Formation of epitaxial and polycrystalline films of the electron doped system La<SUB>1-x</SUB>Ce<SUB>x</SUB>MnO<SUB>3</SUB> through pulsed laser deposition

The polycrystalline La<SUB>0.7</SUB>Ce<SUB>0.3</SUB>MnO<SUB>3</SUB> manganites do not exist in a single phase in bulk, when prepared through the solid state reaction route as cerium oxide (CeO<SUB>2</SUB>) remains partially unreacted. The resistivity of the bulk La<SUB>0.7</SUB>Ce<SUB>0.3</SUB>MnO<SUB>3</SUB> sample shows two metal insulator transition peaks, suggesting the presence of a second (impurity) phase. However, when prepared as thin films by pulsed laser deposition technique, La<SUB>0.7</SUB>Ce<SUB>0.3</SUB>MnO<SUB>3</SUB> forms in single phase