The La <sub> 1-x </ Sub> Ca <sub> X </ Sub> Of Mno <sub> 3 </ Sub>-ag Thin Film Deposition Process And Properties

La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃(LCMO) and (La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃)_{(99 at%)}-Ag_{(1 at%)} (LCMO-Ag) ceramic targets were prepared by sintering. LCMO-Ag thin films were deposited on Si (100) substrates by RF Magnetron Sputtering (RFMS). The effects of deposition conditions on the crystal structure and electrical properties of these LCMO-Ag films were systematically studied.Dense LCMO ceramic targets with smaller crystal were prepared as the effect of Ag-doping, proper sintering temperature, and sintering time. The optimized parameters are: calcining twice at 900℃for 5 hours and then sintered at 1300℃for 10 hours. The XRD spectrum shows the phase of orthorhombic LCMO was formed.Ag-doping can on one hand greatly reduce the resistance of the samples, because a better connectivity between the grains is provided. On the other hand the metal to insulator transition temperature of LCMO thin films is enhanced. There are two metal to insulator transition temperatures in our Ag-doped LCMO thin films which we define as T_MI and T_MI' between 233K～300K. We give the explanation of it based on the electronic inhomogeneity of the sample.With the increase of the depositing temperature, the metal to insulator (M-I) transition temperatures: T_MI and T_MI' of LCMO-Ag thin films are increased. The films grown at 500℃have the highest T_MI (241K) and T_MI' (266.3K).The EDS results show an increase of oxygen when higher oxygen partial pressure was adopted. The increase of oxygen content promotes an increasing of the content of Mn⁴⁺. Thus the double exchange interaction is enhanced which results in the higher T_MI and T_MI'. The films grown with a 1/2 oxygen partial pressure have the highest T_MI and T_MI' (240.6K and 273K).A proper higher sputter gas pressure can improve the uniformity of composition in thin films, but excessively high pressure has the negative effect. The films grown at 7 Pa have the highest TMI (240.6 K ) and TMI' (273 K).Denser LCMO thin films with low stress can be achieved by a higher depositing power. But as the power is larger, the materials in target splash out agglomerately, this can induce the aggregation in the LCMO thin films. The films grown at 100W have the highest T_MI (260.4K) and T_MI'(274K).