Hyperfine Interactions in CeT2Ge2 (T = Mn,Co) Heavy Fermions Compounds Measured by TDPAC

Time Differential Perturbed γ–γ Angular Correlation (TDPAC) technique was used to measure the magnetic hyperfine field at both Ge and Ce sites in CeMn₂Ge₂ and CeCo₂Ge₂ intermetallic compounds. The ¹¹¹In (¹¹¹Cd) probe nuclei was used to investigate the hyperfine interaction at Ge sites, while the ¹⁴⁰La (¹⁴⁰Ce) nuclei was used to measure the magnetic hyperfine field at Ce site. The present measurements cover the temperature ranges from 10–460 K for CeMn₂Ge₂ and 9–295 K for CeCo₂Ge₂, respectively. The result for ¹¹¹Cd probe showed two distinct electric quadrupole frequencies above magnetic transition temperatures, in both compounds and a combined interaction in the magnetic region. The temperature dependence of the magnetic hyperfine field at ¹¹¹Cd at Mn site for the CeMn₂Ge₂ compound showed a transition from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase around 320 K and from antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase at 420 K. While a small magnetic field was measured on ¹¹¹Cd at Co site, no magnetic field on ¹⁴⁰Ce site was observed in CeCo₂Ge₂. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Preferential site occupation of indium in β-Ga2O3

The hyperfine interactions of¹¹¹Cd in gallium oxide doped with¹¹¹In have been studied as a function of temperature (300–1323 K) by means of the time differential perturbed angular correlation technique. The observed hyperfine interactions are assigned to the the β — form of gallium oxide. X-ray diffraction analysis support this conclusion. It is found that indium replace gallium at only one site of both possible sites in the monoclinic β — structure. This site is probably the sixfold corrdinated one. On the other hand, a time dependent interaction is detected at temperatures below 800 K.     

Magnetic Properties of Grain Boundaries of Nanocrystalline Ni and of Ni Precipitates in Nanocrystalline NiCu Alloys

Perturbed γγ-angular correlation spectroscopy (PAC) was used to investigate nanocrystalline Ni and NiCu alloys, which are prepared by pulsed electrodeposition (PED). Using diffusion for doping nanocrystalline Ni with ¹¹¹In four different ordered grain boundary structures are observed, which are characterized by unique electric field gradients. The incorporation of ¹¹¹In on substitutional bulk sites of Ni is caused by moving grain boundaries below 1000 K and by volume diffusion above 1000 K. The nanocrystalline NiCu alloys prepared by PED are microscopically inhomogeneous as observed by PAC. In contrast, this inhomogeneity cannot be detected by X-ray diffraction. The influence of the temperature of the electrolyte, the current density during deposition, and the optional addition of saccharin to the electrolyte on the homogeneity of nanocrystalline NiCu alloys was investigated. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Fluctuating Electric Field Gradients at 111Cd in Ice

¹¹¹Cd–PAC measurements have been made using the high specific activity of ¹¹¹In in the methanol–water mixtures of various concentrations at the room temperature. These experiments revealed that the perturbation factors 〈A ₂ G ₂〉 (integrated over two mean lives τ_N) do not follow the dependence of the macroscopic viscosity η. The observed dynamic character of the PAC spectra in ice is explained by the mobility of orientational and ionic defects. The activation energy for the diffusion process was determined to be E _a =0.35(1) eV. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Semiconductors with structurally determined vacancies – PAC studies

Ternary semiconductors of type □A^IIB ₂ ^III C ₄ ^VI with an ordered array of vacancies were investigated by PAC. Thereby the six probes ¹¹¹Cd, ¹¹⁷Cd(¹¹⁷In), ¹¹¹In(¹¹¹Cd), ¹¹¹Ag(¹¹¹Cd), ⁷⁷Br(⁷⁷Se) and ⁷⁷Kr(⁷⁷Br) were applied. The positions of the different probes are determined and the corresponding electric field gradients by the WIEN 95 code calculated. By ¹¹¹Ag(¹¹¹Cd)-probes the vacancies could be substituted. The electronic charge density distributions are discussed. At elevated temperatures the substances show order–disorder transitions. As compared to the X-ray diffraction patterns the beginning of disorder is observed by PAC at distinctly lower temperatures. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Investigation of temperature-dependent electrical properties of p-VOPc/n-si heterojunction under dark conditions

