Magnetic anomalies of thermal expansion in (rare-earth) Ni2 intermetallic compounds

The thermal expansion of eight RENi₂ intermetallic compounds (RE = La, Nd, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm) and YNi₂ have been measured between 3.8 and approx. 300 K. The anomalies found at the paramagnetic-magnetically ordered phase transition have allowed an accurate determination of the Curie temperatures. From the low temperature comparison of the thermal expansion of the light RE compounds with that of LaNi₂, and of the heavy RE compounds with that of YNi₂, the Debye temperatures have been obtained. In the case of the compounds DyNi₂, TbNi₂ and HoNi₂ the contributions from crystal field and exchange interactions to the spontaneous volume strain at the magnetically ordered phase have been calculated, the agreement between experiment and calculation being good.     

Correlation of temperature anomalies of the hyperfine field and thermal expansion of the crystal lattice

Consideration is given to the effect of thermal expansion of crystal lattice upon the partial contributions to the magnetic hyperfine field for non-magnetic atoms in metallic ferromagnets. The existence of correlation between the temperature anomalies of a hyperfine field and the thermal expansion of the crystal lattice is shown in a simple and illustrative way.     

Nonlinear anisotropic thermal expansion in problems of crystal growth from the melt

The paper considers the influence of the temperature dependence of the coefficients of thermal expansion of a single crystal on thermoelastic stresses arising during crystal growth from the melt. We obtain zero stress conditions in an axisymmetric temperature field of axial symmetry and derive approximate expressions for the components of the stress tensor in a cylindrical crystal when this dependence is taken into account.     

非线性晶体内腔倍频的温度模式分布

为了提高谐波转换效率和消除温升引起的晶体走离效应，对于非线性晶体温度场分布特点进行了分析与计算.同时研究了基波偏心辐射对KTP晶体温度场的影响.通过对腔内倍频KTP晶体工作特点的分析，建立了方形非线性晶体热模型并首次引入了方形晶体辐射偏心度的定义.基于热传导方程，得到了温度场分布的一般解析表达式.     

Electrical and thermal transport properties of dilute Pr in Pd

We have measured susceptibility, electrical resistivity thermopower, thermal conductivity, specific heat, thermal lattice expansion and Hall effect of dilute alloys of Pr (x = 0.014, 0.03) and of Lu (x = 0.014) in Pd. We find a rather strong valence instability at room temperature from L_III X-ray absorption (v = 3.1), which manifests itself by a concentration-independent characteristic temperature, by a resistivity minimum and by a strong anomally of the thermopower. The susceptibility also indicates strong magnetic polarisation of the surrounding Pd-atoms through the excited crystal field levels but not through the ground state of the impurity. The neutron scattering shows several sharp crystal field excitations between 0 and 1 meV and a very broad quasi-elastic scattering at higher temperatures with the 4f-form factor. We take this also as evidence for a weak coupling of valence instabilities to the low lying crystal field levels of the impurity and a strong coupling to the higher ones.     

Crystal field effect in the thermal expansion of cubic rare earth compounds

We report on evidence of crystal-electric-field effects in the low temperature thermal expansion of various rocksalt-type rare earth compounds (PrSb, SmSb, ErSb, TmSb, CeTe, TmTe). From our measurements we deduce the volume dependence of the energy splitting between the lowest crystal field levels and we calculate magnetoelastic coupling parameters involving the volume strain.     

Anomalous thermal expansion of InSe layered semiconductors in the low-temperature region

The temperature dependence of the linear thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of an InSe single crystal in the (001) plane is measured in the temperature range 7–50 K. A peak in the thermal expansion is detected near T = 10 K, after which the sample shrinks upon heating. The effect of an external magnetic field of up to 6 T, which is parallel to the (001) plane, on the TEC is investigated. The observed partial suppression of the peak and crystal compression by the field indicates the relation of these anomalies to possible electron ordering in InSe layers.     

Smectic-A*-smectic-C* transition in a ferroelectric liquid crystal without smectic layer shrinkage

The smectic layer spacing of a nonfluorinated ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) compound with almost no shrinkage and only minor tendency to form zigzag defects was characterized by small angle x-ray diffraction. The material lacks a nematic phase. The smectic-A*-smectic-C* phase transition was studied by measuring the thermal and electric field response of the optical tilt and the electric polarization. These properties are described very well by a Landau expansion even without introduction of a higher-order Theta(6) term. This result suggests a pure second-order phase transition far from tricriticality and differs considerably from the typical behavior of the A*-C* transition in most FLC materials.     

