Magneto‐transport properties of ZnO/La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 bilayer on p‐Si(100)

Polycrystalline ZnO/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) heterostructures were fabricated onto Si(100) substrates by magnetron sputtering. A rectifying behavior, as well as an enhanced magnetoresistance (MR) ratio (∼ 12%), was obtained in the heterostructure with respect to the LSMO single layer (a MR ratio ∼ 6%). The degradation of the rectifying behavior for the LSMO layer thinner than 20 nm is mainly due to the change in hole concentration. We suggest a possibility that the magneto-transport and the magneto-optical properties of manganites can be modified by the formation of this kind of heterostructure. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)