Effects of strain on the properties of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 thin films

The lattice mismatch of doped manganites and conventional oxide substrate m aterials offers an interesting opportunity to tailor the epitaxial strain o f thin films systematically. This can be used to study the interrelation of the microscopic arrangement of the atoms and the magnetotransport properti es. In our experiment La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 thin films with varying thickness (4 0-520 nm) were grown on SrTiO3 (0 0 1) single-crystal substrates using the pulsed laser deposition technique. The thickness-dependent epitaxial strain leads to a systematic:modification of the characteristic parameters of the magnetization curve and the dependence of resistivity on temperature. We a nalyse the magnetic and transport data of as-grown films and compare them t o results of measurements performed on identical films subjected to a Ih po st-deposition annealing process at 900 degrees C in flowing oxygen. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.