Thermal properties of high-k Hf_1-xSi_xO₂

Classical atomistic simulations based on the lattice dynamics theory and the Born core-shell model are performed to systematically study the crystal structure and thermal properties of high-k Hf1-xSixO2 . The coefficients of thermal expansion, specific heat, Grneisen parameters, phonon densities of states and Debye temperatures are calculated at different temperatures and for different Si-doping concentrations. With the increase of the Si-doping concentration, the lattice constant decreases. At the same time, both the coefficient of thermal expansion and the specific heat at a constant volume of Hf1-xSixO2 also decreases. The Grneisen parameter is about 0.95 at temperatures less than 100 K. Compared with Si-doped HfO2 , pure HfO2 has a higher Debye temperature when the temperature is less than 25 K, while it has lower Debye temperature when the temperature is higher than 50 K. Some simulation results fit well with the experimental data. We expect that our results will be helpful for understanding the local lattice structure and thermal properties of Hf1-xSixO2 .     

Crystal field spectroscopy by inelastic neutron scattering

We present a review of inelastic neutron scattering results on very diluted rare earth (RE)-Laves phases. A systematic investigation to study crystal electric fields, experienced by single rare earth ions in a metallic environment, was done on (RE,R)Al₂, with RE=Pr, Nd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm andR=Sc, Y, La. We show the influence of the 4f-ions on the crystal fields as well as the influence of the host lattices. The rare earth atoms in ScAl₂ have been studied for the first time and most of the other alloys, with LaAl₂ and YAl₂ as hosts, have been studied for the first time with magnetic atom concentrations below 1 at% and/or with good resolution for low energy excitations. Furthermore we studied the dynamics of 4f-moments, which are coupled to the conduction electrons by determining the coupling constants. We present a comprehensive set of crystal field parameters and coupling constants from these systematic studies and discuss them qualitatively within the available theoretical models. The influence of magnetic atom concentration on crystal field spectra will be shown in part II.     

Crystal field effect in the thermal expansion of hexagonal rare earth compounds

The low temperature thermal expansion in hexagonal rare earth materials exhibits crystal field effects. These are quantitatively explained with a magnetoelastic coupling of Γ₁-symmetry strains to a 1=2 quadrupolar operator of the magnetic ion. For PrNi₅ the temperature dependence of both c- and a-axis thermal expansion is correctly accounted for. For dhcp Pr both the cubic and the hexagonal sites of the Pr-ions contribute to the thermal expansion. The magnetoelastic coupling constants are an order of magnitude larger than for cubic compounds.     

基于原子间相互作用的低温硅单晶负热膨胀机制的研究

运用晶格热膨胀的微扰理论,推导了硅晶体的热膨胀系数与原子间两体作用和三体作用的三阶力常数之间的关系公式,在此基础上对热膨胀系数的实验数据进行拟合,计算了硅晶体内的原子间两体和三体的三阶力常数,发现三体作用的三阶力常数为正数,是硅晶体在低温下具有负热膨胀性质的根本原因。计算与分析的结果表明,运用Stillinger-Weber模型得到的三阶力常数为负数,据此不可能计算得到低温下的负热膨胀系数,因此应该对该模型进行修正。     

基于原子间相互作用的低温硅单晶负热膨胀机制的研究

运用晶格热膨胀的微扰理论,推导了硅晶体的热膨胀系数与原子间两体作用和三体作用的三阶力常数之间的关系公式,在此基础上对热膨胀系数的实验数据进行拟合,计算了硅晶体内的原子间两体和三体的三阶力常数,发现三体作用的三阶力常数为正数,是硅晶体在低温下具有负热膨胀性质的根本原因。计算与分析的结果表明,运用Stillinger-Weber模型得到的三阶力常数为负数,据此不可能计算得到低温下的负热膨胀系数,因此应该对该模型进行修正。     

Transport properties and point-contact spectra of RECu6 with RE=La,Ce and Pr

Measurements of the current-voltage characteristics on point-contacts, of the thermopower and the thermal conductivity between 1.3 and 300 K and of the electrical resistivity between 4.2 and 900 K of polycrystalline samples of ReCu₆ (RE=La, Ce, Pr, Gd) are presented. The anomalies of the heavy fermion system CeCu₆ are strong compared to the other systems, but the properties of LaCu₆ and PrCu₆ are also unusual, possibly caused by the complicated crystal structure and, for PrCu₆, by crystal field effects.     

