Studies on the Local Structure and the Spin Hamiltonian Parameters for Co2+ in CaTiO3

The local structure and the spin Hamiltonian parameters g factors gi (i =x, y and z) and the hyperfine structure constants Ai for Co2+ in orthorhombic CaTiO3 are theoretically investigated from diagonalization of 6 × 6 energy matrix within the 4T1 ground state for a 3d7 ion in orthorhombic symmetry. In the calculations, the contributions from the admixtures of various J states (J=1/2, 3/2, 5/2), the ligand orbitals and spin-orbit coupling and the fourth-order orthorhombic field parameter, which were usually neglected in the previous works, are taken into account. The crystal-field parameters are determined from the superposition model in consideration of the suitable lattice distortion due to the charge and size mismatching substitution of Ti4+ by Co2+. Based on the studies, the bond lengths R1 and R2 in the xy plane are estimated to suffer the relative alternation R ≈ 5.4%, yielding more significant orthorhombic distortion in the impurity center as compared with that for the host Ti4+ site in pure crystal. The calculation results based on the above local lattice distortion show reasonable agreement with the observed values. The various contributions to the spin Hamiltonian parameters are discussed. Present studies may theoretically verify that the impurity Co2+ occupies the 6-fold coordinated Ti4+ site rather than the 12-fold coordinated Ca2+ site, associated with the enhanced orthorhombic distortion due to the mismatching substitution.