Pulsed Laser Deposition of La0,67Ca0,33MnO3 thin films on LiNbO3

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the pulsed laser deposition of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 thin films on LiNbO3 substrates and uses surface acoustic wave techniques to characterize their electrical properties, revealing insights into their electron-phonon interactions and phase transitions.

Contribution

It introduces a method for depositing manganite thin films on piezoelectric substrates and employs surface acoustic wave measurements for non-contact electrical characterization.

Findings

Successful deposition of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 on LiNbO3 substrates.

Surface acoustic wave technique effectively characterizes electrical properties.

Identification of metal-insulator transition in the films.

Abstract

Surface Acoustic Waves on piezoelectric substrates can be used to investigate the dynamic conductivity of thin films in a non-contact and very sensitive way, especially at low conductivities. Here, we report on such surface acoustic wave studies to characterize thin manganite film like La0.67Ca0.33MnO3, exhibiting a Jan Teller effect with a strong electron phonon interaction and a metal insulator transition at high temperatures. We report on the deposition of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 on piezoelectric substrates (LiNbO3 in different crystal cuts) employing a pulsed laser deposition technique. The structural qualities of the thin films are examined by X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscope and Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. For the electrical characterization, we employ the surface acoustic wave technique, accompanied by conventional DC-resistance measurements for comparison.