Structure and transport properties of (La1-x-yYy)2/3Ca1/3MnO3 with La-site vacancies

Several samples of manganese oxides La(1-x)2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (V-LCMO) and (La0.7-xY0.3)2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (x < 0.15) (V-LYCMO) with vacancies at La-site (La-vacancy) were prepared by solid-state reaction method. The X-ray diffraction(XRD) patterns refined by Rietveld confirm that these compounds exhibit single phase structure with orthorhombic symmetry (Pnma). The lattice parameters, Mn-O bond length and Mn-O-Mn bond angle vary with La-vacancy concentration, as an indication of the occurrence of the local Jahn-Teller effect. The measurement result of V-LCMO compounds shows that the maximum magnetoresistance(MR) is about 220% at TIM=268 K and La-vacancy content x=0.04. For V-LYCMO compounds, there exists metal-insulator transition at about 50 K, and a very large MR (over 106%) is observed at the temperature ranging from 40 K to 50 K.