Observation of magnetic domains in undoped ZnO grains at room temperature

The present study reports the room temperature ferromagnetism in undoped ZnO thin films grown by PVD method. The 500 nm film with small (90 nm) ZnO grains possess isolated magnetic domains with coercivity of 520 Oe. However, long range magnetic ordering with smaller coercivity of 230 Oe is observed for 1000 nm film. The long range ordering is caused by the reduction in domain wall pinning effect due to the presence of bigger (270 nm) ZnO grains. PL measurements show that these grains are semiconducting in nature. Results presented here suggest that oxygen vacancies at the surface may be responsible for the observed ferromagnetism.     

First-principles study of the formation and electronic structure of a conductive filament in ZnO-based resistive random access memory

Oxygen vacancy plays a crucial role in resistive switching. To date, a quantitative study about the distribution of the oxygen vacancies and its effect on the resistive switching has not yet been reported. In this study, we report our first-principles calculations in ZnO-based resistive switching memory grown on a Pt substrate. We show that the oxygen vacancies prefer to be located in the ZnO (0001) plane, i.e. in the direction parallel to the film surface in the preparation process. These oxygen vacancies drift easily in the film when a voltage is applied in the SET process and prefer to form a line defect perpendicular to the film surface. An isolated oxygen vacancy makes little contribution to the conductivity of ZnO, whereas the ordering of oxygen vacancies in the direction perpendicular to the film surface leads to a dramatic enhancement of the conductivity and thus forms conductive filaments. The semiconducting characteristics of the conductive filaments are confirmed experimentally.     

Evidence of subsurface oxygen vacancy ordering on reduced CeO2(111)

Surface and subsurface oxygen vacancies on the slightly reduced CeO(2)(111) surface have been studied by atomic resolution dynamic force microscopy at 80 K. Both types of defect are clearly identified by the comparison of the observed topographic features with the corresponding structures predicted from recent first-principles calculations. By combining two simultaneously acquired signals (the topography and the energy dissipated from the cantilever oscillation), we are able to unambiguously locate subsurface oxygen vacancies buried at the third surface atomic layer. We report evidence of local ordering of these subsurface defects that suggests the existence of a delicate balance between subtle interactions among adjacent subsurface oxygen vacancy structures.     

Peak effect and oxygen ordering in YBa2Cu3O7−δ single crystals

We have investigated the second magnetization peak in pure YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ single crystals with various oxygen contents (6.91<7−δ<6.97) and degrees of oxygen vacancy ordering, as achieved by low (1 bar) and high (100 bar) oxygen pressure annealing. Although the position of the peak changes drastically with oxygen stoichiometry, no dependence on the distribution of oxygen vacancies has been found for temperatures below 70 K. For T>70 K, however, ordering effects become important as demonstrated by the disappearance of the peak for the high pressure annealed samples. These results suggest that while at low temperatures, pinning of the vortex system by clusters or a more homogeneous distribution of oxygen vacancies is similar, at elevated T, the former are much stronger pinning sites leading to larger hysteresis and the presence of the peak.     

Depletion layers and domain walls in semiconducting ferroelectric thin films

Commonly used ferroelectric perovskites are also wide-band-gap semiconductors. In such materials, the polarization and the space-charge distribution are intimately coupled, and this Letter studies them simultaneously with no a priori ansatz on either. In particular, we study the structure of domain walls and the depletion layers that form at the metal-ferroelectric interfaces. We find the coupling between polarization and space charges leads to the formation of charge double layers at the 90 degrees domain walls, which, like the depletion layers, are also decorated by defects like oxygen vacancies. In contrast, the 180 degrees domain walls do not interact with the defects or space charges. Implications of these results to domain switching and fatigue in ferroelectric devices are discussed.     

Defect induced local moment in ZnO as a consequence of Stoner mechanism

We have examined the formation of a local moment by considering various defects in ZnO. The localization of the defect induced state is found to determine the presence/absence of a local moment. A lot of attention on the probable origin of magnetism in wide band gap oxides has focused on cation vacancies. Here we show that oxygen interstitial atoms give rise to a large magnetic moment which results in a spin polarization of both the conduction and valence bands, in addition to spin polarized gap states. A Stoner mechanism is invoked and the relevant Stoner parameters are determined to be 0.7 eV for an oxygen atom in the presence of an oxygen interstitial but reduced to 0.2 eV on oxygen in the presence of a Zn vacancy.     

Effect of oxygen vacancies on adhesion at the Nb/Al2O3 and Ni/ZrO2 interfaces

The atomic and electronic structures of the Nb/Al₂O₃(0001) and Ni/ZrO₂(001) interfaces are calculated using density-functional theory. The formation energy of oxygen vacancies is estimated in bulk materials and in surface layers and interfaces for different uppermost atomic layers of oxide surfaces. The work of separation of metal films from oxide surfaces is determined. The effect of oxygen vacancies on the bonding of transition metals to atoms of a substrate determining adhesion at the metal-oxide interfaces is discussed. It is shown that the Nb(Ni)-O interaction at the interfaces weakens in the presence of surface oxygen vacancies.     

