Combinatorial screening of ternary NiO- Mn ₂O ₃-CuO composition spreads

We describe the screening of large combinatorial oxide libraries for their electric transport characteristics. Complete ternary composition spreads of NiO- Mn2 O3 -CuO oxide alloys were deposited onto conducting Nb-doped SrTi O3 substrates using the combinatorial pulsed laser deposition technique. Resistance-temperature relations for each composition in the spread were determined using a custom-designed scanning probe. Ternary and binary electrically conducting alloys are located around Ni0.45 Cu0.75 Mn1.65 O4 (the lowest resistance point) and Cu Mn2 O4 compositions, respectively. The temperature sensitivities of the compositions Ni0.3 Cu0.3 Mn2.4 O4, Cu0.84 Mn2.16 O4, and Cu1.35 Mn1.65 O4 were 5.0%/°C, 3.5%/°C, and 3.0%/°C, respectively. From this screening we propose compounds for thin-film negative temperature coefficient thermistors with standardized characteristics.