A comparative Raman study between PrMnO3, NdMnO3, TbMnO3 and DyMnO3

In this paper, we present a detailed Raman study of the non-multiferroic compounds PrMnO3 and NdMnO3 and the multiferroic compounds TbMnO3 and DyMnO3 as a function of temperature and magnetic field. All studied systems show anomalous phonon shifts close to the Neel transition TN. In PrMnO3 and NdMnO3, the frequency softenings are partly attributed to an orbital-spin-phonon coupling whereas in TbMnO3 and DyMnO3, the relatively weak frequency shifts are rather attributed to an expansion of the Mn-O bond lengths. On the other hand, the frequencies of TbMnO3 phonons are shifted as a function of magnetic field, while those of PrMnO3 remain unaffected. These frequency shifts are interpreted in terms of local oxygen rearrangements under magnetic field that could play an important role in the multiferroicity of TbMnO3 and DyMnO3.