The kinetics of formation of the clusters in magnetron plasma during the motion of a particle flow obtained by sputtering of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 target followed by the deposition of clusterized amorphous layers on an extended glass substrate was studied. The effect of ion-acoustic wave on the spatial modulation of local structure and properties of clusterized medium at the presence of multivalent manganese ions in the plasma is revealed.

The results of investigation by the indirect method of step-by-step varying the oxygen content in the series of epitaxial La0.8Sr0.2Mn3- films on single-crystal NdGaO3 substrates are presented. Using numerical simulation we have revealed that the oxygen diffusion coefficient significantly decreases along the film thickness in the direction from the outer surface to the film-substrate interface under conditions of "compressive" mechanical stresses caused by the mismatch of the in-plane crystalline parameters of the film and substrate materials. In films of d≈12—75 nm thickness, the effect is manifested in the fact that the value of the diffusion coefficient in the vicinity of the outer surface of the films also decreases significantly as the thickness of the films decreases. The questions of the applicability of the indirect method for evaluating the oxygen content in thin epitaxial films, as well as other manifestations of effects caused by mechanical stresses are discussed.

The results of investigation of optical transmission spectra and X-ray diffraction of thin In2O3 films deposited by dc-magnetron sputtering on Al2O3 (012) substrates are presented. The diffraction patterns exhibit the presents of the (222) reflex of cubic In2O3. Its position shifts from 30.3 to 30.6°, with a decrease in the film thickness. There was also a decrease in the half-width of this reflex by a decrease in the deposition time, which may indicate an increase in the crystallite size of the film material. According to the optical transmission measurements, the presence of a transition layer with the band gap of 1.39 eV and about of 40 nm thickness was established at the interface between the film and substrate. The properties of this layer are independent of the deposition time.

The possibility of quantitative estimation of the film thickness using cationic composition data, obtained by the INCA Energy-350 energy dispersive spectrometer which is integrated in electron microscope the JSM-6490 LV has been revealed. The application of this method is especially important in the case when the SEM image has insufficient contrast between of the film and substrate regions.

In a series of epitaxial La0.8Sr0.2MnO3- films 12–75 nm thick on NdGaO3 substrates, the variation in the oxygen content during heat treatment in air at temperatures of 873–1073 K was quantitatively studied. Experimental and calculated time dependences of the change in the oxygen content in films with taking into account the effect of inhomogeneous diffusion of oxygen over the thickness of the films, allowing to make the optimal choice of temperature and duration of the heat treatment procedure. In films 25–75 nm thick, the effect of “stabilization” of the oxygen content is observed, which indicates the presence of an energy barrier that prevents the incorporation of an excess oxygen atom into the surface layer of the film under optimal conditions of heat treatment.