Thousandfold Change in Resistivity in Magnetoresistive La-Ca-Mn-O Films

A negative isotropic magnetoresistance effect more than three orders of magnitude larger than the typical giant magnetoresistance of some superlattice films has been observed in thin oxide films of perovskite-like La(0.67)Ca(0.33)MnOx. Epitaxial films that are grown on LaAIO(3) substrates by laser ablation and suitably heat treated exhibit magnetoresistance values as high as 127,000 percent near 77 kelvin and approximately 1300 percent near room temperature. Such a phenomenon could be useful for various magnetic and electric device applications if the observed effects of material processing are optimized. Possible mechanisms for the observed effect are discussed.