Tunneling mechanism through the nonlinear electrical transport in Co/CoO particles with core-shell nanostructure

We investigate the nonlinear electrical transport as a function of temperature in Co/CoO nanoparticles having core-shell nanostructure. Nanoparticle was synthesized by sol-gel citrate precursor technique where core-shell nanostructure is confirmed by the high resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics are measured over the temperature range 20-295 K. I-V curve exhibits ohmic behaviour at 295 K. Nonlinear electrical transport is observed at low temperature (T) for T?275 K. Electrical transport properties have been interpreted in terms of tunneling mechanism where tunneling between ferromagnetic Co nanoparticles takes place through the antiferromagnetic CoO layer. Analysis of dynamic conductance (G=dI/dV) indicates that the inelastic tunneling via localized states of antiferromagnetic CoO layers is dominant in the transport mechanism at low temperature.     

Magnetoresistance effect in A 2(FeMo)Ox double perovskites (A = Sr, Ca; 5.90≤x≤6.05)

The dependences of magnetic, electric, and magnetotransport properties on oxygen non stoichiometry were investigated in compounds of Ca₂(FeMo)O_x and Sr₂(FeMo)O_x (5.90≤x≤6.05). The regular trends in behavior of the magnetization, resistance, and magnetoresistance of samples of these series are determined. It is established that the magnetoresistance is composed of two parts that appear as a result of magnetic ordering in grain-boundary layers and of the intergrain transport of spin-polarized charge carriers. The electronic transport in the samples is assumed to be governed by percolation processes between grains which have a metallic type of conductivity and are separated by insulating spacers.     

Bias voltage dependence of tunneling magnetoresistance in granular C60–Co films with current-perpendicular-to-plane geometry

Voltage-dependence of the tunneling magnetoresistance effect in the granular C₆₀–Co films has been investigated for the samples with the current-perpendicular-to-plane geometry. The transport measurements under this geometry demonstrate that the granular C₆₀–Co films show an unusual exponential bias voltage dependence of the magnetoresistance ratio down to zero voltage. Small characteristic energies of less than 10's meV are derived from the temperature dependences of the characteristic voltage in the exponential relationship. Considering the magnitudes of the voltage drop between Co nanoparticles and also the effect of cotunneling on the energy values, the characteristic energies for the voltage-induced degradation of the spin polarization are found to show a satisfactory agreement with that for the thermally-induced one. It can be reasonably expected that the onset of magnetic disorder to the localized d-electron spins at the interface region of the C₆₀-based matrix (C₆₀–Co compound) with Co nanoparticles leading to the unusual voltage and temperature dependence of the magnetoresistance ratio and the spin polarization at low temperatures.     

Thermopower of composites containing metallic cobalt nanoparticles embedded in the Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript> dielectric matrix

The concentration and temperature dependences of the thermopower of composites containing Co nanoparticles embedded in the Al₂O _n dielectric matrix are investigated. Below the percolation threshold, i.e., in the tunneling conduction region, the absolute values of the thermopower of the composites under investigation are less than those above the percolation threshold. It is revealed that, in the tunneling conduction region, the slope of the temperature dependences of the thermopower changes at a temperature of ～205 K. This can indicate that the thermopower is sensitive to a change in the mechanism of conduction from the Mott law ln(σ) ∝ (1/T)^1/4 to a power relation that corresponds to the model of inelastic resonant tunneling through a chain of localized states in the dielectric matrix. The introduction of oxygen in the course of sputtering brings about a decrease in the absolute values of the thermopower; however, the character of variation in the concentration and temperature dependences of the thermopower remains unchanged.     

