Correlation of conductivity and angle integrated valence band photoemission characteristics in single crystal iron perovskites for 300 K < T < 800 K: Comparison of surface and bulk sensitive methods

A single crystal monolith of La(0.9)Sr(0.1) FeO(3) and thin pulsed laser deposited film of La(0.8)Sr(0.2)Fe(0.8)Ni(0.2)O(3) were subject to angle integrated valence band photoemission spectroscopy in ultra high vacuum and conductivity experiments in ambient air at temperatures from 300K to 800K. Except for several sputtering and annealing cycles, the specimens were not prepared in situ. Peculiar changes in the temperature dependent, bulk representative conductivity profile as a result of reversible phase transitions, and irreversible chemical changes are semi-quantitatively reflected by the intensity variation in the more surface representative valence band spectra near the Fermi energy. X-ray photoelectron diffraction images reflect the symmetry as expected from bulk iron perovskites. The correlation of spectral details in the valence band photoemission spectra (VB PES) and details of the conductivity during temperature variation suggest that valuable information on electronic structure and transport properties of complex materials may be obtained without in situ preparation. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.