Magnetotransport properties of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3//La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 bilayers

The perovskite bilayers La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 （LCMO） （100 nm） / La0.67Sr0.33MnO3（LSMO） （100 nm） and LSMO （100 nm） / LCMO （100 nm） are fabricated by a facing-target sputtering technique. Their transport and magnetic properties are investigated. It is found that the transport properties between them are different obviously due to distinguishable structures, and the different lattice strains in both films result in the difference of metal-to-insulator transition. Only single-step magnetization loop appears in our bilayers from 5K to 320K, and the coercive force of LSMO/LCMO varies irregularly with a minimum ～ 2387A/m which is lower than that of LCMO and LSMO single layer films. The behaviour is explained by some magnetic coupling.     

Preparation of the La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 films on STO and LAO substrates by excimer laser-assisted metal organic deposition using the KrF laser

La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ films were prepared on SrTiO₃ (STO) and LaAlO₃ (LAO) substrates using excimer laser-assisted metal organic deposition (ELAMOD). For the LAO substrate, no epitaxial La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ film was obtained by laser irradiation in the fluence range from 60 to 110 mJ/cm² with heating at 500 °C. On the other hand, an epitaxial La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ film on the STO substrate was formed by laser irradiation in the fluence range from 60 to 100 mJ/cm² with heating at 500 °C. To optimize the electrical properties for an IR sensor, the effects of the laser fluence, the irradiation time and the film thickness on the temperature dependence of the resistance and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR: defined as 1/R·(dR/dT)) of the LSMO films were investigated. An LSMO film on the STO substrate that showed the maximum TCR of 3.9% at 265 K was obtained by the ELAMOD process using the KrF laser.     

Thickness dependence of electroresistance in La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 epitaxial films

The electroresistance (ER) of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ (LCMO) epitaxial thin films with different thicknesses was studied. For the 110 nm thick LCMO film, its ER shows a maximum at T_p, where the resistance shows a peak, and decreases to zero at lower temperatures. While for the 30 nm thick LCMO film, its ER is remarkable in a wide temperature range. Another interesting observation in this work is that the electric current can tune the magnetoresistance of the ultrathin LCMO thin film. The results were discussed by considering the coexistence of ferromagnetic metallic phase with the charge ordered phase, and the variation of the phase separation with film thickness and electric current. This work also demonstrates that electric current can tune the magnetoresistance of the manganites, which is helpful for their applications.     

Influence of the laser wavelength on the epitaxial growth and electrical properties of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 films grown by excimer laser-assisted MOD

Epitaxial La_1−xSr_xMnO₃ (LSMO) films were prepared by excimer laser-assisted metal organic deposition (ELAMOD) at a low temperature using ArF, KrF, and XeCl excimer lasers. Cross-section transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) observations confirmed the epitaxial growth and homogeneity of the LSMO film on a SrTiO₃ (STO) substrate, which was prepared using ArF, KrF, and XeCl excimer lasers. It was found that uniform epitaxial films could be grown at 500 °C by laser irradiation. When an XeCl laser was used, an epitaxial film was formed on the STO substrate at a fluence range from 80 to 140 mJ/cm² of the laser fluence for the epitaxial growth of LSMO film on STO substrate was changed. When the LaAlO₃ (LAO) substrate was used, an epitaxial film was only obtained by ArF laser irradiation, and no epitaxial film was obtained using the KrF and XeCl lasers. When the back of the amorphous LSMO film on an LAO substrate was irradiated using a KrF laser, no epitaxial film formed. Based on the effect of the wavelength and substrate material on the epitaxial growth, formation of the epitaxial film would be found to be photo thermal reaction and photochemical reaction. The maximum temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of the epitaxial La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ film on an STO substrate grown using an XeCl laser is 4.0%/K at 275 K. XeCl lasers that deliver stabilized pulse energies can be used to prepare LSMO films with good a TCR.     

Interfacial spin interactions of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic manganite bilayers

A pulsed laser deposition technique was used to grow ferromagnetic La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO) films on antiferromagnetic La_0.33Ca_0.67MnO₃ (LCMO) and Pr_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ (PCMO) films in bilayer forms. The LSMO film on the PCMO layer had a more elongated out-of-plane lattice than that on the LCMO layer. The former had a lower ferromagnetic transition temperature (320 K) than the latter (350 K). The enhanced low-temperature magnetoresistance of the LSMO/PCMO bilayer suggests that the spin frustration is stronger at this bilayer than in the LSMO/LCMO bilayer. These differences indicate that strain state and defect concentration play important roles in governing interfacial spin interactions.     

