Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1515650 Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 2014 4 Pages PDF
Abstract
The microstructural properties of A-type antiferromagnet La0.4Sr0.6MnO3 were investigated through Rietveld analysis of neutron power diffraction data. Above 240 K, the temperature dependence of lattice parameters of the tetragonal structure exhibited a negative slope for c/2 and a positive slope for a (=b). An increase of tetragonality ((c/2)/a) on cooling probably causes a lattice instability, which may trigger a structural distortion to a monoclinic structure. At ~240 K, the A-type spin/orbital ordering was presumably related to the two dimensional-like anisotropic structural distortion (Δa≈Δc≈+0.9% and Δb/2=−2.0%) and a significant volume discontinuity ΔV/V~0.002. These microscopic structural changes were attributed to a distortion of the MnO6 octahedron, which results in a change in the Mn-O bond length and Mn-O-Mn bond angles.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Materials Science Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
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