrical resistivity of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ba<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>(20 nm)/LaAlO<Subscript>3</Subscript>(001) films to magnetic field and variation in temperature

The structure, electrical resistivity, and magnetotransport parameters of 20-nm-thick epitaxial La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃ films grown by laser ablation on LaAlO₃(001) substrates are studied. The unit cell volume V _eff = 58.80 ų of the as-grown manganite films is found to be less than that for bulk La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃ crystals. Maximum values of the negative magnetoresistance MR(μ₀ H = 1 T) = ?0.27 for La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃ films are observed at a temperature of about 225 K. For 5 < T < 100 K, the film magnetoresistance depends only weakly on temperature and is on the order of ?0.1. At temperatures below 100 K and for 3 < μ₀ H < 5 T, the electrical resistivity of the as-grown films decreases linearly with increasing magnetic field.     

Response of the electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> films to biaxial tensile strains

The structure, electrical resistivity, and magnetoresistance of (50-nm)La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ epitaxial films grown on a [(80 nm)Ba_0.25Sr_0.75TiO₃/La_0.3Sr_0.7Al_0.65Ta_0.35O₃] substrate with a substantial positive lattice misfit have been studied. The tensile biaxial strains are shown to account for the increase in the cell volume and in the relative concentration of Mn⁺³ ions in the manganite films as compared to those for the original material (33%). The peak in the temperature dependence of the resistivity ρ of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films was shifted by 30–35 K toward lower temperatures relative to its position in the ρ(T) graph for a manganite film grown on (001)La_0.3Sr_0.7Al_0.65Ta_0.35O₃. For T < 150 K, the temperature dependences of ρ of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃/Ba_0.25Sr_0.75TiO₃/La_0.3Sr_0.7Al_0.65Ta_0.35O₃ films could be well fitted by the relation ρ = ρ₀ + ρ₁T^4.5, where ρ₀ = 0.35 mΩ cm and the coefficient ρ₁ decreases linearly with increasing magnetic field. In the temperature interval 4.2–300 K, the magnetoresistance of manganite films was within the interval 15–95% (μ₀H = 5 T).     

Electrical resistivity and magnetotransport in La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ba<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> films asymmetrically biaxially compressed by an NdGaO<Subscript>3</Subscript>(001) substrate

The La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃(40 nm) films are quasi-coherently grown on an NdGaO₃(001) substrate with an orthorhombic unit cell distortion of ～1.4%. The biaxial compressive stresses generated during nucleation and growth lead to a decrease in the unit cell volume of the grown layers. This, in turn, results in a decrease (by ～35 K) in the temperature of the maximum in the dependence of the electrical resistivity ρ of the layers on the temperature. For T < 150 K, the electrical resistivity ρ of the films increases in proportion to ρ₂ T ^4.5 and the coefficient ρ₂ decreases almost linearly with increasing magnetic field H. The negative magnetoresistance (≈?0.17 for μ₀ H = 1 T) reaches a maximum at temperatures close to room temperature. The response of the electrical resistivity ρ of the La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃(40 nm) films to the magnetic field depends on the crystallographic direction of the film orientation and the angle between H and I (where I is the electric current through the film).     

Structure and magneto-transport parameters of partially relaxed and coherently grown La0.67Ba0.33MnO3 films

