Nanoscale studies of morphological and electrical properties of NixMn3−xO3−δ (0.4≤x≤1) thin films by in-situ high temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy

In-situ high temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy were used to study the influence of temperature on the electronic properties of NixMn3−xO3−δ (0.4≤x≤1) thin films deposited by r.f. magnetron sputtering at three different oxygen/argon (2.5, 10, 15%) containing ambient. The morphology and distribution of the local density of states (LDOS) of the observed films did not show any difference for the films deposited at different conditions. The distribution of the LDOS was temperature dependent. The changes in the shape of the LDOS observed at 200 °C were reversible with temperature implying that no permanent change of the electronic structure occurred.