Effects of oxygen vacancies on polarization stability of barium titanate

Oxygen vacancy, a kind of native point defects in ferroelectric ceramics, usually causes an increase of the dielectric loss. Based on experimental observations, it is believed that all of the oxygen vacancies are an unfavorable factor for energy saving. By using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the increase of coercive and saturated electric fields is due to the difficulty to switch local polarization near an oxygen vacancy, and so that a ferroelectric device has to sustain the rising consumption of energy. The simulation results also uncover how oxygen vacancies influence ferroelectric properties.     

Cluster probabilities in ordered titanium monoxide TiO y as functions of the long-range order parameters

The thermodynamic method is being developed for calculating the titanium-oxygen phase diagram in the domain of existence of the nonstoichiometric titanium monoxide TiO _y with vacancies in the metallic and nonmetallic sublattices. To develop the adequate thermodynamic model, the ordering in TiO _y was studied in detail by the x-ray diffraction method. The study showed that the low-temperature state of titanium monoxide is characterized by a nearly ideal atomic ordering in both metallic and oxygen sublattices. The structural analysis of the ordered Ti₅O₅ phase (space group C2/m) in titanium monoxide showed that one should use the multicluster approximation in modeling the free energy of the nonstoichiometric monoxide.     

Ordering of oxygen vacancies in a CaMnO<Subscript>3 − δ</Subscript> perovskite single crystal

The structure of a CaMnO_{3 ? δ} perovskite single crystal was studied for the first time using thermal neutron diffraction in the temperature range 300–840 K. It was detected that oxygen vacancies in the crystal are ordered into two types of superstructure. A phase with a relative number of vacancies δ = 1/4 occupies the largest volume fraction of oxide (～75%); the other volume is occupied by a superstructure with a lower vacancy content (δ = 1/5). The oxygen deficiency in the crystal lattice was determined to be δ = 0.238. The mechanism of oxygen vacancy ordering in the oxide is discussed taking into account its charge state.     

缺陷TiO2中铁磁性的第一性原理计算

计算钛空位（V_Ti）和氧空位（V_O）共存情况下未掺杂金红石TiO₂的铁磁性.发现V_O可以产生局域磁矩,由它引起的自旋极化比V_Ti引起的更加局域,导致V_O之间的铁磁耦合作用弱于V_Ti之间的铁磁耦合作用.V_Ti之间的铁磁耦合在引入V_O之后进一步加强.V_O引入的电子调制两个分离的V_Ti之间的长程铁磁耦合.加入V_Ti之后,两个V_O的磁矩猝灭,当V_O的数量多于V_Ti的数量二倍时,V_O会对磁矩有贡献.结果与实验发现的V_O可以提高铁磁有序,并且总的磁矩会随着V_O数量的增多而增加的结果符合很好.     

Observation of structural vacancies in titanium monoxide using transmission electron microscopy

Structural vacancies were directly observed in nonstoichiometric ordered titanium monoxide using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy under a magnification of 4×10⁶. The observation of structural vacancies became possible due to their ordering and the formation of continuous vacancy channels in certain crystallographic directions. Microdiffraction was employed to orient the sample in the direction permitting the observation of vacancy channels. Transmission electron microscopy providing a magnification of tens of thousands of times revealed that titanium monoxide grains do not contain cracks and macropores and confirmed that the free volume detected picnometrically in the titanium monoxide is concentrated in structural vacancies on the titanium and oxygen sublattices.     

Oxygen nonstoichiometry of nanosized ceria powder

Oxygen nonstoichiometry of nanocrystalline ceria powder with a particle size of about 12 nm was measured by thermogravimetric techniques as a function of temperature, oxygen partial pressure and synthetic route. The measured oxygen release/uptake from the samples under isothermal or isobaric conditions applied in this study are found to be predominantly due to variations in the surface nonstoichiometry. Its oxygen partial pressure dependence indicates the presence of surface oxygen vacancies in different ionization states in addition to segregated impurities.     

Magnetism in spin-coated pristine TiO2 thin films

Spin coated pristine TiO₂ thin films show magnetic behaviors that are similar to those of pulsed laser ablated TiO₂ thin films that were reported previously. It seems that in this kind of material, ferromagnetism (FM) is indeed intrinsic, and it can be achieved by various deposition techniques. The fact that oxygen annealing degrades the magnetic moment implies that the observed magnetism is likely due to defects or/and oxygen vacancies. Moreover, thick films that were deposited under the same growth conditions have the magnetic ordering degraded enormously. It is found that as for FM in undoped TiO₂ films made by the chemical solution deposition, not only do defects/oxygen vacancies play a role, but also the confinement effects seem to be important.     

Effect of Magnetic Pulse Processing on the Structure and Magnetic Properties of Ferrites

The effect a pulsed magnetic field has on the crystal structure and macroscopic magnetic parameters of hexagonal ferrites BaFe₁₂O₁₉ and SrFe₁₂O₁₉ are studied. It is shown that changes in the physical properties of ferrites are due to the ordering of cation vacancies on the boundaries of hexagonal and spinel blocks that minimize local distortion of the oxygen polyhedrons. Violation of the collinear ordering of the magnetic moments of iron ions in the nonequivalent positions of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ ferrite is observed, due to the selective localization of such vacancies (and thus violations of the magnetic relationships in Fe–O–Fe).     

