Local moment, itinerancy, and deviation from Fermi-liquid behavior in NaxCoO2 for 0.71< or = x < or =0.84

Here we report the observation of Fermi surface (FS) pockets via the Shubnikov-de Haas effect in NaxCoO2 for x=0.71 and 0.84, respectively. Our observations indicate that the FS expected for each compound intersects their corresponding Brillouin zones, as defined by the previously reported superlattice structures, leading to small reconstructed FS pockets, but only if a precise number of holes per unit cell is localized. For 0.71< or = x < 0.75 the coexistence of itinerant carriers and localized S=1/2 spins on a paramagnetic triangular superlattice leads at low temperatures to the observation of a deviation from standard Fermi-liquid behavior in the electrical transport and heat capacity properties, suggesting the formation of some kind of quantum spin-liquid ground state.     

Wigner crystallization in (DI-DCNQI)2Ag detected by synchrotron radiation X-Ray diffraction

The low-temperature electronic structure of the quarter-filled, quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) system (DI-DCNQI)2Ag is revealed using synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction. In spite of the interchain frustration in the twofold superstructure along the 1D chain, the body-centered tetragonal "charge ordering" structure, which consists of 4k_{F} charge ordering columns and 4k_{F} bond order wave columns, is realized. This is the first example of the Q1D system having plural kinds of columns as its ground state. This charge ordered structure is regarded as a Wigner crystal caused by intercolumn Coulomb repulsion.     

Observation of bulk superconductivity in NaxCoO2.yH(2)O and NaxCoO2.yD(2)O powder and single crystals

Poly- and single-crystalline NaxCoO2 has been successfully intercalated with H2O and D2O as confirmed by x-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. Resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat measurements show bulk superconductivity with T(c) close to 5 K in both cases. The substitution of deuterium for hydrogen has an effect on T(c) of less than 0.2 K. Investigation of the resistivity anisotropy of NaxCoO2.yH(2)O single crystals shows (a). almost zero resistivity below T(c), and (b). an abrupt upturn at T(*) approximately 52 K in both the ab plane and the c direction. The implications of our results on the possible superconducting mechanism will be discussed.     

Magnetic ordering in FexMg1−xCl2, (x=0.55, x=0.45, x=0.30)

Mössbauer measurements on the diluted crystals Fe_xMg_1–xCl₂ show that fluctuating magnetic clusters are present. These can be related to the known spin-glass properties of these compounds. The fluctuating frequencies depend on temperature and the fluctuations can be suppressed by a sufficiently high external magnetic field     

Weak ferromagnetism and oxygen ordering in La2CuO4+x single crystals

The changes produced in the magnetic properties and structure of La₂CuO_4+x (0< x<0.015) single crystals by doping with oxygen are investigated by differential magnetic susceptibility and x-ray diffraction methods. It is found that the appearance of a weak ferromagnetism in weak fields H<50 Oe is accompanied by a lowering of lattice symmetry as a result of the oxygen ordering. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 3, 159–162 (10 August 1997)     

Oxygen vacancy ordering in La2− x SrxNiO4 − δ (0 ≤ ≤ 0.5): the crystal structure and defects investigated by neutron diffraction

The oxygen deficient and formally Ni¹⁺-Ni²⁺ mixed-valence La_2?x Sr_xNiO_4?δ system has been studied by means of neutron diffraction. It is found that, for the described synthesis procedure, there exists a critical Sr concentration x _c ≈ 0.135 separating the stability regions of two different crystallographic phases. For small Sr doping (x < x _c), La_2?x Sr _{xNiO 4?δ} samples have basically the same structure as stoichiometric La₂NiO₄, undergoing similar phase transitions. For x > x _c, the partial ordering of the oxygen vacancies produces a change of the crystallographic symmetry (from Bmab to Immm) and prevents the two structural phase transitions observed in the x < x _c region. In contrast to the behavior observed in hole-doped nickelates, the local fluctuations of the oxygen content produce lattice microstrains, the presence of which is clearly detected by the strong broadening of a family of Bragg reflections. A simple statistical model has been used to quantitatively characterize the microstrain distribution, supposed to be gaussian, from the observed (hkl) -dependence of the reflection broadening.     

