Coherent magnetic vortex motion in optically formed channels for easy flow in YBa2Cu3O7−x superconducting thin films

We report our results of investigation of electric and magnetic properties of partially oxygen-depleted channels for easy vortex motion in YBa₂Cu₃O_7?x (YBCO) superconducting, 50-μm-wide, and 100-μm-long microbridges at temperatures below the onset of the superconducting state critical temperature T _c ^on . The channels were produced by means of a laser-writing technique. The writing was performed using a 0.1–0.3 W power, continuous-wave laser radiation focused down to a ~ 5 μm spot on the surface of a superconducting film in a nitrogen gas atmosphere, and resulted in perpendicular stripes (channels) with partial (x ~ 0.2) reduction of the oxygen content in the YBCO stripe. The oxygen-depleted channels exhibit a depressed T _c and lower both the critical current density and the first critical magnetic field, as compared with the laser-untreated areas. The bias current applied to the bridge self-produced a magnetic flux that penetrated the channels in a form of Abrikosov magnetic vortices that, subsequently, moved coherently (a quasi-Josephson effect) along the channels in the narrow temperature range of 0.943 T _c ^on –0.98 T _c ^on and manifested themselves as steps on the current–voltage characteristics of our microbridges. Our results demonstrate that laser-induced formation of artificial channels of the flux flow can be used for a precise control of vortex nucleation and their coherent motion in pre-assigned regions of thin-film YBCO devices.     

Vortex structure and anisotropy of electric resistance in Bi2Sr1.65La0.35CuO6 + δ single crystals

The vortex structure of Bi₂Sr_1.65La_0.35CuO_6+δ single crystals in tilted magnetic fields has been studied by the decoration method. From the observed pattern of vortex chains in the basal plane, the parameter of anisotropy in the superconducting state has been estimated as γ_S = 460 ± 40. The electric resistance of Bi₂Sr_1.65La_0.35CuO_6+δ single crystals has been studied in a broad range of temperatures (T _c < T < 300 K) and magnetic fields (up to 16 T). The ratio of resistivities in the direction perpendicular to the basal plane and in plane near the critical temperature T _c amounted to ρ⊥/ρ‖ = 3.2 × 10⁵. A possible relationship between the anisotropy in the normal and superconducting states is discussed.     

Spin Excitations in the Field-Induced Phase of the Quasi-One-Dimensional S = 1 Heisenberg Antiferromagnet NDMAP

The S = 1 quasi-one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet [Ni(C₅H₁₄N₂)₂N₃](PF₆), abbreviated as NDMAP, has been studied by electron spin resonance in a magnetic field above the critical field (H _c). We studied angular and frequency dependences of spin excitations. The angular dependence of the spin excitations in the vicinity of H _c is explained well by a phenomenological field theory, but the agreement between the experiment and the calculation is not satisfactory above 10 T. In high magnetic fields above 15 T, we obtained some characteristic spin excitations which are well explained by conventional antiferromagnetic resonance modes. These results suggest that the spin excitations change from a quantum state to a classical one due to the suppression of quantum fluctuations by high magnetic fields.     

Magnetic dynamics of dilute iron nano-clusters in silver films from Mössbauer spectroscopy and muon spin rotation

A silver film containing nanometer size clusters of iron (nominal conc. 1 at%) has been studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy and Low-Energy Muon Spin Rotation. Below about 20 K spin glass freezing due to interparticle interactions is found from both methods. Whereas Mössbauer spectra are insensitive to the fast fluctuations of cluster moments above spin glass freezing temperature, muon spin rotation in magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the polarized muon spins allows tracing the fluctuations of superparamagnetic moments. The temperature dependence of the damping of the muon spin rotation signal shows Arrhenius behavior between 10 to 100 K. Depending on the assumed shape of damping the activation energy of superparamagnetic fluctuations of cluster moments ranges between about 20 K ·k _B and 40 K ·k _B . Above about 120 K muon spin depolarization indicates diffusion and trapping of muons.     

Dynamic response of converse magnetoelectric effect in a PMN-PT-based multiferroic heterostructure

A multiferroic heterostructure, consisting of a 25 μm thick Metglas® ribbon affixed to a lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate (PMN-PT) crystal, was systemically studied to investigate the time response of converse magnetoelectric coupling under the application of electric fields at low frequencies (0.05<f<10 Hz). This multiferroic heterostructure exhibits a considerably strong converse magnetoelectric effect, CME=?80%, where CME=[M(E)?M(0)]/M(0), and a converse ME coupling constant, A=22.5 Oe-cm/kV, at frequencies below 1 Hz and near saturation electric polarization. A switching time (t _s), representing the response time of the CME coupling, is measured to be 0.6 seconds for this heterostructure under the application of instantaneous electric fields. The switching time results in significant influences on the magnetoelectric effect especially at frequencies higher than 2 Hz. The dynamic response of CME coupling is predominantly determined by ferroelectric relaxation within the PMN-PT crystal, as opposed to the magnetic relaxation of the Metglas® ribbon. A model was used to describe the dynamic behavior of CME coupling in disordered systems such as PMN-PT.     