Structure, defects, and impurities at the rutile TiO2(0 1 1)-(2 × 1) surface: A scanning tunneling microscopy study

The titanium dioxide rutile (0 1 1) (equivalent to (1 0 1)) surface reconstructs to a stable (2 × 1) structure upon sputtering and annealing in ultrahigh vacuum. A previously proposed model (T.J. Beck, A. Klust, M. Batzill, U. Diebold, C. Di Valentin, A. Selloni, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 036104/1) containing onefold coordinated oxygen atoms (titanyl groups, TiO) is supported by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) measurements. These TiO sites are imaged bright in empty-states STM. A few percent of these terminal oxygen atoms are missing at vacuum-annealed surfaces of bulk-reduced samples. These O vacancies are imaged as dark spots. Their number density depends on the reduction state of the bulk. Double vacancies are the most commonly observed defect configuration; single vacancies and vacancies involving several O atoms are present as well. Formation of oxygen vacancies can be suppressed by annealing a sputtered surface first in vacuum and then in oxygen; annealing a sputtered surface in oxygen results in surface restructuring and a (3 × 1) phase. Anti-phase domain boundaries in the (2 × 1) structure are active adsorption sites. Segregation of calcium impurities from the bulk results in an ordered overlayer that exhibits domains with a centered (2 × 1) periodicity in STM.     

The structural and magnetic properties of Co-doped titanate nanotubes synthesized under hydrothermal conditions

Co-doped titanate nanotubes were prepared from hydrothermal treatment on Co-doped anatase TiO₂ powders in a concentrated NaOH aqueous solution and characterized by a variety of techniques. We mainly investigated the structural and magnetic properties of these nanotubes. It was found that the obtained nanotubes might possibly be constructed from H₂Ti₃O₇, their undoped counterpart. The result from Raman spectra showed that Ti–OH bonds existed in the tubular structure. The electron paramagnetic resonance and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies clearly showed that the Co was incorporated into the titanate lattice as Co²⁺ and substituted for Ti cations sites. Also, from the photoluminescence measurement, the presence of oxygen vacancies was detected in the nanotubes. The vibrating sample magnetometer measurement revealed a clear paramagnetic behavior with weakly ferromagnetic ordering at room temperature. The results suggested that ferromagnetism of the nanotubes was related to the oxygen vacancies and could be suppressed by their quantum size. PACS 81.07.De; 75.75.+a; 75.50.Pp     

Vacancy ordering and superstructure formation in dry and hydrated strontium tantalate perovskites: A TEM perspective

Crystal structures of Sr₄(Sr₂Ta₂)O₁₁ and Sr₄(Sr_1.92Ta_2.08)O_11.12, synthesized by solid state reaction technique in dry and hydrated state have been studied mainly using Transmission Electron Microscopy. Due to the lesser ability of X-rays to probe details in oxygen sublattice, the change in crystal symmetry due to ordering of oxygen vacancies could be detected better using Transmission Electron Microscopy. After detailed analysis through TEM, it was observed that no major change occurs in the cation sublattice. The TEM observations are compared with XRD data and discussed. The crystal symmetries and corresponding unit cells of all the perovskites based on the ordering of oxygen vacancies is deduced. Crystal unit cells based on the observations are proposed with ideal atomic coordinates. Finally an attempt is made to explain the water uptake behaviour of these perovskites based on the proposed crystal structure.     

钛酸铋系中与铁电性能有关的缺陷及其弛豫研究的进展

本文概括的介绍了近年来我们利用内耗和介电的方法研究铋系铁电材料的一些结果。钛酸铋系铁电体作为一种无铅材料在铁电存储中有着重要的应用，通过对其内部与氧空位有关的力学和电学弛豫行为的测量，并进一步通过对氧空位弛豫及关联行为的研究，揭示了钛酸铋系铁电材料中掺杂、微结构以及铁电性能之间内在的联系。这些结果从微观的角度阐述了影响铁电体剩余极化与铁电疲劳的因素，对于指导并优化现有铁电体的铁电性能有着重要的意义。此外，还报道了对铁电畴、相变等的研究结果，表明力学与介电方法是研究铁电性能及澄清机理的有效手段。     

淬入空位在AuCu有序化过程中的作用

本文通过电阻测量研究了淬火和退火温度对AuCu合金有序化过程的影响,结果表明:1.AuCu合金的有序化过程可分为两个阶段:1)局部有序或有序相成核阶段,电阻上升;2)有序相(或畴)长大阶段,电阻下降。2.淬火后低温退火时,AuCu有序化主要是通过过饱和的淬入空位在金属中的移动而实现的。有序化的速度正比于淬入空位的浓度和移动率。3.通过有序化速度随淬火温度和退火温度的变化,测得AuCu中空位的形成能E_f和移动激活能E_m相应为0.95eV和0.81eV。4.在等温退