Magnetocaloric Effect in La0.7Cd0.3MnO3, La0.7Ba0.3MnO3, and Nd0.7Sr0.3MnO3

We have based on isothermal magnetization curves to study the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in fine-grained perovskite manganites of La_0.7Cd_0.3MnO₃ (LCMO), La_0.7Ba_0.3MnO₃ (LBMO), and Nd_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (NSMO) prepared by conventional solid-state reaction. Magnetic measurements were performed on a vibrating sample magnetometer, with a temperature increment of 1.0?K, and the applied field in the range of 0?C1.8?T. Under an applied field of 1.8?T, the maximum magnetic-entropy change obtained for LCMO, LBMO, and NSMO taking place at their Curie temperature are about 2.3, 2.1, and 5.1?J/(kg?K), respectively. The large entropy change in NSMO makes it suitable for magnetic-cooling applications.     

渠道火花烧蚀法制备La0.7Sr0.3MnO3薄膜

采用新型渠道火花烧蚀技术在LaAlO3(001)基片上生长了La0.7S0.3MnO3(LSMO)薄膜.X射线衍射对样品结构的分析表明,制备的LSMO薄膜具有c轴取向生长的特点,薄膜与基片间因晶格不匹配而受面内应力挤压,发生弛豫而出现两相.在室温下采用振动样品磁强计测试样品的面内方向磁滞回线,表明制备的LSMO样品具有软磁性,矫顽力Hc=13 Oe.通过标准四探针法测量了LSMO薄膜的室温薄膜电阻与外加磁场的关系,得知零场电阻率ρ(0)=19.4 mΩ·cm,室温下4800 Oe外场作用下的磁电阻变化率为2.25%,对此用双交换作用机制定性地加以了解释.     

Effect of strain and grain boundaries on dielectric properties in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films

High dielectric constant and its dependence on structural strain and grain boundaries (GB) in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO) thin films are reported. X-ray diffraction, magnetization, and magneto-transport measurements of the LSMO films, made by pulsed laser deposition on two different substrates—MgO and SrTiO₃ (STO), were compared to co-relate magnetic properties with dielectric properties. At room temperature, in the ferromagnetic phase of LSMO, a high dielectric constant (6 × 10⁴) was observed up to 100 kHz frequency for the films on MgO, with polycrystalline properties and more high-angle GB related defects, while for the films on STO, with single-crystalline properties but strained unit cells, high dielectric constant (≈10⁴) was observed until 1 MHz frequency. Also, a large dielectric relaxation time with significant broadening from the Debye single-dielectric relaxation model has been observed in samples with higher GB defects. Impedance spectroscopy further shows that large dielectric constant of the single-crystalline, strained LSMO film is intrinsic in nature while that in the polycrystalline films are mainly extrinsic due to higher amount of GBs. The presence of high dielectric constant value until high frequency range rules out the possibility of “apparent giant dielectric constant” arising from the sample-electrode interface. Coexistence of ferromagnetism and high dielectric constant can be very useful for different microelectronic applications.     

Magnetic properties of NiFe2O4 thin films grown on La0.7Sr0.3MnO3-buffered Si substrate

Nickel ferrite NiFe₂O₄ (NFO) thin films have been prepared on a Si substrate (NFO/Si) and La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO)-coated Si (100) substrate (NFO/LSMO/Si) by RF magnetron sputtering. The microstructures and magnetic properties of the two films were systematically investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that highly (331)-oriented NFO films with a smooth surface were grown on the LSMO/Si substrate. The magnetization of the films was measured at room temperature. It showed a clear hysteresis loop in both samples, with the magnetic field applied in the plane. However, no hysteresis loop is seen with the magnetic field applied perpendicular to the film plane. This indicates the presence of an anisotropy favoring the orientation of the magnetization in the direction parallel to the film plane. A study of magnetization hysteresis loop measurements indicates that the LSMO buffer layer may improve the magnetic properties of NFO thin films, and that the saturation magnetization increases from 4.15 × 10⁴ to 3.5 × 10⁵ A/m.     

