Abstract
Grain boundaries in doped lanthanum manganites have been shown to have a large low-field magnetoresistance. However, the mechanism of electrical transport across grain boundaries, and the origin of the low-field magnetoresistance, are not well understood. Models based on scattering at domain walls, spin-polarized tunneling and depression of the Curie temperature due to strain near the grain boundary have all been proposed. This article reports detailed studies of the transport properties of artificial grain boundaries formed in a variety of thin films grown on bicrystal substrates. Resistance versus field sweeps on all grain boundary devices showed strong low-field magnetoresistance and the effect of individual domain motion at the grain boundary has been observed in single grain boundaries. In all cases, current versus voltage characteristics were highly non-ohmic, and reminiscent of an electron tunneling process. However, the magnetic dependence of the current–voltage characteristics implies that the magnetoresistance may be unrelated to tunneling.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
