Oxides containing iridium ions display a range of magnetic and conducting properties that depend on the delicate balance between interactions and are controlled, at least in part, by the details of the crystal architecture. We have used muon spin rotation ($\mu$SR) to study the local field in four iridium oxides, Ca${}_4$IrO${}_6$, Ca${}_5$Ir${}_3$O${}_{12}$, Sr${}_3$Ir${}_2$O${}_7$, and Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$, which show contrasting behavior. Our $\mu$SR data on Ca${}_4$IrO${}_6$ and Ca${}_5$Ir${}_3$O${}_{12}$ are consistent with conventional antiferromagnetism where quasistatic magnetic order develops below $T_{\mathrm{N}}=13.85(6)$ and 7.84(7) K, respectively. A lower internal field is observed for Ca${}_5$Ir${}_3$O${}_{12}$, as compared to Ca${}_4$IrO${}_6$, reflecting the presence of both Ir${}^{4+}$ and Ir${}^{5+}$ ions and resulting in a more magnetically dilute structure. Muon precession is only observed over a restricted range of temperature in Sr${}_3$Ir${}_2$O${}_7$, while the Mott insulator Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$ displays more complex behavior, with the $\mu$SR signal containing a single, well-resolved precession signal below $T_{\mathrm{N}}=230$ K, which splits into two precession signals at low temperature following a reorientation of the spins in the ordered state.

• Received 16 December 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.83.094416