Phonon anomalies in YNi2 11B2C

Recently we have discovered a new peak with phonon character which appears only below T_c in an intermetallic superconductor, YNi₂ ¹¹B₂C (Tc14-2K) by neutron inelastic scattering measurements. The peak intensity of the new peak shows the order-parameter-like temperature dependence of the superconductivity. The new peak grows by absorbing the spectral weight from the above-lying soft phonon mode. In the present study we investigate the magnetic field dependence of the new peak. With increasing magnetic field, the new peak is gradually suppressed and disappears by H=H_c2 (4.7T at T=5.5K). Beyond H_c2, the profile of the scattering function recovers that of the non-superconducting state above T_c These results strongly indicate that this new peak is undoubtedly associated with the superconducting state in YNi₂ ¹¹B₂C.     

Detailed Physical Characterizations of Cu-rich and Ru-poor (Ru0.9Cu0.1)Sr2YCu2O7.9

The optimized nominal composition, (Ru_0.9Cu_0.1) Sr₂YCu₂O_7.9 sample, has been prepared through high-pressure and high-temperature solid-state densification method. The obtained material has been studied by X-ray (laboratory) diffraction powder technique, magnetization and detailed magneto-transport measurements. The title compound indicates bulk magneto-superconducting properties under field strengths of H=10, 100, 500 and 1000 Oe. It shows diamagnetic transition at T _d=54, 38, 20 and 8 K for H=10, 100, 500 and 1000 Oe, respectively, in the zero-field-cooled susceptibility measurements. The high-field (H=5 and 10 kOe) molar susceptibility measurements show sharp ferromagnetic transition at ∼150 K with reduced molar susceptibility values. The various field dependence of magnetization, M(H), isotherm curves recorded at constant temperatures (5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 150 K) indicate ferromagnetic saturation, whereas the MH curves measured at 200 and 300 K conditions reveal the paramagnetic state of the compound. Though the sample showed onset transition temperature, T_c^onsetT_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{onset}}, at ∼34 K under different field strengths (H=0, 10, 30, 50, 70 and 90 kOe), no T_c^R=0T_{\mathrm{c}}^{R=0} is seen down to 2 K. Even under relatively low applied field (ΔH=10 kOe) the title compound shows large negative magnetoresistance (MR) of about 68% at 2 K and increases with increasing the field strength up to ΔH=90 kOe (MR=77% at 2 K). This value is amazing and probably higher than other 1212 type ruthenocuprates. The title compound which shows little negative MR (about 1%) in the high temperature regions (125–300 K) is not affected much by different field strengths. Among the different fixed temperature MR(H) isotherms, the MR(H) curve measured at 5 K shows maximum negative MR of about 47% at 90 kOe compared to other four (T=50, 100, 200 and 300 K) MR(H) curves.     

rf-SQUID Effect in Bulk Quaternary Borocarbide Superconductors

This paper reports observation of rf-SQUID effect due to natural grain boundary junctions in YNi₂B₂C (T _c 15.5 K), ErNi₂B₂C (T _c 11.5 K, T _N 6.5 K), and DyNi₂B₂C (T _c 6.5 K, T _N 11K), LuNi₂B₂C (T _c 16.5 K) and YPd₅B₃C_0.35 (T _c 23 K) bulk borocarbide superconductors. The observation of rf-SQUID effect due to natural grain boundary junctions in all the five borocarbide superconductors clearly indicates that natural grain boundary junctions in these superconductors behave as Josephson junctions, and this behavior of natural grain boundary junctions in the quaternary borocarbides appear to be universal in this class of superconductors. Observation of rf-SQUID effect in magnetic borocarbide superconductors (ErNi₂B₂C and DyNi₂B₂C) at 4.2 K also indicates that antiferromagnetic ordering does not destroy SQUID effect, as T _N > 4.2 K in both cases. Rapid increase in flux noise due to thermally activated flux hopping has been observed in all the SQUIDs as temperature approaches T _c.     

