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At least 1,207 records · Page 67
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Local aging effects in PuB 4 : Growing inhomogeneity and slow dynamics of local field fluctuations probed by 239 Pu NMR

Plutonium-based correlated electron materials host exotic physical phenomena ranging from unconventional heavy-fermion superconductivity to topological Kondo insulating states. Self-irradiation damage can influence many properties of such radioactive materials. Structural disorder effects due to α radiation have been frequently studied using techniques such as transport, thermodynamics, and x-ray diffraction. Here, in this study, we use 239 Pu nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to study the long-term influence of self-damage on the lattice and local electronic structures in a single crystal of the candidate topological insulator plutonium tetraboride (PuB 4 ). We first characterize the anisotropy of the 239 Pu resonance and confirm the local axial-site symmetry inferred from previous polycrystalline measurements. Aging effects are then evaluated over the time frame of six years. We find that, though the static 239 Pu NMR spectra show a slight modulation in their shape, their field-rotation pattern reveals no change in 239 Pu local site symmetry over time, suggesting that aging has a surprisingly small impact on the spatial distribution of the static hyperfine field. Further, ligand-site 11 B NMR finds little time-dependent change in the size of electric field gradient around 11 B sites. By contrast, aging has a prominent impact on the 239 Pu NMR relaxation processes and signal intensity. Specifically, aging-induced damage manifests itself as an increase in the spin-lattice relaxation time 𝑇 1 , an increased distribution of 𝑇 1 , and a signal intensity that decreases linearly by 20% per year. An effective spin-spin relaxation time 𝑇 2,eff in the aged sample shortens drastically towards lower temperature, suggesting growth of slow fluctuations of the hyperfine field that are linked to radiation-damage-induced inhomogeneity. Our NMR study sheds light on the interplay of radiation damage and local magnetic interactions in correlated insulators.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Doping Induced Magnetic and Electronic Phase Transitions in the Ferrimagnetic Half-Metallic Mn 4 Al 11 Compound

The future of spintronics and semiconductor applications demands materials with tailored electronic and magnetic properties. Here, this study uses density functional theory to investigate the electronic structure of the half-metallic compound Mn 4 Al 11 under uniaxial strain and in its Ge-substituted derivatives. Strain analysis shows that although the half-metallic band gap collapses under strain beyond −2%, the ferrimagnetic character remains stable. Ge substitution at six inequivalent Al sites in Mn 4 Al 11 results in varying degrees of metallicity and magnetic properties. Substitution at Al═ (000) induces a metal-to-insulator transition with an indirect semiconducting gap of 0.14 eV. Bonding and hybridization analyses reveal that local Mn–Al interactions due to Ge substitution significantly modify the local electronic structure, causing both electronic and magnetic phase transitions. This work highlights the effectiveness of substitutional doping in tuning half-metallicity and magnetic properties in inorganic solids, enabling the design of materials for future technological applications.

alloys↗
DOE OSTI2023

Metal–insulator transition in composition-tuned nickel oxide films

Abstract Thin films of the solid solution Nd 1 − x La x NiO 3 are grown in order to study the expected 0 K phase transitions at a specific composition. We experimentally map out the structural, electronic and magnetic properties as a function of x and a discontinuous, possibly first order, insulator–metal transition is observed at low temperature when x = 0.2. Raman spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy show that this is not associated with a correspondingly discontinuous global structural change. On the other hand, results from density functional theory (DFT) and combined DFT and dynamical mean field theory calculations produce a 0 K first order transition at around this composition. We further estimate the temperature-dependence of the transition from thermodynamic considerations and find that a discontinuous insulator–metal transition can be reproduced theoretically and implies a narrow insulator–metal phase coexistence with x . Finally, muon spin rotation ( µ SR) measurements suggest that there are non-static magnetic moments in the system that may be understood in the context of the first order nature of the 0 K transition and its associated phase coexistence regime.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Atomic-Scale Modulation of Synthetic Magnetic Order in Oxide Superlattices

