Epitaxial La2∕3Sr1∕3MnO3 thin films with metallic behavior above the Curie temperature

Despite its half-metallic character, La2∕3Sr1∕3MnO3 is currently not considered a good candidate for real spin electronic devices due to the dramatic deterioration of its spin polarization at room temperature. Using pulsed-laser deposition, we have grown thin films of La2∕3Sr1∕3MnO3, which display good room-temperature magnetic properties accompanied by a sizable increase of the temperature at which the metal-insulator transition takes place with respect to the Curie temperature. The persistence of the metallic character well above the Curie temperature indicates minor modifications of the electronic structure near the Fermi level, which is responsible for the half-metallicity. These films are good candidates for increasing the operating temperature of devices based on La2∕3Sr1∕3MnO3.