Magnetic Raman scattering of doped and undoped high-T-c (HTc) cuprates
is presented in comparison with the conventional antiferromagnet NiO,
In both classes of materials the strong magnetic Raman response is ca
used by a Me-O superexchange mechanism, The difference in the absolute
Raman cross-sections of 90 x 10(-5) sr(-1) cm(-1) (YBa2Cu3O6.3) and 1
.6 x 10(-5) sr(-1) cm(-1) (NiO) is explained by the different strength
s of the exchange energies. The magnetic scattering signal of NiO is e
xplainable by the pure Heisenberg model, whereas the zone edge magnons
of the HTc cuprates show additional damping due to magnon phonon inte
raction, On doping, the damping of the zone-edge magnons increases by
a factor of 4 more than the decrease of magnon energy, This is charact
eristic of the interaction of the spin system with the charge carriers
, The absolute Raman cross-section is reduced owing to the interruptio
n of antiferromagnetic spin correlations on doping.