We report atomic-scale precision control of magnetic interactions facilitates a synthetic spin order useful for spintronics, including advanced memory and quantum logic devices. Conventional modulation of synthetic spin order has been limited to metallic heterostructures that exploit Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida interaction through a nonmagnetic metallic spacer; however, they face issues arising from Joule heating and/or electric breakdown. The practical realization and observation of a synthetic spin order across a nonmagnetic insulating spacer will lead to the development of spin-related devices with a completely different concept. Herein, the atomic-scale modulation of the synthetic spiral spin order in oxide superlattices composed of ferromagnetic metal and nonmagnetic insulator layers is reported. The atomically controlled superlattice exhibits an oscillatory magnetic behavior, representing the existence of a spiral spin structure. Depth-sensitive polarized neutron reflectometry evidences modulated spiral spin structures as a function of the nonmagnetic insulator layer thickness. Atomic-scale customization of the spin state can move the field one step further to actual spintronic applications.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Competing magnetic states in transition metal dichalcogenide moiré materials

Small-twist-angle transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterobilayers develop isolated flat moiré bands that are approximately described by triangular lattice generalized Hubbard models. In this paper we explore the metallic and insulating states that appear under different control conditions at a density of one electron per moiré period and the transitions between them. By combining fully self-consistent Hartree-Fock theory calculations with strong-coupling expansions around the atomic limit, we identify four different magnetic states and one nonmagnetic state near the model phase diagram’s metal-insulator phase transition line. Here, ferromagnetic insulating states, stabilized by nonlocal direct exchange interactions, are surprisingly prominent.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

High-pressure synthesis, crystal structure and magnetic properties of double perovskite oxide Ba{sub 2}CuOsO{sub 6}

A new compositional double perovskite oxide Ba{sub 2}CuOsO{sub 6} was synthesized under high-pressure (6 GPa) and high-temperature (1500 °C) conditions. The polycrystalline Ba{sub 2}CuOsO{sub 6} was characterized by synchrotron X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and magnetic susceptibility, isothermal magnetization, and specific heat measurements. The oxide crystallizes in a double-perovskite structure with an I4/m space group, in which Os(VI) and Cu(II) are ordered in the perovskite B-site. Ba{sub 2}CuOsO{sub 6} is electrically insulating with an activation energy of 0.813(2) eV and shows antiferromagnetic-like characteristics at temperatures of ∼55 K and ∼70 K. The results of the first-principle calculation suggested that the spin–orbit interaction of Os(VI) plays a substantial role in the insulating state. The Jahn–Teller distortion of CuO{sub 6} octahedra influences the magnetic characteristics with regard to possible two-dimensional magnetic correlations. - Graphical abstract: A new compositional double perovskite oxide Ba{sub 2}CuOsO{sub 6} synthesized by a high-pressure (6 GPa) and high-temperature (1500 °C) method. - Highlights: • A new compositional double perovskite oxide Ba{sub 2}CuOsO{sub 6} was synthesized. • Ba{sub 2}CuOsO{sub 6} is electrically insulating and antiferromagnetic below ∼70 K. • The Jahn–Teller distortion of CuO{sub 6} has relevance to possible magnetic anisotropy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Microscopic subsurface characterization of layered magnetic materials using magnetic resonance force microscopy