X-ray diffraction study of ion thermal vibrations in R2CuO4 (R=Pr and Gd) crystals

An X-ray diffraction study is reported of the symmetry in the spatial distribution of thermal vibrations of Cu₂₊, Gd³⁺, and Pr³⁺ ions in Gd₂CuO₄ crystals. An analysis of the pattern of the angular thermal-vibration amplitude distribution obtained experimentally at different temperatures allows a conclusion about the character of the local Jahn-Teller effect for the Cu²⁺ ions, structural phase transitions, and the orbital ground state of the Cu²⁺ ions.     

Incommensurate magnetic ordering in Cu2Te2O5X2 (X = Cl,Br) studied by neutron diffraction

We present the results of the first neutron powder and single crystal diffraction studies of the coupled spin tetrahedra systems Cu2Te2O5X2 (X = Cl,Br). Incommensurate antiferromagnetic order with the propagation vectors kCl approximately [0.150,0.422,1/2], kBr approximately [0.158,0.354,1/2] sets in below TN = 18 K for X = Cl and 11 K for X = Br. No simple collinear antiferromagnetic or ferromagnetic spin arrangements within Cu2+ tetrahedra fit these observations. Fitting the diffraction data to more complex but physically reasonable models with multiple helices leads to a moment of 0.67(1)microB/Cu2+ at 1.5 K for the Cl compound. The reason for such a complex ground state may be geometrical frustration of the spins due to the intratetrahedral and intertetrahedral couplings having similar strengths. In neither compound has any evidence for a structural transition accompanying the magnetic ordering been found.     

Kinetics of formation of vacancy microvoids and interstitial dislocation loops in dislocation-free silicon single crystals

The formation of vacancy microvoids and A-microdefects has been calculated according to the model of point defect dynamics in the absence of recombination of intrinsic point defects at high temperatures. It has been assumed that this solution is possible in the case where the precipitation of impurities begins in the vicinity of the crystallization front. It has been demonstrated that the formation of vacancy microvoids has a homogeneous nature and that the interstitial dislocation loops are predominantly formed through the deformation mechanism.     

Structure sensitive factors in molecular cluster formation by ion bombardment of single crystal surfaces

The dynamics of molecular cluster formation from a solid bombarded by a 600 eV Ar⁺ ion have been studied classically by computer simulation. The dimers and trimers are found to establish their identity as clusters within interaction range of the solid, but not by a direct ejection of a bound molecule. The Cu₂/Cu and Cu₃/Cu ratios are found to be strongly dependent on crystal orientation. The (111) face is 2–3 times more likely to produce multimers than the (100) face. We find 9 trimers from (111) but none from (110). The relationship between cluster composition and the original arrangement of those atoms on the surface is presented in detail. We find that each multimer forms from atoms that originate within a roughly circular region of area ～70 Ų or less. This region is not necessarily centered on the ion impact point. A consequence of this observation is that dimers can consist of atoms that were several Ångströms apart on the surface but that most trimers contain at least one nearest neighbor pair of atoms. The calculated energy distribution for the dimers matches well with similar experimental studies.     

Piezobirefringence in γ1-(GaxIn1−x )2Se3 single crystals

The piezobirefringence of uniaxial γ₁-(Ga_xIn_1−x )₂Se₃ crystals (x=0.3, 0.4) was investigated in the spectral range 0.6–1.1 μm at temperatures from 77 to 295 K. It is shown that uniaxial compression leads to a linear decrease in the birefringence, whereas a decrease in temperature reduces the effect of piezobirefringence. The baric changes in the birefringence are attributed to the baric changes in the contribution of the edge transitions to the total birefringence. __________ Translated from Optika i Spektroskopiya, Vol. 95, No. 3, 2003, pp. 458–461. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2003 by Studenyak, Kran’chets, Suslikov, Kovach.     

Novel orientational ordering and reentrant metallicity in K(x)C(60) monolayers for 3 < or = x < or = 5

STM studies on K(x)C(60) monolayers reveal new behavior over a wide range of the phase diagram. As x increases from 3 to 5 K(x)C(60) monolayers undergo metal-insulator-metal reentrant phase transitions and exhibit a variety of novel orientational orderings, including a complex 7-molecule, pinwheel-like structure. The proposed driving mechanism for the orientational ordering is the lowering of electron kinetic energy by maximizing the overlap of neighboring molecular orbitals. In insulating (metallic) K(x)C(60) this gives rise to orbital versions of the superexchange (double-exchange) interaction.     