An organic/inorganic heterojunction p-VOPc/n-Si was fabricated and its electrical properties were investigated. Temperature-dependent dark current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the heterojunction exhibited rectification behaviour with a rectification ratio of 405 at ±1 V and room temperature. The current–voltage characteristics of the cell showed ohmic conduction at low voltages followed by a space charge-limited current (SCLC) conduction dominated by an exponential trap distribution at higher voltages. At room temperature, the series and shunt resistances were found to be approximately 1.4 and 100 kΩ, respectively. Diode ideality factor n was found to be 3.2 at room temperature and dropped to 1.9 at 363 K. Room temperature mobility of vanadyl phthalocyanine (VOPc) was extracted from the I–V characteristics in the SCLC region and was found approximately 15.5 × 10⁻³ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. The effective barrier height, Ф_B, was estimated as 0.77 eV. The effect of temperature, on various heterojunction parameters was recorded under dark conditions and at temperatures ranging from 300 to 363 K.     

Ionic and electronic transport in In2S3 studied via perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy

We report on Perturbed Angular Correlation measurements in polycrystalline In₂S₃ samples in the temperature range from 8 K to 1000 K where two different crystallographic phases β and α occur. As probes, implanted ¹¹¹In nuclei have been used. The three observed EFGs are attributed to probes residing substitutionally in the different sulfur-octahedra and -tetrahedra of β-In₂S₃. A strong damping between 150 K and 300 K has been attributed to EFG fluctuations following the ¹¹¹In(EC)¹¹¹Cd decay. The α-phase (above 680 K) is characterized by a different dynamical damping of the perturbation functions, caused by mobile In atoms. Therefore, the semiconductor In₂S₃ shows, in two different temperature ranges, dynamical PAC-spectra which correspond to different types of mobile charge carriers. Since ¹¹¹In is a self atom in In₂S₃, this compound is an ideal substance to study the charge transport phenomena by the PAC technique. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The electric quadrupole interaction of 111Cd in ZrZn2 and Zn in the samples prepared at 8 GPa

The perturbed angular correlation (PAC) measurements with the ¹¹¹In-¹¹¹Cd nuclear probe embedded into the lattice of the cubic (C15) Laves compound ZrZn₂ showed that ¹¹¹Cd nuclei experienced an axially symmetric electric quadrupole interaction with a frequency ν _Q  = 132.4 MHz at room temperature. The samples were synthesized and doped with the probe at a pressure 8 GPa. The temperature dependence of ν _Q was shown to be linear: ν _Q (T) = 147(1 − 0.033 T) MHz. Since the value of ν _Q is very close to that known for ¹¹¹Cd in the lattice of Zn, we have checked if it could be assigned to residual Zn metal in the sample. For the Zn sample melted and doped with ¹¹¹In at 8 GPa we have obtained ν _Q  = 117.3 MHz at 300 K and 127 MHz at 80 K – both values considerably lower than that for ¹¹¹In doped Zn samples prepared at an ambient pressure. These data, and the fact that ν _Q (T) in Zn is known to follow the T ^3/2 law, allow to attribute the ν _Q value quoted above to ¹¹¹Cd nuclei at the substitutional sites with tetrahedral symmetry in the Zn sublattice of ZrZn₂.     

Phase transitions in the SrHfO3 perovskite measured with 111In/111Cd PAC

The temperature dependence of the hyperfine parameters in SrHfO₃ powder samples has been investigated by means of Perturbed Angular Correlation spectroscopy using implanted ¹¹¹In probes. Three quadrupole interactions have been established, with the largest fraction showing a pronounced dynamic interaction. We assign this fraction to ¹¹¹In / ¹¹¹Cd probe atoms on substitutional Hf sites. The temperature dependence of the dynamic interaction has been associated to the Pnma↔Imma phase transition at ∼700 K. We discuss the results in relation to those obtained for ¹⁸¹Hf / ¹¹¹Ta-probes in AHfO₃ (A=Ba, Sr, Ca) and for ¹¹¹In / ¹¹¹Cd-probes in PbZrO₃ and BaTiO₃. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Electric Fields Gradients at 111In Sites in CdIn2O4 Spinel

The perturbed angular correlation (PAC) technique was applied to study the electric field gradients at ¹¹¹In sites in CdIn₂O₄. The measurements were carried out at temperatures in the range 150–1073 K. The aims of the study were both to characterize the quadrupole interactions of the tracers and to determine the distribution of indium ions among the available sites in the spinel structure. Room temperature measurements corresponding to samples cooled at different rates are also reported. ^aAlso at Comisión de Investigasiones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.     