Comparison of the magnetotransport properties between (La0.7Pb0.3MnO3)1−xAgx and (La0.7Pb0.3MnO3)1−x(Fe2O3)x composites

Ceramic composites of (La_0.7Pb_0.3MnO₃)_1−xAg_x and (La_0.7Pb_0.3MnO₃)_1−x(Fe₂O₃)_x are prepared by using chemical and solid-sate sintering route. The structural and magnetotransport properties are studied for these composites. Ferromagnetism is gradually suppressed with the increase of Ag or Fe₂O₃ mole percentage for both systems. The resistivity decreases significantly for (La_0.7Pb_0.3MnO₃)_1−xAg_x while resistivity increases dramatically for (La_0.7Pb_0.3MnO₃)_1−x(Fe₂O₃)_x. It is suggested that the introduction of Ag into the niche of grain boundaries forms artificial conducting network and improve the carriers to transport. Contrarily, the Fe₂O₃ in (La_0.7Pb_0.3MnO₃)_1−x(Fe₂O₃)_x composite acts as a separation layer between two grains and forms the artificial tunneling junction. However, the enhancement of magnetoresistance has been observed for both systems.     

Epitaxial La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films on silicon with excellent magnetic and electric properties by combining physical and chemical methods

Half-metallic ferromagnetic La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO) represents an appealing candidate to be integrated on silicon substrates for technological devices such as sensors, data storage media, IR detectors, and so on. Here, we report high-quality epitaxial LSMO thin films obtained by an original combination of chemical solution deposition (CSD) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). A detailed study of the thermal, chemical, and physical compatibility between SrTiO₃ (STO)/Si buffer layers and LSMO films, grown by MBE and CSD, respectively, enables a perfect integration of both materials. Importantly, we show a precise control of the coercive field of LSMO films by tuning the mosaicity of the STO/Si buffer layer. These results demonstrate the enormous potential of combining physical and chemical processes for the development of low-cost functional oxide-based devices compatible with the complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology.     

Effect of Y-doping on the transport and magnetic properties of La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 and La0.7Sr0.3CoO3

The temperature variation of magnetization, resistivity, and thermoelectric power of undoped and Y-doped La_0.7Sr_0.3CoO₃ and La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃ samples have been investigated. Y-doping decreases the magnetization possibly due to the spin-state transition of Co ions. The low temperature conduction in (La_1?y Y _y )_0.7Sr_0.3CoO₃ is consistent with the variable range hopping. With Y-doping, value of the Seebeck coefficient increases as Y-doping decreases bandwidth and increases distortion. Seebeck coefficient value also reflects that the orbital stability increases with Sr concentration.     

Tuning magnetic domain structure in nanoscale La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 islands

The realization of spin-based devices requires high density, ordered arrays of magnetic materials with a high degree of spin polarization at surfaces. We have synthesized, for the first time, highly spin polarized complex magnetic oxide nanostructures embedded in a paramagnetic matrix by electron beam lithography and ion implantation. Imaging the magnetic domains with X-ray photoemission electron microscopy and magnetic force microscopy reveals a delicate balance between magnetocrystalline, magnetoelastic, and magnetostatic energies that can be tuned by the choice of SrTiO3 substrate orientation, film thickness, island size, and island shape.     

Growth and observation of low-field giant magnetoresistance in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/ZnO superlattice structures

We report the growth of a new class of superlattice structure, consisting of alternate layers of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) and ZnO, which exhibits giant magnetoresistance at low fields. These superlattices were fabricated using a novel pulsed-laser deposition technique with a specially designed target assembly. Giant magnetoresistance of > 250% has been observed in these structures in current-in-plane configuration on the application of just -400 Gauss of magnetic field over the broad temperature range 15-200 K. Observation of giant magnetoresistance at such low magnetic fields is a groundbreaking step in the field of novel magnetic materials and devices.     

Relaxation of magnetoresistance of single-crystalline (La0.5Eu0.5)0.7Pb0.3MnO3 in a pulsed magnetic field

The magnetoresistance (MR) of substituted lanthanum manganite (La_0.5Eu_0.5)_0.7Pb_0.3MnO₃ has been measured in a pulsed magnetic field with amplitude H = 250 kOe at various temperatures. It is established that temperature dependence of the MR relaxation parameter τ(T) is correlated with temperature dependence of the electric resistance R(T). A mechanism of relaxation is proposed that is related to the relaxation of conducting and dielectric phases in the volume of a sample under the conditions of phase separation. It is shown that the behavior of τ is related to the number of phase boundaries in the volume.     

