Valence states of iron ions in nanostructured yttrium iron garnet Y3FE5O12 studied by means of soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Nanostructured samples of yttrium iron garnet Y3Fe5O12 obtained by plastic deformation method (high-pressure torsion) were studied with help of soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy using Fe 2p and O 1s spectra. Experimental spectra were compared with crystal field multiplet calculations for Fe ions. Some amount of Fe2+ ions in nanostructured Y3Fe5O12 was found. The concentration of Fe2+ ions was found to be increased with the increase of the degree of plastic deformatio

The x-ray magnetic circular dichroism spin sum rule for 3d4 systems: Mn3+ ions in colossal magnetoresistance manganites

The colossal magnetoresistance manganites La0.87±0.02Sr0.12±0.02MnO3+δ, La0.78±0.02Sr0.17±0.02MnO3+δ, and La0.66±0.02Sr0.36±0.02MnO3+δ (δ close to 0) were investigated by using soft x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and magnetometry. Very good agreement between the values for the average Mn magnetic moments determined with these two methods was achieved by correcting the XMCD spin sum rule results by means of charge transfer multiplet calculations, which also suggest a charge transfer of ~50% for Mn4+ and 30% for Mn3+. The magnetic moment was found to be localized at the Mn ions for x = 0.17 and 0.36 at 80 K and for x = 0.12 in the temperature range from 80 to 300 K. We discuss our findings in the light of previously published data, confirming the validity of our approach

Charge order, enhanced orbital moment, and absence of magnetic frustration in layered multiferroic LuFe2O4

Electronic and magnetic properties of the charge ordered phase of LuFe2 O4 are investigated by means of x-ray spectroscopic and theoretical electronic structure approaches. LuFe2 O4 is a compound showing fascinating magnetoelectric coupling via charge ordering. Here, we identify the spin ground state of LuFe2 O4 in the charge ordered phase to be a 2:1 ferrimagnetic configuration, ruling out a frustrated magnetic state. An enhanced orbital moment may enhance the magnetoelectric coupling. Furthermore, we determine the densities of states and the corresponding correlation potentials by means of x-ray photoelectron and emission spectroscopies, as well as electronic structure calculations. © 2009 The American Physical Society

A star-shaped molecule of MnII4O6 core with an St = 10 high spin state : a theoretical and experimental study with XPS, XMCD, and other magnetic methods

We report a comprehensive study of the electronic and magnetic properties of a star-shaped molecule comprising a MnII 4O6 core. One feature of this compound is weak magnetic coupling constants compared to other similar polyoxo compounds. This leads to complicated low-lying magnetic states in which the ground state is not well separated from the upper-lying states, yielding a high-spin molecule with a giant magnetic moment of up to 20 μB/formula unit. We apply X-ray diffraction and magnetometry as well as other X-ray spectroscopic techniques, namely, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and X-ray emission spectroscopy. We compare our experimental results with ab initio electronic band structure calculations as well as the localized electronic structure around the Mn2+ ions with charge-transfer multiplet calculations