EPR Study of LiGa5O8: Cr3+

An EPR study has been undertaken of Cr3+ in LiGa5O8. The site symmetry is rhombic and the system can be described by the spin Hamiltonian, H=gβH·S+D [Sz2− 1 3S (S+1)]+E (Sx2− S y2), where D=0.331±0.002 cm−1, E=0.018±0.002 cm−1, and the average g value, assumed isotropic, is 1.980±0.005. The axes of the spin Hamiltonian are tilted slightly from the expected crystallographic directions. The arrangement of Li+ and Ga3+ ions in next-to-nearest neighbor positions results in a large electrostatic field of odd parity at the site of the chromium ion.