Multiple quantum NMR transitions of8Li (T 1/2=0.84 s) in single crystals and powders of LiTaO3, and the quadrupole moment of8Li

Multiple quantum nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) transitions were observed on polarized⁸Li nuclei, which were produced by capture of polarized neutrons in a single crystal of LiTaO₃. The asymmetric⁸Liβ-radiation distribution was used for the detection of NMR. A quadrupole moment ratio ¦Q(⁸Li)/Q(⁷Li)¦=0.78(1) was determined. Saturation of multiple quantum transitions in nuclear radiation detected NMR may lead to a reduction in measuring time of up to two orders of magnitude, as compared to single quantum detection methods. The measured spectra agree well with an exact lineshape calculation. The same measurements were also performed on a LiTaO₃ powder sample. This was done to test a method to obtain quadrupole coupling constants from high field NMR multiple quantum powder patterns, which are easily detectable, also for higher nuclear spins. This latter method may be applicable also to conventional NMR detection techniques.     

Neutron diffraction study of the magnetic ordering in the series R 2 BaNiO 5 (R = Rare Earth)

A neutron diffraction study, as a function of temperature, of the title compounds is presented. The whole family (space group Immm, a ≈ 3.8?, b ≈ 5.8?, c ≈ 11.3?) is structurally characterised by the presence of flattened NiO₆ octahedra that form chains along the a-axis, giving rise to a strong Ni-O-Ni antiferromagnetic interaction. Whereas for Y-compound only strong 1D correlations exist above 1.5 K, presenting the Haldane gap characteristic of 1D AF chain with integer spin, 3D AF ordering is established simultaneously for both R and Ni sublattices at temperatures depending on the rare earth size and magnetic moment. The magnetic structures of R₂BaNiO₅ ( R = Nd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er and Tm) have been determined and refined as a function of temperature. The whole family orders with a magnetic structure characterised by the temperature-independent propagation vector = (1/2, 0, 1/2). At 1.5 K the directions of the magnetic moments differ because of the different anisotropy of the rare earth ions. Except for Tm and Yb (which does not order above 1.5 K), the magnetic moment of the R³⁺ cations are close to the free-ion value. The magnetic moment of Ni²⁺ is around 1.4 , the strong reduction with respect to the free-ion value is probably due to a combination of low-dimensional quantum effects and covalency. The thermal evolution of the magnetic structures from T _N down to 1.5 K is studied in detail. A smooth re-orientation, governed by the magnetic anisotropy of R³⁺, seems to occur below and very close to T _N in some of these compounds: the Ni moment rotates from nearly parallel to the a-axis toward the c-axis following the R moments. We demonstrate that for setting up the 3D magnetic ordering the R-R exchange interactions cannot be neglected. Received 19 July 2001     

Lifetime of charge carriers in Hg1-xCdxTe (x=0.20) crystals

We examine the mechanisms for Auger recombination in narrow-gap semiconductors of the Hg_1-xCd_xTe type, connected with collision between two electrons in the E_c band followed by transition of one of them to the E_v1 band and collision between two holes in the E_v1 band followed by transition of one of them to the E_v2 band. In analyzing the contributions from different recombination mechanisms over broad concentration and temperature range, we used the models of P. E. Petersen and B. L. Gel'mont, taking into account the specific characteristics of the band structure of Hg_1-xCd_xTe crystals. We determined the temperature and concentration ranges for n- and p-type semiconductors in which different recombination mechanisms are realized, including a radiative mechanism. We compare the experimental data on charge carrier lifetime with the calculation results using different recombination models in the crystals under study.V. D. Kuznetsov Siberian Physicotechnical Institute at Tomsk State University. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 2, pp. 99–104, February, 1994.     

Assessment of barium sulphate formation and inhibition at surfaces with synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD)

The precipitation of barium sulphate from aqueous supersaturated solutions is a well-known problem in the oil industry often referred to as ‘scaling’. The formation and growth of barite on surfaces during the oil extraction process can result in malfunctions within the oil facilities and serious damage to the equipment. The formation of barium sulphate at surfaces remains an important topic of research with the focus being on understanding the mechanisms of formation and means of control.In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD) was used to investigate the formation of barium sulphate on a stainless steel surface. The effect of Poly-phosphinocarboxylic acid (PPCA) and Diethylenetriamine-penta-methylenephosphonic acid (DETPMP) which are two commercial inhibitors for barium sulphate was examined. The in situ SXRD measurements allowed the identification of the crystal faces of the deposited barite in the absence and presence of the two inhibitors. The preferential effect of the inhibitors on some crystal planes is reported and the practical significance discussed.