Abstract:
We report the results of crystal structure, magnetization and resistivity measurements of
Bi doped LaVO3. X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that if doping Bi in the La site is less
than ten percent, the crystal structure of La1-xBixVO3 remains unchanged and its
symmetry is orthorhombic. However, for higher Bi doping (>10%) composite
compounds are found where the XRD patterns are characterized by two phases:
LaVO3+V2O3. Energy-dispersive analysis of the x-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) results are
used to find a proper atomic percentage of all samples. The temperature dependence of
the mass magnetization of pure and single phase doped samples have transition
temperatures from paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic region at TN=140 K. This
measurement for bi-phasic samples indicates two transition temperatures, at TN=140 K
(LaVO3) and TN=170 K (V2O3). The temperature dependence of resistivity reveals
semiconducting behavior for all samples. Activation energy values for pure and doped
samples are extracted by fitting resistivity versus temperature data in the framework of
thermal activation process.
