Electronic and magnetic structures of V-doped zinc blende Zn1-xVxNyO1-y and Zn1-xVxPyO1-y

Electronic and magnetic structures of zinc blende ZnO doped with V impurities are studied by first-principles calculations based on the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (KKR) method combined with the coherent potential approximation (CPA).Calculations for the substitution of O by N or P are performed and the magnetic moment is found to be sensitive to the N or P content.Furthermore,the system exhibits a half-metallic band structure accompanied by the broadening of vanadium bands.The mechanism responsible for ferromagnetism is also discussed and the stability of the ferromagnetic state compared with that of the paramagnetic state is systematically investigated by calculating the total energy difference between them by using supercell method.     

The temperature evolution of the magnetic correlations in pure and diluted spin ice Ho2−xYxTi2O7

Diffuse polarized neutron scattering studies have been carried out on single crystals of pyrochlore spin ice Ho_2−xY_xTi₂O₇ (x=0, 0.3, and 1) to investigate the effects of doping and anisotropy on spin correlations in the system. The crystals were aligned with the (1 −1 0) orientation coincident with the direction of neutron polarization. For all the samples studied the spin flip (SF) diffuse scattering (i.e. the in-plane component) reveals that the spin correlations can be described using a nearest-neighbour spin ice model (NNSM) at higher temperatures (T=3.6 K) and a dipolar spin ice model (DSM) as the temperature is reduced (T=30 mK). In the non-spin flip (NSF) channel (i.e. the out-of-plane component), the signature of strong antiferromagnetic correlations is observed for all the samples at the same temperature as the dipolar spin ice behaviour appears in the SF channel. Our studies show that the non-magnetic dopant Y does not significantly alter SF or NSF scattering for the spin ice state, even when Y doping is as high as 50%. In this paper, we focus on the experimental results of the highly doped spin ice HoYTi₂O₇ and compare our results with pure spin ice Ho₂Ti₂O₇. The crossover from a dipolar to a nearest-neighbour spin ice behaviour and the doping insensitivity in spin ices are briefly discussed.     

The effect of crystal lattice distortions on the electronic band structure and optical properties of the N,V- and N,Na-doped anatase

The crystal structure, energy band structure and optical absorption of the N,V-doped and N,Na-doped anatase are studied by means of the first-principle pseudo-potential plane wave and linear muffin-tin orbitals methods. We show that the nitrogen and vanadium atoms have a tendency to form covalently bonded pairs. The crystal lattice distortions associated with doping essentially affect the optical absorption. With doping the impurity bands emerge in the band gap of the host anatase, however, a noticeable increase of optical absorption takes place at the energy only above 3 eV. Possible impact of this effect on the photocatalytic activity of the doped anatase is outlined.     

A possible origin of room temperature ferromagnetism in Indium-Tin oxide thin film: Surface spin polarization and ferromagnetism

Room temperature ferromagnetism in both transition-metals doped and undoped semiconductor thin films and nanostructures challenges our understanding of the magnetism in solids. In this report, we performed the magnetic measurement and Andreev reflection spectroscopy study on undoped Indium-Tin oxide (ITO) thin films and bulk samples. The magnetic measurement results of thin films show that the total magnetization/cm² is thickness independent. Prominent ferromagnetism signal was also discovered in bulk samples. Spin polarized electron transports were probed on ITO thin film/superconductor interface and bulk samples surface/superconductor interface. Based on the magnetic measurement results and spin polarization measurement data, we propose that the ferromagnetism in this material originates from the surface spin polarization and this surface polarization may also explain the room temperature ferromagnetism discovered in other undoped oxide semiconductor thin films and nanostructures.     

Effects of external electric and magnetic fields on the linear and nonlinear intersubband optical properties of finite semi-parabolic quantum dots

In this work, influences of external electric and magnetic fields on the optical rectification coefficient, the linear and the third-order nonlinear optical absorption coefficients as well as refractive index changes of finite semi-parabolic quantum dots are investigated. In this regard, energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the system are calculated numerically, and optical properties are obtained using the compact density matrix approach. The results show that external electric and magnetic fields have a great influence on these optical quantities.     

Adaption of a diffractometer for time‐resolved X‐ray resonant magnetic scattering

A new set‐up is presented to measure element‐selective magnetization dynamics using the ALICE chamber [Grabis et al. (2003), Rev. Sci. Instrum. 74 , 4048–4051] at the BESSY II synchrotron at the Helmholtz‐Zentrum Berlin. A magnetic‐field pulse serves as excitation, and the magnetization precession is probed by element‐selective X‐ray resonant magnetic scattering. With the use of single‐bunch‐generated X‐rays a temporal resolution well below 100 ps is reached. The ALICE diffractometer environment enables investigations of thin films, described here, multilayers and laterally structured samples in reflection or diffuse scattering geometry. The combination of the time‐resolved set‐up with a cryostat in the ALICE chamber will allow temperature‐dependent studies of precessional magnetization dynamics and of damping constants to be conducted over a large temperature range and for a large variety of systems in reflection geometry.     

Magnetic Tops in Dusty Plasmas

Paper contains the results of investigation of separate dust granules mechanical state. Observations were performed in high optical resolution. Magnetic induction varied up to 400 G. Motion of particles of different shapes was studied separately. These shapes were: ideally spherical, spherical with defects and non‐spherical. The peculiar physical features of fast rotating dusty granules (tops) were observed. They are the emergence of magnetic moment of rotating charged granule and the orientation change of magnetic moment at magnetic field superimposition. The effects observed in magnetic field are supplied with qualitative interpretation (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Magnetic moment of phonons in graphene induced by a magnetic field

A magnetic field not only changes the electronic structure in graphene but also affects the phonon excitations via the electron-phonon interaction and even enables the phonons to generate magnetism. In this paper, we evaluate the magnetic moment of phonons in graphene using a generating-functional technique. The calculation results indicate that the phonon magnetic moment exists only in a weak magnetic field. The step-like change of the magnetic moment with the magnetic field reflects a macroscopic quantum effect.     

Spin waves on the surface of the nonferromagnetic nanotube in magnetic field

Propagating in the nonferromagnetic electron gas on the cylindrical nanotube's surface spin waves in longitudinal magnetic field are considered. The spectrum of electrons in the Hartree-Fock approximation was applied. The dynamic spin susceptibility of a degenerate electron gas was derived using the random phase approximation. The spectra of intra-subband and inter-subband magnons were calculated in quasiclassical and quantum limits. The quantity of spin waves spectrum branches depends on the amount of filled subbands. In case the filled subband numbers are large, the wave's frequencies undergo oscillations of de Haas-van Alphen and Aharonov-Bohm types with the electron density and the magnetic induction changes.     

NMR in pulsed magnetic field

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments in pulsed magnetic fields up to 30.4 T focused on ¹H and ⁹³Nb nuclei are reported. Here we discuss the advantage and limitation of pulsed field NMR and why this technique is able to become a promising research tool.