Improved electrical properties of La2/3Ba1/3MnO3:Ag0.04 thin films by thermal annealing

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Vol. 116; no. 4; pp. 1853 - 1856
• Main Authors: Liu, Xiang, Yin, Xue-Peng, Chen, Qing-Ming, Zhang, Hui, Zhang, Shao-Chun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.09.2014
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Machines; Manufacturing; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Processes; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Manganite; Thermal Annealing; LaAlO3; Thermal Annealing Treatment; Electrical Transport Property
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-014-8344-0

La 2/3 Ba 1/3 MnO 3 :Ag 0.04 (LBMO:Ag 0.04 ) thin films were prepared on single crystalline (001)-orientated LaAlO 3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique. Thermal annealing with temperatures of 780, 800 and 820 °C has been investigated to improve electrical properties of the films. All the samples are shown along the (00 l ) orientation in rhombohedral structure with R 3 ¯ c space group. With thermal annealing temperature increasing, insulator–metal transition temperature ( T p ) and resistivity at T p ( ρ T p ) of the epilayer reach optimal value of 288 K and 0.03 Ω·cm, respectively. The electrical properties improvement of the LBMO:Ag 0.04 films is due to an improved film crystallization, oxygen balance and photon scattering suppression. The fitting curves show that the region of ferro-magnetic metallic (FM, T  <  T p ) is fitted with grain/domain boundary, electron–electron and magnon scattering mechanism, as well as the region of para-magnetic insulating (PI, T  >  T p ) is fitted with adiabatic small polaron hopping mechanism.