The potential barrier height for a Jahn-Teller center

Abstract

The EPR spectrum of the Cu²⁺ ion in a ZnSiF₆·6H₂O crystal is studied in the temperature range T=5−300K. It is shown that the EPR spectrum can be represented in the form of a superposition of three contributions with essentially different properties. The first contribution is characterized by the maximal intensity at low temperatures and is described by a spin Hamiltonian with a large anisotropy of parameters. The second contribution has the maximal intensity at high temperatures and is described by a spin Hamiltonian with a low anisotropy of parameters. The third contribution cannot be described by a spin Hamiltonian and has the form of a partly orientationally averaged EPR spectrum. The reason for the emergence of these contributions is substantiated along with the form of the temperature dependence of their intensities on the basis of variation of the populations of vibronic states upon a change in temperature. The height (E ₀=4±1cm₋₁) of the potential barrier separating three equivalent Jahn-Teller potential wells of the Cu²⁺ ion is determined from analysis of the temperature dependence of the integrated intensity of the EPR spectrum. The obtained value of the barrier height substantially differs from the estimate (100 cm⁻¹) obtained earlier [2, 3] for the Cu²⁺ ion in ZnSiF₆·6H₂O on the basis of the tunneling model. It is shown that the forms of the temperature dependences of the linewidth of the low-and high-temperature EPR spectra are essentially different. This difference indicates that the contributions of the low-and high-temperature EPR spectra are associated with quantum-mechanical transitions between these states. It is proposed that the low-and high temperature contributions to the EPR spectrum are associated with the filling of under-the-barrier and above-the-barrier vibronic states, respectively.