Specific heat measurement of stable and metastable liquid Ti–Al alloys

The specific heats of liquid Ti–20at.%Al and Ti–51at.%Al alloys are determined to be 33.01±2.75 and 31.27±2.91 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ in the stable superheated and metastable undercooled states by using an electromagnetic levitation drop calorimeter. The experimental temperature ranges are 1733–2133 K and 1511–1948 K, and maximum undercoolings of 230 (0.12 T _L) and 242 K (0.14 T _L) are achieved, respectively. On the basis of the experimental results, the specific heat dependence on the composition is obtained for binary Ti–Al alloys.     

Thermal conductivity of high-porosity biocarbon preforms of beech wood

This paper reports on measurements performed in the temperature range 5–300 K for the thermal conductivity κ and electrical resistivity ρ of high-porosity (cellular pores) biocarbon preforms prepared by pyrolysis (carbonization) of beech wood in an argon flow at carbonization temperatures of 1000 and 2400°C. X-ray structure analysis of the samples has been performed at 300 K. The samples have revealed the presence of nanocrystallites making up the carbon matrices of these biocarbon preforms. Their size has been determined. For samples prepared at T _carb = 1000 and 2400°C, the nanocrystallite sizes are found to be in the ranges 12–25 and 28–60 κ(T) are determined for the samples cut along and across the tree growth direction. The thermal conductivity κ increases with increasing carbonization temperature and nanocrystallite size in the carbon matrix of the sample. Thermal conductivity measurements conducted on samples of both types have revealed an unusual temperature dependence of the phonon thermal conductivity for amorphous materials. As the temperature increases from 5 to 300 K, it first increases in proportion to T, to transfer subsequently to ∼T ^1.5 scaling. The results obtained are analyzed.     

High‐pressure μSR studies of ferro‐ and antiferromagnetic metals

High‐pressure μSR experiments on ferromagnetic nickel and \alpha‐iron and antiferromagnetic chromium are reported. In Ni above 260 K B_Fermi was found to be proportional to the saturation magnetization, whereas at lower temperatures it is temperature independent apart from a small anomaly below 30 K which is presumably caused by a magnetoelastic interaction. There was no evidence for an occupation of metastable sites by the μ⁺ below the Curie temperature. By contrast, in \alpha‐Fe the temperature dependence of \curpartialB_μ/\curpartialp shows a structure which might be attributed to the occupation of excited muon states at elevated temperatures. High‐pressure zero‐field experiments on Cr performed in the temperature regime between 4.5 K and 8 K revealed a pressure dependence of B_μ as large as \curpartialB_μ/\curpartialp=-(89.15\pm 0.06)\times 10^-12 T/Pa. In terms of volume dependence a very large negative Grüneisen parameter \gamma =-27 was obtained. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Hyperfine interactions in 111Cd-doped lutetium sesquioxide

We report here first Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) results of the electric field gradient (EFG) characterisation at ¹¹¹Cd impurities located at both non-equivalent cation sites of the bixbyite structure of Lutetium sesquioxide, between room temperature (RT) and 1273 K. The comparison with results coming from a systematic ¹¹¹Cd PAC study in bixbyites and with point-charge model (PCM) predictions shows the presence of a trapped defect at RT in the neighbourhood of the asymmetric cation site, which is completely removed at T > 623 K. The anomalous EFG temperature dependence in Lu₂O₃ can be described in the frame of a “two-state” model with fluctuating interactions, which enables the experimental determination of the acceptor energy level introduced by the Cd impurity in the band-gap of the semiconductor and the estimation of the oxygen vacancy density in the sample. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Investigation of temperature characteristics of modern InAsP/InGaAsP multi-quantum-well TJ-VCSELs for optical fibre communication

