High-frequency magnetotransport in LaMnO3 samples synthesized by microwave irradiation versus conventional heating

Abstract

Magnetoresistance of hole-doped LaMnO3 at frequencies above a few MHz has been seldom reported compared to numerous studies on magnetoresistance measured at direct current. Here, we contrast the high-frequency magnetoresistance in the frequency range f = 0.9-3 GHz in polycrystalline LaMnO3 (LMO) synthesized by microwave irradiation of oxide precursors in a microwave furnace (MW-LMO) and by conventional heating (CH-LMO) in an electrical furnace. The structure at room temperature changed from orthorhombic in CH-LMO to rhombohedral in MW-LMO. A combination of magnetization and resistivity studies suggest that the CH-LMO sample is a canted antiferromagnetic insulator below 140 K but the MW-LMO is a ferromagnetic metal with T_C = 240 K. While the high-frequency resistance of the CH-LMO sample at 300 K decreases gradually with increasing strength of the applied dc magnetic field for all f, a peak appears at H = H_r larger than 0 gauss when f equal or greater than 1.4 GHz in the MW-LMO sample and H_r increases linearly with f. We attribute the observed features in the high-frequency magnetoresistance of MW-LMO to current-driven resonant excitation of spins in the paramagnetic state. Its absence in the CH-LMO sample highlights the need for an optimum hole density to observe this effect.