Nonvolatile magnetoresistive memory in phase separated La0.325Pr0.300Ca0.375MnO3 -: art. no. 140401

We have measured magnetic and transport response on the polycrystalline La5/8-yPryCa3/8MnO3 (y=0.30, average grain size 2 microns) compound. In the temperature range where ferromagnetic metallic and insulating regions coexist, we observed a persistent memory of low magnetic fields (<1 T) that is determined by the actual amount of the ferromagnetic phase. The possibility to manipulate this fraction with relatively small external perturbations is related to the phase-separated nature of these manganese-oxide-based compounds. The colossal magnetoresistance figures obtained (about 80%) are determined by the fraction enlargement mechanism. Self-shielding of the memory to external fields is found under certain described circumstances. We show that this nonvolatile memory has multilevel capability associated with different applied low magnetic-field values.