Current–voltage characteristics of PLD grown manganite based ZnO/La0.5Pr0.2Sr0.3MnO3/SrNb0.002Ti0.998O3 thin film heterostructure

We report the results of studies on the rectifying behavior and tunneling conduction in ZnO(n)/La0.5Pr0.2Sr0.3MnO3(LPSMO)(p)/SrNb0.002Ti0.998O3 (SNTO)(n) thin film heterostructure comprising of two p–n junctions fabricated using the Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique. A structural study using XRD ϕ -scan depicts the single-crystalline nature and confirms the phase purity while the transport studies using I – V measurements at various temperatures and fields reveal the rectifying behavior. The temperature and field dependent variation in the saturation voltage ( V C ) indicates that, the heterostructure exhibits negative magnetoresistance (MR) at low temperatures and positive MR at room temperature (RT) which can be understood on the basis of the interface effect at the junction. I – V curves obtained at all temperatures and fields show noticeable hysteresis during the positive voltage sweeping which has been attributed to the presence of the various conduction phenomena through the junctions in the presently studied heterostructure.