Magnetotransport Properties of Thin Films of Magnetic Perovskites

In this article we show magnetotransport of two prototypical (nearly) half metallic perowskites La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 and Sr2FeMoO6. In a half metal the spin polarisation at the Fermi energy is complete and tunneling magnetoresistive devices of high sensitivity can be realized with small external magnetic fields. In the vicinity of the metal-insulator phase transition (MIT) temperature of the manganite an external magnetic field can induce ’colossal’ magnetoresistive effects. In the simple perovskites La1-x Ca x MnO3 the charge transport above the MIT is of polaronic nature. Hall-effect measurements on the compound La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 below the MIT show a compensated Fermi-surface consisting of elect…

Small-polaron transport inLa0.67Ca0.33MnO3thin films

We present a detailed study of the activated resistivity of ${\mathrm{La}}_{0.67}{\mathrm{Ca}}_{0.33}{\mathrm{MnO}}_{3}$ films up to 600 K under the influence of high magnetic fields. Data in zero field can be explained by small polaron hopping as treated in the Friedman-Holstein theory. Based on the spin orientation of ferromagnetic clusters in a magnetic field, we develop a phenomenological model describing the temperature and field dependence of the resistivity with a minimum of free parameters. We find that the polarons have a magnetic contribution to their activation energy for hopping which depends on the variation of the spin order with increasing temperature and can be modified by a…

Crystal Structure and Transport Properties of Sr<sub>2</sub>FeMoO<sub>6</sub> Thin Films

Epitaxy and magnetotransport ofSr2FeMoO6thin films

By pulsed-laser deposition epitaxial thin films of ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{FeMoO}}_{6}$ have been prepared on (100) ${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$ substrates. Already for a deposition temperature of 320 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C epitaxial growth is achieved. Depending on deposition parameters the films show metallic or semiconducting behavior. At high (low) deposition temperature the FeMo sublattice has a rock-salt (random) structure. The metallic samples have a large negative magnetoresistance which peaks at the Curie temperature. The magnetic moment was determined to $4{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$ per formula unit (f.u.), in agreement with the expected value for an ideal ferrimagnetic ar…

Growth mechanism and transport properties of thin La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films

Abstract We prepared thin films of La 0.67 Ca 0.33 MnO 3 on different substrates with DC sputtering. The measured transport and magnetic properties could be explained by a lattice mismatch induced by the substrate. Hall effect measurements showed a holelike charge carrier density n * h = 1.3 per unit cell below T C . The magnetoresistance results from an increase of the mobility of the charge carriers in magnetic field.

Magnetoresistivity and crystal structure of epitaxial La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films

Abstract We investigated thin-film growth of doped manganites by sputter deposition on SrTiO 3 (1 0 0), MgO (1 0 0) and r -plane Al 2 O 3 (1 0 1¯2) substrates and found an in-plane-oriented growth. The unit cell of the films showed distortions from the simple cubic perovskite structure, represented by a tetragonal unit cell with a′ = b′ = √2 a ; c′ = 2 a . By scanning electron microscopy we investigated the growth morphology of the films. We determined the magnetotransport properties above and below room temperature. Transport at high temperatures is best described by polaron hopping.

Transport and magnetic properties of La1−xCaxMnO3-films (0.1<x<0.9)

Abstract By laser ablation we prepared thin films of the colossal magnetoresistive compound La1−xCaxMnO3 with doping levels 0.1 10 13 Ω have been measured with an electrometer setup. While the transport data indicate polaronic transport for the metallic samples above the Curie temperature the low-doped ferromagnetic insulating samples show a variable range hopping like transport at low-temperature.

Magnetic and structural properties of the double-perovskite Ca2FeReO6

Abstract We suceeded in the preparation of polycrystalline Ca2FeReO6 which has a Curie temperature TC of 540 K, the highest value of all magnetic perovskites investigated till now. This material has been characterised by X-ray and neutron powder diffraction. We found at 548 K, a monoclinic unit cell (space group P21/n) with a=5.4366(5) A , b=5.5393(5) A , c=7.7344(5) A , and β=90.044(4)°. For temperatures below 400 K, a phase separation in two monoclinic phases with identical cell volume is observed in neutron scattering. The two phases possess different magnetic structure and coercivity. The conductivity is thermally activated for all temperatures and no significant magnetoresistivity is o…

Evidence of charge-carrier compensation effects inLa0.67Ca0.33MnO3

We report on detailed Hall-effect measurements of thin films of ${\mathrm{La}}_{0.67}{\mathrm{Ca}}_{0.33}{\mathrm{MnO}}_{3}$ above and below the metal-insulator transition. In the metallic ferromagnetic regime, we find a temperature-independent holelike nominal charge-carrier density ${n}_{h}^{*}=1.3$ per unit cell, consistent with a partly compensated Fermi surface. The mobility is only 92 ${\mathrm{mm}}^{2}/\mathrm{V}\mathrm{}\mathrm{s}$ at 4 K, and decreases with increasing temperature. Huge negative magnetoresistivity results from an increase in mobility. In low magnetic fields or at high temperatures, an anomalous electronlike contribution dominates the Hall voltage. For possible side …

High-temperature transport properties of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films

Abstract The giant negative magnetoresistance in manganites has been investigated from the Curie temperature T c up to 600 K (2.6 T c ) in magnetic fields up to 8 T. Nonadiabatic small polaron hopping can successfully describe the temperature dependence of the resistivity. The magnetic field influence on the activation energy is explained by the interaction of unclustered ions with small spin clusters of four ions.

Crystal structure and magnetism of the double perovskites A2FeReO6 (A=Ca, Sr, Ba)

Abstract We synthesized a series of double perovskites A 2 FeReO 6 (A=Ca, Sr, Ba) with Curie temperatures above room-temperature. Neutron and X-ray diffraction analysis have been performed in order to determine the structural and (local) magnetic properties of these materials. While Ba 2 FeReO 6 stays cubic over the whole temperature range we examined, the Sr-compound shows a tetragonal distortion of the perovskite structure which does not completely vanish up to about 520 K far above T C . Ca 2 FeReO 6 has a monoclinic unit cell at high temperatures. Below 400 K a phase separation in two monoclinic phases with identical cell volume is observed in neutron scattering.

Charge-carrier density collapse in and epitaxial thin films

We measured the temperature dependence of the linear high field pH of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 Tc = 232K) and La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 Tc = 345K) thin films in the temperature range from 4 K up to 360 K in magnetic fields up to 20 T. At low temperatures we find a charge-carrier density of 1.3 and 1.4 holes per unit cell for the Ca- and Sr-doped compound, respectively. In this temperature range electron-magnon scattering contributes to the longitudinal resistivity. At the ferromagnetic transition temperature Tc a dramatic drop in the number of charge-carriers n down to 0.6 holes per unit cell, accompanied by an increase in unit cell volume, is observed. Corrections of the Hall data due to a non saturated ma…