Optical lithography is used to fabricate LPCMO wires starting from a single (La(5/8-0.3)Pr(0.3))Ca3/8MnO3 (LPCMO) film epitaxially grown on a LaAlO3(100) substrate. As the width of the wires is decreased, the resistivity of the LPCMO wires exhibits giant and ultrasharp steps upon varying temperature and magnetic field in the vicinity of the metal-insulator transition. The origin of the ultrasharp transitions is attributed to the effect of spatial confinement on the percolative transport in manganites.

The magnetic and transport behaviors of manganites are critically related to the spatial distribution and correlation of doped holes. Using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy, we have imaged both occupied and unoccupied states simultaneously in a hole-doped (La(5/8-0.3)Pr0.3)Ca(3/8)MnO3 epitaxial thin film grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy. Doped holes localized on Mn4+ ion sites were directly observed with atomic resolution in the paramagnetic state at room temperature. In contrast to a random distribution, these doped holes show strong short-range correlation and clear preference of forming nanoscale CE-type charge-order-like clusters. The results provide direct visualization of the nature of intriguing electronic inhomogeneity in transition metal oxides.