稀土掺杂锰氧化物庞磁电阻效应

过去十多年来,具有庞磁电阻效应的稀土掺杂锰氧化物成为了凝聚态物理研究的重要领域。锰氧化物的载流子自旋极化率高,且在居里温度附近表现出很大的磁电阻效应,因此在自旋电子学中有潜在的应用前景。另一方面,锰氧化物是典型的强关联电子体系,它对目前有关强关联体系的认识提出了很大挑战。本文综述了锰氧化物的各种性质及其物理原因。全文首先概述了锰氧化物的庞磁电阻效应及其晶格和电子结构,简单介绍了其他一些庞磁电阻材料;随后综述了锰氧化物的电荷/轨道有序相及其输运性质;在第四部分简单介绍了锰氧化物中庞磁电阻效应的机制;最后讨论了锰氧化物的一些可能的应用,如低场磁电阻效应、磁隧道结、磁p＿n结以及全钙钛矿的场效应管和自旋极化电子注入装置等。     

稀土掺杂锰氧化物庞磁电阻效应

过去十多年来，具有庞磁电阻效应的稀土掺杂锰氧化物成为了凝聚态物理研究的重要领域。锰氧化物的载流子自旋极化率高，且在居里温度附近表现出很大的磁电阻效应，因此在自旋电子学中有潜在的应用前景。另一方面，锰氧化物是典型的强关联电子体系，它对目前有关强关联体系的认识提出了很大挑战。本文综述了锰氧化物的各种性质及其物理原因。全文首先概述了锰氧化物的庞磁电阻效应及其晶格和电子结构，简单介绍了其他一些庞磁电阻材料；随后综述了锰氧化物的电荷／轨道有序相及其输运性质；在第四部分简单介绍了锰氧化物中庞磁电阻效应的机制；最后讨论了锰氧化物的一些可能的应用，如低场磁电阻效应、磁隧道结、磁p-n结以及全钙钛矿的场效应管和自旋极化电子注入装置等。     

二维材料中贝里曲率诱导的磁性响应

二维材料中由贝里曲率诱导的新型磁学响应是近年来的新兴领域.这些二维材料所表现出的磁学特性及量子输运与贝里曲率直接相关,而贝里曲率又与晶体的对称性、电子的轨道磁性、自旋轨道耦合以及磁电效应等息息相关.研究这些新型磁性响应一方面有益于研究不同量子效应间的耦合作用,另一方面可探索量子效应在电子与信息器件领域的应用.本文介绍了近几年来二维材料中新型磁响应的实验研究进展,特别介绍了二硫化钼和石墨烯等材料中的谷霍尔和磁电效应、低对称性的二碲化钨等材料中的量子非线性霍尔以及转角石墨烯中的反常霍尔和量子反常霍尔效应.本文结合二维材料的晶体结构以及电子结构,介绍了这些新奇现象的现有物理解释、回顾了相关研究的最新发展、讨论了其中尚未理解的现象,并作出展望.     

自支撑多铁性薄膜材料研究的机遇与挑战

多铁性材料兼具铁电、铁磁等两种或两种以上铁性有序,并且通过不同铁性之间的多物理场耦合实现新奇磁电效应,在信息存储、换能、传感等方面具有广阔的应用前景。当前,在基础及应用研究方面仍存在许多亟待解决的科学技术问题,譬如寻找及制备室温以上具有强磁电耦合效应的多铁性材料,以及解决与半导体的器件集成问题等,而近年来迅速发展的自支撑薄膜制备技术为此提供了新的机遇。与块体材料及束缚在刚性衬底上的外延薄膜相比,自支撑薄膜具有极为优异的晶格调控自由度,可获得前所未有的极端一维、二维应变(应变梯度),并能够实现人工异质结的构建与器件集成等,为多铁性材料的研究提供了新的材料体系和契机。文章围绕自支撑钙钛矿氧化物(多)铁性材料及人工异质结,总结了最近的重要研究进展,并尝试初步探讨该方向未来可能面临的机遇与挑战。     

