Soft x-ray absorption spectra of ilmenite family.

We have carried out soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy to study the electronic structure of ilmenite family, such as MnTiO3, FeTiO3, and CoTiO3 at the soft x-ray beamline, BL23SU, at the SPring-8. The Ti and M L2,3 absorption spectra of MTiO3 (M=Mn, Fe, and Co) show spectra of Ti4+ and M2+ electron configurations, respectively. Except the Fe L2,3 spectrum, those spectra were understood within the O(h) symmetry around the transition metal ions. The Fe L3-edge spectrum clearly shows a doublet peak at the L3 edge, which is attributed to Fe2+ state, moreover the very high-resolution the L-edge spectra of transition metals show fine structures. The spectra of those ilmenites are compared.