Magnon and Phonon Excitations in Nanosized NiO

Single-crystal, microcrystalline and nanocrystalline nickel oxides (NiO) have been studied by Raman spectroscopy. A new band at ~200 cm⁻¹ and TO-LO splitting of the band at 350–650 cm⁻¹ have been found in the spectra of single-crystals NiO(100), NiO(110) and NiO(111). The Raman spectra of microcrystalline (1500 nm) and nanocrystalline (13–100 nm) NiO resemble those of the single crystals. They all contain the two-magnon band at 1500 cm⁻¹, indicating that the oxides remain at room temperature in the antiferromagnetic phase. Besides, a new sharp Raman band has been observed at 500 cm⁻¹ in nanocrystalline NiO. Its temperature dependence suggests the magnetic origin of the band, possibly associated with the one-phonon–one-magnon excitation at the Brillouin zone centre.