具有人工晶界的Sr2FeMoO6粉末磁电阻的温度特性

利用固相反应合成了纯相的Sr2FeMoO6多晶块体，并通过机械球磨方法引入了人工晶界，研究了具有此种晶界的Sr2FeMoO6粉末磁电阻的温度特性．X射线衍射分析表明，机械球磨过程没有改变Sr2FeMoO6的晶体结构，但却在晶粒间界处引入了SrMoO4绝缘相，其量随着球磨时间的增加而增加．不同磁场下的磁电阻测量结果表明，由于一定量SrMoO4绝缘相的存在，晶粒间的绝缘隧穿势垒得到加强，更有利于自旋极化电子在晶粒间的隧穿，从而提高了Sr2FeMoO6多晶粉末的低温磁电阻值．然而随着温度的升高，磁电阻值迅速下降，表现出较强的温度依赖关系．这种现象是由于随着温度的升高，电子在晶界局域态间的非弹性跳跃逐渐增强引起的，而晶界局域态是由在晶界附近的大量缺陷构成．分析表明，晶界状态对Sr2FeMoO6多晶粉末磁电阻的温度特性有十分重要的影响．     

Current transport in bistable granular structures

Electrical breakdown in GaAs Schottky diodes creates a granular filamentary structure of submicron dimensions between the contacts. The filament exhibits very fast (<2 nsec) electrical switching between stable resistance states. Irrespective of the contact metal, the filament becomes superconducting when in the low-resistance state. Electron transport in all the resistance states is intergrain tunneling between metallic inclusions and is governed by an activation energy. Switching is not based on metal transport.     

Sr2FeMoO6 nanosized compound with dielectric sheaths for magnetically sensitive spintronic devices

Single-phase agglomerated Sr₂FeMoO₆-_δ powders with the iron and molybdenum cations superstructural ordering of 88% were synthesized by sol-gel technique from the Sr(NO₃)₂ and Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O solutions with pH = 4. The ultrasound dispersion enabled us to obtain 75 nm grains. Powders were pressed with 4 GPa to receive the ceramics. The additional annealing at 700 K promoted the appearance of 7.5% SrMoO₄ phase. The nanocomposite with dielectric sheaths around the grains was obtained. Magnetization temperature dependences in zero-field cooled mode revealed inhomogeneous magnetic states. At temperature below 19 K, the superparamagnetic state is observed. Temperature increase leads to a realization of the stable superparamagnetic and metastable ferrimagnetic states, blocked by magnetic anisotropy energy. The resistivity temperature dependences have the semiconducting conductivity type. The charge transfer due to the hopping conductivity on the localized states in the energy band near the Fermi level dominates at 260–300 K. At 130–200 K the charge transfer is realized by electrons tunneling through the energy barrier. The electrons inelastic tunneling on conducting channels between grains, through the localized states in the dielectic interlayer dominates at low temperatures. The resistivity decreases in magnetic fields and the negative tunneling magnetoresistive effect reaching 41% occurs.     

Enhancement of band magnetism and features of the magnetically ordered state in the CeB<Subscript>6</Subscript> compound with strong electron correlations

Precision measurements of transport and magnetic parameters of high-quality CeB₆ single crystals are performed in the temperature range 1.8—300 K. It is shown that their resistivity in the temperature interval 5 K < T < T* ≈ 80 K obeys not a logarithmic law, which is typical of the Kondo mechanism of charge carrier scattering, but the law ρ ∝ T ^?1/η corresponding to the weak localization regime with a critical index 1/η = 0.39 ± 0.02. Instead of the Curie-Weiss dependences, the asymptotic form χ(T) ∝ T ^?0.8 is obtained for magnetic susceptibility of CeB₆ in a temperature range of 15–300 K. Analysis of the field dependences of magnetization, magnetoresistance, and the Hall coefficient in the paramagnetic and magnetically ordered phases of CeB₆ and comparison with the results of measurements of Seebeck coefficient, the inelastic neutron scattering coefficient, and EPR spectroscopy lead to the conclusion that the Kondo lattice model and skew scattering model cannot be used for describing the transport and thermodynamic parameters of this compound with strong electron correlations. On the basis of detailed analysis of experimental data, an alternative approach to interpreting the properties of CeB₆ is proposed using (1) the assumption concerning itinerant paramagnetism and substantial renormalization of the density of electron states upon cooling in the vicinity of the Fermi energy, which is associated with the formation of heavy fermions (spin-polaron states) in the metallic CeB₆ matrix in the vicinity of Ce sites; (2) the formation of ferromagnetic nanosize regions from spin polarons at 3.3 K < T < 7 K and a transition to a state with a spin density wave (SDW) at T _Q ≈ 3.3 K; and (3) realization of a complex magnetic phase H-T diagram of CeB₆, which is associated with an increase in the SDW amplitude and competition between the SDW and antiferromagnetism of localized magnetic moments of cerium ions.     

