Effect of an interface boundary on the magnetooptical and magnetotransport properties of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>/La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> heterostructures

The optical, magnetooptical (Kerr effect and magnetotransmission), and magnetotransport properties of La_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃/La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃ and La_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃/SrTiO₃/La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃ heterostructures on SrTiO₃ substrates are studied. The contribution of the interface boundary to the magnetotransmission is typical of a material with a transitional composition. It is found that a 2-nm-thick SrTiO₃ spacer does not influence the shape and position of the magnetotransmission peak in a field normal to the surface of the heterostructure but increases the contribution of the upper layer to the magnetotransmission in the Voigt geometry and also enhances the magnetoresistance that is due to the tunneling of spin-polarized carriers through the spacer. The Kerr spectra taken of the heterostructures are typical of single-layer single-crystal films.     

Magnetotransport properties of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> with different grain sizes

The magnetotransport and magnetoresistive (MR) properties of manganese-based La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ perovskite with different grain sizes are reported. The electrical resistivity was measured as a function of temperature in magnetic fields of 0.5 and 1 T. The insulator–metal transition temperature, T _IM, shifted to a higher temperature with the application of the magnetic field. In zero field, T _IM is almost constant (∼271 K) for all samples except for the sample with the largest grain size, where T _IM=265 K. The temperature dependence of resistivity was fitted with several equations in the metallic (ferromagnetic) region and the insulating (paramagnetic) region. The density of states at the Fermi level, N(E _F), and the activation energy of electron hopping were estimated by fitting the resistivity versus temperature curves. The ρ–T ² curves are nearly linear in the metallic regime, but the ρ–T ^2.5 curves exhibit a deviation from linearity. The variable range hopping model and small polaron hopping model fit the data well in the high-temperature region, indicating the existence of the Jahn–Teller distortion that localizes the charge carriers. MR was found to increase with an increase in the magnetic field, an effect which is attributed to the intergrain spin tunneling effect.     

Structure and magnetoresistance of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> films grown coherently on (001)NdGaO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

40-to 120-nm-thick (001)La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films grown through laser evaporation on (001)NdGaO₃ were studied. The lattice parameters of the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films measured in the substrate plane (a_∥=3.851 Å) and along the normal to its surface (a_⊥=3.850 Å) practically coincided with that of the pseudocubic neodymium gallate. The unit-cell volume of the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film was slightly smaller than that of stoichiometric bulk samples. The position of the maximum in the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity did not depend on the thickness of the La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ film. The negative magnetoresistance (MR≈?0.25, H=0.4 T) of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films reached a maximum at 239–244 K.     

Response of the electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> films to biaxial tensile strains

The structure, electrical resistivity, and magnetoresistance of (50-nm)La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ epitaxial films grown on a [(80 nm)Ba_0.25Sr_0.75TiO₃/La_0.3Sr_0.7Al_0.65Ta_0.35O₃] substrate with a substantial positive lattice misfit have been studied. The tensile biaxial strains are shown to account for the increase in the cell volume and in the relative concentration of Mn⁺³ ions in the manganite films as compared to those for the original material (33%). The peak in the temperature dependence of the resistivity ρ of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films was shifted by 30–35 K toward lower temperatures relative to its position in the ρ(T) graph for a manganite film grown on (001)La_0.3Sr_0.7Al_0.65Ta_0.35O₃. For T < 150 K, the temperature dependences of ρ of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃/Ba_0.25Sr_0.75TiO₃/La_0.3Sr_0.7Al_0.65Ta_0.35O₃ films could be well fitted by the relation ρ = ρ₀ + ρ₁T^4.5, where ρ₀ = 0.35 mΩ cm and the coefficient ρ₁ decreases linearly with increasing magnetic field. In the temperature interval 4.2–300 K, the magnetoresistance of manganite films was within the interval 15–95% (μ₀H = 5 T).     