This project resulted in the following accomplishments: 1) The invention of scanned probe ferromagnetic resonance microscopy. Upon implementation and refinement this approach was used to measure static and dynamic magnetic resonance properties of ferromagnets with an unprecedented combination of spectral and spatial resolution. 2) Demonstration and study of spin pumping in a pristine ferromagnet across a boundary defined entirely by a magnetic field gradient, and so free of materials discontinuities. 3) First demonstrated highly efficient dynamic spin injection from Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 (YIG) into NiO, an antiferromagnetic (AF) insulator and robust spin propagation in AF NiO over distances up to 100-nm thickness; both spin injection and spin transport are mediated by the AF spin correlations. 4) Demonstration of exceptionally high efficiency conversion of spin current to charge current achieved in spin pumping from the dynamic magnetization of a ferromagnetic insulator into a variety of adjacent metal films. 5) Seminal study of the nature of spin-orbit coupling in d-electron metals that revealed the dominant sensitivity of the d-orbital moment to the d-electron count and revealing the important roles of both d-electron configuration and atomic number in the physics of the spin Hall effect. 6) Demonstration of observation of FMR by means of optically-detected NV diamond relaxometry that provided a highly sensitive, spatially resolved FMR detection method and revealed spin pumping across 100-nm length scales by means of dipolar coupling. 7) Using magnetic field localization, developed for FMR imaging, demonstrated a novel approach to discretizing spin wave modes to improve the characteristics of auto-oscillators driven by pure spin currents produced by the spin Hall effect. 8) We demonstrated large spin pumping signals from propagating high wavevector spinwaves in thin film YIG find that the spin pumping efficiency was insensitive to wavevector thus emphasizing the promise of thin YIG films for spinwave-based spintronics by allowing for predictable down-scaling of device dimensions and enabling a broad range of operational frequencies.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Ferromagnetic superexchange in insulating Cr 2 MoO 6 by controlling orbital hybridization

We report the magnetic and electronic structures of the newly synthesized inverse-trirutile compound Cr 2 MoO 6 . Despite the same crystal symmetry and similar bond-lengths and bond-angles to Cr 2 TeO 6 , Cr 2 MoO 6 possesses a magnetic structure of the Cr 2 MoO 6 type, different from that seen in Cr 2 TeO 6 . Ab-initio electronic structure calculations show that the sign and strength of the Cr-O-Cr exchange coupling is strongly influenced by the hybridization between Mo 4d and O 2p orbitals. This result further substantiates our recently proposed mechanism for tuning the exchange interaction between two magnetic atoms by modifying the electronic states of the non-magnetic atoms in the exchange path through orbital hybridization. This approach is fundamentally different from the conventional methods of controlling the exchange interaction by either carrier injection or through structural distortions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Synthesis, crystal structure and electronic properties of the new iron selenide Ba{sub 9}Fe{sub 4}Se{sub 16}

The new ternary selenide Ba{sub 9}Fe{sub 4}Se{sub 16} has been synthesized from the reaction of appropriate amounts of elements at high temperature in a silica sealed tube. The compound crystallizes in the tetragonal space group I4{sub 1}/a with a=10.0068(3) Å and c=35.6415(9) Å, Z=4. It is an isostructural compound to the sulfide α-Ba{sub 9}Fe{sub 4}S{sub 15}, which is a high temperature polymorph of β-Ba{sub 9}Fe{sub 4}Se{sub 15} that belongs to the indefinitely adaptive phases series Ba{sub 3}Fe{sub 1+x}S{sub 5}, 0≤x≤1. X-ray powder diffraction and TEM analyses of the synthesized compound were used to determine the phase composition and the structure. The crystal structure can be viewed as overlapping sections along the c axis. Those sections are formed by the coordination polyhedra around barium atoms which can be described as trigonal prisms and bidisphenoids. Within the sections formed by barium polyhedra, isolated pairs of edge sharing FeSe{sub 4} tetrahedra are found. Magnetic measurements performed on Ba{sub 9}Fe{sub 4}Se{sub 16} indicate an antiferromagnetic behavior with Néel temperature of ∼13 K. Possible influence of air exposure on the magnetic properties is also discussed here. The electric measurements show an insulating behavior below 160 K and the dielectric permittivity and loss tangent at the lowest frequency measured reveal a change of slope very close to T{sub N}. However no magneto dielectric effect was evidenced for magnetic fields of up to 3 T. Activation energy, E{sub A}=0.18 eV, was extracted from the AC conductivity plot in the temperature range of 160–300 K. -- Graphical abstract: Experimental electron diffraction (ED) patterns of Ba{sub 9}Fe{sub 4}Se{sub 16} recorded along a-[010]. Highlights: • A new iron selenide material. • A structure resolution by combination of XRD and TEM. • Magnetic properties of the new compound Ba{sub 9}Fe{sub 4}Se{sub 16} are discussed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Superconductivity-enhanced spin pumping: Role of Andreev resonances

