HIGHLY CRYSTALLIZED (LA,SR)MNO3 FILMS DEPOSITED BY FACING TARGETS SPUTTERING APPARATUS

La1-xSrxMnO3 films about 4000 Angstrom thick were deposited on thermal ly oxidized Si wafers, and then their crystalline orientation and magn etic characteristics were investigated. Orientation of (111) in which large ions such as O2-, La3+, and Sr2+ are most closely packed became preferential with increase of total gas pressure P-total and partial o xygen pressure P-O2. Although spontaneous magnetization was not detect ed, even the him deposited at substrate temperature T-s as low as 330 degrees C revealed obvious orientation of (110) in which metallic ions are most closely packed. The film deposited at T-s of 500 degrees C, P-total of 2.0, and P-O2 of 0.1 mTorr, and the film postannealed at 90 0 degrees C for 3 h in oxygen atmosphere possessed the saturation magn etization 4 pi M(s) of 1.2 and 3.5 kG at 77 K and their Curie temperat ures were 217 and 313 K, respectively. B-H curves at 77 K revealed tha t the easy magnetization direction of these films was in-plane. (C) 19 96 American Institute of Physics.