La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO3 nanoparticles based ultra-high sensitive ammonia chemical sensor

A facile, reliable, reproducible and ultra-high sensitive aqueous ammonia chemical sensor has been fabricated based on the utilization of La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO3 nanoparticles (LSMO NPs), as efficient electron mediators, and reported in this paper. The LSMO NPs were prepared by hydrothermal protocol followed by the annealing process and characterized in detail in terms of their mophological, structural and compositional properties. The I-V technique based aqueous ammonia sensor exhibits an ultra-high sensitivity of 494.68 +/- 0.01 microA cm(-2)mM(-1) and very low-detection limit of 0.2 microM with a response time less than 10 s. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in which LSMO is used as an efficient electron mediator for the fabrication of aqueous ammonia chemical sensor. Moreover, by comparing the literature, it is confirmed that the fabricated sensor exhibits highest sensitivity towards the detection of aqueous ammonia. This LSMO nanomaterial based research broadens the range of efficient electron mediators utilized for the fabrication of ultra-high sensitive chemical sensors.     

La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 Nanoparticles Synthesized via the (Pechini) Polymeric Precursor Method

In this paper, we report the preparation of La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ colossal magnetoresistance nanoparticles by means of the polymeric precursor method, at a temperature of 650 °C. Rietveld refinement of the X-ray powder diffraction spectra shows that the chemically-synthesized manganite is single-phase with the space group R3C. By using the peak broadening technique and Scherrer’s formula, a grain size of ～15 nm was estimated. The ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition is sharp with a Curie temperature of T _C ～360 K. In spite of the low annealing temperature, the insulator-metal-like transition temperature (T _p ) is close to T _C . Transport measurements on the prepared samples show a magnetoresistance change of ～10 % at room temperature in a field of 2 T. This high-field MR is probably due to grain-boundary effects.     

Fabrication and Magnetic Properties of Electrospun La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 Nanostructures

La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (abbreviated as LSMO) nanostructures were fabricated by a simple electrospinning using a solution that contained poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), lanthanum, strontium and manganese nitrates. The LSMO nanostructures were successfully obtained from calcination of the as-spun LSMO/PVP composite nanofibers at 500–900 °C in air for 7 h. The as-spun and calcined LSMO/PVP composite nanofibers were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Analysis of phase composition by XRD revealed that all the calcined samples have a single rhombohedral LSMO phase. The SEM results showed that the crystal structure and morphology of the LSMO nanofibers were affected by the calcination temperature. Crystallite size of the nanoparticles contained in nanofibers increased with an increase in calcination temperature. The specific saturation magnetization (M _s ) values were obtained to be 1.23, 28.61, and 40.52 emu/g at 10 kOe for the LSMO samples calcined respectively at 500, 700, and 900 °C. It is found that the increase of the tendency of M _s is consistent with the enhancement of crystallinity, and the values of M _s for the calcined LSMO samples were observed to increase with increasing crystallite size. This increase in M _s for the calcined LSMO samples with increasing crystallite size may be explained by considering a magnetic domain of the samples.     

La0.7Sr0.3MnO3-Pb(Zr,Ti)O3双层膜中的磁电(ME)效应

由溶胶-凝胶法制备出锰酸盐La0.7Sr0.3MnO3粉料,经1300K热压并在1573K高温下烧结成块材,并与Pb(Zr,Ti)O3胶合形成弹性耦合双层膜.相较于涂敷膜(tape casting)复合样品,该双层膜显示出更为优良的ME耦合效应.横向耦合要比纵向耦合更为强烈,并当外加磁场为150 Oe时ME电压系数达到峰值.分析表明由磁场和频率变化导致的ME系数变化的实验值与理论值符合的很好.     

