Dynamic phase separation as revealed by the strong resistance relaxation in epitaxially shear-strained La0.67Ca0.33MnO3/NdGaO3(0 0 1) thin-films

Strong phase competitions between the ferromagnetic metal and the charge-ordered-insulator have been induced in a wide temperature range of 10–256 K for the shear-strained La0.67Ca0.33MnO3/NdGaO3(0 0 1) films. Based on various magnetotransport measurements, the mobility of phase boundaries was inferred to change dramatically with temperature. In the high temperature range where the phase boundaries are movable, strong relaxation in resistivity was observed, while at the frozen temperatures lower than 40 K it is weakened. The resistivities tend to relax in accordance with the phase transitions driven by the temperature or magnetic field in the phase separation (PS) background. Moreover, to our surprise, while the melting fields of the insulating phase varied with film thicknesses, for a given film however, they stay unchanged when started with different phase fractions produced by the field or thermal cycling. The results show a crucial role of the inherent strain state in determining PS and phase competitions in these epitaxial thin films.