Changing the Ca2+ ion ratio to modulate the temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) of La1-xCaxMnO3 films prepared by the sol-gel spin coating method

Perovskite manganese oxides are highly desirable for infrared acquisition owing to their characteristics of ferromagnetic metal-paramagnetic insulators. In this work, the sol-gel spin-coating technique was employed to prepare La1-xCaxMnO3 (LCMO) films with varying Ca2+ content (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5) on the (l00) LaAlO3 (LAO) substrates. In comparison to previous studies, the pre-sintering temperature, final sintering temperature, and final sintering period were modified. The crystal structure, surface topography, elemental valence states, and electrical transport performance of the LCMO films were characterized and analyzed as well. The results demonstrated that the diffraction peaks of the above films were aligned with those of the LAO single-crystal substrate. The change in Ca2+ content caused an increase in the Mn–O bond length, the amount of Mn4+, and the Mn–O–Mn angle in LCMO films, promoting the double exchange effect. These modifications had a considerable impact on the resistivity of LCMO films, increasing their TCR value. The maximum TCR of 22.92% K−1 was reached at x = 0.3 and peak TCR temperature (Tk) of 241.93 K. Therefore, the film has great application potential for infrared bolometers.