Ferroelectric, electrical, and magnetic properties of BiFe0.95Mn0.05O3 thin films epitaxially grown on conductive Nb:SrTiO3 and La0.7Sr0.3MnO3-buffered Nb:SrTiO3 substrates

BiFe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃ (BFMO) thin films with different thicknesses have been epitaxially grown on <001>-oriented Nb-doped SrTiO₃ (NbSTO) and La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃(LSMO)-buffered NbSTO substrates by pulsed laser deposition. At high bias field the space-charge-limited current (SCLC) is the dominant conduction mechanism for all BFMO films while at low bias field the Ohmic conduction is the predominant mechanism. An analysis of leakage current characteristics reveals that the ferroelectric properties are critically dependent on the density of defects in BFMO films. For the BFMO/LSMO/NbSTO structure, the coercive field of the BFMO film is much smaller than that of the BFMO film directly grown on the NbSTO substrate, which is attributed to the suppression of the substrate-induced clamping effect. For both BFMO/NbSTO and BFMO/LSMO/NbSTO structures, the ferroelectric hysteresis loops show no change under a magnetic field up to 9 T, which is explained in terms of weak ferromagnetic-ferroelectric coupling in the BFMO film and the very low magnetic-field-induced electric voltage drop across the LSMO layer.     

Stabilization of Ferromagnetic Order in La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3)-SrRuO(3) Superlattices

The study of spatially confined complex oxides is of wide interest, since correlated electrons at interfaces might form exotic phases. Here La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3)/SrRuO(3) superlattices with coherently grown interfaces were studied by structural techniques, magnetization, and magnetotransport measurements. Magnetization measurements showed that ferromagnetic order in ultrathin La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3) layers is stabilized in the superlattices down to layer thicknesses of at least two unit cells. This stabilization is destroyed, if the ferromagnetic layers are separated by two unit cell thick SrTiO(3) layers. The resistivity of the superlattices showed metallic behavior and was dominated by the conducting SrRuO(3) layers, the off-diagonal resistivity showed an anomalous Hall effect from both SrRuO(3) and La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3) layers. This shows that the La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3) layers are not only ferromagnetic but also highly conducting; probably a conducting hole gas is induced at the interfaces that stabilizes the ferromagnetic order. This result opens up an alternative route for the fabrication of two-dimensional systems with long-range ferromagnetic order.     

庞磁电阻薄膜La0.7Ca0.3MnO3的制备和输运特性

用溶胶-凝胶法在LaAlO3衬底上制备了La0．7Ca0．3MnO3薄膜,研究了La0．7Ca0．3MnO3薄膜的结构和输运特性．结果表明：La0．7Ca0．3MnO3薄膜呈现畸变钙钛矿结构,具有好的外延性;在同一温度下,电阻在磁场作用下变小,在283K和88K分别出现了金属-绝缘体转变,产生了双极值现象,并且在双极值附近电阻变化最大;用连续激光作用薄膜时,同样出现了双极值现象,在同一温度下,电阻反而变大,在升温和降温过程中出现了明显的滞后行为．根据双交换和小极化子理论,这些现象与Mn离子的eg电子受激跃迁有关．     

Exchange coupling and exchange bias in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3-SrRuO3 superlattices

La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3)-SrRuO(3) superlattices with and without nanometrically thin SrTiO(3), BaTiO(3) and Ba(0.7)Sr(0.3)TiO(3) interlayers were grown by pulsed laser deposition. Transmission electron microscopy studies showed coherent growth of La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3), SrRuO(3) and SrTiO(3) layers with atomically sharp interfaces, even if individual layers were as thin as one or two unit cells. In contrast, misfit dislocations and unit cell high interfacial steps were observed at the interfaces between BaTiO(3) and one of the ferromagnetic layers. The presence of the interlayers as well as these extended defects had a significant influence on the magnetic properties of the superlattices, especially on the antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling between the La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3) and SrRuO(3) layers and the exchange biasing. Surprisingly, exchange biasing was found to increase with decreasing strength of the antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling. This was explained by different magnetization reversal mechanisms acting in the regimes of strong and weak interlayer exchange coupling.     

Emulsion processing of SOFC materials Ca0.3La0.7CrO3, Sr0.16La0.84CrO3, and Sr0.2La0.8MnO3

A novel preparation route to the perovskite materials Ca_0.3La_0.7CrO₃, Sr_0.16La_0.84CrO₃, and Sr_0.2La_0.8MnO₃ is described. The method produces the phase pure perovskite phases after calcination at 700°C for 2 hours. The powders produced are unagglomerated, and consist of hollow spherical particles 0.15 m in diameter. EDX has shown that the careful control of reaction conditions is vital to control the phase composition, and that small changes in stoichiometry result in the production of unsinterable powder.