Anisotropy of the magnetoresistive properties of granular high-temperature superconductors resulting from magnetic flux compression in the intergrain medium

To elucidate the origin of the well-known anisotropy of the magnetoresistive properties of granular high-temperature superconductors (HTSs), which is related to the mutual orientation of magnetic field H and transport current j, we investigate the hysteretic dependences of magnetoresistance R(H) of the yttrium HTS sample at the perpendicular (H ⊥ j) and parallel (H || j) configurations. The hysteretic R(H) dependences are analyzed using the concept of the effective field in the intergrain boundaries through which superconducting current carriers tunnel. The effective degree of magnetic flux compression in the intergrain medium at the perpendicular configuration was found to be twice as much as at the parallel one. This approach explains well the anisotropy of the magnetoresistive properties of granular HTSs, which was previously reported by many authors, and the temperature dependences of the resistance in the resistive transition region.     

Study of magnetoresistance and conductance of bicrystal grain boundary in La0.67Ba0.33MnO3 thin film

La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃ (LBMO) thin film is deposited on a 36.7°C SrTiO₃ bicrystal substrate using laser ablation technique. A microbridge is created across bicrystal grain boundary and its characteristics are compared with a microbridge on the LBMO film having no grain boundary. Presence of grain boundary exhibits substantial magnetoresistance ratio (MRR) in the low field and low temperature region. Bicrystal grain boundary contribution in MRR disappears at temperature T>175 K. At low temperature, I-V characteristic of the microbridge across bicrystal grain boundary is nonlinear. Analysis of temperature dependence of dynamic conductance-voltage characteristics of the bicrystal grain boundary indicates that at low temperatures (T<175 K) carrier transport across the grain boundary in LBMO film is dominated by inelastic tunneling via pairs of manganese atoms and tunneling through disordered oxides. At higher temperatures (T>175 K), magnetic scattering process is dominating. Decrease of bicrystal grain boundary contribution in magnetoresistance with the increase in temperature is due to enhanced spin-flip scattering process.     

Ab initio calculation of the lifetime of quasiparticle excitations in transition metals within the framework of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">GW</Emphasis> approximation

This paper reports on the results of ab initio calculations of the lifetimes τ of quasiparticle excitations in cubic d transition metals (V, Nb, Ta, Mo, W, Rh, Ir) within the GW approximation, which represents the self-energy of quasiparticles by the product of the Green’s function and the dynamically screened Coulomb potential. A comparative analysis of the dependences of the lifetime τ(ω) on the excitation energy ω is performed, and the specific features of the dependences τ(ω) in going from metal to metal within a particular group and along the d periods are revealed. It is found that the dependence τ(ω) on the excitation energy differs from the dependence τ ～ ω^?2 obtained within the free-electron model and is primarily determined by the density of d states localized in the vicinity of the Fermi level and by the electron interaction screened by the d electrons.     

Surface states of charge carriers in epitaxial films of the topological insulator Bi2Te3

The galvanomagnetic properties of p-type bismuth telluride heteroepitaxial films grown by the hot wall epitaxy method on oriented muscovite mica substrates have been investigated. Quantum oscillations of the magnetoresistance associated with surface electronic states in three-dimensional topological insulators have been studied in strong magnetic fields ranging from 6 to 14 T at low temperatures. The cyclotron effective mass, charge carrier mobility, and parameters of the Fermi surface have been determined based on the results of analyzing the magnetoresistance oscillations. The dependences of the cross-sectional area of the Fermi surface S(k _F), the wave vector k _F, and the surface concentration of charge carriers n _s on the frequency of magnetoresistance oscillations in p-type Bi₂Te₃ heteroepitaxial films have been obtained. The experimentally observed shift of the Landau level index is consistent with the value of the Berry phase, which is characteristic of topological surface states of Dirac fermions in the films. The properties of topological surface states of charge carriers in p-type Bi₂Te₃ films obtained by analyzing the magnetoresistance oscillations significantly expand fields of practical application and stimulate the investigation of transport properties of chalcogenide films.     

