Magnetotransport in chemically derived La-Ca-Mn-O thin films

La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 thin films were prepared by a metal organic aerosol depositi on technique and characterized with respect to their structure and magnetot ransport properties. The results demonstrate that the metal-insulator trans ition temperature T-MI can be varied in the range of T(MI)similar to 150-25 0 K, thereby increasing the maximal magnetoresistance MR=Delta R/R(5T) from 200% to 1400%, and yielding a large MR over a wide temperature range for a given sample. All of the above properties depend sensitively on the micros tructure of the films. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979( 99)06922-4].