Hall-Effect study of YNi2B2C superconductor

Hall-effect and critical magnetic fields H_c2(T) have been studied for YNi₂B₂C (prepared using high pressure technique) at H130 kOe and 1.6T300K. The normal state Hall coefficient R_H was found to be negative (R_H=–1.43.10^–11 cm/Oe at T=4.2 K and H=130 kOe) and slightly growing in absolute value with increase of temperature. The dependence of the Hall voltage on magnetic field in the mixed superconducting state shows no sign reversal as was observed earlier for some high-T_c systems. The values of ¦H_c2/ T¦and H_c2(0) are found to be 4.8 kOe/K and 47 kOe respectively.     

Magnetic and Magneto-Transport Measurements of 57Fe-doped SrCoO3 and Sr1?xCdxCoO3 Perovskites

In this article, the magneto-transport features of ⁵⁷Fe isotope (1%) doped SrCoO₃ (referred to as SrCo_0.99 ⁵⁷Fe_0.01O₃) perovskite compound have been investigated. The compound crystallized in cubic symmetry undergoes ferromagnetic transition around ∼270 K. The isothermal magnetization data collected at low temperature (1.8 K) indicates a characteristic of soft ferromagnet with saturation moment, M _s∼1.81 μ _B/Co. Interestingly, the electrical resistivity, ρ(T), measurements indicate semiconducting properties while metallic nature is seen for the pristine compound. The SrCo_0.99 ⁵⁷Fe_0.01O₃ sample shows temperature and field dependence of magnetoresistance, MR, around 1.5%, which is rather smaller than of the pristine perovskite. The second part of the present work reports the attempt to dope Cd on Sr-site in the perovskite structure, Sr_1−x Cd _x CoO₃, under extreme conditions. A minimum amount of about x=0.05, 0.1 is tested for solid solution in the Sr_1−x Cd _x CoO₃ structure. However, the structural data indicate that Cd is not fully doped in the matrix for x=0.05, 0.1 samples; some of the CdO is intact as an impurity and it did not show major impact on the physical properties of the samples. The ρ(T) data reveal metallic nature for both x=0.05 and 0.1 samples with relatively low resistivity at low temperature regions, and they exhibit −MR ∼4% around ∼250 K. For x=0.05 the molar magnetic susceptibility of the sample shows ferromagnetic transition at T _c=244 K, whereas x=0.1 sample exhibits ferromagnetism at T _c=264 K. The effective Bohr magnetron parameter, p _eff, determined for x=0.05 and 0.1 samples is found to be 3.10 μ _B/Co and 3.25 μ _B/Co, respectively, and these data suggest intermediate spin state for Co⁴⁺ ion for both the samples. The M(H) data for both the samples reveal soft ferromagnetism. The M _s of x=0.05 reaches 1.9 μ _B/Co and of x=0.1 reaches 1.86 μ _B/Co at 1.8 K and 70 kOe conditions.     

Re−Ni2B2C superconducting borocarbides: “In situ” growth of thin films, transport and point contact spectroscopy

High quality c-axis oriented films of the intriguing intermetallic superconducting compound YNi₂B₂C have been obtained “in situ” by magnetron sputtering on MgO substrates held at about 800°C. The films showed maximum T_c=15.3 K, †T_c≈0.1 K, room temperature resistivity ρ≈50μΩ·cm, critical current J_c≈10⁵ A/cm² and B_c2≈6 T. Superconducting films were also obtained on Al₂O₃ and LaAlO₃ single-crystal substrates. From the ρ(T) dependence a value of the Debye temperature Θ _D =330±20 K can be deduced. At low temperatures the resistivity follows a quadratic power law possibly indicative of a high value of the electron-phonon interaction parameter λ. In order to clarify the role of λ in these compounds, point contact spectroscopy measurements have been performed on YNi₂B₂C and HoNi₂B₂C bulk samples prepared by inductive melting using a Low Temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscope (LTSTM). In the point contact regime clear evidence of a superconducting gap have been found in both compounds, corresponding to a moderate strong coupling behaviour (2†/KT_c≈3.8).     