Here we describe a simple hybrid superconductor–ferromagnetic-insulator structure manifesting spin-resolved Andreev bound states in which dynamic magnetization is employed to probe spin related physics. We show that, at low bias and below T c , the transfer of spin angular momentum pumped by an externally driven ferromagnetic insulator is greatly affected by the formation of spin-resolved Andreev bound states. Our results indicate that these bound states capture the essential physics of condensate-facilitated spin flow. For finite thicknesses of the superconducting layer, comparable to the coherence length, resonant Andreev bound states render highly transmitting subgap spin transport channels. We point out that the resonant enhancement of the subgap transport channels establishes a prototype Fabry-Pérot resonator for spin pumping.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

A-type antiferromagnetic order in MnBi 4 Te 7 and MnBi 6 Te 10 single crystals

MnBi 4 Te 7 and MnBi 6 Te 10 are two members with n = 2 and 3 in the family of MnBi 2 n Te 3 n + 1 where the n = 1 member, MnBi 2 Te 4 , has been intensively investigated as the first intrinsic antiferromagnetic topological insulator. In this work, we report the A-type antiferromagnetic order in these two compounds by measuring magnetic properties, electrical and thermal transport, specific heat, and single-crystal neutron diffraction. Both compounds order into an A-type antiferromagnetic structure as does MnBi 2 Te 4 with ferromagnetic planes coupled antiferromagnetically along the crystallographic c axis. While no evidence for any in-plane ordered moment is found for MnBi 2 Te 4 or MnBi 6 Te 10 , weak reflections at half- L positions along the [0 0 L ] direction are observed for MnBi 4 Te 7 suggesting an in-plane ordered moment around 0.15 μ B / Mn . The ordering temperature, T N , is 13 K for MnBi 4 Te 7 and 11 K for MnBi 6 Te 10 . The magnetic order is also manifested in the anisotropic magnetic properties. Furthermore, for both compounds, the interlayer coupling is weak and a spin-flip transition occurs when a magnetic field of around 1.6 kOe is applied along the c axis at 2 K. As observed in MnBi 2 Te 4 , when cooling across T N , no anomaly was observed in the temperature dependence of thermopower. On the other hand, critical scattering effects are observed in thermal conductivity although the effect is less pronounced than that in MnBi 2 Te 4 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interaction-induced topological phase transition and Majorana edge states in low-dimensional orbital-selective Mott insulators

Topological phases of matter are among the most intriguing research directions in Condensed Matter Physics. It is known that superconductivity induced on a topological insulator’s surface can lead to exotic Majorana modes, the main ingredient of many proposed quantum computation schemes. In this context, the iron-based high critical temperature superconductors are a promising platform to host such an exotic phenomenon in real condensed-matter compounds. The Coulomb interaction is commonly believed to be vital for the magnetic and superconducting properties of these systems. This work bridges these two perspectives and shows that the Coulomb interaction can also drive a canonical superconductor with orbital degrees of freedom into the topological state. Namely, we show that above a critical value of the Hubbard interaction the system simultaneously develops spiral spin order, a highly unusual triplet amplitude in superconductivity, and, remarkably, Majorana fermions at the edges of the system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Fault current limiter

A fault current limiter (FCL) includes a series of high permeability posts for collectively define a core for the FCL. A DC coil, for the purposes of saturating a portion of the high permeability posts, surrounds the complete structure outside of an enclosure in the form of a vessel. The vessel contains a dielectric insulation medium. AC coils, for transporting AC current, are wound on insulating formers and electrically interconnected to each other in a manner such that the senses of the magnetic field produced by each AC coil in the corresponding high permeability core are opposing. There are insulation barriers between phases to improve dielectric withstand properties of the dielectric medium.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Colossal magnetoresistance in a nonsymmorphic antiferromagnetic insulator

