Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026
Optimizing Magnetic Force Microscopy Resolution and Sensitivity to Visualize Nanoscale Magnetic Domains
Published on: July 20, 2022
Direct imaging of nanoscale phase separation in La(0.55)Ca(0.45)MnO(3): relationship to colossal magnetoresistance
J Tao1, D Niebieskikwiat, M Varela
1Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA. jtao@bnl.gov
Abstract:
A nanoscale phase is known to coincide with colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) in manganites, but its volume fraction is believed to be too small to affect CMR. Here we provide scanning-electron-nanodiffraction images of nanoclusters as they form and evolve with temperature in La(1-x)Ca(x)MnO(3), x = 0.45. They are not doping inhomogeneities, and their structure is that of the bulk compound at x = 0.60, which at low temperatures is insulating. Their volume fraction peaks at the CMR critical temperature and is estimated to be 22% at finite magnetic fields. In view of the known dependence of the nanoscale phase on magnetic fields, such a volume fraction can make a significant contribution to the CMR peak.
