Mechanisms of photoinduced magnetization in Pr0.6Ca0.4MnO3 studied above and below charge-ordering transition temperature.

We report the effect of photonic field on the electronic and magnetic structure of a low bandwidth manganite [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]MnO3 (PCMO) thin film. In particular, the present study confirmed a mechanism that was recently proposed to explain how optical excitation can bias or directly activate the metamagnetic transition associated with the colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) effect of PCMO. The transition is characterized by a shift in the dynamic equilibrium between ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic clusters, explaining how it can be suddenly triggered by a sufficient external magnetic field. The film was always found to support some population of FM-clusters, the proportional size of which could be adjusted by the magnetic field and, especially in the vicinity of a thermomagnetic irreversibility, by optical excitation. The double exchange mechanism couples the magnetic degrees of freedom of manganites to their electronic structure, which is further coupled to the ion lattice via the Jahn-Teller mechanism. In accordance, it was found that producing optical phonons into the lattice could lower the free energy of the FM phase enough to significantly bias the CMR effect.

Linear and nonlinear ac susceptibilities in polycrystalline low-bandwidth Pr1-xCa(x)MnO3(x = 0.0 − 0.3) manganite.

The complex linear and nonlinear ac susceptibility have been thoroughly investigated in the low bandwidth manganite compound Pr(1-x)Ca(x)MnO3 (PCMO) for the doping range x = 0.0-0.3 with and without a superimposed background dc field. The dynamical ac response shows substantial differences between the samples. The sample with x = 0.1 is found to have two separate magnetic transition peaks, compared to the single transitions in the samples x = 0.0 and x = 0.2. The nonlinear ac susceptibility measurements were compared between samples, which confirmed that these transition peaks are similar in nature and from the same magnetic origin. Additionally, for sample x = 0.3 a complex transition peak structure with overlapping transition peaks was found. This kind of evolution of the magnetic phases as a function of the Ca concentration is believed to rise from coexisting antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) orderings, where the Ca concentration controls the amount of FM clusters in the sample. The spin glass characteristics of these complex phase-separated magnetic regimes showed similarities and contradictions with conventional spin glasses, which indicates that this cluster glass behavior arises from the frustration between competing AFM and FM clusters having different magnetic exchange interaction.

Analysis of electronic structure and its effect on magnetic properties in (001) and (110) oriented La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films.

Epitaxial thin films of half-metallic oxide La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) have been grown in two crystalline orientations, one with the c-axis out-of-plane, the (001) orientation, and one with the c-axis in-plane, the (110) orientation. For the (110) oriented growth, there is no polar discontinuity at the substrate-film interface and hence no dead layer formation, which improves ferromagnetic interaction in the LSMO, making it highly attractive for spintronic applications. In our experiments, with x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and magnetic measurements, we have demonstrated that in the (110) oriented LSMO the lattice is more relaxed, leading to less deformation of electronic density around the La atom or in the MnO6 octahedra. This improved crystal and electronic structure improves the ferromagnetic properties of the films, making the Curie temperature higher by almost 15 K, which is of potential interest for spintronics. However, substrate strain induced magnetic anisotropy causes domain formation with out-of-plane components in these films, which poses some concern for practical spintronic devices.

Irreversible metamagnetic transition and magnetic memory in small-bandwidth manganite Pr(1-x)Ca(x)MnO3 (x = 0.0-0.5).

The present paper reports detailed structural and magnetic characterization of the low-bandwidth manganite Pr(1-x)Ca(x)MnO(3) (with x = 0.0-0.5) (PCMO) polycrystalline samples. With increasing Ca content, reduction of the unit cell volume and improvement in perovskite structure symmetry was observed at room temperature. Magnetic characterization shows the signature of coexisting AFM-FM ordering and spin-glass phase at the low doping range (x = 0.0-0.2) while increased hole doping (x = 0.3-0.5) leads to charge ordering, training effect and an irreversible metamagnetic phenomenon. The large irreversible metamagnetism in the CO phase of PCMO and the corresponding spin memory effect is a direct consequence of hysteretic first-order phase transition arising from the weakening of the CO state under the external magnetic field and trapping of the spins due to a strong pinning potential in the material.