Spatially resolved and integral measurements of the electron spin diffusion properties of an organic quasi 1-D conductor

Abstract The radical cation salt (Fluoranthen)2PF6 is an organic quasi-1d conductor showing a Peierls transition at TP = 186 K. Model calculations predicted that the Peierls transition is suppressed by an increased density of defects which can be influenced by irradiating the crystals with high-energetic protons (EP = 25 MeV). This prediction could be verified by microwave conductivity measurements investigating a homogeneously irradiated crystal. In order to eliminate possible sample dependence, a high quality crystal was irradiated through a periodic grid to result in a stripy pattern. A detailed spatially resolved X-band-pulse-ESR-analysis quantifies the resulting defect concentration and proves that the Peierls transition can be nonuniformly suppressed.