Thermal Shift Calculations (Ⅰ): The Theory for Thermal Shift of Crystal Field Spectra of Rare Earth or Transition Metal Ions

The thermal shift of crystal field spectra of rare earth or transition metalions includes four contributions of different characteristics. In this paper we develop a theory of calculating all those contributions in detail. The contributions to thermal shift consist of that of thermal expansion and those of electron-phonon interaction. The thermal shift caused by thermal expansion is interpreted and calculated by making use of theory of pressure-induced spectral shift. The contribution of phonons of optical branches is given by using single frequency model. The contributions of phonons of acoustic branches include two terms, which are derived by taking into account contributions of all the Γγ in electron-phonon interaction.The theoretical form'ulas for parameters in the most important term are given.     

Superposition-model analysis of rare-earth doped BaY 2 F 8

The energy level schemes of four rare-earth dopants (Ce 3+ , Nd 3+ , Dy 3+ , and Er 3+ ) in BaY 2 F 8 , as determined by optical absorption spectra, were fitted with a single-ion Hamiltonian and analysed within Newman's Superposition Model for the crystal field. A unified picture for the four dopants was obtained, by assuming a distortion of the F m ligand cage around the RE site; within the framework of the Superposition Model, this distortion is found to have a marked anisotropic behaviour for heavy rare earths, while it turns into an isotropic expansion of the nearest-neighbours polyhedron for light rare earths. It is also inferred that the substituting ion may occupy an off-center position with respect to the original Y 3+ site in the crystal.     

On the low-temperature thermal properties and low-energy Fermi excitations in CeNiSn

The thermal expansion of a single crystal of the intermetallic compound CeNiSn has been measured at low temperatures 0.3 K<T<12 K and in a magnetic field up to 8 T. A large anisotropy of the linear expansion is observed which is strongly influenced by the magnetic field. These data are interpreted within the theory explaining the origin of the quasigap in the heavy fermion spectrum of CeNiSn by the interplay between the heavy fermions and low-energy excitations in non-cubic Kondo lattices.     

Forced volume magnetostriction in (rare earth) ni2 cubic intermetallic compounds

The forced volume magnetostriction has been measured for the RENi₂ intermetallic compounds (RE = Ce, Pr, Sm, Gd, Tb and Dy). In GdNi₂ both spontaneous and forced magnetostriction originate from pure exchange and it is necessary to invoke short-range spin correlations to explain the peculiar temperature dependence. In PrNi₂, SmNi₂, TbNi₂ and DyNi₂ the magnetostriction is contributed to by strains from both crystalline electric field and exchange, the temperature dependence in TbNi₂ and SmNi₂ being also peculiar. Magnetoelastic coupling parameters for both types of contribution have been determined. At low temperatures a cooperative Jahn-Teller distortion has been identified in PrNi₂ by measuring thermal expansion. The volume magnetostriction of CeNi₂ appears to be anomalous, probably as a consequence of Ce being in an intermediate valence state.     

RE2Ti2O7(RE=Gd,Y,Ho,Er)的结构、机械性能及热学性质的第一性原理研究(英文)

本文利用第一性原理和准谐近似的方法研究了一系列钛酸盐烧绿石,即RE₂Ti₂O₇（RE=Gd,Y,Ho,Er）的结构、机械性能及热学性质。研究结果表明,在基态下RE₂Ti₂O₇具有良好的抗压、抗剪切能力。并且,由于这些化合物的齐纳指数接近于1,可近似地看作各向同性材料。此外,计算得到的热膨胀系数在高温区与实验值符合得较好。在500~1 500 K温度区间内,平均热膨胀系数为（10.4~13.1）×10-6 K-1。基于Slack模型,我们还计算了这些材料的晶格热导率,当温度等于1 000 K时,这四种物质的热导率在区间（1.5~4.9）W·m-1·K-1内。     

Thermal expansion of La3S4 at low temperatures

The thermal expansion of the superconductor La₃S₄ has been investigated on a single crystal by a capacitive method between 1.6 and 14 K. The relative length change shows a well pronounced second order phase transformation near 8.05 K, which is caused by the superconducting transition. From the calculated linear thermal expansion coefficient we determine the pressure coefficient of the transition temperature and of the thermodynamic critical field as well as the thermodynamic critical field itself. Furthermore we estimate the electronic, phononic and total Grüneisen parameters. These parameters have been used to discuss on the basis of the McMillan equation the reason for the increase of the transition temperature under pressure.