The size effect on transport properties of colossal magnetoresistance materials La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

High quality La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ (LCMO) film was deposited via a novel pulsed electron deposition technique on SrTiO₃(100) single crystal substrate. The micro-bridge with different widths was fabricated by using electron beam lithography (EBL) technique and their transport properties were studied. For the micro-bridges with width of 2 and 1.5 μm, the insulator-to-metal transition temperature (T _P) keeps unchanged compared with the film. For the micro-bridges with width of 1 μm, the T _P shifts towards the lower temperature by 50 K. When the width decreases down to 500 nm, the insulator-to-metal transition disappears. The magnetoresistance behavior of these micro-bridges was studied, and the results show that the low field magnetoresistance (LFMR) decreases and the high field magnetoresistances (HFMR) keep almost unchanged as the width of micro-bridge is reduced. Supported by the Key Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province of China (Grant No. Z605131), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 60571029), and W. H. Tang was supported by the Creative Research Group of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 60321001)     

Modulation of ultrafast laser-induced magnetization precession in BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-coated La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films

The ultrafast laser-excited magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic (FM) La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ (LSMO) thin films with BiFeO₃ (BFO) coating layers grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy are investigated using the optical pump-probe technique. Uniform magnetization precessions are observed in the films under an applied external magnetic field by measuring the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. The magnetization precession frequencies of the LSMO thin films with the BFO coating layers are lower than those of uncoated LSMO films, which is attributed to the suppression of the anisotropy field induced by the exchange interaction at the interface between the antiferromagnetic order of BFO and the FM order of LSMO.     

Elastic and magnetic properties of the La<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>Pr<Subscript>0.1</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.3</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> single crystal

The temperature dependences of the velocity of longitudinal sound, internal friction, and magnetization of the single crystal with the nominal composition La_0.6Pr_0.1Ca_0.3MnO₃ have been measured. It has been found that the substitution of praseodymium for lanthanum in La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ leads to a decrease in the velocity of sound and to an increase in the spontaneous magnetization. The method of determining the Curie temperature distribution function during a first-order transition has been proposed. It has been shown that, in the crystal under study, this function is asymmetric.     

Insulator-metal transition shift related to magnetic polarons in La<Subscript>0.67-x</Subscript>Y<Subscript>x</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The magnetic transport properties have been measured for La_0.67-xY_xCa_0.33MnO₃ ( 0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.14) system. It was found that the transition temperature T _p almost linearly moves to higher temperature as H increases. Electron spin resonance confirms that above T _p , there exist ferromagnetic clusters. From the magnetic polaron point of view, the shift of T _p vs. H was understood, and it was estimated that the size of the magnetic polaron is of 9.7 ∼ 15.4 ? which is consistent with the magnetic correlation length revealed by the small-angle neutron-scattering technique. The transport properties at temperatures higher than T _p conform to the variable-range hopping mechanism. Received 27 August 2002 / Received in final form 2 December 2002 Published online 14 March 2003     

Improvement of refrigerant capacity of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> single crystal with a few percent Fe doping

Large low-field-induced magnetic entropy changes, ΔS _M, are observed in La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ and La_0.67Ca_0.33Mn_0.96Fe_0.04O₃ single crystals. The peaks of ΔS _M broadened asymmetrically to high temperatures under higher magnetic fields for two materials should be attributed to the first-order magnetic phase transition at T _c. A small amount of iron doping results in an increase in the refrigerant capacity of the material though the magnetic entropy change decreases. The discovery of excellent magnetocaloric features of these single crystals in the low magnetic field can provide some ideas for exploring novel magnetic refrigerants operating under permanent magnet rather than superconducting one as magnetic field source. Supported by the State Key Project of Fundamental Research (Grant No. 2005CB724402), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50672126) Contributed by CHENG ZhaoHua     

Magnetocaloric effect in (La<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.4</Subscript>)<Subscript>0.9</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1.1</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The results of investigations of the magnetization, susceptibility, and magnetic-field-induced changes in the entropy of polycrystalline manganite (La_0.6Ca_0.4)_0.9Mn_1.1O₃ near the magnetic phase transition have been presented. Magnetic measurements have been carried out at temperatures in the range from 210 to 310 K in magnetic fields of up to 9 T. The magnetocaloric effect has been revealed by measuring the magnetic-field dependences of magnetization. The magnitude of the magnetocaloric effect is compared with similar results obtained for other manganites.     