Anomalous magnetism and 209Bi nuclear spin relaxation in Bi4Ge3O12 crystals

The quadrupole ²⁰⁹Bi spin–spin and spin–lattice relaxation were studied within 4.2–300 K for pure and doped Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂ single crystals which exhibit, as was previously found, anomalous magnetic properties. The results revealed an unexpectedly strong influence of minor amounts of paramagnetic dopants (0.015–0.5 mol.%) on the relaxation processes. Various mechanisms (quadrupole, crystal electric field, electron spin fluctuations) govern the spin–lattice relaxation time T ₁ in pure and doped samples. Unlike T ₁, the spin–spin relaxation time T ₂ for pure and Nd-doped samples was weakly dependent on temperature within 4.2–300 K. Doping Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂ with paramagnetic atoms strongly elongated T ₂. The elongation, although not so strong, was also observed for pure and doped crystals under the influence of weak (～30 Oe) external magnetic fields. To confirm the conclusion about strong influence of crystal field effects on the temperature dependence of T ₁ in the temperature range 4.2–77 K, the magnetization vs. temperature and magnetic field was measured for Nd- and Gd-doped Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂ crystals using a SQUID magnetometer. The temperature behavior of magnetic susceptibility for the Nd-doped crystal was consistent with the presence of the crystal electric field effects. For the Gd-doped crystal, the Brillouin formula perfectly fitted the curve of magnetization vs. magnetic field, which pointed to the absence of the crystal electric field contribution into the spin–lattice relaxation process in this sample.     

Metamagnetic effects in epitaxial BaFe<Subscript>1.8</Subscript>Cr<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>As<Subscript>2</Subscript> thin films

Epitaxial BaFe_1.8Cr_0.2As₂ thin films with the tetragonal c-axis perpendicular to the thin film surface were grown on (LaAlO₃)_0.3(Sr₂AlTaO₆)_0.7 (LSAT) single crystalline substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Resistive measurements indicate the existence of two transitions at temperatures of about 80 K and 40 K. The transition at 80 K is attributed to the structural transition from the high temperature tetragonal phase to the low temperature orthorhombic phase accompanied with the magnetic transition from a paramagnetic to an antiferromagnetic state as known for doped bulk systems. Below T ≈ 40 K the magnetization curves measured perpendicularly to the orthorhombic c-axis in fields up to 9 Tesla show two inflexion points indicating metamagnetic transitions.     

Hyperfine interactions and electronic structures of BaFe 2 As 2 : a first-principles LDA+U study

The hyperfine parameters of hyperfine fields, electric field gradients and isomer shifts at the Fe site are investigated based on the first-principles calculations of the electronic structures using LDA (GGA)+U method in the low-temperature orthorhombic antiferromagnetic phase of undoped BaFe₂As₂. It is fond that the electric field gradient of Fe nucleus is highly related with the electronic structures close to the Fermi level. Though the addition of negative on-site Coulomb interaction to Fe-3d states improves the calculated magnetic moment of Fe atom and the hyperfine parameters of Fe nucleus when U = ?0.1 Ry (?0.08 Ry) for GGA+U (LDA+U) method, a negative U correction does not capture the right physics of this system. The calculations prove the strong coupling between the magnetic, structural and electronic properties in antiferromagnetic BaFe₂As₂ parent.     

Antiferromagnetic TiFe2 in applied fields: experiment and simulation

Mössbauer spectra of a powdered TiFe₂ sample were measured under different applied fields and the results were compared to simulated spectra obtained by minimizing the total energy of a two-sublattice antiferromagnet. In order to reproduce experimental results a highly textured distribution had to be assumed, the local anisotropy axis lying mostly perpendicular to the applied field. Thus, magnetic alignment of AF grains by an external field was demonstrated. In addition, exchange and anisotropy fields for TiFe₂ at T?～?0 K have been determined.     

