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In this paper, an overview of the fabrication and properties of high-quality La 0.67 Sr 0.33 MnO 3 (LSMO) thin films is given. A high-quality LSMO film combines a smooth surface morphology with a large magnetization and a small residual resistivity, while avoiding precipitates and surface segregation. In the literature, typically only a few of these issues are adressed. We therefore present a thorough characterization of our films, which were grown by pulsed laser deposition. The films were characterized with reflection high energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy, x-ray diffraction, magnetization and transport measurements, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The films have a saturation magnetization of 4.0 µ B/Mn, a Curie temperature of 350 K and a residual resistivity of 60 µΩ cm. These results indicate that high-quality films, combining both large …