Quenched disorder effects in electron transport in Si inversion layers in the dilute regime

In order to reveal the effects of disorder in the vicinity of the apparent metal-insulator transition in 2D, we studied electron transport in the same Si device after cooling it down to 4 K at different fixed values of the gate voltage V^cool. Different V^cool did not significantly modify either the momentum relaxation rate or the strength of electron-electron interactions. However, temperature dependences of the resistance and the magnetoresistance in parallel magnetic fields in the vicinity of the 2D metal-insulator transition carry a strong imprint of the quenched disorder determined by V^cool. This demonstrates that the observed transition between the metallic and insulating regimes, besides the universal effects of electron-electron interaction, depends on the sample-specific localized states (disorder). We report on evidence for a weak exchange of electrons between the reservoirs of extended and resonant localized states that occur at low densities. The strong cool-down dependent variations of ρ(T), we believe, are evidence for a developing spatially inhomogeneous state in the critical regime.     

Tunneling magnetoresistance in exchange-biased CoFeB/AlOx/Co/IrMn junctions

A series of exchange-biased magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs) were made in an in-plane deposition field (h) = 500 Oe. The deposition sequence was Si(1 0 0)/Ta(30 Å)/CoFeB(75 Å)/AlO_x(d Å)/Co(75 Å)/IrMn(90 Å)/Ta(100 Å), where d was varied from 12 Å to 30 Å. The MTJ was formed by the cross-strip method with a junction area of 0.0225 mm². The tunneling magnetoresistance (ΔR/R) of each MTJ was measured. The high-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopic (HR X-TEM) image shows the very smooth interface and clear microstructure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrates that the IrMn layer of the MTJ exhibits a (1 1 1) texture. From the results (ΔR/R) increases from 17% to 50%, as d increases from 12 Å to 30 Å. The tunneling resistance (R_o) of these junctions ranges from 150 Ω to 250 Ω. The exchange-biasing field (H_ex) of the MTJ is 50-95 Oe. Finally, the saturation resistance (R_s) was measured as a function of the angle (α) of rotation, where α is the angle between h and the in-plane saturation field (H_s) = 1.1 kOe. The following figure presents the dependence of R_s on α, instead of originally expected independence, the curve actually varies with a period of π.     

Resonant inversion of tunneling magnetoresistance

Resonant tunneling via localized states in the barrier can invert magnetoresistance in magnetic tunnel junctions. Experiments performed on electrodeposited Ni/NiO/Co nanojunctions of area smaller than 0.01 microm(2) show that both positive and negative values of magnetoresistance are possible. Calculations based on Landauer-Büttiker theory explain this behavior in terms of disorder-driven statistical variations in magnetoresistance with a finite probability of inversion due to resonant tunneling.     

Magnetotransport and magnetoelastic effects in Co-doped La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 nanocrystalline perovskites

La_0.7Sr_0.3Mn_1−xCo_xO₃ (x=0, 0.05, 0.1) nanoparticles, prepared by sol-gel method, were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, resistivity, magnetoresistance, thermal expansion and magnetostriction measurements. Results show that partial substitution of Mn by Co leads to a reduction in lattice parameters, enhancement of resistivity and room temperature magnetoresistance MR, decrease of metal-insulator transition temperature T_MI and T_C, an increase in thermal expansion coefficient, volume magnetostriction and anisotropic magnetostriction. The latter increases about one order of magnitude with 10% Co substitution. In comparison with Mn ions, the Co ions possess higher anisotropy energy, larger magnetostriction effect, smaller ionic size and spin state transitions with increase in temperature and magnetic field; this suggests that Co substitution leads to double-exchange interaction weakening, resulting in suppression of ferromagnetic long-range order and metallic state and increase of magnetic anisotropy. Furthermore, our samples have a relatively lower T_MI and T_C, higher resistivity and MR, compared with the reported values for similar compounds with larger particle sizes. This is attributed to the nanometric grain size and spin-polarized tunneling between neighboring grains.     