The Activation Energy <Emphasis Type="Italic">U</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>) in Y-based Superconductors

Based on the Arrhenius equation, a method to calculate the activation energy from the resistance transition is proposed for high temperature superconductors. This method is applied to the Y-based superconductors. The activation energy is found to be U(T,H)∼(1−T/T _c )^4.8(H/H ₀)^−3.8 of YBCO crystal, and U(T,H)∼(1−T/T _c )^3.3(H/H ₀)^−2.2 of Er doped MTG YBCO crystal, respectively. With the obtained activation energy U(T,H), the lower part of the experimental curve ρ(T,H) and its derivative can be reproduced.      

Impact of Tuning Molar Ratio in the Starting Materials: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Magneto</Emphasis>-Transport Features of Hybrid YSr<Subscript>2</Subscript>Ru<Subscript>0.9</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>2.1</Subscript>O<Subscript>7.9</Subscript>

The impact of slightly tuning molar ratio in the starting materials on the physical properties of 1212-type rutheno-cuprate, YSr₂Ru_0.9Cu_2.1O_7.9 (nominal) samples prepared under four synthesis approaches are reported. Interestingly, all samples clearly show the differences in the physical properties of the samples prepared under different synthetic protocols. However, neither XRD nor EDX reveal any notable differences in the crystal structure or sample composition. All the samples exhibit magneto-superconducting properties (H _ext=5 Oe) which are slightly varied with synthetic approaches. The high field (H _ext=10 kOe) temperature dependence of magnetization data shows a sharp ferromagnetic transition around 150 K and all the samples obey Curie–Weiss linear behavior above 180 K. The experimental effective paramagnetic moment for the various samples is in the range of 2.5 and 2.7μ _B/Ru which are in line with the literature report. The magnetization, M(H) isotherm curves measured at 5 K and −10 kOe≤H≤10 kOe conditions reveal weak ferromagnetic-like hysteresis loops for all samples with returning moment (M _r) and coercive field (H _c), whereas the high field M(H) loops indicate soft ferromagnetic behaviors with magnetic saturation. The saturation moment of the samples is slightly varied with the synthesis approaches. None of the samples showed bulk superconductivity (T_c^{R = 0})T_{\mathrm{c}}^{R = 0}) down to 2 K, while all samples show onset transitions (T_c^onsetT_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{onset}}) except the sample prepared by approach-3. The latter approach sample shows semiconducting behavior down to 2 K. The T_c^onsetT_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{onset}} noticed at 34 K, 12 K, and 6 K for the sample prepared by approach-1, 2, and 4, respectively. The nearly linear dependence suggests that hopping conduction is dominant in certain temperature range for all samples. The magneto-transport features of these samples exhibit maximum magnetoresistance (MR) at low temperatures. Remarkably, the sample prepared by approach-1 shows largest −MR about 77% at low temperature 2 K and H=90 kOe which stimulates for further investigations. Among the four synthesis approaches employed in the present study, we can probably suggest that the approach-1 (0.5Y₂O₃+0.5SrO₂+1.5SrCuO₂+0.9RuO₂+0.6CuO) is the preferable method to achieve the best sample (in terms of magneto-transport features).     

Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles in a mesoporous silicon dioxide matrix

We have studied magnetic nanoparticles of cobalt ferrite obtained by the extraction-pyrolysis method in a mesoporous silicon dioxide (MSM-41) molecular sieve matrix. The X-ray diffraction data show evidence for the formation of CoFe₂O₄ particles with a coherent scattering domain size of ∼40 nm. Measurements of the magnetization curves showed that powders consisting of these nanoparticles are magnetically hard materials with a coercive field of H _c(4.2 K) = 9.0 kOe and H _c(300 K) = 1.8 kOe and a reduced remanent magnetization of M _r/M _s(4.2 K) = 0.83 and M _r/M _s(300 K) = 0.49. The shape of the low-temperature (4.2 K) magnetization curves is adequately described in terms of the Stoner-Wohlfarth model for randomly oriented single-domain particles with a cubic magnetic anisotropy.     

