Growth of different phases of yttrium manganese oxide thin films by pulsed laser deposition

Various phases of yttrium manganese oxide (YMO) thin films have been synthesized on different substrates from a single target of h-YMnO3. It is observed that the phase stability and crystallinity of YMO thin films depend on the substrate used and oxygen partial pressure (OPP). (110) oriented and polycrystalline growth of h-YMnO3 are observed on the Al2O3 (0001) and NGO (110) substrates respectively, when grown in OPP ≅ 10-6 Torr. While for similar OPP value, growth of mixed phases (h-YMnO3 and o-YMn2O5) is observed on Si (001) substrate. Oriented growth of O-YMn2O5 phase film on Si (001) substrate is observed first time, when deposited at OPP value of 225 and 350 mTorr. +3 and mixed oxidation states (+3 and +4) of Mn were confirmed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in pure YMnO3 phase and YMn2O5 phase respectively.