Growth and transport features of electron-doped superconductor Pr_1-xLaCe_xCuO_4-\delta thin films

T'-phase electron-doped superconductor Pr_1 -xLaCe_xCuO_4 - \delta (PLCCO) thin films are successfully prepared on SrTiO_3 (100) substrates by using the dc magnetron sputtering method. It is found that the films each have a highly oriented structure along the c-axis. For optimally doped films with x \approx 0.10, the superconducting transition temperature T_\rm c is 23.5 K, which is similar to that of a single crystal. The quadratic temperature dependence of the resistivity is observed when T>T_\rm c, which can be attributed to the two-dimensional Fermi liquid behaviour. Besides, the optimal conditions for preparing the T'-phase PLCCO thin films are also discussed in detail.