Magnetic cluster state in anion-deficient La<Subscript>0.70</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.30</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>2.85</Subscript> manganite

It is established that the magnetic state of the anion-deficient La_0.70Sr_0.30MnO_2.85 manganite represents the spin-glass state of the cluster. The magnetic field at the beginning (H < 10 kOe) leads to the fragmentation of ferromagnetic clusters, then (H > 10 kOe) leads to the transition to a ferromagnetic state of an antiferromagnetic matrix and to increase in the degree of polarization of local spins of manganese. It is determined that the freezing temperature of magnetic moments varies as T _f = 65 − 6H ^0.21. The causes and mechanism of the magnetic phase separation are discussed.     

Magnetic properties of cobalt films at the initial stage of ion-beam deposition

Variations in the magnetic properties of ion-beam-deposited cobalt (Co) films from the onset of nucleation until the passage to a bulk-like state have been studied using ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements at 9.55 GHz and SQUID magnetometry. Depending on the Co film thickness, the FMR line width ΔH exhibits a sharp transition from large values (0.24 kOe < ΔH < 0.33 kOe) at the initial deposition stage to slightly varying values of ΔH < 0.16 kOe for film thicknesses above 1 nm. Similarly, Co films with thicknesses below 1 nm exhibit a significant coercivity (H _C > 0.54 kOe at 10 K), while thicker films are characterized by H _C < 0.16 kOe in the entire range of temperatures up to 300 K. Large values of ΔH and H _C at the nucleation and initial growth stages are related to the contribution from a transition Co/Si layer formed under the action of self-irradiation with a high-energy component of the deposited flux, which is inherent in the ion-beam sputtering in high vacuum. This fraction of high-energy Co atoms does not exceed 10% of their total flux and is characterized by a mean projected range of 0.8 nm in the growing Co layer and 1.2 nm in the Si substrate. Conditions of using Co films with intermediate thicknesses within 0.8 nm < t ≤2 nm for the injection of a spin-polarized current into silicon at room temperature are discussed.     

NMR study on electronic and magnetic state in RTiO3 (R=La,Y)

The electronic and magnetic states in perovskite titanates, RTiO₃ have been investigated microscopically by NMR. In the ferromagnetically-ordered state of YTiO₃, (T_c=25K) there exist two magnetically-inequivalent Ti sites with slightly different internal fields, H_int, corresponding to the reduced Ti moments of 0.69 and 0.76 _B H_int of⁸⁹Y is –10.3 kOe in YTiO₃, while H_int at the¹³⁹La site is canceled out in the antiferromagnetic LaTiO₃. Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation time, T₁, of⁸⁹Y increase drastically with decreasing temperature below 60K where the ferromagnetic alignment of Ti moments induced by external filed seems to grow up. T₁ of¹³⁹La in Sr-doped LaTiO₃ obeys the Korringa relation, T₁T=const. of which value increases critically on approaching the Mott insulator-metal transition.The present work is supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan.     

Phase Transition and Anomalous Low Temperature Ferromagnetic Phase in Pr0.6Sr0.4MnO3 Single Crystals

We report on the magnetic and electrical properties of Pr_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃ single crystals. This compound undergoes a continuous paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition with a Curie temperature T _C∼301 K and a first-order structural transition at T _S∼64 K. At T _S, the magnetic susceptibility exhibits an abrupt jump, and a corresponding small hump is seen in the resistivity. The critical behavior of the static magnetization and the temperature dependence of the resistivity are consistent with the behavior expected for a nearly isotropic ferromagnet with short-range exchange belonging to the Heisenberg universality class. The magnetization (M–H) curves below T _S are anomalous in that the virgin curve lies outside the subsequent M–H loops. The hysteretic structural transition at T _S as well as the irreversible magnetization processes below T _S can be explained by phase separation between a high-temperature orthorhombic and a low-temperature monoclinic ferromagnetic phase.     