Response of the capacitance of a planar La0.67Ca0.33MnO3/SrTiO3/La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 heterostructure to an electric field

Manganite film electrodes were integrated with a spacer layer of strontium titanate to produce an epitaxial La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃/(1000 nm)SrTiO₃/La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ (LCMO/STO/LCMO) heterostructure by laser ablation. At T = 300 K, the mechanical stresses in the STO layer relaxed to a considerable extent, while the LCMO electrodes were found to be under biaxial lateral tensile strain, with the lattice unit cell of the top electrode distorted considerably stronger (a _∥/a _⊥ ≈ 1.026) than that of the bottom electrode (≈1.008) (a _∥ and a _⊥ are the unit cell parameters in the substrate plane and along the normal to its surface, respectively). The reciprocal of the capacitance C of the plane-parallel LCMO/STO/LCMO film capacitors thus formed increased almost linearly with increasing temperature T in the range 50–250 K. At T < 100 K, the capacitance C decreased by approximately 50% in an electric field E = 40 kV/cm. After the electric field E was varied as 0 → + 100 kV/cm → 0, the capacitance C decreased by approximately 3% and the maximum in the C(E, T > 200 K) dependence shifted by approximately 9 kV/cm with respect to the point E = 0.     

Photocarrier injection and the I-V characteristics of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3/SrTiO3:Nb heterojunctions

Oxide heterojunctions made of p-type La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ (LSMO) and niobium-doped n-type SrTiO₃ (STO:Nb) have been fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique and characterized under UV light irradiation by measuring the current-voltage, photovoltaic properties and the junction capacitance. It is shown that the heterojunctions work as an efficient UV photodiode, in which photogenerated holes in the STO:Nb substrate are injected to the LSMO film. The maximum surface hole density Q/e and external quantum efficiency γ are estimated to be 8.3×10¹² cm⁻² and 11% at room temperature, respectively. They are improved significantly in a p-i-n junction of LSMO/STO/STO:Nb, where Q/e and γ are 3.0×10¹³ cm⁻² and 27%, respectively.     

Microstructures and electrical properties of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 films synthesized by sol-gel method

La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ (LSMO) thin films were fabricated on alumina substrates by an improved sol-gel dip-coating process. It was found that multiple dip-coating process could not be performed until the pre-firing temperature reached 600 °C. Different amounts of LSMO powders were added to precursor solution with an aim to avoid cracks in LSMO thin films during calcining caused by the shrinkage mismatch between the film and the substrate. The structure and surface morphology of the films prepared from precursors with and without LSMO powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the addition of 56.4 wt.% LSMO powders into the sol-gel precursor solution significantly modified the microstructure of films. A single LSMO perovskite phase was obtained on alumina substrate after calcining at 800 °C for 4 h by the improved sol-gel method. The sheet resistance of the films prepared with different processing parameters was measured by four-point dc method. Results indicated that the sheet resistance of films decreased with increasing the number of coating applications and the amount of LSMO powders.     

La0.8Ca0.2MnO3/SrTiO3薄膜厚度对其结构及磁学性能的影响

采用多种X射线衍射技术和磁电阻测量技术研究了不同厚度的La_0.8Ca_0.2MnO₃/SrTiO₃ (LCMO/STO)薄膜的应变状态及其对磁电阻性能的影响.结果表明，在STO(001)单晶衬底上生长的LCMO薄膜沿［00l］取向生长.LCMO薄膜具有伪立方钙钛矿结构，随着薄膜厚度的增加，面内晶格参数增加，垂直于面内的晶格参数减小,晶格参数a和b相近，略小于c.LC 关键词： X射线衍射 微结构 应变 物理性能     

Thickness-dependent surface morphology of La0.9Sr0.1MnO3 ultrathin films

La_0.9Sr_0.1MnO₃ (LSMO) ultrathin films with various thickness (in the range of 5-50 unit cells) are grown on (0 0 1) substrates of the single-crystal SrTi_0.99Nb_0.01O₃ by laser molecular-beam epitaxy (laser-MBE), and the surface morphology of these films were measured by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). STM images of LSMO ultrathin film surface reveal that surface morphology becomes more flat with increasing film thickness. This study highlights the important effect of strain caused by the lattice mismatch between substrates and ultrathin films. And the results should be useful to the investigations on growing manganite perovskite materials.     

The structure and magnetotransport properties of La2/3Sr1/3MnO3/Ba(La)TiO3 composites

The effect of Ba(La)TiO₃ doping on the structure and magnetotransport properties of La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃(LSMO)/xBa(La)TiO₃ (x=0.0, 1.0, 5.0 mol%) have been investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns and microstructural analysis show that BaTiO₃ and LSMO phases exist independently in BaTiO₃-doped composites. The metal-insulator transition temperature (T_MI) decreases whereas the maximum resistivity increases very quickly by the increase of BaTiO₃ doping level. The partial substitution of Ba by La(0.35 mol%) results in a decrease in resistivity of LSMO/xBa(La)TiO₃ composites. Magnetoresistance of BaTiO₃-doped composites decreases monotonously in the temperature range 200-400 K in a magnetic field of 5 T, which is completely different from that of LSMO compound. The value of MR decreases at low field (H<1 T) and increases at high fields (H>1 T) with increasing the BaTiO₃ doping level at low temperatures below 280 K. These investigations reveal that the magnetotransport properties of LSMO/xBa(La)TiO₃ composites are dominated by spin-dependent scattering and tunneling effect at the LSMO/BaTiO₃/LSMO magnetic tunnel junction.     

