EMR studies of the internal motion of Mn4+ ions in the Sr overdoped (La1-xSrx)(Ga1-yMny)O3 (x/y up to 8) supplemented by magnetic and optical spectroscopy measurements

The effect of the Sr doping on electronic structure in single crystals of (La1-xSrx)(Ga1-yMny)O-3 solid solutions (LSGM) is investigated by means of electron magnetic resonance (EMR). The EMR results are supplemented by magnetic susceptibility and optical spectroscopy measurements. The compositions with small concentration of Mn doping (y < 1%) and overdoped content of Sr (the ratio x(Sr)/y(Mn) up to 8) are used to maximally enhance the role of divalent doping. The experimental results provide evidence of the holes delocalization in the overdoped compound (x(Sr)/y(Mn) > 1). This delocalization is accompanied by appearance of the new charge transfer transitions in the optical spectrum and dynamical valence change of manganese atoms. Additionally we observe the thermally activated narrowing of resonance EMR lines due to the internal motion, which is characterized by the energy barrier depending strongly on the ratio x(Sr)/y(Mn). The energy barrier is found to be associated with the charge carrier (hole) self-trapped energy. Fitting the EMR spectra in three orthogonal planes to an orthorhombic spin Hamiltonian enables extracting the zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters and the Zeeman g-factors for Mn4+ (S = 3/2) ions in LSGM. The experimental ZFS parameters are modeled using superposition model analysis based on an orthorhombic symmetry approximation. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.