Infrared study of the magnetostructural phase transition in correlated CrN

Abstract

We report on the pressure and temperature dependence of the electronic and vibrational properties of polycrystalline CrN studied by optical transmission and reflection measurements over the frequency range 0.012-2.48 eV. The optical conductivity spectrum of CrN at ambient conditions shows a phonon mode at ≈55meV with a shoulder at ≈69meV, a pronounced midinfrared absorption band centered at 123±2meV, and a high-energy absorption band at ≈1.5eV. The absorption bands are discussed in terms of the charge-transfer insulator picture. Following the reflectance spectrum with increasing pressure, the activation of an additional phonon mode above 0.6 GPa indicates the occurrence of a pressure-induced structural phase transition. Furthermore, the absorption spectrum exhibits significant changes in the far-infrared range with decreasing temperature: The phonon mode shows a sudden broadening followed by a splitting below 270 K. These changes observed under pressure or while cooling down can be associated with the magnetostructural phase transition reported previously.