High-throughput characterization of composition-spread manganese oxide films with a scanning SQUID microscope

We have performed high-throughput characterization of composition-spread La1−xCaxMnO3 (LCMO) and Nd1−xSrxMnO3 (NSMO) films, fabricated by the precursor technique, with a scanning SQUID microscope (SSM). In both films, SSM successfully observed spatial variation of magnetic field, corresponding to magnetic phase transitions with respect to chemical composition. The obtained magnetic phase diagrams basically reproduced those reported in bulk materials. However, several distinctive differences have also been noted. For instance, the region identified as a charge ordered insulator in LCMO revealed intense field, suggesting the occurrence of phase separation into ferromagnetic and non-magnetic states. These results confirm that SSM possesses sufficient analytical performance for high-throughput characterization of combinatorial magnetic libraries in composition spread form.