X-ray diffraction (XRD) and medium-energy ion scattering (MEIS) have been used to reveal distortions in the crystal lattice of La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃ (LBMO) films formed in relaxation of mechanical stresses. The LBMO films 25 nm thick have been prepared by laser deposition. The XRD and MEIS data obtained suggest that biaxially and mechanically elastically stressed LBMO layers grow coherently on LSATO substrates, whose crystal lattice parameter differs only weakly from the corresponding LBMO parameter, whereas in the bulk of manganite films grown on LaAlO₃ substrates, stresses relax partially. Stresses do not relax in the LBMO interface about 4 nm thick adjoining LaAlO₃. The electro- and magneto-transport parameters of partially relaxed LBMO films have been compared with those obtained for coherently grown manganite films with approximately the same tetragonal distortion of the lattice cell (a _⊥/a _‖ = 1.024–1.030; a _‖ and a _⊥ are the unit cell parameters in the substrate plane and normal to it, respectively). At temperatures substantially lower than the Curie temperature, the electrical resistivity ρ of LBMO films fits the relation ρ = ρ₀ + ρ₁ T ² + ρ₂(H)T ^4.5; the coefficients ρ₀ and ρ₁ do not depend on temperature T and magnetic field, and ρ₂ does not depend on temperature but almost linearly decreases with increasing magnetic field strength H. The coefficient ρ₂ for partially relaxed LBMO films is substantially larger than that for coherently grown manganite layers.     

Effect of lateral tensile stresses on the low-temperature electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 nanofilms

The thickness of the buffer layer of strontium titanate introduced between an La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ manganite film and a (001)La_0.29Sr_0.71Al_0.65Ta_0.35O₃ substrate is varied (d ₁ = 7–70 nm) to influence effective misfit m in their lattice parameters. As m increases, electrical resistivity ρ of the film increases sharply and the maximum in the ρ(T) dependence shifts toward low temperatures. At T < 150 K, the temperature dependence of ρ of the manganite film obeys the relationship ρ = ρ₁ + ρ₂ T ^4.5, where parameter ρ₁ is independent of the temperature and magnetic field. Coefficient ρ₂ decreases with increasing magnetic field and increases with the misfit between the lattice parameters of the film and substrate, i.e., when the effective hole concentration in the manganite layer decreases.     

Magnetoresistance of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films the coherent growth of which is disturbed by mechanical stress relaxation

Because of a large (m = 1.8%) lattice mismatch between La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ and LaAlO₃, manganite films grown on a lanthanum aluminate substrate experience biaxial mechanical compression stresses. Strong adhesion to the substrate causes a substantial tetragonal distortion (γ ≈ 1.04) of the unit cell in a 20-nm-thick layer of the manganite film coherently grown on (001)LaAlO₃, while in the remaining part (≈75%) of the manganite film, stresses partially relax. The stress relaxation decreases γ and increases the effective volume of the unit cell of the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film. The relaxed part of the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film consists of crystallites 50–200 nm across azimuthally misoriented by approximately 0.3°. The temperature dependences of the resistivity and negative magnetoresistance of the manganite films exhibit maxima at 240 and 215 K, respectively. At temperatures below 50 K, the dependence of the resistivity on the magnetic induction taken with the induction varying from 0 to 14 T and vice versa becomes hysteresis.     

Electrical resistivity and magnetotransport properties of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ba<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> epitaxial films biaxially compressed by the substrate

The structure, electrical resistivity, and magnetoresistance of La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃(20 nm) films grown coherently on an La_0.3Sr_0.7Al_0.65Ta_0.35O₃(001) substrate with a lattice misfit of about 1% were studied. The rigid connection of the manganite layer with the bulk substrate brought about the unit cell distortion of the substrate (a _⊥/a _‖ = 1.02) and a decrease in the unit cell volume as compared to that of the corresponding bulk crystals (a _‖ and a _⊥ are the unit cell parameters measured in the substrate plane and along the surface normal, respectively). The temperature T _M ≈ 295 K, at which the electrical resistivity ρ of the (20 nm)La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃ films reached a maximum, was 40–45 K lower than that for the corresponding bulk crystals. The negative magnetoresistance (MR ≈ ?0.25 for μ₀ H = 1 T) attained a peak value at T _MR ≈ 270 K. The response of ρ to a magnetic field depended substantially on the angle between the current flow in the film and the direction of the magnetic field.     

