Investigation of the electronic states of A-site layer-ordered double perovskite YBaCo2Ox (x = 5.3 and 6) thin films by x-ray spectroscopy

Abstract

In this study, the electronic structures of A-site layer-ordered double perovskite YBaCo2O6 and YBaCo2O5.3 epitaxial thin films were investigated by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (PES), x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements. The valence band PES spectrum of the YBaCo2O6 thin film exhibited a finite density of states (DOS) at the Fermi energy (EF), while that of the YBaCo2O5.3 thin film exhibited no DOS at EF, corresponding well with the metallic and insulating transport properties, respectively. The Co L-edge XAS measurements revealed that the Co ions in YBaCo2O6 are in a mixed valence state of high-spin (HS) Co3+ (50%) and intermediate spin (IS) Co4+ (50%), while HS Co3+ (80%) and HS Co2+ (20%) coexist in YBaCo2O5.3. The XMCD measurements led to the conclusion that both HS Co3+ and IS Co4+ contribute to the ferromagnetism of YBaCo2O6.