Analysis of colossal magnetoresistance effect in perovskite oxide heterostructures

A systemic study of magnetoresistance (MR) in manganite perovskite oxide p-n junction is performed with experiment and theoretical calculation. The spin-dependent tunneling current is calculated with a model of double-band barrier and MR with reverse bias is explained as a result of competition between tunneling currents with different spins. The reduction of recombination rate at the interface of heterojunction with magnetic field is proposed to explain positive MR at forward bias. Furthermore, negative MR is predicted to be observed in oxide heterostructure without electron filling in t2g↓ band of manganite at the interface region with both forward and reverse bias.     

Specific features of infrared absorption in films materials subjected to a magnetic field

The reflection spectra and magnetorefractive effect (MRE) of metal (Co, CoFe), semiconductor (Si, GaAs), and granular and amorphous Co₃₀Ag₇₀ and Co₅₉Fe₅Ni₁₀Si₁₁B₁₅ films are studied in the IR spectral region at λ=2.5–25 μm. It is found that the IR optical properties of the ferromagnetic metal films can be described with regard to light absorption due to electron transitions in the two spin systems. The MRE is found to occur in both the ferromagnetic (Co, CoFe) and semiconductor (Si, GaAs) films. The amplitude and shape of the MRE are determined for the p and s polarizations of light. It is shown that, to a first approximation, the IR optical properties of the films with giant magnetoresistance can be described by the Drude theory, while the MRE is explained on the basis of a modified Hagen-Rubens relation. Variations in the IR reflection of semiconductor or amorphous metal films in the magnetic field are found to depend on the degree of polarization of localized electron states at the Fermi level.     

Scattering times in AlGaN/GaN two-dimensional electron gas from magnetotransport measurements

The various scattering times of two-dimensional electron gas were investigated in modulation-doped Al_0.22Ga_0.78N/GaN quantum wells by means of magnetotransport measurements. The ratio of transport and quantum scattering times, τ_t/τ_q∼1, shows that the dominant mobility-limiting mechanisms are short-range scattering potentials. The low-field magnetoresistance shows the weak antilocalization and localization phenomenon from which the spin-orbit scattering and inelastic scattering times are obtained. The inelastic scattering time is found to follow the T⁻¹ law, indicating that electron-electron scattering with small energy transfer is the dominant inelastic process.     

Electrical conductivity and low field magnetoresistance in polycrystalline La1−xKxMnO3 pellets prepared by pyrophoric method

Electrical conductivity and magnetoresistance of a series of monovalent (K) doped La_1−xK_xMnO₃ polycrystalline pellets prepared by pyrophoric method have been reported. K doping increases the conductivity as well as the Curie temperature (T_C) of the system. Curie temperature increases from 260 to 309 K with increasing K content. Above the metal-insulator transition temperature (T>T_MI), the electrical resistivity is dominated by adiabatic polaronic model, while in the ferromagnetic region (50<T<T_MI), the resistivity is governed by several electron scattering processes. Based on a scenario that the doped manganites consist of phase separated ferromagnetic metallic and paramagnetic insulating regions, all the features of the temperature variation of the resistivity between ∼50 and 300 K are described very well by a single expression. All the K doped samples clearly display the existence of strongly field dependent resistivity minimum close to ∼30 K. Charge carrier tunneling between antiferromagnetically coupled grains explains fairly well the resistivity minimum in monovalent (K) doped lanthanum manganites. Field dependence of magnetoresistance at various temperatures below T_C is accounted fairly well by a phenomenological model based on spin polarized tunneling at the grain boundaries. The contributions from the intrinsic part arising from DE mechanism, as well as, the part originating from intergrannular spin polarized tunneling are also estimated.