The interesting transport and magnetic properties in manganites depend sensitively on the nucleation and growth of electronic phase-separated domains. By fabricating antidot arrays in La0.325Pr0.3Ca0.375MnO3 (LPCMO) epitaxial thin films, we create ordered arrays of micrometer-sized ferromagnetic metallic (FMM) rings in the LPCMO films that lead to dramatically increased metal-insulator transition temperatures and reduced resistances. The FMM rings emerge from the edges of the antidots where the lattice symmetry is broken. Based on our Monte Carlo simulation, these FMM rings assist the nucleation and growth of FMM phase domains increasing the metal-insulator transition with decreasing temperature or increasing magnetic field. This study points to a way in which electronic phase separation in manganites can be artificially controlled without changing chemical composition or applying external field.

Detection and manipulation of spin current lie in the core of spintronics. Here we report an active control of a net spin Hall angle, θSHE(net), in Pt at an interface with a ferroelectric material PZT (PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3), using its ferroelectric polarization. The spin Hall angle in the ultra-thin Pt layer is measured using the inverse spin Hall effect with a pulsed tunneling current from a ferromagnetic La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 electrode. The effect of the ferroelectric polarization on θSHE(net) is enhanced when the thickness of the Pt layer is reduced. When the Pt layer is thinner than 6 nm, switching the ferroelectric polarization even changes the sign of θSHE(net). This is attributed to the reversed polarity of the spin Hall angle in the 1st-layer Pt at the PZT/Pt interface when the ferroelectric polarization is inverted, as supported by the first-principles calculations. These findings suggest a route for designing future energy efficient spin-orbitronic devices using ferroelectric control.

Detection and manipulation of spin current lie in the core of spintronics. Here we report an active control of a net spin Hall angle, θ_SHE(net), in Pt at an interface with a ferroelectric material PZT (PbZr_0.2Ti_0.8O₃), using its ferroelectric polarization. The spin Hall angle in the ultra-thin Pt layer is measured using the inverse spin Hall effect with a pulsed tunneling current from a ferromagnetic La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ electrode. The effect of the ferroelectric polarization on θ_SHE(net) is enhanced when the thickness of the Pt layer is reduced. When the Pt layer is thinner than 6 nm, switching the ferroelectric polarization even changes the sign of θ_SHE(net). This is attributed to the reversed polarity of the spin Hall angle in the 1^st-layer Pt at the PZT/Pt interface when the ferroelectric polarization is inverted, as supported by the first-principles calculations. These findings suggest a route for designing future energy efficient spin-orbitronic devices using ferroelectric control.