Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect in RE55Co30Al10Si5 (RE = Er and Tm) amorphous ribbons

The magnetic and magnetocaloric effects (MCE) of the amorphous $RE_{55}$Co$_{30}$Al$_{10}$Si$_{5}$ ($RE={\rm Er}$ and Tm) ribbons were systematically investigated in this paper. Compounds with $R ={\rm Er}$ and Tm undergo a second-order magnetic phase transition from ferromagnetic (FM) to paramagnetic (PM) around Curie temperature $T_{\rm C} \sim 9.3$ K and 3 K, respectively. For Er$_{55}$Co$_{30}$Al$_{10}$Si$_{5}$ compound, an obvious magnetic hysteresis and thermal hysteresis were observed at low field below 6 K, possibly due to spin-glass behavior. Under the field change of 0 T-5 T, the maximum values of magnetic entropy change ($-\Delta S_{\rm M}^{\rm max}$) reach as high as 15.6 J/kg$\cdot$K and 15.7 J/kg$\cdot$K for Er$_{55}$Co$_{30}$Al$_{10}$Si$_{5}$ and Tm$_{55}$Co$_{30}$Al$_{10}$Si$_{5}$ compounds, corresponding refrigerant capacity (RC) values are estimated as 303 J/kg and 189 J/kg, respectively. The large MCE makes amorphous $RE_{55}$Co$_{30}$Al$_{10}$Si$_{5 }$ ($RE={\rm Er}$ and Tm) alloys become very attractive magnetic refrigeration materials in the low-temperature region.     

The effects of interstitial oxygen on superconducting electronic phases in strontium and oxygen co-doped La1.937Sr0.063CuO4＋δ

Strontium and oxygen co-doped La1.937Sr0.063CuO4＋δ superconductor with Tc≈ 40K, which is obtained by oxidizing strontium-doped starting ceramic sample La1.937Sr0.063CuO4 in NaC10 solution, is annealed under different conditions to allow interstitial oxygen to redistribute. The evolution of the intrinsic superconducting property with the oxygen redistribution is studied in detail by magnetic measurements in various fields. It is found that there occurs the electronic phase separation from the single superconducting phase with Tc ≈ 40 K into two coexisting superconducting states with values of Tc： 15 and 40K or of 15 and 35 K in this system, depending on annealing condition. Our results indicate that the 15, 35 and 40 K superconducting phases associated with the excess oxygen redistribution are all thermodynamically meta-stable intrinsic states in this Sr/O co-doped cuprate.     

Growth and transport features of electron-doped superconductor Pr1-xLaCexCuO4-δ thin films

<正>T’-phase electron-doped superconductor Pr_1-xLaCe_xCuO_4-δ（PLCCO） thin films are successfully prepared on SrTiO₃（100） substrates by using the dc magnetron sputtering method.It is found that the films each have a highly oriented structure along the c-axis.For optimally doped films with x≈0.10,the superconducting transition temperature T_c is 23.5 K,which is similar to that of a single crystal.The quadratic temperature dependence of the resistivity is observed when T > T_c,which can be attributed to the two-dimensional Fermi liquid behaviour.Besides,the optimal conditions for preparing the T’-phase PLCCO thin films are also discussed in detail.     

Novel material for nonvolatile ovonic unified memory (OUM)－Ag11In12Te26Sb51 phase change semiconductor

In this paper, Ag_{11}In_{12}Te_{26}Sb_{51} phase change semiconductor films have been prepared by dc sputtering. The crystallization behaviour of amorphous Ag_{11}In_{12}Te_{26}Sb_{51} thin films was investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry and x-ray diffraction. It was found that the crystallization temperature is about 483K and the melting temperature is 754.8K and the activation energy for crystallization, E_a, is 2.07eV. The crystalline Ag_{11}In_{12}Te_{26}Sb_{51} films were obtained using initializer. The initialization conditions have a great effect on the sheet resistance of Ag_{11}In_{12}Te_{26}Sb_{51} films. We found that the effect of the initialization condition on the sheet resistance can be ascribed to the crystallinity of Ag_{11}In_{12}Te_{26}Sb_{51} films. The sheet resistance of the amorphous (R_{amo}) film is found to be larger than 1×10^6Ω and that of the crystalline (R_{cry}) film lies in the range from about 10^3 to 10^4Ω. So we have the ratio R_{amo}/R_{cry}=10^2～10^3, which is sufficiently large for application in memory devices.     

