Characterizing magnetic interactions in Ni nanowires by FORC analysis

Polycrystalline Ni nanowires with different diameters were electrodeposited in nanoporous anodized alumina membranes. First-Order Reversal Curves (FORCs) were measured and FORC distributions were calculated. They clearly showed an asymmetric behavior with a strong maximum at negative interaction fields, evidencing the dominant demagnetizing interactions which depend on the geometry of the nanowires.     

Magnetization reversal in [Ni/Pt]6/Pt(x)/[Co/Pt]6 multilayers

The magnetization reversal is studied in magnetron sputtered artificial superstructures of the form [Ni/Pt]₆/Pt(x)/[Co/Pt]₆ with perpendicular anisotropy, in which the [Co/Pt]₆ stacks have higher coercivity than the [Ni/Pt]₆. For x≥2 nm the two stacks reverse separately and exhibit characteristic stepped loops with a “plateau” in the region between the two switching fields. First-Order Reversal Curves (FORCs) reveal that the maximum coupling is obtained for x=1.5 nm. While each of the Ni/Pt and Co/Pt stacks by itself is thin enough to reverse in large domains when they are coupled, formation of maze like domains is observed. In this case some reversibility of the demagnetization curves associated with interfacial domain wall pinning appears while in the rest of the cases the reversal mechanism is based on lateral domain wall pinning with low reversibility. In the loops monitored by Extraordinary Hall Effect (EHE) measurements this “plateau” appears as a hump due to the different sign of the EHE coefficient between the [Ni/Pt]₆ and [Co/Pt]₆.     

A simple approach to the First Order Reversal Curves (FORC) of two-phase magnetic systems

The features that commonly appear in the First Order Reversal Curves (FORC) of magnetic composites, consisting of a hard and a soft phase, are reproduced by a simple mean-field approach in the limit of weak coupling. In this case the features corresponding to each phase are distinct and the effect of the interactions appears as biasing field on the soft phase and a coercivity reduction of the hard one. Interactions produce additional twin (positive/negative) interference features in the region of the (H, H_R) FORC diagram where there is a strong dependence on H through the soft phase and on H_R through the hard phase. The slope and the intensity of these twin features depend on interaction strength.     

Structural and magnetic studies of Fe2O3/SiO2 granular nanocomposites

Fe₂O₃/SiO₂ nanocomposites were synthesized by mechanical alloying, using Fe and SiO₂ powders as precursors. After 340 h milling, the sample essentially consists of hematite and amorphous silica. TEM images show hematite particles embedded in and surrounded by an amorphous silica matrix. A broad size distribution—5–50 nm—of hematite particles is found, and other group of very small—2–3 nm—unidentified particles are observed. Room temperature Mössbauer spectra show a paramagnetic doublet, which may correspond to a non-crystalline phase in the sample (probably the small unidentified particles), and a sextet corresponding to hematite. Magnetic properties were investigated by measuring hysteresis curves at different temperatures (5–300 K) and by zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) magnetization curves (10 mT). The hysteresis loops were well fitted by a ferromagnetic contribution. No evidence of Morin transition is found down to 5 K.     

HfO2/SiO2薄膜的激光预处理作用研究

对电子束蒸发方式镀制的HfO2/SiO2反射膜采用大口径激光进行辐照,采用激光量热计测量了激光辐射前后的弱吸收值。实验发现HfO2/SiO2反射膜在分别采用1 064 nm和532 nm的激光辐照前后薄膜吸收分别从5.4%和1.7%降低到1.4和1.2%。采用聚焦离子束技术分析了激光辐照后薄膜的损伤形态并探究了损伤原因,发现：薄膜在激光辐照下存在节瘤的地方容易出现薄膜损伤,具体表现为熔融、部分喷发、完全脱落3种形态,节瘤缺陷种子来源的差异是导致其损伤机理也存在着巨大差异的主要原因。同时这些节瘤缺陷种子来源也影响着激光预处理作用效果,激光预处理技术对于祛除位于基底上种子形成的节瘤是有效的,原因是激光辐射过后该节瘤进行了预喷发而不会对后续激光产生影响;而激光预处理技术对位于膜层中间的可能是镀膜过程中材料飞溅引起的缺陷是无效的,需要通过飞秒激光手段对该类节瘤进行祛除。     

Magnetic field and temperature-induced first-order transition in Gd5(Si1.5Ge2.5): a study of the electrical resistance behavior

