90 MeV 16O heavy-ion irradiation effects on La0.9Pb0.1MnO3 single crystals

Effect of 90 MeV heavy-ion irradiation on the surface morphology, transport and magnetic properties of La0.9Pb0.1MnO3 (LPMO) single crystals has been reported. It was found that at low ion-fluence the metal–insulator transition temperature (TMI) increases by ∼3 K and the Curie temperature (Tc) increases ∼4 K, and the resistivity decreases as the irradiation increases up to 1 × 1012. However, we have observed that the TMI reduces with an increase in resistivity for the fluence of 1 × 1013. These results correlate well with the irradiation induced strain, creation of point defect and grain boundaries in the crystals.