The Effects of Substrate-Induced Strains on the Charge-Ordering Transition in Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 Thin Films

Abstract

AbstractWe report the growth and characterization of Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 thin films deposited by the Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique on [100]-oriented LaAlO3 substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies show that the films are [101]-oriented, with a strained and quasi-relaxed component, the latter increasing with film thickness. A post-annealing under oxygen leads to a quasi-relaxed film with a metallic behavior. We also observe that transport properties are strongly dependent on the thickness of the films. Variable temperature XRD down to 100 K suggests that this is caused by substrate-induced strain on the films.