Half-Metallic Ferromagnetic Perovskite Oxides

Half-metallic ferromagnets (HMFMs) have an electronic structure in which only one of the spin-channels of the conduction band is occupied. As a result, HMFM materials are spin polarised conductors, making them essential components of spintronic devices. In an attempt to prepare such a system, we have been electronically doping A2CoMoO6 (A = Sr, Ba) double perovskite oxides with La3+ cations. This La-doping acts to reduce the Mo6+ centres in these materials and thus insert electrons into the empty Mo 4d bands are then be spin polarised via coupling to the localised spins on the Co2+ cations. We propose to collect room temperature neutron diffraction data from LaxBaySr2-x-yCoMoO6 phases to establish their crystal structures (particularly the octahedral tilting distortions) and low-temperature magnetic structures so we can better understand this behaviour.