Growth and characterization of superconducting Ca1-xNaxFe2As2 single crystals by NaAs-flux method

High-quality superconducting Ca$_{1-x}$Na$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$ single crystals have been successfully grown by the NaAs-flux method, with sodium doping level $x = 0.4$-0.64. The typical sizes of these crystals are more than 10 mm in $ab$-plane and $\sim 0.1$ mm along $c$-axis in thickness. X-ray diffraction, resistance and magnetization measurements are carried out to characterize the quality of these crystals. While no signature of magnetic phase transitions is detected in the normal state, bulk superconductivity is found for these samples, with a sharp transition at $T_{\rm c}$ ranging from 19.8 K ($x = 0.4$) to 34.8 K ($x = 0.64$). The doping dependences of the $c$-axis parameter and $T_{\rm c}$ are consistent with previous reports, suggesting a possible connection between the lattice parameters and superconductivity.     

Incommensurate-commensurate magnetic phase transition in double tungstate Li2Co(WO4)2

Magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and neutron powder diffraction measurements have been performed on polycrystalline Li$_{2}$Co(WO$_{4}$)$_{2}$ samples. Under zero magnetic field, two successive magnetic transitions at $T_{\rm N1}\sim 9.4$ K and $T_{\rm N2}\sim 7.4$ K are observed. The magnetic ordering temperatures gradually decrease as the magnetic field increases. Neutron diffraction reveals that Li$_{2}$Co(WO$_{4}$)$_{2}$ enters an incommensurate magnetic state with a temperature dependent $\bm k$ between $T_{\rm N1}$ and $T_{\rm N2}$. The magnetic propagation vector locks-in to a commensurate value $\bm k = (1/2, 1/4, 1/4)$ below $T_{\rm N2}$. The antiferromagnetic structure is refined at 1.7 K with Co$^{2+}$ magnetic moment 2.8(1) $\mu_{\rm B}$, consistent with our first-principles calculations.     

New criterion in predicting glass forming ability of various glass-forming systems

It has been confirmed that glass-forming ability （GFA） of supercooled liquids is related to not only liquid phase stability but also the crystallization resistance. In this paper, it is found that the liquid region interval （T1 - Tg） characterized by the normalized parameter of Tg/T1 could reflect the stability of glass-forming liquids at the equilibrium state, whilst the normalization of supercooled liquid region △Tx=（Tx - Tg）, i.e. △Tx/Tx （wherein T1 is the liquidus temperature, Tg the glass transition temperature, and Tx the onset crystallization temperature） could indicate the crystallization resistance during glass formation. Thus, a new parameter, defined as ζ = Tg/T1＋△Tx/Tx is established to predict the GFA of supercooled liquids. In comparison with other commonly used criteria, this parameter demonstrates a better statistical correlation with the GFA for various glass-forming systems including metallic glasses, oxide glasses and cryoprotectants.     

New criterion in predicting glass forming ability of various glass-forming systems

It has been confirmed that glass-forming ability (GFA) of supercooled liquids is related to not only liquid phase stability but also the crystallization resistance. In this paper, it is found that the liquid region interval ($T_{\rm l}-T_{\rm g})$ characterized by the normalized parameter of $T_{\rm g}$/$T_{\rm l}$ could reflect the stability of glass-forming liquids at the equilibrium state, whilst the normalization of supercooled liquid region $\Delta T_{\rm x}$=($T_{\rm x}-T_{\rm g})$, i.e. $\Delta T_{\rm x}$/$T_{\rm x}$ (wherein $T_{\rm l}$ is the liquidus temperature, $T_{\rm g}$ the glass transition temperature, and $T_{\rm x}$ the onset crystallization temperature) could indicate the crystallization resistance during glass formation. Thus, a new parameter, defined as $\xi =T_{\rm g}$/$T_{\rm l}+\Delta T_{\rm x}$/$T_{\rm x}$ is established to predict the GFA of supercooled liquids. In comparison with other commonly used criteria, this parameter demonstrates a better statistical correlation with the GFA for various glass-forming systems including metallic glasses, oxide glasses and cryoprotectants.     

