Investigation of the Oxidation Growth Kinetics of La0.67Ba0.33MnO3 and LaMnO3 Perovskite Films using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) lithography

Manganese oxides doped with certain alkaline earth elements exhibit colossal magnetoresistance (CMR), which has great prospective applications in technological advancements. Our research is focused on the growth kinetics and electrical properties of LaMnO3 and La0.67Ba0.33MnO3. LaMnO3, behaves as an anti-ferromagnetic insulator. However, if extra oxygen is incorporated in this material, an insulator-metal transition occurs and the transport characteristics of the material shift causing ferromagnetism. In this research AFM induced nano-lithography of the LaMnO3 thin films is performed on samples of varying oxygen contents and compared to results of AFM induced nanolithography on La0.67Ba0.33MnO3. The quality and reproducibility of nanostructures produced is heavily dependent on the bias voltage direction between the film and the AFM probe.