Response of the electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> epitaxial films to biaxial compressive mechanical (001) or (110) strains

The behavior of the electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance of 40-to 120-nm-thick La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films grown on differently oriented lanthanum aluminate substrates was studied. The cell volume in thin (40 nm) La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films grown coherently on (001)LaAlO₃ was found to be substantially smaller. Mechanical stress relaxation in biaxially strained La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films is accompanied by an increase in the cell volume. The temperatures at which the electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance in biaxially strained La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films were maximum can differ by 60–70 K from those observed in bulk single crystals.     

Effect of phase stratification into electro- and magnetotransport in heteroepitaxial La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 films

The La_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃ films 25-nm thick biaxially compressed in the substrate plane, grown quasi-coherently on the (001) surface of the LaAlO₃ single crystal, were studied using laser vaporization. It was found that mechanical stresses acting during nucleation and growth promoted calcium enrichment of the cation sublattice of the manganite layer, which caused a decrease in its unit cell volume. Crystalline grains in manganite films were distinctly oriented along the normal to the substrate plane; the grain size in the substrate plane was within 20–40 nm, and the relative grain misorientation in the substrate plane did not exceed 0.2°. In zero magnetic field, the maximum in the temperature dependence of the resistivity ρ of La_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃ films was observed at temperatures close to 210 K. At T < 100 K and μ₀ H = 2 T, the magnetoresistance of manganite films was negative, weakly depended on temperature, its value was about–0.45. The magnetic field caused transformation of nonferromagnetic phase inclusions to ferromagnetic ones, which resulted in a decrease in the La_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃ film resistivity with increasing magnetic field. At low temperatures (T < 100 K), a hysteresis was observed in the dependences of the film resistivity on the magnetic field.     

Magnetotransport parameters of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films grown on neodymium gallate substrates

Weakly mechanically stressed 40-nm-thick La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films have been grown coherently on a (001)NdGaO₃ substrate by laser evaporation. The electrical resistivity ρ of the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film reaches a maximum at a temperature T _C ≈ 255 K. At temperatures below 0.6T _C, the temperature dependences of ρ are well approximated by the relation ρ = ρ_def + C ₁ T ² + C ₂ T ^4.5, in which the first term on the right-hand side accounts for the contribution of structural defects to electrical resistivity, and the second and third terms stand for those of the electron-electron and electron-magnon interactions, respectively. The parameters ρ_def ≈ 1 x 10^?4 Ω cm and C ₁ ≈ 7.7 × 10^?9 Ω cm K^?2 do not depend on temperature and magnetic field H. The coefficient C ₂ decreases with increasing H to reach about 4.9 × 10^?15 Ω cm K^?4.5 at μ₀ H = 14 T.     

Magnetoresistance anisotropy in La0.67Ba0.33MnO3 films laterally compressed by a neodymium gallate substrate

The mismatch in the crystal lattice parameters induces biaxial lateral compression of 35-nm La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃ films coherently grown on neodymium gallate substrates. Mechanical stresses emerging during the nucleation and growth of the manganite layer facilitate the depletion of this layer in the alkali-earth element. This results in an increase in the unit cell volume in the grown films and a decrease in temperature T _M at which the resistivity attains the maximal value. The extremal values of the negative magnetoresistance (MR ≈ 17% for μ₀ H = 1 T) of the grown films are observed at temperatures close to room temperature. At T < T _M , the response of the resistivity of the films to the magnetic field depends on the direction of this field relative to the normal to the substrate plane and to the direction of the measuring current. At T = 95 K, scattering of holes from 90°-domain walls leads to an increase in the resistivity of the manganite films by approximately 1.1%, while the negative anisotropic magnetoresistance reaches 1.5%.     

Response of the electrical resistance of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3(40 nm) films mechanically compressed by the substrate in the course of their formation to electric and magnetic fields

The structure and electrical resistance of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃(40 nm) epitaxial films grown quasicoherently on the surface of LaAlO₃(001) substrates are investigated. Compressive mechanical stresses that are active in the substrate plane during nucleation and growth encourage a decrease in the effective unit cell volume and an increase in the relative concentration of tetravalent manganese ions in the manganite layers. This leads to a decrease in the temperature of the maximum in the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of the films by approximately 90 K compared to the Curie temperature for the corresponding stoichiometric bulk crystals. It is found that, at T < 120 K and μ₀ H = 0 (where H is the magnetic field strength), the measuring current depends nonlinearly on the voltage V _b applied to the contacts. An increase in the applied voltage V _b and in the magnetic field strength H favors linearization of the current-voltage characteristics of the films.     