Epitaxial growth La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 thin film by radio frequency sputtering method

Perfect epitaxial growth of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ (LCMO) thin film has been achieved on (1 0 0) LaAlO₃ (LAO) single crystal substrate by radio frequency sputtering method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron diffraction analysis indicates that La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film grows epitaxially on LaAlO₃ along [1 0 0] direction of the substrate. The resistivity variation with temperature of the film shows a sharp metal to semiconductor transition peak around 253 K, which is close to that of the target. The magnetoresistance (MR) also reveals high quality epitaxy film characteristic at low temperatures and near the metal to semiconductor transition temperature.     

Superparamagnetic behavior of La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 nanoparticles prepared via sol-gel method

Magnetic nanoparticles of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ (LSMO) manganite were prepared by sol-gel method. Phase formation and crystal structure of the synthesized powder were examined by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) using the Rietveld analysis. The mean particle size was determined by the transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Infrared transmission spectroscopy revealed that stretching and bending modes are influenced by calcinations temperature. The temperature dependence of the ac magnetic susceptibility was measured at different frequencies and ac magnetic fields in the selected ranges of 40-1000 Hz and 80-800 A/m, respectively. The temperature dependence of ac susceptibility shows a characteristic maxima corresponding to the blocking temperature near room temperature. The frequency dependence of the blocking temperature is well described by the Vogel-Fulcher law. By fitting the experimental data with this law, the relaxation time τ₀=1.7×10⁻¹² s, characteristic temperature T₀=262±3 K, anisotropy energy E_a/k=684±15 K and effective magnetic anisotropy constant k_eff=2.25×10⁴ erg/cm³ have been obtained. dc Magnetization measurement versus magnetic field shows that some of LSMO nanoparticles are blocked at 293 K. The role of magnetic interparticle interactions on the magnetic behavior is also investigated.     

Preparation and study of silver added La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 film

La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ (LCMO) and Ag admixed La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ (Ag-LCMO) polycrystalline films have been prepared on SrTiO₃ single crystal (100) substrates by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique. These films are characterized using XRD, SEM, and temperature dependence of resistivity (ρ-T) and ac susceptibility (χ-T). The films are having cubic structure with lattice parameters as 3.890 and 3.885 Å for LCMO and Ag-LCMO films, respectively. The peek in ρ-T curve (T_p) and the ferromagnetic transition temperature (T_C) for the Ag-LCMO film is higher than that of LCMO film. The stability of both the films was tested by repeated measurements of its characteristics over a period of one week after several thermal cycling from room temperature to 77 K. In the LCMO film, the peak in the ρ-T curve (T_p) is found to shift towards lower value and conduction noise of the film increases in the subsequent measurements. In the case of Ag-LCMO the value of T_p, T_C and conduction noise of the film did not change even after several measurements. Silver segregating at the grain boundaries in Ag-LCMO polycrystalline film seems to be responsible for improving the characteristics of Ag-LCMO films.     

Exchange bias in (1 1 0)-orientated Bi0.9La0.1FeO3/La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 films

We performed a systematic study on the exchange bias in (1 1 0)-orientated Bi_0.9La_0.1FeO₃/La_0.5Ca_0.5MnO₃ (BLFO/LCMO) heterostructure with a fixed BLFO film thickness of 600 nm and different LCMO layers ranging from t=0 to 30 nm. The LCMO is found to be weakly ferromagnetic, with the Curie temperature descending from ∼225 K to 0 as the layer thickness decreases from 30 nm to 3 nm. The main magnetic contributions come from the BLFO film, and the areal magnetization ratio is 1:0.07 for t=5 nm and 1:0.82 for t=30 nm for BLFO to LCMO at the temperature of 5 K. Further experiments show the presence of significant exchange bias, and it is, at the temperature of 10 K, ∼40 Oe for t=0 and ∼260 Oe for t=30 nm. The exchange bias reduces dramatically upon warming and disappears above the blocking temperature of the spin-glasslike behavior observed in the samples. The possible origin for exchange bias is discussed.     

