Engineering topics

Bartkowiak, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Bartkowiak, M..

4 records

DOE OSTI2023

Designing the stripe-ordered cuprate phase diagram through uniaxial-stress

The ability to efficiently control charge and spin in the cuprate high-temperature superconductors is crucial for fundamental research and underpins technological development. Here, we explore the tunability of magnetism, superconductivity and crystal structure in the stripe phase of the cuprate La 2-x Ba x CuO 4 , with x = 0.115 and 0.135, by employing temperature-dependent (down to 400 mK) muon-spin rotation and AC susceptibility, as well as X-ray scattering experiments under compressive uniaxial stress in the CuO 2 plane. A sixfold increase of the 3-dimensional (3D) superconducting critical temperature T c and a full recovery of the 3D phase coherence is observed in both samples with the application of extremely low uniaxial stress of 0.1 GPa. This finding demonstrates the removal of the well-known 1/8-anomaly of cuprates by uniaxial stress. On the other hand, the spin-stripe order temperature as well as the magnetic fraction at 400 mK show only a modest decrease under stress. Moreover, the onset temperatures of 3D superconductivity and spin-stripe order are very similar in the large stress regime. However, a substantial decrease of the magnetic volume fraction and a full suppression of the low-temperature tetragonal structure is found at elevated temperatures, which is a necessary condition for the development of the 3D superconducting phase with optimal T c . Our results evidence a remarkable cooperation between the long-range static spin-stripe order and the underlying crystalline order with the three-dimensional fully coherent superconductivity. Overall, these results suggest that the stripe- and the SC order may have a common physical mechanism.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2021

Magnetization Process of Atacamite: A Case of Weakly Coupled S = 1/2 Sawtooth Chains

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the mineral atacamite Cu 2 Cl(OH) 3 . Density-functional theory yields a Hamiltonian describing anisotropic sawtooth chains with weak 3D connections. Experimentally, we fully characterize the antiferromagnetically ordered state. Here, magnetic order shows a complex evolution with the magnetic field, while, starting at 31.5 T, we observe a plateaulike magnetization at about M sat /2. Based on complementary theoretical approaches, we show that the latter is unrelated to the known magnetization plateau of a sawtooth chain. Instead, we provide evidence that the magnetization process in atacamite is a field-driven canting of a 3D network of weakly coupled sawtooth chains that form giant moments.

1-dimensional spin chains↗

DOE OSTI2021

High-field spin-flop state in green dioptase

The high-field magnetic properties and magnetic order of the gem mineral green dioptase Cu 6 [Si 6 O 18 ] .6 H 2 O have been studied by means of single-crystal neutron diffraction in magnetic fields up to 21 T and magnetization measurements up to 30 T. In zero field, the Cu 2+ moments in the antiferromagnetic chains are oriented along the c axis with a small off-axis tilt. For a field applied parallel to the c axis, the magnetization shows a spin-flop-like transition at B*=12.2 T at 1.5 K. Neutron diffraction experiments show a smooth behavior in the intensities of the magnetic reflections without any change in the periodicity of the magnetic structure. Bulk and microscopic observations are well described by a model of ferromagnetically coupled antiferromagnetic X X Z spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ chains, taking into account a change of the local easy-axis direction. We demonstrate that the magnetic structure evolves smoothly from a deformed Néel state at low fields to a deformed spin-flop state in a high field via a strong crossover around B*. The results are generalized for different values of interchain coupling and spin anisotropy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Magnetic field induced antiferromagnetic cone structure in multiferroic BiFeO 3

Neutron diffraction measurements were performed under high magnetic fields up to 17 T in a multiferroic BiFeO 3 single crystal, in which an intermediate magnetic (IM) phase has been found between the cycloid and canted antiferromagnetic phases [S. Kawachi et al., Phys. Rev. Mater. 1, 024408 (2017)]. We clearly found that the incommensurate magnetic peaks, which split perpendicular to the magnetic field in the cycloid phase, rotate by 90 deg to align parallel to the field in the IM phase. The magnetic structure in the IM phase can be best described by an antiferromagnetic cone (AF cone) structure. The transition from the cycloid to AF cone is of first order and the direction of the magnetic wave vector and the easy plane of the cycloidal component are rotated by 90 deg without changing the cycloidal modulation period, whereas the transition from the AF cone to canted antiferromagnetic phase is gradual and the cone angle becomes smaller gradually without changing the modulation period. Interestingly, the cycloidal component as well as the cone angle in the IM phase shows a large hysteresis between the field increasing and decreasing processes. Finally, this result, combined with the magnetostriction with a large hysteresis previously reported in the IM phase, suggests a strong magnetoelastic coupling.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