Magnetic field (0–4 T) and temperature dependencies (4.2–320 K) of the electrical resistance of Gd₅(Si_1.5Ge_2.5), which undergoes a reversible first-order ferromagnetic↔paramagnetic phase transition, have been measured. The electrical resistance of Gd₅(Si_1.5Ge_2.5) indicates that the magnetic phase transition can be induced by both temperature and magnetic field. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistance, R(T), for heating at low temperatures in the zero magnetic field has the usual metallic character, but at a critical temperature of T_cr=216 K the resistance shows a 20% negative discontinuity due to the transition from the low-temperature high-resistance state to the high-temperature low-resistance state. The R(T) dependence for cooling shows a similar but positive 25% discontinuity at 198 K. The isothermal magnetic field dependence of the electrical resistance from 212T224 K indicates the presence of temperature-dependent critical magnetic fields which can reversibly transform the paramagnetic phase into the ferromagnetic phase and vice versa. The critical magnetic fields diagram determined from the isothermal magnetic field dependencies of the electrical resistance of Gd₅(Si_1.5Ge_2.5) shows that the FM↔PM transition in zero magnetic field on cooling and heating occurs at 206 and 213 K, respectively. The full isothermal magnetic filed hysteresis for the FM↔PM transition is 2 T, and the isofield temperature gap between critical magnetic fields is 7 K.     

Piezoelectric, dielectric and magnetic properties of (1-x)Pb[Zr, Ti, (Mg1/2W1/2), (Ni1/3Nb2/3)]O3+x(Ni, Co, Cu)FeO4 composites

The phase structure, microstructure, piezoelectric properties, dielectric characteristic and the ME effect of magnetoelectric Pb[Zr_0.23Ti_0.36+0.02(Mg_1/2W_1/2)+0.39(Ni_1/3Nb_2/3)]O₃ (PZT)+xNi_0.8Co_0.1Cu_0.1Fe₂O₄ (NCCF) composite ceramics were prepared by the conventional solid state reaction method. The structural analysis of both the constituent phases and their composites was carried out by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed cubic spinel structure for ferrite phase and tetragonal perovskite structure for ferroelectric phase. The piezoelectric constant, dielectric constant, Curie temperature, remanent polarization and coercive electric field decreased with increase of ferrite content. The coercive field strength, saturation magnetization and remanent magnetization increased with increasing ferrite content.     

Application of FORC distributions to the study of magnetic interactions in ferrites of composition

Magnetic interactions in hexaferrite samples of Ba_1-xLa_x+δFe_12-xCo_xO₁₉ composition were studied. The precursor powders—barium carbonate (BaCO₃), lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃), hematite (Fe₂O₃) and cobalt acetate—were milled for 100 h in air atmosphere and heat-treated for 1 h at . The structural characterization was performed by X-ray diffraction. The FORC distributions show a single peak at high switching fields, indicating that the substituted systems are formed by weakly interacting particles. La excess induces the decoupling of the particles.     

Synthesis and characterization of functionalized core-shell γFe2O3-SiO2 nanoparticles

Amino and/or polyethyleneglycol (PEG) functionalized core-shell γFe₂O₃-SiO₂ magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized. Amino-PEG-functionalized core-shell nanoparticles have calibrated sizes and a good colloidal stability. These bi-functionalized core-shell nanoparticles are potentially useful as biocompatible particles for magnetically targeted chemotherapy.     

Effect of O-vacancy defects on the Schottky barrier heights in Ni/SiO2 and Ni/HfO2 interfaces

We perform first-principles density functional calculations to study the electronic structure of Ni/HfO₂ and Ni/SiO₂ interfaces and the effect of O-vacancy (V_O) defects on the Schottky barrier height and the effective work function. We generate two interface models in which Ni is placed on O-terminated HfO₂ (1 0 0) and α-quartz (1 0 0) surfaces. As the concentration of V_O defects at the interface increases, the p-type Schottky barrier height tends to increase in the Ni/HfO₂ interface, due to the reduction of interface dipoles, whereas it is less affected in the Ni/SiO₂ interface.     

Magnetic response of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles in polymer matrix

We report the magnetic properties of magnetic nano-composite, consisting of different quantity of NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles in polymer matrix. The nanoparticles exhibited a typical magnetization blocking, which is sensitive on the variation of magnetic field, mode of zero-field-cooled/field-cooled experiments and particle quantity in the matrix. The samples with lower particle quantity showed an upturn of magnetization down to 5 K, whereas the blocking of magnetization dominates at lower temperatures as the particle quantity increases in the polymer. We examine such magnetic behaviour in terms of the competitive magnetic ordering between core and surface spins of nanoparticles, taking into account the effect of inter-particle (dipole-dipole) interactions on nanoparticle magnetic dynamics.     

Interfaces analysis of the HfO2/SiO2/Si structure

The physical and chemical properties of the HfO₂/SiO₂/Si stack have been analyzed using cross-section HR TEM, XPS, IR-spectroscopy and ellipsometry. HfO₂ films were deposited by the MO CVD method using as precursors the tetrakis 2,2,6,6 tetramethyl-3,5 heptanedionate hafnium—Hf(dpm)₄ and dicyclopentadienil-hafnium-bis-diethylamide—Сp₂Hf(N(C₂H₅)₂)₂.The amorphous interface layer (IL) between HfO₂ and silicon native oxide has been observed by the HRTEM method. The interface layer comprises hafnium silicate with a smooth varying of chemical composition through the IL thickness. The interface layer formation occurs both during HfO₂ synthesis, and at the annealing of the HfO₂/SiO₂/Si stack. It was concluded from the XPS, and the IR-spectroscopy that the hafnium silicate formation occurs via a solid-state reaction at the HfO₂/SiO₂ interface, and its chemical structure depends on the thickness of the SiO₂ underlayer.     

