Scientists are studying a new phenomenon called "colossal magnetoresistance effect" (CMR), which is up to a thousand times more powerful than Giant Mmagnetoresistance effect (GMR) which is used in hard-drives today.
The researchers found that when a manganite was subjected to conditions above 230,000 times atmospheric pressure it underwent a transition in which its magnetic ordering changed from a ferromagnetic type (electron spins aligned) to an antiferromagnetic type (electron spins opposed). This transition was accompanied by a non-uniform structural distortion called the Jahn-Teller effect.
![Magnetic ordering in manganit sketch Magnetic ordering in manganit sketch](/sites/default/files/spintronics/structure-models-f-a-type-maganite.jpg)
âThe results imply that even at ambient conditions, the manganite might already have two separate magnetic phases at the nanometer scale, with pressure favoring the growth of the antiferro-magnetic phase at the expense of the ferromagnetic phase,â said coauthor Daniel Haskel, a physicist at Argonneâs APS. âManipulating phase separation at the nanoscale level is at the very core of nanotechnology and manganites provide an excellent playground to pursue this objectiveâ