Superconductivity in CuIr2-xAlxTe4 telluride chalcogenides

The relationship between charge-density-wave (CDW) and superconductivity (SC), two vital physical phases in condensed matter physics, has always been the focus of scientists' research over the past decades. Motivated by this research hotspot, we systematically studied the physical properties of the layered telluride chalcogenide superconductors CuIr$_{2-x}$Al$_{x}$Te$_{4}$ ($0 \leqslant x \leqslant 0.2$). Through the resistance and magnetization measurements, we found that the CDW order was destroyed by a small amount of Al doping. Meanwhile, the superconducting transition temperature ($T_{\rm c}$) kept changing with the change of doping amount and rose towards the maximum value of 2.75 K when $x=0.075$. The value of normalized specific heat jump ($\Delta C/\gamma T_{\rm c}$) for the highest $T_{\rm c}$ sample CuIr$_{1.925}$Al$_{0.075}$Te$_{4}$ was 1.53, which was larger than the BCS value of 1.43 and showed the bulk superconducting nature. In order to clearly show the relationship between SC and CDW states, we propose a phase diagram of $T_{\rm c}$ vs. doping content.     

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.     

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.     

The electric and magnetic properties of epitaxially grown A0.5-xLaxSr0.5MnO3 （A=Pr, Nd） thin film

The epitaxial （single crystal-like） Pr0.4La0.1Sr0.5MnO3 （PLSMO） and Nd0.35La0.15Sr0.5MnO3 （NLSMO） thin films are prepared and characterized, and the electric and magnetic properties are examined. We find that both PLSMO and NLSMO have their own optimum deposition temperature （To） in their growing into epitaxial thin films. When the deposition temperature is higher than To, a c-axis oriented but polycrystalline thin film grows; when the deposition temperature is lower than To, the thin film tends to be a-axis oriented and also polycrystalline. The most important point is that for the epitaxial PLSMO and NLSMO thin films the electronic phase transitions are closely consistent with the magnetic phase transitions, i.e. an antiferromagnetic phase corresponds to an insulating state, a ferromagnetic phase corresponds to a metallic state and a paramagnetic phase corresponds to a semiconducting state, while for the polycrystalline thin films the electronic phase transitions are always not consistent with the magnetic transitions.     

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 $\sigma _{\rm d}$.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Origin of magnetization-induced anisotropy of magnetic films

It is proposed that the magnetization-induced anisotropy of magnetic films of cubic crystal structure originates from the anisotropy of atomic pair ordering, shape anisotropy, and strain anisotropy resulting from the constraint of the magnetostriction strain imposed on the film by the substratc. Calculated are the three anisotropy constants and their sum K vs temperature for Ni, Fe, and 55%Ni-Fe films; the room temperature （RT） constants vs the substrate temperature Tt during deposition or annealing after deposition for Ni and 50%Ni Co films; the RT constants vs com- position fraction for Fe-Ni films with Tt = RT, 250℃ and 450℃, Co Ni films at Tt = RT, 100℃ and 320℃, and Fe-Co films with Tt = RT and 300℃; the spread of RT K vs composition fraction for Fe Ni films; and RT △K/K vs composition fraction for Fe-Ni and Co Ni films, where △K denotes the variation of K of the film that is detached from its substrate. The calculated curves well accord with the measurements. The irrelevancy of K to the substrate material and the fast kinetics of the annealing in a field applied in the direction of the hard axis are explained reasonably.[第一段]     

Formation of quaternary all-d-metal Heusler alloy by Co doping fcc type Ni2MnV and mechanical grinding induced B2-fcc transformation

The structure of the all-d-metal alloy Ni$_{50-x}$Co$_{x}$Mn$_{25}$V$_{25}$ ($x = 0$-50) is investigated by using theoretical and experimental methods. The first-principles calculations indicate that the most stable structure of the Ni$_{2}$MnV alloy is face-centered cubic (fcc) type structure with ferrimagnetic state and the equilibrium lattice constant is 3.60 Å, which is in agreement with the experimental result. It is remarkable that replacing partial Ni with Co can turn the alloy from the fcc structure to the B2-type Heusler structure as Co content $x > 37$ by using the melting spinning method, implying that the d-d hybridization between Co/Mn elements and low-valent elements V stabilizes the Heusler structure. The Curie temperature $T_{\rm C}$ of all-d-metal Heuser alloy Ni$_{50-x}$Co$_{x}$Mn$_{25}$V$_{25}$ ($x > 37$) increases almost linearly with the increase of Co due to that the interaction of Co-Mn is stronger than that of Ni-Mn. A magnetic transition from ferromagnetic state to weak magnetic state accompanying with grinding stress induced transformation from B2 to the dual-phase of B2 and fcc has been observed in these all-d-metal Heusler alloys. This phase transformation and magnetic change provide a guide to overcome the brittleness and make the all-d-metal Heusler alloy interesting in stress and magnetic driving structural transition.     

