Strontium-doped Lanthanum Manganese Oxides Studied by XPS

La1−xSrxMnO₃ is a perovskite-type magnetic material. LaMnO₃ and SrMnO₃ are antiferromagnetic insulators while the system becomes a ferromagnetic metal in a certain Sr concentration. In ∼0.2<x<∼0.5, it shows a so-called colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) which is a phenomenon of a huge resistivity drop when a magnetic field is applied. This property has a potential application to the magnetic storage industry. The aim of this research was to understand the electronic structure of this system using photoemission spectroscopy and to elucidate the origin of the CMR phenomenon. The samples were polycrystalline and were prepared by solid-state reaction. XPS measurements were carried out using a Mg Kα source at liquid nitrogen temperature (∼80 K). In order to obtain a fresh, clean surface, the samples were scraped with a diamond file in situ, and surface aging was monitored by observing the intensity of a tail at the higher binding-energy side of the O 1s peak. The surface typically lasted for 1-2 h.