Localization in the metallic regime of granular Cu—SiO2 films

The temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity of sputterd Cu—SiO₂ films measured in the range 4–300 K show minima which depend on the composition. A linear temperature dependence of ? is observed above the minimum, and an appropriate log T dependence is found below. The latter is attributed to electron localization. The magnetoresistance is found to be negative and the Hall constant shows no appreciable temperature dependence.     

Growth and magnetism of Ni nanoparticles in Ni/Al2O3/Si or Si3N4 multilayers

We report on the fabrication of Ni/Al₂O₃/Si and textured Ni/Al₂O₃/Si₃N₄ multilayers containing Ni nanoparticles that exhibit significantly improved results. The secondary phases arising from thermal reaction between Ni and Si can be remarkably suppressed with increasing layers of Al₂O₃ and deposition of Ni/Al₂O₃ multilayers on Si₃N₄ substrates. Atomic force microscopy shows the formation of large as well as nanoclusters of Ni when grown on Si, whereas textured Ni nanoparticles are formed on Si₃N₄ substrates. The magnetization measurements on Ni/Al₂O₃/Si containing a single buffer layer of Al₂O₃ shows higher coercivity field with magnetic nanowire-like behavior, whereas with several Al₂O₃ alternate layers almost a superparamagnetic-like behavior is observed. However, significantly improved magnetic hysteresis was observed in textured Ni/Al₂O₃/Si₃N₄ multilayers due to preferred alignment of Ni nanocrystallites.     

Splitting of X-ray diffraction peak in (Ge:SiO2)/SiO2 multilayers

(Ge:SiO₂)/SiO₂ multilayers were fabricated for exploring the influence of the stress on the structure of Ge nanocrystals. When annealed at 800 °C, the multilayers show a clear splitting (fine structure) of the Ge (220) X-ray diffraction peak and have a preferred orientation. Similar effects cannot take place in the multilayers annealed at higher or lower temperature. Analyses of Raman scattering, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscope observations suggest that the observed phenomena arise from compressive stress exerted on Ge nanocrystals, which is induced by the confinement of both the SiO₂ matrix in the cosputtered layer and neighboring SiO₂ layers. The stress may cause an orthorhombic distortion of the diamond structure of bulk Ge. This will lead to the disappearance of the (111) and (311) diffraction peaks and the splitting of the (220) peak. This kind of (Ge:SiO₂)/SiO₂ multilayers enables us to control the sizes of the Ge crystallites and enhance the stress, and is thus promising in forming new nanocrystal structures.     

Electron states in α-quartz (SiO2)

Valence electron states of α-quartz SiO₂ are calculated self-consistently using the pseudopotential method. Excellent agreement is found with photoemission and u.v.-absorption data. X-ray emission spectra are calculated in an OPW scheme and compared to experiments. While the Si- and O-K spectra agree well with experiment, the Si L_{2, 3} spectrum shows substantial differences. An explanation is offered based on the formation of amorphous Si in SiO₂ during electron irradiation.     

Linear-chain antiferromagnetism in Ni(N2H5)2(SO4)2

The compound dihydrazinium bis(sulfato) niccolate(II), Ni(N₂H₅)₂(SO₄)₂, containing sulfato-bridged chains of Ni(II) ions, can be described as an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg linear-chain system. A reasonable agreement of susceptibility measurements in the temperature region 2–80K, with a theory developed by Weng for antiferromagnetic Heisenberg linear chains with spin S=1, is obtained for a value of the intra-chain interaction $\text{J}\text{k}\text{=?3.35K}$. Preliminary results of specific heat measurements, on the other hand, do not fit quite well using this model. The origin of this discrepancy is suggested to be a zero-field splitting of the single ion.     

SiO2 film electret with high surface potential stability

The plasma surface treatment and ion implantation were utilized to improve the stability of charge storage in the SiO₂ film electret. It was found that the SiO₂ films treated by argon plasma with the arcing at 700 V for 15 min, or implanted by 150 keV (kilo electron volt) Ar⁺ with a dose of 2 × 10¹¹ cm⁻², after being negatively charged, showed a remnant negative potential as large as 90% of the primary value after being stored in a glass container with desiccant for 10 days. It was also found that after being negatively charged at room temperature and aged at 200-350 °C for several times, the SiO₂ films implanted by 150 keV Ar⁺ had a relatively high remnant potential and it did not decay significantly even after being heated at the aging temperature of 200-350 °C in room atmosphere for 60 min.