Effect of the grain size on the magnetic phase separation in La _0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ by magnetic force microscopy

Perovskite manganites have been the focus of worldwide research during the last two decades because of the observation of colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) effect. These materials have potential applications in magnetic field sensors, spin filters, infrared bolometers and cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells. Such manganites are also important from the fundamental study viewpoint as they offer interplay among various degrees of freedom viz. spin, lattice and charge ordering. Moreover, phase separation may occur in manganites with low concentration of the dopant. In such scenario, ferromagnetic metallic clusters are embedded in antiferromagnetic insulating matrix. The fraction of these magnetic phases may vary from the nano- to micro-scale. With higher dopant concentration, the percolation of these magnetic metallic clusters leads to the apparent CMR effect. In this study we focus our attention to the low doped La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ (LSMO) manganite and investigate the possible magnetic phase separation and effect of variation in grain size on the magnetic domain size. La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ possesses Curie temperature (TC) higher than room temperature, therefore the material is supposed to be in the magnetic state at room temperature.