Structure and magnetotransport properties in plasma-sprayed La0.78Sr0.22MnO3 thick film

Abstract Thick films of La 0.78 Sr 0.22 MnO 3 were produced by the plasma-spray technique onto stainless-steel substrate at 930°C. These films were obtained without the use of bond-layer, buffer-layer and annealing after deposition. The compound was deposited by a plasma-spray torch using nitrogen as the working gas. The films with thickness varying from 20 to 60 μm have good adherence and are composed of large splats with high degree of interconnection and small number of defects, as revealed by scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diffractometry analysis of the as-deposited film revealed that it had the same crystal structure as the original bulk. Measurements of electrical resistivity versus temperature for the film revealed a magnetic transition temperature near 340 K, with a ferromagnetic/metallic behavior below this temperature. The magnetoresistance of La 0.78 Sr 0.22 MnO 3 films exhibited similar magnetic field dependence as compared to the bulk sample, which indicates that the plasma-spray technique can be successfully employed for the deposition of thick films of manganites on large-area substrates while maintaining the main bulk properties.