Anomalous phase separation in La<Subscript>0.225</Subscript>Pr<Subscript>0.4</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.375</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>: consequence of temperature and magnetic-field cycles

The evolutions of electronic phase separation in manganites La_0.225Pr_0.4Ca_0.375MnO₃ are studied by the specific temperature and magnetic-field cycling experiments. It is found that the electronic phase separation state at low temperature can be tuned substantially by temperature and/or magnetic-field cycles. Surprisingly, the initial more ferromagnetic metallic (FMM) nuclei can impede the growth of these nuclei during the cooling process. It implies that there must coexist more than two phases which take part in the complex first-order phase transitions, and the charge-disordered insulating phase is possible, one of the parent phases transiting into the FMM phase at low temperature. In addition, the accommodation strain is suggested to control the nucleation and growth of FMM domains.     

Memory effects in superparamagnetic La<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>Pb<Subscript>0.4</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanoparticles

Using different temperature and field protocols, the memory behaviors in the dc magnetization and magnetic relaxation are observed at temperature below blocking temperature T_B = 93 K in weakly interacting manganite La_0.6Pb_0.4MnO₃ nanoparticles. The results indicate that the magnetic dynamics of this nanoparticle system is strongly correlated with a wide distribution of particle relaxation times, which may arise from the particle weak interaction and distribution of the particle size.     

Magnetotransport properties of nano-constriction array in La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> film

Nano-constriction array in La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ film was fabricated by using ion beam etching masked by a monolayer of packed and ordered array of SiO₂ microspheres. Nano-constrictions of around 50 nm in width were fabricated. The low field magnetoresistance (LFMR) exhibited in the samples were observed to be current dependent and the I-V characteristics of the film were found to be nonlinear. These observations were attributed to the co-existence of the ferromagnetic regions and the nano-constricted region of weakened ferromagnetic coupling where Mn³⁺-O-Mn⁴⁺ bond were distorted due to the ion beam bombardment. The spin polarized bias current would strengthen local ferromagnetic coupling when passing through this nano-constricted regions. This current effect is relatively large comparing to the external magnetic field to the drop of resistance.     

Response of the electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> epitaxial films to biaxial compressive mechanical (001) or (110) strains

The behavior of the electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance of 40-to 120-nm-thick La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films grown on differently oriented lanthanum aluminate substrates was studied. The cell volume in thin (40 nm) La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films grown coherently on (001)LaAlO₃ was found to be substantially smaller. Mechanical stress relaxation in biaxially strained La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films is accompanied by an increase in the cell volume. The temperatures at which the electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance in biaxially strained La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ films were maximum can differ by 60–70 K from those observed in bulk single crystals.     

Giant magnetorefractive effect in La<Subscript>0.7</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.3</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> films

Complex experimental investigations of the structural, optical, and magneto-optical properties (magnetotransmission, magnetoreflection, and transversal Kerr effect, as well as the magnetoresistance, of La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ epitaxial films indicate that magnetoreflection and magnetotransmission in manganite films can reach giant values and depend strongly on the magnetic and charge homogeneity of the films, their thickness, and spectral range under investigation. It has been shown that the optical enhancement of the magnetorefractive effect occurs in thin films as compared to manganite crystals. In the region of the minimum of the reflectance near the first phonon band, the resonance-like magnetorefractive effect has been observed, which is accompanied by change of the sign of the magnetoreflection. A model based on the theory of the magnetorefractive effect has been proposed to qualitatively explain this behavior.     

Dielectric response of a (1000 nm)SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> layer epitaxially grown on (001)La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> to temperature variation and electric field

