Thickness dependent properties of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 thin films

Abstract Epitaxial thin films of La 0.67 Ca 0.33 MnO 3 (LCMO) were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on SrTiO 3 (100) substrates. After deposition the films were in situ annealed for 1 h in oxygen (10 5 Pa, 780°C). We studied the thickness dependence of the transport properties in order to address the relation between the microscopic structure and the metal–insulator transition temperature T MI . It could be demonstrated that T MI decreases systematically from the bulk value T MI =276 K with decreasing film thickness. Details of the temperature dependence of ϱ and its magnetic field dependence are discussed.