基于磁电耦合效应的基本电路元件和非易失性存储器

磁电耦合效应是指磁场控制电极化或者电场控制磁性的物理现象,它们为开发新型电子器件提供了额外的物理状态自由度,具有巨大的应用潜力.磁电耦合系数作为磁电耦合材料的重要参量,体现了材料磁化和电极化的耦合性能,其随外加物理场的变化可以表现出非线性回滞行为,具备作为非易失存储的物理状态特征.本文讨论了基于磁电耦合效应如何建立起电荷-磁通之间的直接关联,继而实现了第四种基本电路元件并构建了完整的电路元件关系图.在此基础上,研究了多铁性异质结中的非线性磁电耦合效应,并利用其独特的电荷-磁通关联特性,开发了基于磁电耦合系数的电写-磁读型非易失性信息存储、逻辑计算与类神经突触记忆等一系列新型信息功能器件.     

二维半导体莫尔超晶格中随位置与动量变化的层间耦合

近些年来引起广泛关注的二维半导体莫尔超晶格系统中存在着莫尔激子、强关联电子态和面外铁电性等新奇物理现象,电子的层间耦合对于理解这些现象至关重要.本文研究了二维半导体双层莫尔超晶格中的层间耦合随位置和动量的变化.外势场导致的局域布洛赫波包的层间耦合与波包宽度以及中心位置处的层间平移有着密切关系.同时,层间耦合随动量的变化使得基态S型波包和激发态P^±型波包有着截然不同的随中心位置变化的层间耦合形式:在两个S型波包的层间耦合消失的位置,S和P⁺型(或S和P^-型)波包之间的层间耦合达到最强.利用该性质,可以通过外加光电场来调控特定谷的基态波包的层间输运.此外,双层系统中发现的面外铁电性可以归结为不同层导带和价带间的耦合导致的电子在两层中的再分配现象.将本文得到的层间耦合形式与单层紧束缚模型相结合,可计算出垂直平面的电偶极密度,其随层间平移的变化形式和数量级与实验观测相符.     

多阶有序钙钛矿多铁性材料的高压制备与物性

钙钛矿是研究磁电多铁性最重要的材料体系之一.由于高的结构对称性,在以往的立方钙钛矿晶格中尚未发现多铁现象.另外,现有的单相多铁性材料很难兼容大电极化和强磁电耦合,严重制约多铁性材料的潜在应用.本文简单综述了利用高压高温条件制备的两个多阶有序钙钛矿氧化物的磁电多铁性质.在具有立方晶格的多阶钙钛矿LaMn_3Cr_4O_(12)中,观察到自旋诱导的铁电极化,表明该材料是第一个被发现的具有多铁性的立方钙钛矿体系.在另一个多阶有序钙钛矿BiMn_3Cr_4O_(12)中,随温度降低该材料依次经历了I类多铁相和II类多铁相.正因为这两类不同多铁相的同时出现,BiMn_3Cr_4O_(12)同时展示了大的电极化强度和强的磁电耦合效应,并且通过不同的电场调控可实现四重铁电极化态,为开发多功能自旋电子学器件与多态存储提供了先进的材料基础.     

转角二维量子材料中平带相关的新奇电子态物性

二维量子材料具有诸多新奇的电子态物性,又易受到外部因素的影响和调控,因此成为近年来凝聚态物理等研究领域的前沿课题之一.而当以不同的旋转角度和堆叠次序制备出二维量子材料的异质结时,莫尔超晶格的形成又进一步诱导了异质结电子能带结构的重整化,从而形成电子平带结构,再结合外加电场、磁场、应力场等外部条件,即可实现对材料整体新奇物性的设计与调控.本文主要围绕转角石墨烯及过渡金属硫族化合物异质结中的相关研究展开讨论,包括与平带物理相关的强关联效应、非常规超导现象、量子反常霍尔效应、拓扑相以及电子晶体等行为,并对未来的研究发展进行了展望.     

