Substrate and thickness effects on structure and transport properties of La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 films

La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 (LCMO) thin films with the thickness varying from 200 to 500 A have been deposited by magnetron sputtering on sapphire, SrTiO3, yttrium-stabilized ZrO2 substrates. A metal-to-insulator transition behavior was observed for all samples with the transition temperature and width varying with the substrate and the film thickness. A percolation model has been used to obtain the physical parameters on low-temperature metallic transport behavior and the adiabatic thermal small polaron hopping progress. The surface of the deposited films was measured by atomic force microscopy and grazing incidence x-ray specular and diffuse scattering. Fits to the data show the presence of a mixed layer between the substrate and the LCMO films the extent of which depends on the substrate used