Granular and layered ferroelectric–ferromagnetic thin-film nanocomposites as promising materials with high magnetotransmission effect

•Thin-film ferromagnetic–ferroelectric nanocomposites have been prepared by MOCVD.•Giant change of optical transparency of nanocomposites in magnetic field was detected.•Positive magnetotransmission in the granular nanocomposite was discovered in the IR.•Negative magnetotransmission in the layered nanocomposite was revealed in the IR.•Ferroelectric–ferromangetic nanocomposite is a promising material for optoelectronics.

Epitaxial thin films of granular and layered nanocomposites consisting of ferromagnetic perovskite Pr1–xSrxMnO3 and ferroelectric hexagonal LuMnO3 were grown on ZrO2(Y2O3) substrates using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). A self-organized growth of the granular composite took place in situ as a result of phase separation of the Pr–Sr–Lu–Mn–O system into the perovskite and hexagonal phases. Optical transmission measurements revealed a large negative magnetotransmission effect in the layered nanocomposite over a wide spectral and temperature range. The granular nanocomposite unexpectedly showed an even larger, but positive, magnetotransmission effect at room temperature.