La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 epitaxial films fabricated by a pulsed laser deposition method

La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 epitaxial films were successfully fabricated via a pulsed laser deposition method by controlling the experimental conditions. A series of experiments with varying the oxygen pressure and the substrate temperature demonstrated that the use of appropriate conditions is crucial for fabricating the epitaxial thin films. The existence of such suitable conditions was thermodynamically interpreted in terms of the stability of Mn2+ ion. Both XRD and EPMA measurements indicated that La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 thin films fabricated herein form single phases, although it was difficult to present the direct experimental evidence to prove that Ce ion can really exist within the perovskite structure. The resultant films with oxygen annealing showed a metal–insulator transition and ferromagnetic property with Curie temperature of 275 K.