Strain effects in charge-ordered Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 manganite thin films

Thin films of the charge-ordered (CO) compound Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 have been grown by utilizing the Pulsed Laser Deposition technique. Films are deposited onto LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 substrates in order to check the effect of strains (compression and tensile). Using various techniques of characterization, we show that the strains of substrate influence the lattice parameters, the orientation of the orthorhombic structure, the transport properties and the stability of the CO state.