Positron Annihilation Studies on La 1- x Sr x MnO 3 Manganites

Positron lifetime and coincidence Doppler broadening spectra of La1-xSrxMnO3 and LaMnO3 manganites were measured. The effects of Sr contents on the microdefects of La1-xSrxMnO3 were investigated by means of positron lifetime results. The signals of 3d electrons of La1-xSrxMnO3 were extracted from the coincidence Doppler broadening spectra. The results show that the electron density of La1-xSrxMnO3 is larger than that of LaMnO3. The open volume of the defect in La1-xSrxMnO3 increases with the Sr contents. The signals of 3d electrons of ferromagnetic La1-xSrxMnO3 is larger than that of antiferromagnetic LaMnO3, and it reaches the maximum at x=0.33, that is, the signals of 3d electrons of the La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 is the highest in all testing samples, which corresponds to a lowest resistivity and a higher Curie temperature of the manganite. The influence of 3d electrons on the ferromagnetic double-exchange coupling and anti-ferromagnetic coupling of La1-xSrxMnO3 were discussed.