Effect of the substrate crystalline structure on the magnetic, electrical, and crystallographic characteristics of La0.35Nd0.35Sr0.3MnO3 epitaxial films

A study has been made of the electrical resistivity ρ, magnetoresistance Δρ/ρ, and magnetization of La_0.35Nd_0.35Sr_0.3MnO₃ epitaxial films on ZrO₂(Y₂O₃), SrTiO₃, LaAlO₃, and MgO substrates. The first film can exist in four equivalent crystallographic orientations in the sample plane, while the other three have only one orientation. The maxima of ρ and Δρ/ρ of the first film are broadened considerably in the vicinity of the Curie point T _C compared to the three others, the magnitude of ρ itself being larger by 1.5 orders of magnitude, and a large negative magnetoresistance (|Δρ/ρ| ～ 10% in a field of 8.4 kOe) is observed at temperatures 80≤T≤200 K. In all films, the magnetic moment per molecule at 5 K is ～46% smaller than the pure spin value, due to the existence of magnetically disordered regions. The larger value of ρ of the film deposited on ZrO₂(Y₂O₃) is due to the electrical resistance of the boundaries separating regions with different crystallographic orientations, and the magnetoresistance is associated with polarized carriers tunneling through the boundaries coinciding with domain walls. The low-temperature magnetoresistance in fields above technical saturation is caused by the strong p-d exchange coupling within spin-ordered regions.     

Transport parameters of granular La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films grown on an R-plane sapphire

Precisely (100)-oriented, 200-nm thick La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films have been grown by laser ablation on a sapphire (R-plane) substrate covered by a (100)SrTiO₃/(001)Bi₂SrNb₂O₉/(001)CeO₂ trilayer buffer. The azimuthal misorientation of crystal grains (50–300 nm) in the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films decreased by about 40% as the condensation temperature was increased ered from 760 to 810° C. The lattice parameter of the grown manganate films was reduced to 3.81–3.82 Å by enriching them with oxygen. The maximum in the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films grown was shifted toward lower temperatures by 20–50 K relative to its position for bulk ceramic samples of a stoichiometric composition. The largest magnetoresistance (MR=42% at H=0.4 T) was found in La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films with a Mn⁴⁺ concentration on the order of 50% (T=166 K).     

Variations in the electrical resistivity of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films and induced interconversions of ferromagnetic and nonferromagnetic inclusions in their bulk

A significant (∼1.8%) positive unit between the parameters of the crystal lattice is the reason of tetragonal distortion (a _⊥/a _‖ ≈ 1.04) and reduction in the volume of the unit cell of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films (15 nm) quasicoherently grown on the (001) surface of a LaAlO₃ substrate. The films consist of single-crystal blocks with the lateral size of 30–50 nm. The atomically smooth LaAlO₃-La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ interphase boundary has no misfit dislocations. At T = 4.2 K, the transformation of nonferromagnetic phase inclusions into ferromagnetic ones in a constant magnetic field H is accompanied by a stable reduction in the electrical resistivity ρ of manganite films with time, so that the curve ρ(t) is well approximated by the relationship ρ(t) ∼ ρ₁(t − t ₀)^1/2, (where t ₀ is the time for establishment of the specified value (μ₀ H = 5 T) of the magnetic field and ρ₁ is a coefficient independent of H). The magnetocrystalline anisotropy due to the elastic deformation of films by the substrate and stratification of electronic phases are the reasons of the distinct hysteresis in the dependences ρ(μ₀ H, T < 100 K) obtained on μ₀ H scanning in the sequence 5 T → 0 → −5 T → 0 → 5 T. At T = 50 K and μ₀ H = 0.4 T, the magnetoresistance MR = 100% [ρ(μ₀ H) − ρ(μ₀ H = 0)]/ρ(μ₀ H = 0) of LCMO films attains 150%.     

