Enhanced Jahn-Teller response induced by low-dose 10 MeV I{sup +} irradiation of La{sub 0.7}Ca{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3−δ} films
The structural response of pulsed laser deposited La{sub 0.7}Ca{sub 0.3}Mn0{sub 3−δ} films to low-level 10 MeV I{sup +} irradiation is correlated with magnetic and electronic properties. A series of annealed pulsed laser deposited films were subjected to ion irradiation at doses of 0.5–2.0 × 10{sup 13} 10 MeV iodine ions/cm{sup 2}. X-ray diffraction measurements show no measurable increase in the full width at half maximum values of major reflections before and after irradiation. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure analyses (EXAFS), employing both a model independent fitting using expanded cumulants as well as a nonlinear least squares multiple scattering model based on FEFF generated theoretical EXAFS data, were employed to measure local properties relative to the Mn ions. Increasing irradiation doses lead to an unambiguous evolution of MnO{sub 6} octahedra from highly symmetric (i.e., undistorted) to a clear bimodal structure in which the MnO{sub 6} octahedra are measured to undergo a c-axis stretching bearing resemblance to a Jahn-Teller distortion. Concomitantly, the metal to insulator transition temperature decreases more than 270 K and the magnetoresistance increases from 10{sup 2}% to 10{sup 6}%.