Growth of highly oriented La 0.84 Sr 0.16 MnO 3 perovskite films

We have grown thin films of La{sub 0.84}Sr{sub 0.16}MnO{sub 3} on SrTiO{sub 3} (100), MgO (100), CeO{sub 2} (100)/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, and (100) oriented yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates by using a 90{degree} off-axis RF magnetron sputtering deposition. X-ray diffraction analysis and ion beam channeling experiments reveal that the deposited films grow epitaxially on SrTiO{sub 3}, biaxially textured on MgO, and highly textured on YSZ. Scanning tunneling microscopy reveals that the thin films possess extremely smooth surfaces. {copyright} 1995 Materials Research Society