title: Charge-order domain walls with enhanced conductivity in a layered manganite.
abstract: Interfaces and boundaries in condensed-matter systems often have electronic properties distinct from the bulk material and thus have become a topic of both fundamental scientific interest and technological importance. Here we identify, using microwave impedance microscopy, enhanced conductivity of charge-order domain walls in the layered manganite Pr(Sr0.1Ca0.9)2Mn2O7. We obtain a complete mesoscopic map of surface topography, crystalline orientation and electronic phase, and visualize the thermal phase transition between two charge-ordered phases. In both phases, charge-order domains occur with domain walls showing enhanced conductivity likely due to local lifting of the charge order. Finite element analysis shows that the resolved domain walls can be as narrow as few nanometres. The domain walls are stabilized by structural twins and have a strong history dependence, suggesting that they may be manipulated to create novel devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Eric Yue
authors.identifier: 0000000205391501
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokunaga
authors.affiliation: 1] London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK [2] Department of Physics, ETH Zürich, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland [3] Department of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland [4] Synchrotron and Nanotechnology Department, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232, Villigen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aeppli
authors.affiliation: 1] RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan [2] Department of Applied Physics, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokura
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Zhi-Xun
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Shen