Magnetic and high-pressure magnetotransport properties of cesium-substituted lanthanum calcium manganites

The nature of the double-exchange (DE) interaction in lanthanum manganites is studied through chemical substitutions, Cs for La, and high-pressure measurements. Static and high-frequency magnetic measurements and high-pressure electrical transport studies were carried out on bulk polycrystalline and radio-frequency sputtered thin films of La_0.7-xCs_xCa_0.3MnO₃ for x=0-0.1. The samples are found to be cubic. Curie temperature T_c measurements provide evidence for bond-length-related weakening of DE as x is increased from 0 to 0.03. For higher x, the bond-angle-related changes lead to an increase in the strength of DE. High-pressure mangetoresistance data indicate both bond length and bond-angle-related increase of 10–20 K/GPa in T_c with pressure, with the largest increase measured for x=0.03. The rate of increase in the Curie temperature with pressure decreases with increasing T_c. Anomalies are observed in the magnetic parameters for x=0.03. The Cs-concentration dependence of the low-temperature saturation magnetization shows a minimum close to x=0.03. Ferromagnetic resonance studies at x-band reveal a 5% decrease in the g-value for x=0.03 relative to the end members (x=0 and 0.1). The low-field magnetostriction for x=0.03 indicates a relatively strong electron–phonon spin coupling compared to neighboring compositions. Received: 15 May 2000 / Accepted: 24 July 2000 / Published online: 9 November 2000