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At least 595 records · Page 33

Effect of magnetic field enhancement of the photocurrent in ferromagnetic metal-dielectric heterostructures SiO{sub 2}(Co)/GaAs

Heterostructures of silicon dioxide films containing cobalt nanoparticles SiO{sub 2}(Co) grown on GaAs substrate exhibit at room temperature high values of magnetic field enhancement of photocurrent in the vicinity and above the GaAs bandgap of ∼1.4 eV. For photon energies E above the GaAs bandgap, the photocurrent significantly increases, while the avalanche process is suppressed by the magnetic field, and the current flowing through the heterostructure decreases. The photocurrent is enhanced in the SiO{sub 2}(Co 60 at. %)/GaAs heterostructure at the magnetic field H = 1.65 kOe by a factor of about ten for the photon energy E = 1.5 eV. This phenomenon is explained by a model describing electronic transitions in magnetic fields with the spin-dependent recombination process at deep impurity centers in the GaAs interface region.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Quantum anomalous Hall effect and a nontrivial spin-texture in ultra-thin films of magnetic topological insulators

We study the evolution of quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect for a Z{sub 2} topological insulator (TI) thin films in a proximity induced magnetic phase by a realistic layered k·p model with interlayer coupling. We examine three different magnetic configurations in which ferromagnetic (FM) layer(s) is added either from one side (FM-TI), from both sides (FM-TI-FM), or homogeneously distributed (magnetically doped) in a TI slab. We map out the thickness-dependent topological phase diagram under various experimental conditions. The critical magnetic exchange energy for the emergence of QAH effect in the latter two cases decreases monotonically with increasing number of quintuple layers (QLs), while it becomes surprisingly independent of the film thickness in the former case. The gap size of the emergent QAH insulator depends on the non-magnetic “parent” gap of the TI thin film and is tuned by the FM exchange energy, opening a versatile possibility to achieve room-temperature QAH insulator in various topological nanomaterials. Finally, we find that the emergent spin-texture in the QAH effect is very unconventional, non-“hedgehog” type; and it exhibits a chiral out-of-plane spin-flip texture within the same valence band which is reminiscent of dynamical “skyrmion” pattern, except our results are in the momentum space.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Vortex Matter in Confined Superconductors and Mesoscopic Hybrid Heterostructures. Final report

This program studied the fundamental features that underlie the behavior of hybrid ferromagnet/superconductor heterostructures both in the regime of magnetic coupling and proximity effect. In ferromagnet/superconductor hybrid structures, the source of superconducting correlations and ferromagnetism are spatially separated. Therefore, the interplay between ferromagnetism and superconductivity results in physical effects that are not easily observed in bulk superconductors and allows to tune the local superconducting and vortex properties, realizing, thus, a new class of materials. In the case of proximity effect the ferromagnet and the superconductor are in contact and leakage of superconducting pairs is allowed into the ferromagnetic layer. Typically, the decay length for the superconducting pair correlations in the ferromagnet is of the order of one nanometer due to the typically large ferromagnetic exchange field. However, a suitable magnetic structure in the ferromagnetic material can be used to align the spins of the superconducting pairs allowing much longer penetration of superconductivity in the magnetic material. These superconducting pairs with aligned spins can carry spin and provide the basis for superconducting spintronics devices. In the case of magnetic coupling the effect of a spatial inhomogeneous stray field produced by the ferromagnet substantially modifies the nucleation of the order parameter in the superconducting layer and can lead to a significant change in the local superconducting properties. Therefore, magnetically coupled planar ferromagnet-superconductor hybrid structures offer new avenues for manipulation of the superconductivity at the nanoscale and convenient means to control vortex dynamics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

3d-4f spin interaction and field-induced metamagnetism in RCrO{sub 4} (R = Ho, Gd, Lu) compounds

We observe that the zircon-type RCrO{sub 4} (R = Ho, Gd, Lu) compounds exhibit complicated magnetic properties and large magnetic entropy change due to the strong competition between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. For a field change of 7 T, the maximum values of entropy change and refrigerant capacity reach 28 J kg{sup −1} K{sup −1} and 740 J kg{sup −1}, respectively, for GdCrO{sub 4} whereas the corresponding values for HoCrO{sub 4} are 29 J kg{sup −1} K{sup −1} and 550 J kg{sup −1}. For GdCrO{sub 4} compound, the magnetic entropy change is quite large even at low temperatures well below the ferromagnetic transition.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Prediction of L⁢i 3 ⁢F⁡e 8 ⁢B 8 compound with rapid one-dimensional ion diffusion channels