Here we investigate antiferromagnetic Eu 5 In 2 Sb 6 , a nonsymmorphic Zintl phase. Our electrical transport data show that Eu 5 In 2 Sb 6 is remarkably insulating and exhibits an exceptionally large negative magnetoresistance, which is consistent with the presence of magnetic polarons. From ab initio calculations, the paramagnetic state of Eu 5 In 2 Sb 6 is a topologically nontrivial semimetal within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), whereas an insulating state with trivial topological indices is obtained using a modified Becke–Johnson potential. Notably, GGA + U calculations suggest that the antiferromagnetic phase of Eu 5 In 2 Sb 6 may host an axion insulating state. Our results provide important feedback for theories of topological classification and highlight the potential of realizing clean magnetic narrow-gap semiconductors in Zintl materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Current‐Driven Switching of Néel Vector of an Antiferromagnetic Insulator Thin Film

Manipulation of antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials as active elements provides a crucial combination of electrical, thermal, and magnetic properties for spintronics. This study shows how the spin current generated in heavy metal is induced by spin‐orbit torque into an adjacent AFM insulator. The bulk unpinned spins of the AFM layer drive a spin current that is transmitted to the top ferromagnet. This mechanism allows the electrical control of the exchange bias, coercive field, and blocking temperature of the system. Further support is provided by a model calculation that quantitatively describes the effect of the spin current injection into the AFM.

antiferromagnetism↗
DOE OSTI2014

First principles study of the magnetic properties of LaOMnAs

Recent experiments reported giant magnetoresistance at room temperature in LaOMnAs. Here, a density functional theory calculation is performed to investigate magnetic properties of LaOMnAs. The ground state is found to be the G-type antiferromagnetic order within the ab plane but coupled ferromagnetically between planes, in agreement with recent neutron investigations. The electronic band structures suggest an insulating state which is driven by the particular G-type magnetic order, while a metallic state accompanies the ferromagnetic order. This relation between magnetism and conductance may be helpful to qualitatively understand the giant magnetoresistance effects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dynamical resilience to disorder: The dilute Hubbard model on the Lieb lattice

In itinerant systems, electron-electron interactions may lead to the formation of local magnetic moments and their effective exchange coupling, which in turn gives rise to long-range magnetic order. Therefore, when moment formation is weakened, such as in the single-band Hubbard model on a square lattice with the on-site repulsion being randomly switched off on a fraction $\textit{x}$ of sites, magnetic order is suppressed beyond some critical $x_c$, which was found to lie below the classical percolation threshold $x^{\text{(perc,sq)}}_c$. Here we study dilute magnetism in flat band systems, namely, in the Hubbard model on a “Lieb” lattice. Interestingly, we show that magnetic order persists to x almost twice as large as the classical percolation threshold for the lattice, thus emphasizing the central role of electron itinerancy to the magnetic response. Further, the analysis of the orbital-resolved order parameters reveals that the contribution of the fourfold coordinated $\textit{“d”}$ sites to magnetism is dramatically affected by dilution, while the localized $\textit{“p”}$ states of the flat band provide the dominant contribution to long-range correlations. We also examine the transport properties, which suggest the existence of an insulator-to-metal transition in the same range of the critical magnetic dilution.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Theory for Cd 3 As 2 thin films in the presence of magnetic fields

Here we present a theory for thin films of the Dirac semimetal Cd 3 ⁢As 2 in the presence of magnetic fields. We show that, above a critical thickness, specific subbands n of thin film Cd 3 ⁢As 2 are in a quantum spin Hall insulator regime and study their response to in- and out-of-plane magnetic fields. We find that sufficiently large in-plane Zeeman fields drive the system toward a 2D Dirac semimetal regime, provided the field is directed perpendicular to a high-symmetry mirror plane. For other directions, we find the Dirac points to be weakly gapped. We further investigate how the system responds to finite out-of-plane field components, both starting from the quantum spin Hall regime at small in-plane fields and from the 2D Dirac semimetal regimes at larger in-plane fields, addressing recent experimental observations in A. C. Lygo et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 046201 (2023)] and B. Guo et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 046601 (2023)].

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