Anomalous transport effects for the metal and insulator doped La0.833K0.167MnO3 systems

The La_0.833K_0.167MnO₃:Ag₂O and the La_0.833K_0.167MnO₃:SrTiO₃ samples are fabricated by the sol–gel method. The microstructure, magnetic and transportation properties have been systematically studied. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the La_0.833K_0.167MnO₃:Ag₂O (abbreviated as LKMO/Ag) sample is a two-phase composite and consists of a magnetic La_0.833K_0.167MnO₃ (abbreviated as LKMO) perovskite phase and a nonmagnetic Ag metal phase, while the structure of the La_0.833K_0.167MnO₃:SrTiO₃ (abbreviated as LKMO/STO) sample is a homogeneous solid solution phase. Comparing with the pure LKMO sample, the room temperature magnetoresistance (MR) effect for the LKMO/Ag sample is enhanced significantly due to the addition of Ag metal. The MR ratio increases from ∼25% for the pure LKMO sample to 65% for the LKMO/Ag sample under a higher field of 5.5 T at 300 K. For the LKMO/STO sample, however, the room temperature MR effect is weakened dramatically and is almost close to zero due to the addition of SrTiO₃ insulator. In the low temperature regime below the Curie temperature, the MR behaviors are different from that of the room temperature; that is, the MR effect is decreased for the LKMO/Ag sample and increased for the LKMO/STO sample with temperature decrease. In fact, the low-field (μ₀H=0.5 T) MR decreases from 32% to 5% for the LKMO/Ag sample, while increasing from 0.07% to 25% for the LKMO/STO sample with decreasing temperature from 300 to 4 K. The relative change between the intrinsic and the extrinsic MR, and varied roles of the spin-polarized-tunneling and the spin-dependent scattering mechanisms in different temperature regimes are employed to interpret the anomalous transport behaviors.     

Effects of crystallographic orientation on the oxygen exchange rate of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films

The oxygen surface exchange of La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSM) thin films was investigated using the electrical conductivity relaxation (ECR) method. Epitaxial (100)-, (110)-, and (111)-oriented LSM films were fabricated on corresponding SrTiO₃ (STO) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The LSM films had well-controlled surface qualities, exhibited bulk-like steady-state electrical properties, and exhibited surface dominated responses in ECR. The chemical surface exchange coefficients (k_chem) were determined and varied from ≈ 1 × 10^− 6 to 65 × 10^− 6 cm/s, depending on temperature and orientation, with activation energies of between 0.8 and 1.2 eV. At 800 °C, a four fold variation is observed in the k_chem values, with (110)/(100) being the highest/lowest, explained well by the high activation energy for (110), ≈ 1.16 eV, and the low energy for (111) and (100), ≈0.83 eV.     

Electric current-induced giant electroresistance in epitaxial La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 thin films

The electronic transport behavior of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ epitaxial thin films with different thicknesses has been investigated under various applied DC currents. The 20 and 70 nm thick films show a giant negative electroresistance (ER). In contrast, the films with 100 nm thickness show unusual giant positive ER, which can reach 30% with the current density of 1.8×10⁸ A/cm² at room temperature. It is interesting that the electric current can also change the magnetoresistance of the films. The results were explained by considering the spin polarized current induced increase of ferromagnetic metallic phase and current-induced lattice distortion via electron wind force under high current density.     

Enhanced magnetoresistance in La0.82Sr0.18MnO3-π-conjugated semiconducting polymer heterostructure

We report a large enhancement (∼90%) in magnetoresistance in La_0.82Sr_0.18MnO₃ (LSMO) layers by incorporating a π-conjugated semiconducting polymer layer in between them. The epitaxial LSMO layers were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering on SrTiO₃ single crystal substrates and have FM transition temperature (T_C)∼310 K. A semiconducting polymer poly(3-octylthiophene) (P3OT) layer was deposited over the epitaxial LSMO layer by solution dip coating technique and with subsequent deposition of another epitaxial LSMO layer, forming a LSMO-P3OT-LSMO heterostructure. The effect of P3OT incorporation on magnetotransport properties of this heterostructure has been examined in the temperature range 77-350 K. Large MR enhancement observed near room temperature in the FM regime is explained in terms of efficient magnetic field dependent carrier injection at LSMO/P3OT interface.     

Low-temperature transport properties of chemical solution deposited polycrystalline La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 ferromagnetic films under a magnetic field

Polycrystalline La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO) films were prepared on SiO₂/Si (001) substrates by chemical solution deposition technique. Electrical and magnetic properties of LSMO were investigated. A minimum phenomenon in resistivity is found at the low temperature (<50 K) under magnetic fields from 0 T to 3 T. Kondo-like spin dependent scattering, which includes both spin polarization and grain boundary tunneling, was observed in the low-temperature electrical transport for the LSMO polycrystalline films. The temperature-dependent resistivity at low temperatures can be well fitted in the framework of elastic scattering, electron-electron (e-e) interaction, Kondo-like spin dependent scattering, and electron-phonon (e-ph) interaction.