Thickness dependence of substrate-induced strain in La0.9Ca0.1MnO3 thin films

Thin films of La0.9Ca0.1MnO3 (LCMO) with various thicknesses in the range of 40-200nm were deposited on (1 0 0) SrTiO3 (STO) substrates using the pulsed laser deposition technique. The as-grown LCMO films were characterized with respect to the structure as well as their magnetic and transport properties. The X-ray diffraction results show that high quality, single phase and 'b' axis orientated epitaxial LCMO thin films have been produced successfully. Out-of-plane lattice parameters has been found to increase with the film thickness. Transport measurements, performed using standard four probe technique, and SQUID magnetometry revealed a ferromagnetic-insulating phase consistent with the bulk phase diagram. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.