Alloying and magnetic disordering effects on phase stability of Co2 YGa (Y=Cr,V, and Ni) alloys: A first-principles study

The alloying and magnetic disordering effects on site occupation, elastic property, and phase stability of Co$_{2}Y$Ga ($Y={\rm Cr}$, V, and Ni) shape memory alloys are systematically investigated using the first-principles exact muffin-tin orbitals method. It is shown that with the increasing magnetic disordering degree $y$, their tetragonal shear elastic constant $C'$ (i.e., $(C_{11}-C_{12})/2$) of the $L2_{1}$ phase decreases whereas the elastic anisotropy $A$ increases, and upon tetragonal distortions the cubic phase gets more and more unstable. Co$_{2}$CrGa and Co$_{2}$VGa alloys with $y\geq0.2$ thus can show the martensitic transformation (MT) from $L2_{1}$ to $D0_{22}$ as well as Co$_{2}$NiGa. In off-stoichiometric alloys, the site preference is controlled by both the alloying and magnetic effects. At the ferromagnetism state, the excessive Ga atoms always tend to take the $Y$ sublattices, whereas the excessive Co atom favor the $Y$ sites when $Y={\rm Cr}$, and the excessive $Y$ atoms prefer the Co sites when $Y={\rm Ni}$. The Ga-deficient $Y={\rm V}$ alloys can also occur the MT at the ferromagnetism state by means of Co or V doping, and the MT temperature $T_{\rm M}$ should increase with their addition. In the corresponding ferromagnetism $Y={\rm Cr}$ alloys, nevertheless, with Co or Cr substituting for Ga, the reentrant MT (RMT) from $D0_{22}$ to $L2_{1}$ is promoted and then $T_{\rm M}$ for the RMT should decrease. The alloying effect on the MT of these alloys is finally well explained by means of the Jahn-Teller effect at the paramagnetic state. At the ferromagnetism state, it may originate from the competition between the austenite and martensite about their strength of the covalent banding between Co and Ga as well as $Y$ and Ga.     

CrAlGe: An itinerant ferromagnet with strong tunability by heat treatment

We present a comprehensive investigation on CrAlGe and realize that it is an itinerant ferromagnet with strong tunability of the Curie temperature $T_{\rm C}$ and the spontaneous moment $\mu_0$ depending on annealing heat treatment. While the value of $T_{\rm C}$ was previously reported to be 80 K with $\mu_0\approx$ 0.41$\mu_{\rm B}$, in this work the two quantities attain values as high as 170 K and 0.66$\mu_{\rm B}$, respectively. Heat treatment does not cause changes of the lattice parameters and symmetry, but results in a slight narrowing of the Bragg peaks. The strong tunability of the itinerant ferromagnetism indicates significantly tunable hybridization between the Cr 3d electrons and the conduction bands, in agreement with the dominant Cr-Al/Ge bonds of this compound. Further tuning along the same line towards even stronger or weaker itinerant ferromagnetism promises an interesting follow-up to clarify the localized-itinerant duality of the 3d electrons in this compound.     

Magnetocaloric properties and Griffiths phase of ferrimagnetic cobaltite CaBaCo4O7

We present a study on the magnetocaloric properties of a CaBaCo$_{4}$O$_{7}$ polycrystalline cobaltite along with research on the nature of magnetic phase transition. The magnetization as a function of temperature identifies the ferrimagnetic to paramagnetic transition at a Curie temperature of 60 K. Moreover, a Griffiths-like phase is confirmed in a temperature range above $T_{\rm C}$. The compound undergoes a crossover from the first to second-order ferrimagnetic transformation, as evidenced by the Arrott plots, scaling of the universal entropy curve, and field-dependent magnetic entropy change. The maximum of entropy change is 3 J/kg$\cdot$K for $\Delta H = 7$ T at ${T}_{\rm C}$, and a broadening of the entropy peak with increasing magnetic field indicates a field-induced transition above $T_{\rm C}$. The analysis of the magnetic entropy change using the Landau theory reveals the second-order phase transition and indicates that the magnetocaloric properties of CaBaCo$_{4}$O$_{7}$ are dominated by the magnetoelastic coupling and electron interaction. The corresponding values of refrigerant capacity and relative cooling power are estimated to be 33 J/kg and 42 J/kg, respectively.     