Deposition and characterization of YBCO/CeO2/YSZ/CeO2 multilayers on biaxially textured Ni substrates

CeO2/YSZ/CeO2 buffer layers were deposited on biaxially textured Ni substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The influence of the processing parameters on the texture development of the seed layer CeO2 was investigated. Epitaxial films of YBCO were then grown in situ on the CeO2/YSZ （yttria-stabilized ZrO2）/CeO2-buffered Ni substrates. The resulting YBCO conductors exhibited self-fleld critical current density Jc of more than 1 MA/cm^2 at 77K and superconducting transition temperature Tc of about 91K.     

Effect of substrate temperature on the growth and properties of boron-doped microcrystalline silicon films

Highly conductive boron-doped hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (\mu c-Si:H) films are prepared by very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (VHF PECVD) at the substrate temperatures $T_{\rm S})$ ranging from 90$^\circ$C to 270$^\circ$C. The effects of $T_{\rm S}$ on the growth and properties of the films are investigated. Results indicate that the growth rate, the electrical (dark conductivity, carrier concentration and Hall mobility) and structural (crystallinity and grain size) properties are all strongly dependent on $T_{\rm S}$. As $T_{\rm S}$ increases, it is observed that 1) the growth rate initially increases and then arrives at a maximum value of 13.3 nm/min at $T_{\rm S}$=210$^\circ$C, 2) the crystalline volume fraction ($X_{\rm c})$ and the grain size increase initially, then reach their maximum values at $T_{\rm S}$=140$^\circ$C, and finally decrease, 3) the dark conductivity ($\sigma _{\rm d})$, carrier concentration and Hall mobility have a similar dependence on $T_{\rm S}$ and arrive at their maximum values at $T_{\rm S}$=190$^\circ$C. In addition, it is also observed that at a lower substrate temperature $T_{\rm S}$, a higher dopant concentration is required in order to obtain a maximum $\sigma _{\rm d}$.     

A fabrication and magnetic properties study on Al doped Zn0.99Co0.01O dilution ferromagnetic semiconductors

This paper reports that a chemical method is employed to synthesize Co and Al co-doped ZnO,namely,Zn0.99 x Co0.01 Al x O dilution semiconductors with the nominal composition of x = 0,0.005 and 0.02.Structural,magnetic and optical properties of the produced samples are studied.The results indicate that samples sintered in air under the temperatures of 500 C show a single wurtzite ZnO structure and the ferromagnetism decreases with the increase of Al.Photoluminescence spectra of different Al-doped samples indicate that increasing Al concentration in Zn0.99 x Co0.01 Al x O results in a decrease of Zn i,which resembles the trend of the ferromagnetic property of the corresponding samples.Therefore,it is deduced that the ferromagnetism observed in the studied samples originates from the interstitial defect of zinc(Zni) in the lattice of Co-doped ZnO.     

Electron tunnelling phase time and dwell time through an associated delta potential barrier

The electron tunnelling phase time τP and dwell time τD through an associated delta potential barrier U(x) = ξδ(x) are calculated and both are in the order of 10^-17～10^-16s. The results show that the dependence of the phase time on the delta barrier parameter ξ can be described by the characteristic length lc = h^2/meξ and the characteristic energy Ec=meξ^2/h^2 of the delta barrier, where me is the electron mass, lc and Ec are assumed to be the effective width and height of the delta barrier with lcEc=ξ, respectively. It is found that TD reaches its maximum and τD = τp as the energy of the tunnelling electron is equal to Ec/2, i.e. as lc =λDB, λDB is de Broglie wave length of the electron.     

Chemical composition and magnetism of Ag doped LaMnO3

By using a sol-gel clue, a set of polycrystalline perovskite samples La$_{1 - x}$Ag$_{x}$MnO$_{3}$ with a nominal doping level $x$ ranging from 0.05 to 0.45 has been synthesized. The chemical composition and the magnetism of the samples were investigated. A little Ag was found seeping from the samples in the sintering process when the doping level exceeded 0.05 and the sintering temperature was higher than 700\du\, resulting in the samples being in multiphase. The magnetic transition points of the samples have been found to decrease with increasing sintering temperature. A concentration-dependent $T_{\rm c}$ similar to that of bivalent metal ion doped perovskite, has been obtained. We believe that the Ag seeping in the sintering process is responsible for those magnetic characteristics.     

