Electrical noise from phase separation in Pr2/3Ca1/3MnO3 single crystal

Low frequency electrical noise measurements have been used to probe the electronic state of the perovskite-type manganese oxide Pr2/3Ca1/3MnO3 versus temperature and in the vicinity of the field-induced transition from the insulating, charge-ordered (I-CO) state to the metallic, ferromagnetic state (M-F). At high temperature we have observed a high level of the excess noise with mainly a Gaussian distribution of the resistance fluctuations, and the associated power spectral density has a standard 1/f dependence. However, in the hysteretic region, where the electrical resistance depends dramatically on the sample history, we have observed a huge non-Gaussian noise characterized by two level fluctuator-like switching in the time domain. We discuss the origin of the noise in terms of percolative behavior of the conductivity. We speculate that the dominant fluctuators are manganese clusters switching between the M-F and the I-CO phases. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)53908-5].