Strain Relaxation in Thin Films of La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

I. Zaytseva, M.Z. Cieplak, A. Abal'oshev, M. Berkowski, V. Domukhovski, W. Paszkowicz and A. Shalimov Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland

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Received: 04 09 2006;

X-ray diffraction, resistivity, and susceptibility measurements are used to examine the effects of film thickness d (from 17 to 250 nm) on the structural and superconducting properties of La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 films grown by pulsed laser deposition on SrLaAlO4 substrates. For each d the film sgrow with a variable strain, ranging from a large compressive strain in the thinnest films to a negligible or tensile strain in thick films. Our results indicate that the tensile strain is not caused by the off-stoichiometric layer at the substrate-film interface. Instead, it may be caused by the extreme oxygen deficiency in some of the films.

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.111.185 PACS numbers: 68.55.-a, 74.62.-c, 74.72.Dn, 74.78.Bz, 74.25.Fy