Effect of Fe doping on electronic transport and raman scattering properties of (110) PrBa2Cu3O7 thin film

In this study, the electronic transport and Raman spectroscopic properties of Fe-doped (110) PrBa2Cu3O7 (PBCFO) epitaxial thin films were systematically investigated. The thin films were deposited on (110) LAO single crystal substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique with KrF excimer laser of energy density equivalent to 1.0 J cm(-2). The Electrical resistivity of the (110) PBCFO thin film increased by a factor of 47 at 77 K and the electronic transport on these films was via Mott's three-dimensional variable range hopping mechanism among the localized electronic states. The activation energies of the (110) PBCFO thin films were calculated to be 160 meV at 300 K and 70 meV at 77 K respectively, suggesting that the hopping was mainly thermally assisted. The Raman spectroscopy measurement revealed a Raman mode at similar to 600 cm(-1) indicating the substitution of Cu by Fe at the Cu-O chain site of the PrBa2Cu3O7 (PBCO). The partial substitution of the Cu by the Fe induced disorder and localization of the charge carriers at the Cu-O chain sites, thereby increasing the electrical resistivity of the (110) PBCO thin film.