Abstract
We report on muon spin relaxation (\({\mu ^+}\)SR) measurements in a mixed perovskite compound, (LaAlO\({_3}\))\({_{x}}\)(SrAl\({_{0.5}}\)Ta\({_{0.5}}\)O\({_3}\))\({_{1-x}}\) with \({x\simeq 0.3}\) (LSAT), which is widely used as a single-crystalline substrate for thin film deposition. In zero applied field (ZF), muon depolarization due to the distribution of nuclear dipole fields was observed in the temperature range from 4 K to 270 K. Interestingly, \({\mu ^+}\)SR time spectra in ZF maintained a Gaussian-like feature over the entire range, while the depolarization rate exhibited a monotonic decrease with increasing temperature. This behavior may be attributed to the thermally activated diffusion of muons between a few adjacent sites within a confined space of the angstrom scale, where the motionally averaged local field that each muon experiences can remain non-zero and result in maintaining the Gaussian-like line shape. The spatial distribution of electrostatic potential at lattice interstices evaluated via density functional theory calculations suggests that such a restriction of muon diffusion paths can be caused by the random distribution of cations with different nominal valences in the mixed perovskite lattice.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the staff of the J-PARC muon facility for technical assistance. The DFT calculations were conducted with the supercomputer HPE SGI8600 in Japan Atomic Energy Agency. This research was partially supported by Grants-in-Aid (Nos. 23K11707, 21H05102, 20K12484, 20H01864, and 20H02037) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
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T.U.I. conceived the study, performed the \({\mu ^+}\)SR experiment in collaboration with W.H., A.K., J.G.N., and K.S., conducted data analysis and DFT calculations, and wrote the manuscript. All authors participated in the review and editing of the manuscript.
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Ito, T.U., Higemoto, W., Koda, A. et al. Muon spin relaxation in mixed perovskite (LaAlO\(_3\))\(_{x}\)(SrAl\(_{0.5}\)Ta\(_{0.5}\)O\(_3\))\(_{1-x}\) with \(x\simeq 0.3\). Hyperfine Interact 245, 25 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10751-024-01866-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10751-024-01866-5