Abstract
We have investigated the magnetic anisotropies of doped manganite materials in epitaxial thin film and single crystal form. Structural characterization, including x-ray diffraction, Rudierford backscattering spectroscopy and atomic force misocroscopy, indicate that our epitaxial films arc single crystalline and have excellent crystallinity. Since lattice distortions greatly affect the magnetic and transport properties of this family of materials, it is not surprising to find the profound effect of strain in films due to the lattice mismatch between the substrate and film. Magnetic anisotropy results of single crystals, subject to no external stress, is compared to those of epitaxial films.