Epitaxial growth and properties of (001)-oriented TbBaCo2O6−δ films

Thin epitaxial films of TbBaCo2O6−δ cobaltites have been synthesized using pulsed laser deposition. It was found that the film properties are extremely sensitive to the oxygen pressure during deposition, temperature of the substrate, and the cooling rate. Growth parameters were optimized for δ≈0.5 films with ordered Tb and Ba ions, as well as oxygen vacancies. The properties of these c-axis oriented films are similar to bulk TbBaCo2O5.5: they show a metal-insulator phase transition at TMI≈350 K, ferromagnetic order below TC=285 K, and antiferromagnetism at T<Ti≈230 K.