Continuous-wave (CW) performance of modern 1.3-μm InAsP/InGaAsP multi-quantum-well (MQW) tunnel-junction vertical-cavity surface-emitting diode lasers (TJ-VCSELs) is investigated using our comprehensive self-consistent simulation model to suggest their optimal design for room and elevated temperatures. For increasing ambient temperatures, an increase in the VCSEL threshold current has happened to be mostly associated with the Auger recombination. Nevertheless, the InAsP/InGaAsP VCSELs have been found to exhibit encouraging thermal behaviour with the quite high value of maximal operating temperature of 350 K. It has been found that 5-μm devices seem to be the most optimal ones because they demonstrate both the room temperature (RT) threshold current equal to only 0.55 mA and maximum operating temperature equal to as much as 345 K. For these devices, the characteristic temperature T0 is equal to 92 K for 290–305 K, 51 K for 310–325 K and 29 K for 330–345 K. Therefore, the InAsP/InGaAsP VCSELs have been found to offer very promising performance both at room and elevated temperatures as sources of the carrier 1.3-μm wave in the fibre optical communication using silica fibres.     

Kinetics of structural relaxation and regularities of plastic flow of metallic glasses

On the basis of a calculation of the structural relaxation rate and an experimental acoustical-emission determination of the temperature of the transition from localized to uniform flow it is argued that the type of plastic deformation of metallic glasses is uniquely determined by the kinetic structure of the relaxation. In the case of a kinetically hindered structural relaxation, which is characteristic for tests of initial samples at temperatures T<380–420 K, a localized dislocational deformation is realized. At higher temperatures, “memory” of the thermal prehistory of the samples is lost (aging at room temperature), the structural relaxation rate grows abruptly and plastic flow becomes uniform viscoplastic flow. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 2167–2173 (December 1999)     

Solid solubility of rhodium in silver

Two PAC probes,⁹⁹Rh and¹¹¹In, were employed to study the solid solubility of rhodium in silver. The solute rhodium atom concentration was determined for alloys containing 0.1–1.0 at% of Rh. It increases with increasing temperature up to about 0.04 at% at 1200 K and it does not depend essentially on the nominal impurity concentration.     

Magnetic and structural properties of non-stoichiometric Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloys

Structural and magnetic transition temperatures of ferromagnetic shape memory alloys present a strong dependence on slight departures from the stoichiometry, as does the mobility of twin boundaries responsible for the large magnetic field induced strains. In this work we study four non stoichiometric Ni-Mn-Ga polycrystalline alloys with compositions of 43–52 at.% nickel, excess manganese and deficient in gallium, and a single crystal of composition Ni₅₂Mn₂₆Ga₂₂. Those compounds are of technical interest due to the observed large room temperature magnetic field induced strains. Calorimetric and magnetic measurements determined the martensitic transition and Curie temperatures of the alloys (A_S = 331 K and T_Curie = 366 K for 52 at.% nickel alloy). Nickel defective alloys present a martensitic transition region broader than excess nickel ones. Neutron powder diffraction analysis confirmed orthorhombic martensitic structures for nickel defective alloys, and tetragonal for excess nickel ones. In the 52 atomic % nickel alloys case the crystallographic structure of the martensitic phase was also obtained on a single crystal with the same composition, trained to get a single variant in agreement with determined in the powder sample.     

Electric field gradients at the 111In site in the ferroelectric and paraelectric phases of LiTaO3

The temperature dependence of the electric-field gradient of ¹¹¹Cd in single crystalline LiTaO₃ was studied from room temperature to 1040 K in the ferroelectric and paraelectric phases. The data taken at room temperature show unambiguously the presence of two quadrupole interaction frequencies, ν_Q1=230 MHz and ν_Q2=242 MHz, with nonzero asymmetry parameters, while above the Curie temperature (T_C=878 K) the data are well described by a unique frequency. The electric field gradient shows a usual temperature dependence, increasing aproximately in a linear fashion until T_C and then decreasing faster. The initial increase is explained mostly by the lattice expansion, while above T_C it is necessary to consider Li and O displacements. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Oxidation in the system InNi observed with pac

The oxidation of¹¹¹In implanted into Nickel was investigated with the PAC method. The samples heated in oxygen at 295–1223 K exhibit two fractions of oxidized In atoms, one clearly indentified as¹¹¹InNiO. The temperature dependence of the Lamor frequency of¹¹¹In in antiferromagnetic NiO was measured. The second fraction shows broadly distributed PAC parameters and is attributed to the trapping of interstitial oxygen at the In atom. The similarity between its quadrupole interaction parameters and those found for other fcc metals indicates the formation of similar InO_x complexes by the same mechanism in all fcc metals.