Mesoscopic Percolating Resistance Network in a Strained Manganite Thin Film

Abstract

Separating Under Strain Complex oxides, such as cuprate superconductors and perovskites, often exhibit microscopic phase separation, where two or more phases coexist on the macroscopic scale but are spatially separated on the microscopic scale. Lai et al. (p. 190 ) studied a configuration often found in technological applications, a strained manganite thin film placed on a substrate. Microwave impedance microscopy, which differentiates between conducting and insulating areas on the thin film, allowed visualization of the phase separation as the magnetic field was varied. A network of conducting domains was observed whose orientation and characteristic length scales suggest that the substrate-exerted strain was involved in network formation.