Alkaline-doped manganese perovskite thin films grown by MOCVD

We report on the preparation and characterization of La1-xNaxMnO3 thin film s grown by MOCVD on various single-crystalline substrates. Under appropriat e conditions epitaxial thin films have been obtained. The Curie temperature s of the films, which are very similar to those of bulk samples of similar composition, reflect the residual strain caused by the substrate. The aniso tropic magnetoresistance AMR of the films has been analyzed in some detail, and it has been found that it has a two-fold symmetry at any temperature. Its temperature dependence mimics that of the electrical resistivity and ma gnetoresistance measured at similar fields, thus suggesting that the real s tructure of the material contributes to the measured AMR besides the intrin sic component. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.