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.     

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.     

Ab initio calculations on the α^3∑u^＋ state properties of dimer ^7Li2

The comparison between single-point energy scanning （SPES） and geometry optimization （OPT） in determining the equilibrium geometry of the α^3∑u^＋ state for ^7Li2 is made at numerous basis sets such as 6-311＋＋G（2df）, cc-PVTZ, 6-311＋＋G（2df, p）, 6-311G（3df,3pd）, 6-311＋＋G（2df,2pd）, D95（3df,3pd）, 6-311＋＋G, DGDZVP, 6-311＋＋G（3df,2pd）, 6-311G（2df,2pd）, D95V＋＋, CEP-121G, 6-311＋＋G（d,p）, 6-311＋＋G（2df, pd） and 6-311＋＋G（3df,3pd） in full active space using a symmetry-adapted-cluster/ symmetry-adapted-cluster configuration-interaction （SAC/SAC=CI） method presented in Gaussian03 program package. The difference of the equilibrium geometries obtained by SPES and by OPT is reported. Analyses show that the results obtained by SPES are more reasonable than those obtained by OPT. We have calculated the complete potential energy curves at those sets over a wide internuclear distance range from about 3.0α0 to 37.0α0, and the conclusion is that the basis set cc-PVTZ is the most suitable one. With the potential obtained at ccopVTZ, the spectroscopic data （Te, De, D0, ωe,ωeХe, αe and Be） are computed and they are 1.006 eV, 338.71 cm^-1, 307.12 cm^-1, 64.88 cm^-1, 3.41 cm^-1, 0.0187 cm^-1 and 0.279 cm^-1, respectively, which are in good agreement with recent measurements. The total 11 vibrational states are found at J=0. Their corresponding vibrational levels and classical turning points are computed and compared with available RKR data, and good agreement is found. One inertial rotation constant （By） and six centrifugal distortion constants （Dr Hv, Lv, My, Nv, and Ov） are calculated. The scattering length is calculated to be -27.138α0, which is in good accord with the experimental data.     

Studies on high-moment soft magnetic FeCo/Co thin films

The dependences of soft magnetic properties and microstructures of the sputtered FeCo (=FeFeCo薄膜 溅射条件 软磁性 高饱和磁化强度FeCo film, sputtering conditions, high saturation magnetization, soft magnetic properties2005-10-263/7/2006 12:00:00 AMThe dependences of soft magnetic properties and microstructures of the sputtered FeCo （=Fe65Co35） films on Co underlayer thickness tCo, FeCo thickness tFeCo, substrate temperature Ts and taxget-substrate spacing dT-s are studied. FeCo single layer generally shows a high coercivity with no obvious magnetic anisotropy. Excellent soft magnetic properties with saturation magnetization μ0Ms of 2.35 T and hard axis coercivity Hch of 0.25 kA/m in FeCo films can be achieved by introducing a Co underlayer. It is shown that sandwiching a Co underlayer causes a change in orientation and reduction in grain size from 70 nm to about 10 nm in the FeCo layer. The magnetic softness can be explained by the Hoffmann＇s ripple theory due to the effect of grain size. The magnetic anisotropy can be controlled by changing dT-S, and a maximum of 14.3 kA/m for anisotropic field Hk is obtained with dT-S=18.0 cm.     

Superconducting properties of the C15-type Laves phase ZrIr2 with an Ir-based kagome lattice

We report systematic studies on superconducting properties of the Laves phase superconductor ZrIr$_2$. It crystallizes in a C15-type (cubic MgCu$_2$-type, space group $Fd\overline{3}m$) structure in which the Ir atoms form a kagome lattice, with cell parameters $a=b=c=7.3596(1)$ Å. Resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that ZrIr$_2$ is a type-II superconductor with a transition temperature of 4.0 K. The estimated lower and upper critical fields are 12.8 mT and 4.78 T, respectively. Heat capacity measurements confirm the bulk superconductivity in ZrIr$_2$. ZrIr$_2$ is found to possibly host strong-coupled s-wave superconductivity with the normalized specific heat change $\Delta C_{\rm e}/\gamma T_{\rm c} \sim 1.86$ and the coupling strength $\Delta_0/k_{\rm B}T_{\rm c} \sim 1.92$. First-principles calculations suggest that ZrIr$_2$ has three-dimensional Fermi surfaces with simple topologies, and the states at Fermi level mainly originate from the Ir-5d and Zr-4d orbitals. Similar to SrIr$_2$ and ThIr$_2$, spin--orbit coupling has dramatic influences on the band structure in ZrIr$_2$.