Complex many-body interaction in perovskite manganites gives rise to a strong competition between ferromagnetic metallic and charge ordered phases with nanoscale electronic inhomogeneity and glassy behaviors. Investigating this glassy state requires high resolution imaging techniques with sufficient sensitivity and stability. Here, we present the results of a near-field microwave microscope imaging on the strain driven glassy state in a manganite film. The high contrast between the two electrically distinct phases allows direct visualization of the phase separation. The low temperature microscopic configurations differ upon cooling with different thermal histories. At sufficiently high temperatures, we observe switching between the two phases in either direction. The dynamic switching, however, stops below the glass transition temperature. Compared with the magnetization data, the phase separation was microscopically frozen, while spin relaxation was found in a short period of time.
@article{arxiv.1306.3065,
title = {Direct Imaging of Dynamic Glassy Behavior in a Strained Manganite Film},
author = {Worasom Kundhikanjana and Zhigao Sheng and Yongliang Yang and Keji Lai and Yue Ma and Yong-Tao Cui Michael A. Kelly and Masao Nakamura and Masashi Kawasaki and Yoshinori Tokura and Qiaochu Tang and Kun Zhang and Xinxin Li and Zhi-Xun Shen},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1306.3065},
year = {2016}
}