Photo-induced insulator-metal transition in Pr0.6Ca0.4MnO3 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition: Effect of thickness dependent structural and transport properties

Mechanisms of photoinduced magnetization in Pr0.6Ca0.4MnO3studied above and below charge-ordering transition temperature

“…The weaker strength of the CO phase in thin films than in polycrystalline bulk samples is a very common phenomenon in the colossal magnetoresisitive manganites-this is arguably due to the proportionally higher stability of the FM phase in the vicinity of surfaces [51]. There are indications that the relative stability of FM phase is at maximum when the film thickness is around 100 nm [52]. Relative changes in the CO phase stability of films thinner than studied in this work, on the other hand, are often explained by the strain effects, where the substrate induced tensile strain increases the Mn-O-Mn bond length and hence stabilizes the CO phase, whereas the relaxation of the strain again improves the FM ordering of the samples [53][54][55][56].…”