摘要
It is becoming increasingly clear that the exotic properties displayed by correlated electronic materials such as high- Tc superconductivity in cuprates, colossal magnetoresistance （CMR） in manganites, and heavy-fermion compounds are intimately related to the coexistence of competing nearly degenerate states which couple simultaneously active degrees of freedom---charge, lattice, orbital, and spin states. The striking phenomena associated with these materials are due in a large part to spatial electronic inhomogeneities, or electronic phase separation （EPS）. In many of these hard materials, the functionality is a result of the soft electronic component that leads to self-organization. In this paper, we review our recent work on a novel spatial confinement technique that has led to some fascinating new discoveries about the role of EPS in manganites. Using lithographic techniques to confine manganite thin films to length scales of the EPS domains that reside within them, it is possible to simultaneously probe EPS domains with different electronic states. This method allows for a much more complete view of the phases residing in a material and gives vital information on phase formation, movement, and fluctuation. Pushing this trend to its limit, we propose to control the formation process of the EPS using external local fields, which include magnetic exchange field, strain field, and electric field. We term the ability to pattern EPS ＂electronic nanofabrication.＂ This method allows us to control the global physical properties of the system at a very fundamental level, and greatly enhances the potential for realizing true oxide electronics.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the exotic properties displayed by correlated electronic materials such as high- Tc superconductivity in cuprates, colossal magnetoresistance （CMR） in manganites, and heavy-fermion compounds are intimately related to the coexistence of competing nearly degenerate states which couple simultaneously active degrees of freedom---charge, lattice, orbital, and spin states. The striking phenomena associated with these materials are due in a large part to spatial electronic inhomogeneities, or electronic phase separation （EPS）. In many of these hard materials, the functionality is a result of the soft electronic component that leads to self-organization. In this paper, we review our recent work on a novel spatial confinement technique that has led to some fascinating new discoveries about the role of EPS in manganites. Using lithographic techniques to confine manganite thin films to length scales of the EPS domains that reside within them, it is possible to simultaneously probe EPS domains with different electronic states. This method allows for a much more complete view of the phases residing in a material and gives vital information on phase formation, movement, and fluctuation. Pushing this trend to its limit, we propose to control the formation process of the EPS using external local fields, which include magnetic exchange field, strain field, and electric field. We term the ability to pattern EPS ＂electronic nanofabrication.＂ This method allows us to control the global physical properties of the system at a very fundamental level, and greatly enhances the potential for realizing true oxide electronics.
基金
Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(Grant No.2011CB921801)
the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.91121002and11274071)
US DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences,Scientific User Facilities Division,and the US DOE grant DE-SC0002136
the US DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences,Materials Sciences and Engineering Division,through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
