Magnetotransport of manganite superlattices: Investigating the role of a magnetic insulating spacer

Abstract

Magnetotransport data are presented for a set of manganite superlattices comprising La2∕3Sr1∕3MnO3 as the ferromagnetic (FM) metallic layers (thickness 11.9nm) and Pr2∕3Ca1∕3MnO3 as the antiferromagnetic insulating spacer (IS) with thicknesses tIS between 0.8 and 7.6nm. Previous studies on this system showed the presence of FM inclusions within the IS, with a notable magnetization peak at tIS∼3nm. Now, we show that this peak is also accompanied by a maximum in the magnetoresistance (MR). Moreover, the MR data of all the samples scale in a single curve, MR∝MIS2, where MIS is the magnetization of the IS. These results provide a quantitative demonstration of the feasibility to improve the response of engineered MR devices by including magnetically active IS instead of the usual nonmagnetic compounds.