Nanoscale phase competition during charge ordering in intrinsically strained La_0.33Ca_0.67MnO₃

We show that strain has a large effect on charge ordering (CO) formation in La_0.33Ca_0.67MnO₃ by in situ high-resolution electron microscopy. CO forms inside the orthorhombic domains of the distorted perovskite structure and results further strain. Inside a single domain upon cooling, CO follows three stages: disorder, cluster forming at T*∼280 K and percolation at T_p∼235 K. While T* is approximately constant, percolation temperature varies significantly between different domains and places, which we attribute to the effect of intrinsic strain on the one-electron bandwidth.