Abstract
The electron paramagnetic resonance of the localised magnetic moments of manganese atoms dissolved in silver metal has been studied. The manganese EPR linewidth in polished, etched metal slabs broadens linearly with increasing temperature at a rate of 9.7±2.0 G/°K for a 0.26% Mn in Ag sample and at only 3.1±0.3 G/°K for a 1.29% Mn in Ag sample in the temperature range 15°K to 100°K. This behavior can be well-represented by Hasegawa's theory of the spin relaxation of the localized moment spin S by a scalar interaction JS·s with conduction electron spins s. The narrowing with increased Mn concentration is expected when the relaxation is “bottlenecked,” i.e., when spin energy transferred to a conduction electron is more likely to be returned to a local moment than relaxed to the lattice. A further broadening of the Mn resonance line, linear in temperature, is produced when other impurity atoms are added. These broadenings are interpreted as arising from an opening of the bottleneck in the relaxation process by spin-orbit spin-flip scattering of the conduction electrons on the impurity atoms. The deduced spin-flip scattering cross sections are <2.6×10−18 cm2 for Mn, (1.4±0.4)×10−18 cm2 for Zn, (3.2±1.2)×10−18 cm2 for Ga, (2.4±1.7)×10−18 cm2 for Cd, (93±50)×10−18 cm2 for Pt, and (25±10)×10−18 cm2 for Au.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call