Using a computational crystal structure search in the Li-Fe-B ternary system, we predict a stable phase of L⁢i 3 ⁢F⁡e 8 ⁢B 8 , featuring 1D channels that enable rapid Li-ion transport. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations show that the Li-ion diffusion coefficient in L⁢i 3 ⁢F⁡e 8⁢ B 8 surpasses that of common electrode and conductive additive materials by several orders of magnitude. The high diffusion in L⁢i 3 ⁢F⁡e 8 ⁢B 8 can be explained by the Frenkel–Kontorova model, which describes an incommensurate state between the Li diffusion chain and the periodic potential field caused by the FeB backbone structure. The favorable lithium-ion diffusivity and mechanical properties of L⁢i 3 ⁢F⁡e 8 ⁢B 8 make it a promising conductive additive for battery materials. Furthermore, an external magnetic field can further manipulate the properties of this material due to its predicted itinerant ferromagnetism, which also offers a platform for exploring spin-dependent phenomena.

1-dimensional systems↗

Ferromagnetic-superparamagnetic granulometry of lunar surface materials

A technique of magnetic granulometry is applied to previously reported data for the temperature dependence of isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) in 13 lunar surface samples, including three soils. Observed increases in IRM with decreasing temperature are attributed to changes from superparamagnetic to single-domain types of behavior for fine metallic-iron particles. Based on this hypothesis, the temperature dependence of IRM in the examined samples is analyzed to obtain particle-size distributions over the range of mean diameters from 30 to 130 A. It is found that the distribution functions for the soils and a low-grade breccia vary as the inverse square of particle volume and that the distributions for recrystallized breccias and igneous rocks apparently peak about mean values.

Schwerer, F. C.↗

Controlling the Magnetic Anisotropy of the van der Waals Ferromagnet Fe 3 GeTe 2 through Hole Doping

Identifying material parameters affecting properties of ferromagnets is key to optimized materials that are better suited for spintronics. Magnetic anisotropy is of particular importance in van der Waals magnets, since it not only influences magnetic and spin transport properties, but also is essential to stabilizing magnetic order in the two-dimensional limit. Here, we report that hole doping effectively modulates the magnetic anisotropy of a van der Waals ferromagnet and explore the physical origin of this effect. We report Fe 3–x GeTe 2 nanoflakes show a significant suppression of the magnetic anisotropy with hole doping. Electronic structure measurements and calculations reveal that the chemical potential shift associated with hole doping is responsible for the reduced magnetic anisotropy by decreasing the energy gain from the spin–orbit induced band splitting. Our findings provide an understanding of the intricate connection between electronic structures and magnetic properties in two-dimensional magnets and propose a method to engineer magnetic properties through doping.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Amorphous nonstoichiometric oxides with tunable room-temperature ferromagnetism and electrical transport

Material functionalities strongly depend on the stoichiometry, crystal structure, and homogeneity. Here we demonstrate an approach of amorphous nonstoichiometric inhomogeneous oxides to realize tunable ferromagnetism and electrical transport at room temperature. In order to verify the origin of the ferromagnetism, we employed a series of structural, chemical, and electronic state characterizations. Combined with electron microscopy and transport measurements, synchrotron-based grazing incident wide angle X-ray scattering, soft X-ray absorption and circular dichroism clearly reveal that the room-temperature ferromagnetism originates from the In 0.23 Co 0.77 O 1-v amorphous phase with a large tunable range of oxygen vacancies. The room-temperature ferromagnetism is tunable from a high saturation magnetization of 500 emu cm -3 to below 25 emu cm -3 , with the evolving electrical resistivity from 5 × 10 3 μΩ cm to above 2.5 × 10 5 μΩ cm. Inhomogeneous nano-crystallization emerges with decreasing oxygen vacancies, driving the system towards non-ferromagnetism and insulating regime. Our work unfolds the novel functionalities of amorphous nonstoichiometric inhomogeneous oxides, which opens up new opportunities for developing spintronic materials with superior magnetic and transport properties.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Room-Temperature Skyrmions in an Antiferromagnet-Based Heterostructure

