Growth and transport features of electron-doped superconductor Pr1−xLaCexCuO4 − δ thin films

T''-phase electron-doped superconductor Pr1−xLaCexCuO4−δ (PLCCO) thin films are successfully prepared on SrTiO3 (100) substrates by using the dc magnetron sputtering method. It is found that the films each have a highly oriented structure along the c-axis. For optimally doped films with x ≈ 0.10, the superconducting transition temperature Tc is 23.5 K, which is similar to that of a single crystal. The quadratic temperature dependence of the resistivity is observed when T > Tc, which can be attributed to the two-dimensional Fermi liquid behaviour. Besides, the optimal conditions for preparing the T''-phase PLCCO thin films are also discussed in detail.