多种有序钙钛矿结构的高压制备与特殊物性

具有ABO_3钙钛矿或类似结构的强关联电子体系是凝聚态物理研究的重要前沿领域,而高压是制备新型钙钛矿特别是A位与/或B位有序钙钛矿材料的有效手段.在这些有序钙钛矿中,因A,B位可同时容纳过渡金属离子,因而可导致A-A,B-B,A-B等多种磁电相互作用的出现,进而诱导系列新颖有趣的物理现象.本文介绍高压下制备的几种化学式为AA'_3B_4O_(12)的新型A位有序钙钛矿以及化学式为AA'_3B_2B'_2O_(12)的A,B位同时有序的钙钛矿体系.在LaMn_3Cr_4O_(12)中发现了具有立方钙钛矿结构的磁电多铁性,为多铁新材料探索与新机理研究提供范例;在CaCu_3Fe_2Os_2O_(12)中发现了远高于室温的亚铁磁半导体行为,并指出A位磁性离子的引入可大大增加磁相互作用强度从而大幅度提高磁有序温度;在LaMn_3Ni_2Mn_2O_(12)中观察到A位磁性离子调控的B位Ni~(2+)/Mn~(4+)子晶格正交自旋有序结构.以上研究结果为探索新型磁电多功能钙钛矿材料提供了重要参考.     

Ruddlesden-Popper结构杂化非本征铁电体及其多铁性

正杂化非本征铁电性是指在具有钙钛矿结构单元的金属氧化物中由氧八面体面内旋转和面外倾侧耦合诱导出的二阶铁电序,其有望在室温强磁电耦合多铁性材料中获得重要应用,并将极大地拓展铁电体物理学的内涵和外延.本文在阐述杂化非本征铁电性物理起源及其内禀电控磁性的基础上,总结了有关Ruddlesden-Popper结构杂化非本征铁电体及多铁性的主要研究进展与面临的挑战,并展望了发展方向.     

Advances in ab-initio theory of multiferroics

Within the broad class of multiferroics (compounds showing a coexistence of magnetism and ferroelectricity), we focus on the subclass of ??improper electronic ferroelectrics??, i.e. correlated materials where electronic degrees of freedom (such as spin, charge or orbital) drive ferroelectricity. In particular, in spin-induced ferroelectrics, there is not only a coexistence of the two intriguing magnetic and dipolar orders; rather, there is such an intimate link that one drives the other, suggesting a giant magnetoelectric coupling. Via first-principles approaches based on density functional theory, we review the microscopic mechanisms at the basis of multiferroicity in several compounds, ranging from transition metal oxides to organic multiferroics to organic-inorganic hybrids.     

电子铁电体研究进展

电子铁电性是基于关联体系电荷有序态的一种新的物理现象。近期研究发现,这种新型铁电体通常表现出丰富的磁电性质和耦合效应,在发展可控性多功能微电子器件方面具有广阔的应用前景。本文重点介绍了电子型铁电体代表材料LuFe2O4的实验和理论研究进展,着重探讨了电荷序相变,极化机理,介电,铁电,磁电耦合等重要物理性能。随后,简要介绍了其它体系在相关问题研究中的进展情况,包括：钙钛矿体系Pr(Ca)MnO3,Fe3O4和有机材料(TMTTF)2X等。     

Direct observation of magnetodielectric effect in type-I multiferroic PbFe0.5Ti0.25W0.25O3

In type-I multiferroics, where ferroelectricity and magnetism arise from different origins, the explicit measurement of magnetoelectric effect is commonly prohibited due to the weak magnetoelectric coupling. From our investigation of magnetic and dielectric properties in a perovskite PbFe_0.5Ti_0.25W_0.25O₃, we have directly demonstrated magnetic-field-driven change of dielectric constant in a highly non-linear fashion. Our result offers a potential utilization of magnetoelectric functionality in type-I multiferroics.     

Displacement-type ferroelectricity with off-center magnetic ions in perovskite Sr(1-x)Ba(x)MnO3

We report a ferroelectric transition driven by the off-centering of magnetic Mn(4+) ions in antiferromagnetic Mott insulators Sr(1-x)Ba(x)MnO(3) with a perovskite structure. As x increases, the perovskite lattice shows the typical soft-mode dynamics, as revealed by the momentum-resolved inelastic x-ray scattering and far-infrared spectroscopy, and the ferroelectricity shows up for x ≥ 0.45. The observed polarization is comparable to that for a prototypical ferroelectric BaTiO(3). We further demonstrate that the magnetic order suppresses the ferroelectric lattice dilation by ～70% and increases the soft-phonon energy by ～50%, indicating the largest magnetoelectric effects yet attained.     

