Crystal structure and electronic transport property of perovskite manganese oxides with a fixed tolerance factor

The structural and electronic transport properties of ABO3-type compounds La2/3-xRxCa1/3MnO3(R=Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Y, Er, and Tm) with a fixed tolerance factor of t=0.91137 is studied. Similar structure deformation, characterized by the nearly constant average Mn O, A O distances and Mn O Mn bond angles, is observed in different compounds. The metal semiconductor transition shows a strong R dependent feature. The transition temperature decreases monotonously from 187 to 77.6 K as R varies from Tm to Pr, with a corresponding maximum resistivity ranging from 2.34 to 6.17x104 Ωcm. Very different magnetoresistance effects are also observed in this series of compounds. By assuming the presence of inhomogeneous local lattice distortions due to ions with different sizes at A sites and their mismatch with B ions, the lattice effects can be understood qualitatively. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics