Preparation by radio-frequency magnetron co-sputtering and characterization of thin films of lanthanum–strontium ferromanganites
Abstract (La 0.8 Sr 0.2 )(Mn 1 −  y Fe y )O 3 ± δ films with y  = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1, a few hundred nanometers thick, were deposited onto polycrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia YSZ by a magnetron co-sputtering technique using individual targets of La 0.8 Sr 0.2 MnO 3 and La 0.8 Sr 0.2 FeO 3 . The deposition parameters, substrate temperature and gas pressure, were studied by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and interferential microscopy for their effects on the morphological, chemical, topographic and crystallographic properties of films and YSZ-film interfaces. (La 0.8 Sr 0.2 )(Mn 1 −  y Fe y )O 3 ±  δ thin films were found to be homogeneous, dense and crystallized in the perovskite structure after deposition at 600 °C. Profilometry by secondary ion mass spectrometry and observations by Auger electron spectrometry after selective dissolution of the films were also used to investigate both morphology and quality of the YSZ-film interface after deposition.