Dual nature of improper ferroelectricity in a magnetoelectric multiferroic

Using first-principles calculations, we study the microscopic origin of ferroelectricity (FE) induced by magnetic order in the orthorhombic HoMnO3. We obtain the largest ferroelectric polarization observed in the whole class of improper magnetic ferroelectrics to date. We find that the two proposed mechanisms for FE in multiferroics, lattice and electronic based, are simultaneously active in this compound: a large portion of the ferroelectric polarization arises due to quantum-mechanical effects of electron orbital polarization, in addition to the conventional polar atomic displacements. An interesting mechanism for switching the magnetoelectric domains by an electric field via a 180 degrees coherent rotation of Mn spins is also proposed.     

Interfaces in perovskite heterostructures

Recent advances in film synthesis have made it possible to investigate the properties of well-controlled interfaces in perovskite metal-oxides. A review of published experimental data and computational results indicate that so far most interfaces that have been analyzed in ferroelectric materials—while necessary to impose large lattice strain on the polar material—contribute little to the ferroelectricity and may instead be detrimental to the desired properties. In contrast, a very different situation arises at interfaces that show changes in the electronic configuration as a consequence of a compositional discontinuity. Data is shown for LaMnO₃/SrTiO₃ superlattices as an example of electronic effects that produce enhanced properties, further illustrating the richness of interfacial properties that can be obtained at interfaces (as shown in numerous published results for different but related interfaces).     

Emergent phenomena in perovskite-type manganites

Perovskite-type manganites exhibit various interesting phenomena arising from complex interplay among spin, charge, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom. One such example is the keen competition between phases with different spin/charge/orbital orders. Keen competition between antiferromagnetic metal and orbital-ordered insulator is found in the slightly electron-doped regime near Mn⁴⁺ state which is stabilized by the high oxygen-pressure condition. Another one is the emergence of ferroelectricity either induced by the magnetic ordering or independently of the magnetic ordering. As the respective examples, perovskite-type YMnO₃ and Sr_1−xBa_xMnO₃ are discussed. In the YMnO₃, the ferroelectric lattice distortion associated with the E-type spin order is observed for the first time. Displacement-type ferroelectricity with off-center magnetic ions is discovered for Sr_0.5Ba_0.5MnO₃, which shows both large polarization value and strong coupling between ferroelectricity and magnetism.     

Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy for complex transition metal oxides

Lattice,charge,orbital,and spin are the four fundamental degrees of freedom in condensed matter,of which the interactive coupling derives tremendous novel physical phenomena,such as high-temperature superconductivity(high-T_c SC) and colossal magnetoresistance(CMR) in strongly correlated electronic system.Direct experimental observation of these freedoms is essential to understanding the structure-property relationship and the physics behind it,and also indispensable for designing new materials and devices.Scanning transmission electron microscopy(STEM) integrating multiple techniques of structure imaging and spectrum analysis,is a comprehensive platform for providing structural,chemical and electronic information of materials with a high spatial resolution.Benefiting from the development of aberration correctors,STEM has taken a big breakthrough towards sub-angstrom resolution in last decade and always steps forward to improve the capability of material characterization;many improvements have been achieved in recent years,thereby giving an indepth insight into material research.Here,we present a brief review of the recent advances of STEM by some representative examples of perovskite transition metal oxides;atomic-scale mapping of ferroelectric polarization,octahedral distortions and rotations,valence state,coordination and spin ordering are presented.We expect that this brief introduction about the current capability of STEM could facilitate the understanding of the relationship between functional properties and these fundamental degrees of freedom in complex oxides.     

Solid solutions of bismuth-based Aurivillius oxides: structural and dielectric characterization

Bismuth layered perovskite structures show interesting physical properties varying as a function of external parameters (temperature, frequency, electric and magnetic fields). When a magnetic ion is incorporated in some of these materials, some of the structures show simultaneous ferroelectricity and ferro/antiferromagnetism. Thus, they exhibit magnetoelectric properties under the influence of an external magnetic field. This paper compares the structural (XRD and SEM) and electrical properties of two eight-layered Aurivillius oxides.