Magnetic skyrmions as swirling spin textures with a nontrivial topology have potential applications as magnetic memory and storage devices. Since the initial discovery of skyrmions in non-centrosymmetric B20 materials, the recent effort has focused on exploring room-temperature skyrmions in heavy metal and ferromagnetic heterostructures, a material platform compatible with existing spintronic manufacturing technology. Here, we report the surprising observation that a room-temperature skyrmion phase can be stabilized in an entirely different class of systems based on antiferromagnetic (AFM) metal and ferromagnetic (FM) metal IrMn/CoFeB heterostructures. There are a number of distinct advantages of exploring skyrmions in such heterostructures including zero-field stabilization, tunable antiferromagnetic order, and sizable spin–orbit torque (SOT) for energy-efficient current manipulation. Through direct spatial imaging of individual skyrmions, quantitative evaluation of the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction, and demonstration of current-driven skyrmion motion, our findings firmly establish the AFM/FM heterostructures as a promising material platform for exploring skyrmion physics and device applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Thickness-dependent magnetic order in CrI 3 single crystals

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with intrinsic ferromagnetism offers unique opportunity to engineer new functionalities in nano-spintronics. One such material is CrI 3 , showing long-range magnetic order in monolayer with the Curie temperature (T c ) of 45 K. In this work, we study detailed evolution of magnetic transition and magnetic critical properties in response to systematic reduction in crystal thickness down to 50 nm. Bulk T c of 61 K is gradually suppressed to 57 K, however, the satellite transition at T*=45 K is observed layer-independent at fixed magnetic field of 1 kOe. The origin of T* is proposed to be a crossover from pinning to depinning of magnetic domain walls. The reduction of thickness facilitates a field-driven metamagnetic transition around 20 kOe with out-of-plane field, in contrast to the continuous changes with in-plane field. The critical analysis around Tc elucidates the mean-field type interactions in microscale-thick CrI 3 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Author Correction: Thickness-dependent magnetic order in CrI3 single crystals

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with intrinsic ferromagnetism provide unique opportunity to engineer new functionalities in nano-spintronics. One such material is CrI3, showing long-range magnetic order in monolayer with the Curie temperature (Tc) of 45 K. Here we study detailed evolution of magnetic transition and magnetic critical properties in response to systematic reduction in crystal thickness down to 50 nm. Bulk Tc of 61 K is gradually suppressed to 57 K, however, the satellite transition at T * = 45 K is observed layer-independent at fixed magnetic field of 1 kOe. The origin of T * is proposed to be a crossover from pinning to depinning of magnetic domain walls. The reduction of thickness facilitates a field-driven metamagnetic transition around 20 kOe with out-of-plane field, in contrast to the continuous changes with in-plane field. The critical analysis around Tc elucidates the mean-field type interactions in microscale-thick CrI3.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

BaFe 4 O 7 and K 0.22 Ba 0.89 Fe 4 O 7 : Canted Antiferromagnetic Diferrites with Exceptionally High Magnetic Ordering Temperatures [BaFe 4 O 7 and K 0.22 Ba 0.89 Fe 4 O 7 – New Canted Antiferromagnetic Diferrites with Exceptionally High Magnetic Ordering Temperatures]

Here, complex iron containing oxides, typically referred to as ferrites, have been extensively studied for their electronic and magnetic properties, including magnetotransport, ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, and a combination of the latter two, known as multiferroism. The search for materials possessing simultaneous ferromagnetic and ferroelectric behavior is of significant interest both for the advancement of fundamental science and for applications in random access memory (RAM). Despite the great technological potential of multiferroics, one or both of the ferroic ordering temperatures tend to fall below room temperature, such as in the compositions TbMnO 3 and Ni 3 V 2 O 8 , thus eliminating their practical utility for RAM applications. The scarcity of multiferroics possessing room temperature ferroic orderings continues to drive exploratory research in this field. For this reason, ferrites have garnered significant interest due to their often high ferroic ordering temperatures, for example in BiFeO 3 . Among all ferrites, hexaferrites are the most studied prototypical examples and constitute a specific subclass of ferrites that follows the stoichiometry Ba O– n Fe 2 O 3 , in which the n value dictates the nomenclature, i.e., ( n = 6) is a hexaferrite or ( n = 1) is a monoferrite. This versatile class of materials encompasses a wide range of related structures best described by Pullar, serving as the motivation for this work.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Dynamic response in a finite size composite multiferroic thin film

