Theoretical Study of the Phonon and Electrical Conductivity Properties of Pure and Sr-Doped LaMnO₃ Thin Films

Abstract

The film thickness, temperature, substrate and doping dependence of the phonon energy ω and damping γ, as well as the electrical conductivity, of pure and Sr-doped LaMnO3 thin films near the phase transition temperature TN are investigated using a microscopic model and the Green’s function technique. Due to the strong spin–phonon interaction, there appears a kink at TN in the temperature dependence of ω(T) and γ(T). The softening and hardening of the ω = 495 cm−1 (A1g) and ω = 614 cm−1 (B2g) modes is explained by the different sign of the anharmonic spin–phonon interaction constant R. The damping increases with T for both cases because it is proportional to R2. ω decreases whereas γ increases with an increasing Sr concentration. This is due to the strain caused by the difference between the ionic radii of the La and Sr ions. The film thickness dependence is also considered. ω and γ increase strongly with the decreasing film thickness. The electrical conductivity is enhanced after the doping of the LMO thin films with Sr, which could be used for energy storage applications. The observed results are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental data.

Keywords

• Sr-doped LaMnO₃ thin films
• phonon energy and damping
• electrical conductivity
• microscopic model
• Green’s function theory