Size of Orbital Ordering Domain Controlled by the Itinerancy of the 3d Electrons in a Manganite Thin Film

TL;DR

This study reveals that the size of orbital ordering domains in a manganite thin film is influenced by the itinerancy of 3d electrons, with more itinerant phases forming larger domains, highlighting an electronic control of macroscopic domain structures.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the electronic state, specifically the itinerancy of 3d electrons, controls the size of orbital ordering domains in a manganite thin film, a novel insight into electronic-macroscopic structure interactions.

Findings

Domain size varies with the electronic phase (A-type vs. CE-type).

More itinerant electronic phases form larger domains.

Electronic states influence macroscopic domain structures.

Abstract

An electronic effect on a macroscopic domain structure is found in a strongly correlated half-doped manganite film Nd$_{0.5}$Sr$_{0.5}$MnO3 grown on a (011) surface of SrTiO3. The sample has a high-temperature (HT) phase free from distortion above 180K and two low-temperature (LT) phases with a large shear-mode strain and a concomitant twin structure. One LT phase has a large itinerancy (A-type), and the other has a small itinerancy (CE-type), while the lattice distortions they cause are almost equal. Our x ray diffraction measurement shows that the domain size of the LT phase made by the HT-CE transition is much smaller than that by the HT-A transition, indicating that the difference in domain size is caused by the electronic states of the LT phases.