Composite multiferroics, heterostructures of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials, are characterized by a remarkable magnetoelectric effect at the interface. Previous work has supported the ferromagnetic structure with magnetic spins and the ferroelectric with pseudospins which act as electric dipoles in a microscopic model, coupled with a magnetoelectric interaction [Wang and Grimson, J. Appl. Phys. 118, 124109 (2015)]. In this work, by solving the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, the electric-field-induced magnetization switching in a twisted boundary condition has been studied, and a behavior of domain wall in the ferromagnetic structure is discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Magnetic and electrical control of engineered materials

Methods, systems, and devices are disclosed for controlling the magnetic and electrical properties of materials. In one aspect, a multi-layer structure includes a first layer comprising a ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic material, and a second layer positioned within the multi-layer structure such that a first surface of the first layer is in direct physical contact with a second surface of the second layer. The second layer includes a material that undergoes structural phase transitions and metal-insulator transitions upon experiencing a change in temperature. One or both of the first and second layers are structured to allow a structural phase change associated with the second layer cause a change magnetic properties of the first layer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Synthetic magnetoelectric coupling in a nanocomposite multiferroic

Given the paucity of single phase multiferroic materials (with large ferromagnetic moment), composite systems seem an attractive solution to realize magnetoelectric coupling between ferromagnetic and ferroelectric order parameters. Despite having antiferromagnetic order, BiFeO₃ (BFO) has nevertheless been a key material due to excellent ferroelectric properties at room temperature. We studied a superlattice composed of 8 repetitions of 6 unit cells of La₀.₇Sr₀.₃MnO₃ (LSMO) grown on 5 unit cells of BFO. Significant net uncompensated magnetization in BFO, an insulating superlattice, is demonstrated using polarized neutron reflectometry. Remarkably, the magnetization enables magnetic field to change the dielectric properties of the superlattice, which we cite as an example of synthetic magnetoelectric coupling. Importantly, controlled creation of magnetic moment in BFO is a much needed path toward design and implementation of integrated oxide devices for next generation magnetoelectric data storage platforms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The magnetic states of a van der Waals ferromagnet CrGeTe 3 probed by vector-field magnetic force microscopy

Here, we present a study on the magnetic domain configuration in the van der Waals ferromagnet CrGeTe 3 using a vector-field cryogenic magnetic force microscopy. Our investigation demonstrates the influence of magnetic fields strength and angle on the magnetic domain configuration, showing the coexistence of striped and spike-like magnetic domains. This study contributes to understanding the impact of uniaxial magnetic anisotropy on the domain configuration of van der Waals ferromagnets, offering insights into stabilizing different domain patterns.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Investigation on Physical Properties of Sn-Modified Cubic Cu{sub 2}O Nanostructures

Cubic Cu{sub 2−x} Sn{sub x}O (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) nanostructures have been developed with the solvothermal method. X-ray diffraction data analysis confirms the formation of a pristine Cu{sub 2}O phase below x=0.3 Sn{sup 2+} substitution, and SnO-related phases appear in 0.3 substitute sample indicating phase segregation starts at x≥0.3. The magnetization versus applied field (M − H) curves have been determined using a vibrating sample magnetometer at 300 K which reveals that ferromagnetic behavior of synthesized nanomaterials is reliant on the substituent concentration and enhanced gradually with its addition in the material. Photoluminescence spectra show that ferromagnetism originates from the induced magnetic moment in defects created as cation vacancies in the host material. Beside these, the dielectric measurements were performed at various frequencies (20 Hz–1 MHz) and in the temperature range of 100 to 350 K.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Prediction of a new class of half-metallic ferromagnets from first principles [A new class of half-metallic ferromagnets from first principles]

Half-metallic ferromagnetism (HMFM) occurs rarely in materials and yet offers great potential for spintronic devices. Recent experiments suggest a class of compounds with the `ThCr$_{2}$Si$_{2}$' (122) structure -- isostructural and containing elements common with Fe pnictide-based superconductors -- can exhibit HMFM. Here we use $ab$ $initio$ density-functional theory calculations to understand the onset of half-metallicity in this family of materials and explain the appearance of ferromagnetism at a quantum critical point. We also predict new candidate materials with HMFM and high Curie temperatures through A-site alloying.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