Occurrence and stability of ferromagnetism in chemically synthesized cobalt doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

We report the development of ferromagnetism in ∼30 nm sized well-characterized Ti_1−x Co _x O₂ powders with x = 0.00015–0.006 and its absence for x > 0.006. In addition, these studies show the effect of Co doping on the structural stability and anatase to rutile phase transformation. X-ray diffraction data of samples synthesized by a wet chemical method and annealed at 450 °C indicate a limited solubility of ∼1.2% for Co in the anatase TiO₂ matrix, and with further increase, the CoTiO₃ phase is formed along with increased presence of rutile TiO₂. The bandgap (∼3.23 eV) of the anatase TiO₂ remained almost unchanged for x < 0.006, but decreased rapidly for x ≥ 0.006 approaching 2.8 eV for x = 0.03. The magnetic data from Ti_1−x Co _x O₂ samples with x = 0.006 showed a coercivity H _c ∼ 150 Oe and a weak magnetic moment of 0.2 μ_B/ion at 300 K. The ferromagnetism of Ti_0.994Co_0.006O₂ with open hysteresis loops continue up to a high superparamagnetic blocking temperature T _B ∼ 675 K, above which a superparamagnetic behavior was observed. Systematic changes in the structural, magnetic and optical properties suggest that Co doping is an excellent method to tailor the physical properties of TiO₂ nanoparticles.     

Nano Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> Induced Fluxoid Jumps and Low Field Enhanced Critical Current Density in MgB<Subscript>2</Subscript> Superconductor

Nano particle of Fe₃O₄ (nFe₃O₄) up to 6 at% were doped in the superconducting MgB₂ samples. Despite the strong ferromagnetic nature of Fe₃O₄, both the ac susceptibility and the resistivity measurements show that up to 4 at% of Fe₃O₄, T _c =38 K is not changed, whereas for 6% T _c decreases by 6 K. This indicates that a low concentration of Fe does not substitute either the Mg or B sites and probably occupies the intergrain spaces. For 0.5% doped Fe₃O₄, an increase in J _c with respect to the pure MgB₂ samples is observed in the lower field and temperature regions (H<2 T and 20 K) indicating an enhanced flux pinning and the magnetic activation, i.e., the interaction between the magnetic dipole of Fe ion and the vortices is weak in comparison to the effective pinning potential. Whereas, at H>2 T, J _c of the doped samples is always less than that of MgB₂, and the activation is dominant in comparison with the effective pinning potential provided by the doping. Flux jumps are observed in lower T and H regions for the samples doped up to 1% nFe₃O₄ only. Magnetization plots of higher Fe content samples exhibited clear paramagnetic background. Mossbauer measurements for the higher (4, 6 at%) nFe₃O₄ doped MgB₂ samples show that at RT, the hyperfine field for both samples is ∼100 kOe and ∼120 kOe at 90 K. This means that the nFe₃O₄ particles decompose and form possibly an intermetallic Fe-B phase in the matrix.     

Effect of Mn doping on the structural,morphological, optical and magnetic properties of indium tin oxide films

We report on the preparation and characterization of high purity manganese (3–9 wt.%) doped indium tin oxide (ITO, In:Sn = 90:10) films deposited by sol–gel mediated dip coating. X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction showed high phase purity cubic In₂O₃ and indicated a contraction of the lattice with Mn doping. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy depicted a uniform distribution of ∼20 nm sized independent particles and particle induced x-ray emission studies confirmed the actual Mn ion concentration. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance measurements showed band gap energy of 3.75 eV and a high degree of optical transparency (90%) in the 100–500 nm thick ITO films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy core level binding energies for In 3d_5/2 (443.6 eV), Sn 3d_5/2 (485.6 eV) and Mn 2p_3/2 (640.2 eV) indicated the In³⁺, Sn⁴⁺ and Mn²⁺ oxidation states. Magnetic hysteresis loops recorded at 300 K yield a coercivity H_c ∼ 80 Oe and saturation magnetization M_s ∼ 0.39 μ_B/Mn²⁺ ion. High-temperature magnetometry showed a Curie temperature T _c > 600 K for the 3.2% Mn doped ITO film.     

