Photoemission spectroscopy of half-metallic perovskite manganites Pr1-xSrxMnO3

Abstract

The electronic structures of Pr1-xSrxMnO3 (PSMO; x=1/3, 1/2, 2/3) have been investigated by performing photoemission spectroscopy measurements and the LSDA band-structure calculations. The partial yield spectra and the constant-initial-state spectra near the Pr 4d absorption edge provide evidence that the Pr ions are nearly trivalent in PSMO. The Pr 4f and Mn 3d partial spectral weight (PSW) distributions of PSMO are found to be insensitive to x, reflecting the small overlap between Mn 3d and Pr 4f orbitals. The spectrum near the Fermi level exhibits evidence for the metal-insulator transitions with varying x, as well as a charge gap formation for x=1/2. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.