Structure and magnetotransport properties of epitaxial nanocomposite La0.67Ca0.33MnO3:SrTiO3 thin films grown by a chemical solution approach

Epitaxial La0.67Ca0.33MnO3:SrTiO3 (LCMO:STO) composite thin films have been grown on single crystal LaAlO3(001) substrates by a cost effective polymer-assisted deposition method. Both x-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy confirm the growth of epitaxial films with an epitaxial relationship between the films and the substrates as (002)(film)parallel to(002)(sub) and [202](film)parallel to[202](sub). The transport property measurement shows that the STO phase significantly increases the resistivity and enhances the magnetoresistance (MR) effect of LCMO and moves the metal-insulator transition to lower temperatures. For example, the MR values measured at magnetic fields of 0 and 3 T are -44.6% at 255K for LCMO, -94.2% at 125K for LCMO:3% STO, and -99.4% at 100K for LCMO:5% STO, respectively. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3688048]