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

Abstract:

Magnetotransport data are presented for a set of manganite superlattices comprising La2/3 Sr1/3 MnO3 as the ferromagnetic (FM) metallic layers (thickness 11.9 nm) and Pr2/3 Ca1/3 MnO3 as the antiferromagnetic insulating spacer (IS) with thicknesses tIS between 0.8 and 7.6 nm. Previous studies on this system showed the presence of FM inclusions within the IS, with a notable magnetization peak at tIS ∼3 nm. 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. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.