Critical radius and dipole polarizability for a confined system

The analytical transfer matrix method (ATMM) is applied to calculating the critical radius $r_{\rm c}$ and the dipole polarizability $\alpha_{\rm d}$ in two confined systems: the hydrogen atom and the Hulth\'{e}n potential. We find that there exists a linear relation between $r_{\rm c}^{1/2}$ and the quantum number $n_{r}$ for a fixed angular quantum number $l$, moreover, the three bounds of $\alpha_{\rm d}$ ($\alpha_{\rm d}^{K}$, $\alpha_{\rm d}^{B}$, $\alpha_{\rm d}^{U}$) satisfy an inequality: $\alpha_{\rm d}^{K}\leq\alpha_{\rm d}^{B}\leq\alpha_{\rm d}^{U}$. A comparison between the ATMM, the exact numerical analysis, and the variational wavefunctions shows that our method works very well in the systems.     

Slight Co-doping tuned magnetic and electric properties on cubic BaFeO3 single crystal

The single crystal of cubic perovskite BaFeO$_{3}$ shows multiple magnetic transitions and external stimulus sensitive magnetism. In this paper, a 5%-Co-doped BaFeO$_{3}$ (i.e. BaFe$_{0.95}$Co$_{0.05}$O$_{3})$ single crystal was grown by combining floating zone methods with high-pressure techniques. Such a slight Co doping has little effect on crystal structure, but significantly changes the magnetism from the parent antiferromagnetic ground state to a ferromagnetic one with the Curie temperature $T_{\rm C} \approx 120$ K. Compared with the parent BaFeO$_{3}$ at the induced ferromagnetic state, the saturated magnetic moment of the doped BaFe$_{0.95}$Co$_{0.05}$O$_{3}$ increases by about 10% and reaches 3.64 $\mu_{\rm B}$/f.u. Resistivity and specific heat measurements show that the ferromagnetic ordering favors metallic-like electrical transport behavior for BaFe$_{0.95}$Co$_{0.05}$O$_{3}$. The present work indicates that Co-doping is an effective method to tune the magnetic and electric properties for the cubic perovskite phase of BaFeO$_{3}$.     

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects in Tb6Co1.67Si3 compound

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects of Tb₆Co_1.67Si₃ have been investigated by magnetization measurement. This compound is of a hexagonal Ce$_{6}$Ni$_{2}$Si$_{3}$-type structure with a saturation magnetization of 187\,emu/g at 5\,K and a reversible second-order magnetic transition at Curie temperature $T_{\rm C} = 186$\,K. A magnetic entropy change $\Delta S = 7$\,J\,$\cdot$\,kg$^{-1}$\,$\cdot$\,K$^{-1}$ is observed for a magnetic field change from 0 to 5\,T. A large value of refrigerant capacity (RC) is found to be 330\,J/kg for fields ranging from 0 to 5\,T. The large RC, the reversible magnetization around $T_{\rm C}$ and the easy fabrication make the Tb₆Co_1.67Si₃ compound a suitable candidate for magnetic refrigerants in a corresponding temperature range.     

Josephson vortices and intrinsic Josephson junctions in the layered iron-based superconductor Ca10(Pt3As8)((Fe0.9Pt0.1)2As2)5

