Inter-grain tunneling in the half-metallic double-perovskites Sr$_2$BB'O$_6$ (BB'-- FeMo, FeRe, CrMo, CrW, CrRe

Abstract

The zero-field conductivities ($σ$) of the polycrystaline title materials, are governed by inter-grain transport. In the majority of cases their $σ$(T) can be described by the "fluctuation induced tunneling" model. Analysis of the results in terms of this model reveals two remarkable features: 1. For \emph{all} Sr$_2$FeMoO$_6$ samples of various microstructures, the tunneling constant (barrier width $\times$ inverse decay-length of the wave-function) is $\sim$ 2, indicating the existence of an intrinsic insulating boundary layer with a well defined electronic (and magnetic) structure. 2. The tunneling constant for \emph{all} cold-pressed samples decreases linearly with increasing magnetic-moment/formula-unit.

10 pages, 2 tables, 3 figures