Influence of 190 MeV Ag+15 ion irradiation on electrical transport and magnetic properties of LaFe1−xNixO3 (x=0.3 and 0.4) thin films

In the present work we have studied the effect of 190 MeV Ag ion irradiation on the structural, electrical, and magnetic properties of LaFe1−xNixO3 (x=0.3 and 0.4) thin films. The films were grown on LaAlO3 ⟨001⟩ oriented substrates using pulsed laser deposition technique. The pristine and irradiated samples were investigated using x-ray diffraction, temperature dependent resistivity, and magnetic measurements. The x-ray diffraction patterns of the irradiated films show that the lattice of the composition strain relaxed with enhanced c-axis orientation. The temperature dependence of the resistivity indicates that all the films (pristine and irradiated) exhibit semiconducting behavior for entire studied temperature range (80–300 K). The pristine and irradiated samples show the activated variable range hopping behavior throughout the studied temperature range. The magnetization hysteresis measurements show ferromagnetic behavior at 300 K for all samples. The results are explained on the basis of the close interplay between the electrical and the magnetic properties.