Modulated electronic state due to the layered crystal structures brings about moderate anisotropy of superconductivity in the iron-based superconductors and thus Abrikosov vortices are expected in the mixed state. However, based on the angular and temperature dependent transport measurements in iron-based superconductor Ca$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$)((Fe$_{0.9}$Pt$_{0.1}$)$_2$As$_2$)$_5$ with $T_{\rm c} \simeq 12$ K, we find clear evidences of a crossover from Abrikosov vortices to Josephson vortices at a crossover temperature $T^{\star} \simeq 7 $ K, when the applied magnetic field is parallel to the superconducting FeAs layers, i.e., the angle between the magnetic field and the FeAs layers $\theta = 0^\circ$. This crossover to Josephson vortices is demonstrated by an abnormal decrease (increase) of the critical current (flux-flow resistance) below $T^{\star}$, in contrast to the increase (decrease) of the critical current (flux-flow resistance) above $T^{\star}$ expected for Abrikosov vortices. Furthermore, when $\theta$ is larger than $0.5^\circ$, the flux-flow resistance and critical current have no anomalous behaviors across $T^{\star}$. These anomalous behaviors can be understood in terms of the distinct transition from the well-pinned Abrikosov vortices to the weakly-pinned Josephson vortices upon cooling, when the coherent length perpendicular to the FeAs layers $\xi_\bot$ becomes shorter than half of the interlayer distance $d/2$. These experimental findings indicate the existence of intrinsic Josephson junctions below $T^{\star}$ and thus quasi-two-dimensional superconductivity in Ca$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$)((Fe$_{0.9}$Pt$_{0.1}$)$_2$As$_2$)$_5$, similar to those in the cuprate superconductors.     

Nanocrystallization behaviour of a ternary amorphous alloy during isothermal annealing： a Monte Carlo simulation

The nanocrystallization behaviour of Zr70Cu20Ni10 metallic glass during isothermal annealing is studied by employing a Monte Carlo simulation incorporating with a modified Ising model and a Q-state Potts model. Based on the simulated microstructure and differential scanning calorimetry curves, we find that the low crystal-amorphous interface energy of Ni plays an important role in the nanocrystallization of primary Zr2Ni. It is found that when T〈T1max （where T1max is the temperature with maximum nucleation rate）, the increase of temperature results in a larger growth rate and a much finer mierostrueture for the primary Zr2Ni, which accords with the microstructure evolution in ＂flash annealing＂. Finally, the Zr2Ni/Zr2Cu interface energy σG contributes to the pinning effect of the primary nano-sized Zr2Ni grains in the later formed normal Zr2Cu grains.     

Effect of R substitution on magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects of La1-xRxFe11.5Si1.5 compounds with R=Ce, Pr and Nd

<正>Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects of La_1-xR_xFe₁₁₀₅ Si₉105)（R=Pr,（0≤x≤0.5）;R = Ce and Nd, （0≤x≤0.3）） compounds are investigated.Partially replacing La with R = Ce,Pr and Nd in La_1-xR_xFe_11.5Si_1.5 leads to a reduction in Curie temperature due to the lattice contraction.The substitution of R for La causes an enhancement in field-induced itinerant electron metamagnetic transition,which leads to a remarkable increase in magnetic entropy change△S_m and also in hysteresis loss.However,a high effective refrigerant capacity RC_eff is still maintained in La_1-xR_xFe_11.5Si_1.5.In the present samples,a large△S_m and a high RC_eff have been achieved simultaneously.     

A simulation study of microstructure evolution during solidification process of liquid metal Ni

A molecular dynamics simulation study has been performed for the microstructure evolution in a liquid metal Ni system during crystallization process at two cooling rates by adopting the embedded atom method (EAM) model potential. The bond-type index method of Honeycutt--Andersen (HA) and a new cluster-type index method (CTIM-2) have been used to detect and analyse the microstructures in this system. It is demonstrated that the cooling rate plays a critical role in the microstructure evolution: below the crystallization temperature $T_{\rm c}$, the effects of cooling rate are very remarkable and can be fully displayed. At different cooling rates of $2.0\times10^{13}$\,K\,$\cdot$\,s$^{-1}$ and $1.0\times10^{12}$\,K\,$\cdot$\,s$^{-1}$, two different kinds of crystal structures are obtained in the system. The first one is the coexistence of the hcp (expressed by (12 0 0 0 6 6) in CTIM-2) and the fcc (12 0 0 0 12 0) basic clusters consisting of 1421 and 1422 bond-types, and the hcp basic cluster becomes the dominant one with decreasing temperature, the second one is mainly the fcc (12 0 0 0 12 0) basic clusters consisting of 1421 bond-type, and their crystallization temperatures $T_{\rm c}$ would be 1073 and 1173\,K, respectively.