Abstract
We report on the optimisation of the growth conditions of manganite La 0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films prepared by Channel Spark Ablation (CSA). CSA belongs to pulsed electron deposition methods and its energetic and deposition parameters are quite similar to those of pulsed laser deposition. The method has been already proven to provide manganite films with good magnetic properties, but the films were generally relatively rough (a few nm coarseness). Here we show that increasing the oxygen deposition pressure with respect to previously used regimes, reduces the surface roughness down to unit cell size while maintaining a robust magnetism. We analyse in detail the effect of other deposition parameters, like accelerating voltage, discharging energy, chamber pressure and substrate temperature and provide on this basis a set of optimal conditions for the growth of atomically flat films. The thicknesses for which atomically flat surface was achieved is as high as about 10-20 nm, corresponding to films with room temperature magnetism. We believe such magnetic layers represent appealing and suitable electrodes for various spintronic devices.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 83-89 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Thin Solid Films |
Volume | 534 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 1 2013 |
Keywords
- Atomically flat
- Channel-spark
- Lanthanum strontium manganite
- Magnetoresistance
- Manganese perovskite
- Pulsed electron beam deposition
- Thin film
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Materials Chemistry
- Metals and Alloys
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films
- Surfaces and Interfaces