FePt-C granular thin film for heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) media

We studied a FePt-C granular film for ultra-high density perpendicular recording media towards 1 Tbits/in.² because of strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy at its L1₀-phase. We deposit a Fe₅₂Pt₄₈-C50 % (6.7 nm) film on oxidized silicon substrates at 400 °C and 0.50 Pa Ar pressure. The perpendicular anisotropy of the film is 20 kOe, with a perfect squareness of 1. Bright-field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images display that the FePt granular film has small and uniform grains of 6.4 ± 1.5 nm. Further work on high-resolution TEM imaging demonstrates excellent L1₀ ordering for this FePt granular film, which is consistent with the texture measurement by X-ray diffraction. Thus, we prove that FePt granular film is a promising candidate for high-density heat-assisted magnetic recording media.     

Critical behaviour of Ho 2 Fe 17 − x Mn x —magnetisation and Mössbauer spectroscopy

The magnetic properties of Ho₂Fe_17???xMn_x compounds (x = 0–2) of ferromagnetic ordering temperatures up to T_C ~344 K have been investigated by DC magnetization and Mössbauer effect measurements. The nature of the magnetic phase transitions and the critical behaviour around T_C has been investigated by analysis of the magnetisation data and the critical exponents β, γ and δ determined. The critical exponents are found to be similar to the theoretical values of the mean-field model for which β?=?0.5 and γ?=?1.0, indicating the existence of a long-range ferromagnetic interactions. The isothermal entropy changes ΔS around T_C have been determined as a function of temperature in different magnetic fields.     

Effect of structural water on the critical characteristics of highly textured YBa2Cu3O6.9

The effect of low-temperature treatment (200°C) in a humid argon atmosphere and subsequent annealing (930°C) on the critical parameters of a highly textured YBa₂Cu₃O_6.9 has been studied. During annealing at T = 200°C, the absorbed water is incorporated into the structure of the compound, which is accompanied by the deterioration of its superconducting properties. However, after the recovery annealing at T = 930°C and subsequent oxidation, the superconducting characteristics (j _c , B _1c , and F _p ) are improved. This is explained by the formation of 124-type planar defects, which are effective pinning centers, especially in high fields applied perpendicular to the c axis (⊥ c). The optimum conditions of double annealing substantially increasing the critical current density (j _c ≥ 10⁴ A/cm²) in an external magnetic field up to 10 T and also the first critical fields have been found. In fields up to ～3 T, the critical current density j _c is isotropic despite the conservation of high texture in the samples.     

Mössbauer study of spin structure transformation from an incommensurate to a commensurate state

We present crystallographic and magnetic properties of NiCr_1.98 ⁵⁷Fe_0.02O₄ by using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The lattice constants a₀ were determined to be 8.318 Å. The ferrimagnetic Neel temperature (T _N) for NiCr_1.98 ⁵⁷Fe_0.02O₄ is determined to be 90 K. The Mössbauer absorption spectra for all chromites at 4.2 K show two well developed sextets superposed with small difference of hyperfine fields (H _hf) caused by Cr^3?+? ions in two different magnetic sites. The values of the isomer shifts show that the charge states of Fe are Fe^3?+? for all temperature range. Ni-chromites Mössbauer spectra below T _N present aline broadening due to a Jahn–Teller distortion and show that spin structure behavior of Cr ions change from an incommensurate to a commensurate state.     

Metastable states of hydrogen: their geometric phases and flux densities

We discuss the geometric phases and flux densities for the metastable states of hydrogen with principal quantum number n = 2 being subjected to adiabatically varying external electric and magnetic fields. Convenient representations of the flux densities as complex integrals are derived. Both, parity conserving (PC) and parity violating (PV) flux densities and phases are identified. General expressions for the flux densities following from rotational invariance are derived. Specific cases of external fields are discussed. In a pure magnetic field the phases are given by the geometry of the path in magnetic field space. But for electric fields in presence of a constant magnetic field and for electric plus magnetic fields the geometric phases carry information on the atomic parameters, in particular, on the PV atomic interaction. We show that for our metastable states also the decay rates can be influenced by the geometric phases and we give a concrete example for this effect. Finally we emphasise that the general relations derived here for geometric phases and flux densities are also valid for other atomic systems having stable or metastable states, for instance, for He with n = 2. Thus, a measurement of geometric phases may give important experimental information on the mass matrix and the electric and magnetic dipole matrices for such systems. This could be used as a check of corresponding theoretical calculations of wave functions and matrix elements.     

Properties of the secondary order parameter in Rb2ZnCl4

The dielectric constants and the spontaneous polarization of Rb₂ZnCl₄-crystals have been investigated in order to characterize the nature of the transitions at 303, 195 and 74.5 K. The dielectric anomalies around 303 K hint at a critical exponent β = 0.36 ± 0.03 in the incommensurate phase. Close to 195 K the commensurate state can be induced by electric fields in agreement with an appropriate Clausius-Clapeyron relation. The polarization measurements further show that Rb₂ZnCl₄ has a (second) ferroelectric transformation at 74.5 K.     

