Contactless measurement of colossal magnetoresistance in La1−Sr MnO3 using the infrared magnetorefractive effect

Abstract The magnetorefractive effect (MRE) has been used for the first time to study the magnetotransport properties of La 1− x Sr x MnO 3 perovskite materials. A direct correlation between the MRE and colossal magnetoresistance was observed. Samples with x =0–0.3 prepared using the homogeneous coprecipitation and the solid state reaction methods were studied, covering the range of insulating to metallic behaviour. The MRE probed both the magnetically induced modification of the scattering of Drude-like electrons and the magnetic dependence of a stretching vibration mode.