Occurrence of Superconductivity and Magnetism in Nominally Undoped LaOFeAs

Superconductivity in a LaOFeAs system is known to get introduced by F-doping (LaO_1−x F _x FeAs) even under ambient conditions and oxygen deficiency (LaO_1−x FeAs) under high pressure conditions. Hitherto unreported, superconductivity in F-free undoped LaOFeAs samples is observed and confirmed for the first time by various characterization tools–resistive ρ(T,B), magnetic M(T,B) and modulated microwave absorption (MMA) measurements. The ρ(T) at B=0 shows a clear superconducting transition with an onset at T _con∼17 K and a tail-like behavior when R goes to zero at T _c0∼8 K. In the presence of B, the superconducting transition shifts to lower T with a rate ∼−5.5 and −1.65 T/K, depending on whether the ρ(T) has dropped to 90% or 5% of its normal state value, respectively. M(T) in zero field cooling at B=10 mT shows diamagnetic downturn below at ∼12 K. At T<T _c0 the change in MMA with B shows a low field (B∼1 mT) peak, which vanishes at T>T _c0, indicating the presence of weak link superconducting networks in the sample. The sample shows a complex electrical and magnetic behavior in the normal state. For instance, ρ(T) reveals a weak SDW-like anomaly at T∼132 K along with a resistivity minimum at T _min∼78 K. M(T) also shows the presence of a magnetic anomaly at T∼130 K. Both below and above T _con, presence of an additional ferromagnetic component is observed in the isothermal M(B) loop measurements. The superconducting and normal state features of our sample are compared with other undoped and doped LaOFeAs systems reported in the literature.     

Predicted Magnetic Fields of Loop Currents for Cuprate Superconductivity: A MaxEnt-μSR GdBCO Study

If predicted loop currents in CuO₂ planes exist, magnetic fields are generated in cuprate superconductors. To search for these fields, we apply Maximum Entropy (ME) to transform zero-field (ZF) muon-spin-resonance (μSR) data of underdoped and optimal doped GdBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (GdBCO). We have seen hints of signals around 1 MHz, compatible with Varma’s prediction. The frequency characteristics are clearly temperature dependent, especially near T _c. The ME transforms of the difference DS(t) between the μ-spin polarizations above and below T _c are calculated—for both GdBCO, ∼1.4-MHz signals (present above T _c) are observed. Their existence up to RT is similar to anomalous polar-Kerr behavior in YBCO. We can attribute these ∼100-Oe fields to the proposed orbital currents. Demonstrating the loop currents leads to a better understanding of cuprate superconductivity.     

Magnetotransport Properties and Mechanism of the A-Site Ordering in the Nd–Ba Optimal-Doped Manganites

The crystal structure and magnetotransport properties of the Nd_0.70Ba_0.30-MnO_3.00−δ manganites have been investigated. The stoichiometric A-site ionic disordered Nd_0.70Ba_0.30MnO_3.00 sample is orthorhombic (SG=Imma) ferromagnet below T _C ≈151 K. It has metal-insulator transition at T _MI ≈140 K and peak of magnetoresistance ∼50% in field of 9 kOe. The anion-deficient partly A-site ionic ordered Nd_0.70Ba_0.30MnO_2.60 sample is ferrimagnet with T _N ≈130 K and has nanometric ∼440 nm grains. The oxygen annealed stoichiometric partly A-site ordered Nd_0.70Ba_0.30MnO_3.00 sample consists of two perovskite phases: (i) A-site ionic completely ordered tetragonal (SG=P4/mmm) NdBaMn_2.00O_6.00 with a Curie point of ∼310 K and (ii) superstoichiometric orthorhombic (SG=Pnma) NdMnO_3.00+γ with a Curie point of ∼120 K. The magnetoresistance of this sample at the room temperature is about 7% in a field of 9 kOe. Considerable changes of the magnetic properties are interpreted as due to the ordering of Nd³⁺ and Ba²⁺ cations as well as the formation of nanometric grains.