Influence of MOCVD growth pressure on magnetoresistance of nanostructured La-Ca-Mn-O films used for magnetic field sensors

Abstract

The results of structure and magnetoresistance (MR) of nanostructured La1–xCaxMnyO3 (LCMO) films, grown at different gas pressure (from 3 to 7 Torr) by pulse injection metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique, are presented. The MR was investigated in pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T in the temperature range 1.5–294 K. The results were analyzed from the perspective of using these films for magnetic field sensors operating at low temperatures. It was demonstrated that with the increase of Ar + O2 gas pressure, the surface morphology of the films becomes rougher and grain size increases. Also, the ratio of Mn/(La + Ca) increases with the increase of the pressure. Large MR of the films was observed in a wide temperature range below the ferromagnetic–paramagnetic phase transition. It was shown that at cryogenic temperatures, the films grown at gas pressure of 3 Torr have higher sensitivity in lower magnetic field range (<10 T), while in high magnetic fields (20–60 T), the properties of films grown at higher gas pressure 5–7 Torr are favored. The obtained results allow evaluating the influence of MOCVD growth pressure on MR and sensitivity to the magnetic field of LCMO manganites used for pulsed magnetic field sensors.