Coupling of magnetic field and lattice strain and its impact on electronic phase separation in La_0.335Pr_0.335Ca _0.33MnO₃/ferroelectric crystal heterostructures

Phase-separated La_0.335Pr_0.335Ca _0.33MnO₃ films were epitaxially grown on (001)- and (111)-oriented ferroelectric single-crystal substrates. Upon poling along the [001] or [111] direction, dramatic decrease in resistance, up to 99.98%, and complete melting of the charge-ordered phase were observed, caused by poling-induced strain rather than accumulation of electrostatic charge at interface. Such poling-induced strain effects can be effectively tuned by a magnetic field and mediated by electronic phase separation. In particular, our findings show that the evolution of the strength of electronic phase separation against temperature and magnetic field can be determined by measuring the strain-tunability of resistance [(Δ R / R) s t r a i n] under magnetic fields.