The influence of microscopic disorder on electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of Eu(2+) ions in Pb(1-x)Ge(x)Te

In mixed crystals, because of the different ionic radii of cations or anions and the randomness in the placement of ions of different kinds, the crystal lattice is locally deformed. Such local deformations have significant influence on the ground state splitting of magnetic ions. Because this ground state splitting is responsible for the position of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) lines, microscopic disorder is one of the factors which lead to the broadening of the lines, and eventually to their disappearance. This paper is devoted to semi-quantitative analysis of the influence of microscopic disorder on EPR spectra. The theory is compared against measurements performed on mono-crystalline Pb(1-x)Ge(x)Te epitaxial layers containing Eu(2+) ions for different germanium and europium contents. With increasing germanium content we observe gradual disappearance of the EPR lines, although macroscopically, on the basis of x-ray diffraction analysis, each layer might have been considered as a perfect crystal.