Resistive switching phenomena: a probe for the tracing of secondary phase in manganite

In this report, we have claimed the new application of resistive switching phenomena, as a probe for the tracing of the secondary phase in the La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 (LSMO)–La 2 O 3 composite samples. The XRD pattern of the LSMO–La 2 O 3 composites is not able to detect the presence of La 2 O 3 for x = 0.005 and 0.010 sample. The I – V characteristics of the x = 0.005 and 0.010 sample exhibit the bipolar resistive switching behavior and a further increase in the concentration of La 2 O 3 leads to a loss in the hysteresis. Apart from this, we have also investigated the transport properties of the composite samples. The decrease in the T MI and increase in the resistivity value with the increasing concentration of the x is observed due to the presence of high resistive grain boundaries near the LSMO grains. The resistivity of the samples at T < T MI is well explained by the contribution of grain boundaries effect, electron–electron contribution, and electron–magnon scattering. The resistivity at higher temperature T > T MI is explained by the small polaron hopping (SPH) mechanism.