Thickness dependent magnetic and magnetotransport properties of strain-relaxed La[sub 0.7]Ca[sub 0.3]MnO[sub 3] films

La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 films with thicknesses between 2 and 300 nm were fabricated on LaAlO3, SrTiO3, and (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 (LSAT) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. After annealing at 950 °C in flowing oxygen, on LaAlO3 and LSAT, strain-relaxed epitaxial films of high quality were obtained. The magnetization, resistivity, and magnetoresistance of the films was studied as a function of thickness. Down to a thickness of about 4 nm no decrease of the saturation magnetization could be detected; the Curie temperature decreases slightly with thickness in agreement with finite size scaling theory. The thickness dependence of the conductance can be understood as a size-effect in thin films; there is no indication of an electrically dead interfacial layer.