200 MeV Ag~(+15) ion irradiation-induced modification in structural,magnetic and electrical properties of LaCoO_3 thin film

摘要

We studied the effect of 200 MeV Ag~(+15) ion irradiation on structural, magnetic, and electrical transport properties of LaCoO_3 thin films. LaCoO_3 thin films deposited on SrTiO_3 (100) single crystal substrates using the Pulsed Laser Deposition method were found to be grown highly c-axis oriented. Structural studies reveal that irradiation affects the crystalline nature of film but retains the oriented single-phase growth. In addition, a systematic fluence dependent variation in the out-of-plane tensile strain has also been confirmed. The surface modifications after irradiations have been quantified through the measurements like average grain size, surface roughness for each of ion fluence by AFM studies. The electrical conduction has been found to be governed by disorder controlled localization of charge carriers. Magnetic studies reveal the variation in magnetic moment and appearance of FM ordering at room temperature upon Swift heavy ion irradiation.