Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Magnetic perovskites of the general form La1-xSrxMnO3 have successfully been synthesized using deposition by aqueous acetate solution (DAAS). This novel technique, which has the potential for depositing large area min films with high throughput and low cost, involves the preparation of an aqueous metal acetate precursor solution, drying the solution to generate a glassy gel, consolidating the gel, and then firing it for short periods of time (<2hrs) to produce crystalline lanthanum strontium manganate (LSMO). The DAAS method has been used to prepare both powders and thin films of LSMO. Powder samples of La0.83Sr0.17MnO3 annealed for 100 minutes at 1200°C were high purity, single phase, and exhibited excellent electrical and magnetic characteristics. Thin films of La0.7Sr0.17MnO3 deposited onto both sapphire and strontium titanate substrates and annealed at 900°C were also found to be crystalline, and substrate choice was found to influence thin film crystal structure. These films exhibited sharp metal-insulator transitions, and in the case of LSMO films on strontium titanate, magnetoresistance was observed at the unusually high temperature of ∼360K.