Reactance of the n-Au/p-La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 film contact

The responses of the resistance and reactance of Au/(20 nm)La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film heterostructures to temperature variation and magnetic field (f = 100 kHz) are investigated. At T = 300 K, the capacitance per unit area of the interface between a gold contact and the Au/(20 nm)La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ epitaxial film is found to be about 1 μF/cm². The maximum value of the negative magnetoreactance (≈60% at μ₀ H = 0.4 T) of the heterostructures is almost twice as high as the extremal value of the active magnetoresistance at T ≈ 235 K. The effective depth of magnetic field penetration into the manganite film on the side of the gold contact deposited on its surface is about 3 nm at room temperature.     

Magnetoresistance and electrical conductivity of manganite bicrystal contacts

Magnetic bicrystal contacts in epitaxial films of manganite La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ prepared on bicrystal substrates with a misorientation of the NdGaO₃(110) basal planes rotated through an angle of ±14° around the bicrystal boundary line were studied. The temperature dependence of the contact electrical resistance was studied, and the magnetoresistance was measured in fields of up to 1.5 kOe. It is shown that the suppression of ferromagnetic correlations near the boundary leads to the formation of a layer having a substantially lower Curie temperature. Magnetoresistance of 150%, which is record-braking for bicrystal contacts, was measured at T = 4.2 K in a weak magnetic field of about 500 Oe and at a characteristic electrical resistance of the boundary of 3 × 10⁻⁶ Ω cm². It is found that slight orthorhombic distortions of a La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film due to a lattice mismatch with the NdGaO₃(110) substrate crystal structure lead to the formation of biaxial magnetic anisotropy in the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film.     

Magnetoimpedance in La0.67Pb0.33MnO3 manganite prepared by sol–gel method

In the present work, manganite La_0.67Pb_0.33MnO₃ was prepared by the sol–gel method. The difference between metal–insulator transition temperature T_MI (217 K) and Curie temperature T_c (342 K) in the sol–gel nanocrystalline manganite is mainly due to the grain boundary effect. The breaking of Mn–O–Mn bonds and strong scattering at the grain boundary cumber the transport. At room temperature 300 K, impedance and resistance increase with increasing frequency of ac currents. The observed dc magnetoresistance in sol–gel La_0.67Pb_0.33MnO₃ is related to the spin-polarized inter-grain tunneling and spin-dependent scattering at grain boundaries. The sol–gel manganite shows the magnetoimpedance characteristics, which are different from those of traditional sintered manganites and metallic giant magnetoimpedance materials. For sol–gel La_0.67Pb_0.33MnO₃ at low frequencies, the impedance experiences a peak under a low longitudinal field. In contrast, at high frequencies the peak phenomenon disappears, and the impedance drops sharply with low fields, which is due to the inter-grain or grain boundary effect. The permeability also sensitively varies with an application of transverse field. The magnetoimpedance effect in sol–gel nanocrystalline manganite is influenced by both field-induced permeability change and dc magnetoresistance.     

Structure and magnetoresistance of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> films grown coherently on (001)NdGaO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

40-to 120-nm-thick (001)La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films grown through laser evaporation on (001)NdGaO₃ were studied. The lattice parameters of the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films measured in the substrate plane (a_∥=3.851 Å) and along the normal to its surface (a_⊥=3.850 Å) practically coincided with that of the pseudocubic neodymium gallate. The unit-cell volume of the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film was slightly smaller than that of stoichiometric bulk samples. The position of the maximum in the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity did not depend on the thickness of the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film. The negative magnetoresistance (MR≈?0.25, H=0.4 T) of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films reached a maximum at 239–244 K.