Metal Propionate Synthesis of Magnetoresistive La _1−x (Ca,Sr) _x MnO ₃ Thin Films

Abstract

A flexible chemical solution deposition (CSD) method for the preparation of magnetoresistive La 1−x (Ca,Sr)x MnO 3 thin films based completely on metal propionates is pre‐sented.A number of polycrystalline thin films with varying stoichiometries were deposited on different substrate ma‐terials at temperatures between 550° and 850°C. The crys‐tallization behavior on selected substrates was found to de‐pend on the thin film stoichiometry. Magnetoresistivity and magnetization were measured as a function of temperature. For the selected samples, a magnetic Curie temperature TC, a metal–semiconductor transition, and magnetoresistive behavior were observed. These measurements demon‐strated that La 1−x (Ca,Sr)x MnO 3 thin films with properties well known from films deposited by PLD or sputtering can be prepared by a simple, propionate‐based CSD method.