Ferromagnetism modulation by phase change in Mn-doped GeTe chalcogenide magnetic materials

In this work, an effective method to modulate the ferromagnetic properties of Mn-doped GeTe chalcogenide-based phase change materials is presented. The microstructure of the phase change magnetic material Ge_1?x Mn _x Te thin films was studied. The X-ray diffraction results demonstrate that the as-deposited films are amorphous, and the crystalline films are formed after annealing at 350 °C for 10 min. Crystallographic structure investigation shows the existence of some secondary magnetic phases. The lattice parameters of Ge_1?x Mn _x Te (x = 0.04, 0.12 and 0.15) thin films are found to be slightly different with changes of Mn compositions. The structural analysis clearly indicates that all the films have a stable rhombohedral face-centered cubic polycrystalline structure. The magnetic properties of the amorphous and crystalline Ge_0.96Mn_0.04Te were investigated. The measurements of magnetization (M) as a function of the magnetic field (H) show that both amorphous and crystalline phases of Ge_0.96Mn_0.04Te thin film are ferromagnetic and there is drastic variation between amorphous and crystalline states. The temperature (T) dependence of magnetizations at zero field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) conditions of the crystalline Ge_0.96Mn_0.04Te thin film under different applied magnetic fields were performed. The measured data at 100 and 300 Oe applied magnetic fields show large bifurcations in the ZFC and FC curves while on the 5,000 Oe magnetic field there is no deviation.     

Quantum transport in GaInAs-AlInAs heterojunctions,and the influence of intersubband scattering

Shubnikov-de Haas and cyclotron resonance results are presented for GaInAs-AlInAs heterojunctions in both perpendicular and tilted magnetic fields. Two electric subbands are occupied in zero magnetic field. Magnetic depopulation of the higher (E₁) subband is observed in both perpendicular and tilted orientations. This enables a demonstration of the importance of intersubband scattering in both resistivity and cyclotron resonance. A shift of the relative positions of the E_o and E₁ subbands by parallel magnetic fields is measured to be 0.26 meV/T².     

Study of critical exponents in doped La2/3Ca1/3Mn1-y Fe y O3 (y = 0, 0.03) manganite films

In this work, we investigated close to the Curie temperature T _C the critical exponents of the magnetization of doped manganite La_2/3Ca_1/3Mn_0.97Fe_0.03O₃ (LCMFO) thin films, as well as undoped La_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃ (LCMO). Using a T _C distribution given by the intrinsic magnetic inhomogeneities in these ferromagnets enables the determination of β and δ critical exponents [corresponding to M(T) and M(H) respectively], average Curie temperature < T _C > , and the T _C distribution width, ΔT _C. Additionally, we extracted the critical exponent η = βδ from the fits of ΔT _C as a function of the external applied magnetic field. We found a value of 1.74 ± 0.09 for this exponent, close to that reported in undoped La_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃ thin films. Even though the substitution effects of the Mn ions by Fe affect the magnetotransport and structural properties of LCMO system, these results suggest that around T _C, the magnetic phase transition, governed by the critical exponents, is similar in both magnetic systems, and belongs to the same universality class.     

A theoretical study on tuning band gaps of monolayer and bilayer SnS2 and SnSe2 under external stimuli

Based on density functional theory, we systematically study the mechanical and electronic properties of monolayer and bilayer SnS₂ and SnSe₂. The electronic properties of these layers can be significantly tuned by applying in-plane strains and electric fields perpendicular to the sheets. The band gaps of monolayer SnS₂ and SnSe₂ slightly increase with the in-plane tensile strains, and they start to decrease after critical strains (5% for monolayer SnS₂ and 7% for monolayer SnSe₂). The band gaps of bilayer SnS₂ and SnSe₂ have a similar tendency to the monolayers with smaller critical strains (1% for bilayer SnS₂ and 2% for bilayer SnSe₂), which enables a semiconductor-to-metal transition at 10% strain for bilayer SnSe₂. We also find that an external electric field perpendicular to bilayer SnS₂ and SnSe₂ modulates their electronic band gaps. Semiconductor-to-metal transitions are achieved at the electric fields of 0.27 V/Å for bilayer SnS₂ and 0.13 V/Å for bilayer SnSe₂.     

Effect of chiral solute on the smectic a to C phase transition of second order

The Landau theory is applied to explain the helicoidal effect of a chiral solute on an ordinary smectic C state below a smectic A-C phase transition of second order. It is shown that T_c increases with the concentration c of the solute, for small c. We suggest that a simultaneous application of electric and magnetic fields perpendicular to the smectic layers might, in some cases, also make the C phase helicoidal.