Bidirectional optical phase control between a charge-ordered insulator and a metal in manganite thin films

Abstract
Photoinduced phase transition in manganite thin films has been studied, in which electronic excitation and the heating effect of light is clearly distinguished for the first time. The observation of the clear transition has been possible through the use of thin films prepared on (110) substrates, which exhibit a well-developed first-order phase transition between a more isotropic metallic state and an anisotropic charge- and orbital-ordered insulating state. The in-plane anisotropy of the (110) substrate allows the shear deformation necessary for the first-order transition. The photoinduced effect was found in the hysteresis loop between the metallic and insulating states, which has been made fairly wide by the choice of the composition. Previous photoinduced transitions are reviewed and compared with the present case.