The structure and dielectric characteristics of the (1000 nm)SrTiO₃ spacer in a (001)SrRuO₃ ‖ (001)SrTiO₃ ‖ (001)La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ trilayer heterostructure grown on a (001)(LaAlO₃)_0.3+(Sr₂AlTaO₆)_0.7 substrate have been studied. Both oxide electrodes, as well as the strontium titanate layer, were cube-on-cube epitaxially grown. The unit cell parameter in the SrTiO₃ layer measured in the substrate plane (3.908±0.003 Å) practically coincided with that determined along the normal to the substrate surface (3.909±0.003 Å). The temperature dependence of the real part of the permittivity ?′ of the SrTiO₃ layer in the range 70–180 K fits the relation (?′)^?1 ～ ? ₀ ^?1 C ₀ ^?1 (T-T _C ) well, where C₀ and T_C are the Curie constant and the Curie-Weiss temperature, respectively, for bulk strontium titanate crystals and ?₀ is the free-space permittivity. The data obtained on the temperature dependence of the permittivity of SrTiO₃ films enabled us to evaluate the effective depth of electric field penetration into the manganite electrode (L _e ≈ 0.5 nm) and the corresponding capacitance (C _e ≈1×10^?6 F/cm²) of the interface separating the (001)SrTiO₃ layer from the (001)La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ bottom electrode.     

Magnetoresistance of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> epitaxial films grown on a substrate with low lattice mismatch

The structure, electrical resistivity, and magnetoresistance of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ heteroepitaxial films (120-nm thick) practically unstrained by lattice mismatch with the substrate were studied. A strong maximum of negative magnetoresistance of ≈27% (for μ₀H = 4 T) was observed at T ≈360 K. While the magnetoresistance decreased monotonically in magnitude with decreasing temperature, it was still in excess of 2% at 150 K. For T < 250 K, the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity ρ of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ films is fitted well by the relation ρ = ρ₀ + ρ ₁(H)T^2.3, where ρ₀ = 1.1×10^?4 Ω cm, ρ₁(H = 0) = 1.8×10^?9 Ω cm/K^2.3, and ρ₁(μ₀H = 4 T)/ρ₁(H = 0) ≈0.96. The temperature dependence of a parameter γ characterizing the extent to which the electrical resistivity of the ferromagnetic phase of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ films is suppressed by a magnetic field (μ ₀H = 5 T) was determined.     

Structural and electrical transport properties of nanosized La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> sample synthesized by a simple low-cost novel route

We have synthesized nanosized La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ by a simple low-cost novel synthesis route without calcination at high temperature. The study of these nanoparticles indicates excellent properties similar to colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) materials sintered at ∼1600°C for 20 h. The resulting particle size is in the range of 50–160 nm as determined by scanning electron microscopy. Resistivity measurement has been carried out down to 12 K. The sample shows metal-to-insulator (M–I) transition at 205 K.      

Phase separation effects in charge-ordered Pr<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin film

Compressed Pr_0.5Ca_0.5MnO₃ films (250 nm) deposited on LaAlO₃ have been studied by Electron Spin Resonance technique under high frequency and high magnetic field. We show evidences for the presence of a ferromagnetic phase (FM) embedded in the charge-order phase (CO), in form of thin layers which size depends on the strength and orientation of the magnetic field (parallel or perpendicular to the substrate plane). This FM phase presents an easy plane magnetic anisotropy with an anisotropy constant 100 times bigger than typical bulk values. When the magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the substrate plane, the FM phase is strongly coupled to the CO phase whereas for the parallel orientation it keeps an independent ferromagnetic resonance even when the CO phase becomes antiferromagnetic.     

Effect of Ta<Superscript>5+</Superscript> substitution for Mn on the ground state of La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

We report the charge state modification effects at the Mn site on the ground state properties of colossal magnetoresistive manganites. Ta⁵⁺ substitution results in an appreciable increase in the lattice parameters and unit cell volume due to increased Mn³⁺ concentration. The ferromagnetic-metallic ground state modifies to a cluster glass insulator for . The reduction in the transition temperatures with increasing x is ∼39 K/at.%. Besides the modification of majority carrier concentration due to increased Mn³⁺ concentration and enhanced local structural effects, the local electrostatic potential of the substituent seems to contribute to the unusually strong reduction of the transition temperatures of the compounds. Thermo magnetic irreversibility just below Curie temperature (T_c), non-saturation of magnetization, two distinct magnetic transitions in ac susceptibility in an appropriate static field: close to T_c and other at low temperature (the spin freezing temperature (T_g)) and non-stationary dynamics with a characteristic maximum in the magnetic viscosity close to T_g confirm a cluster glass state for . These results find additional support from a linear low temperature magnetic specific heat of x = 0.10 with a characteristic broad maximum close to T_g.