Structural and Magnetic Properties of La<Subscript>2/3</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>/SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>/CoFe<Subscript>2</Subscript> Hard-Soft Magnetic Systems

We report on the growth and magnetic properties of La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃/SrTiO₃/CoFe₂ hard-soft magnetic systems prepared by pulsed laser deposition on SrTiO₃(001) substrates. In situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction along the [100]SrTiO₃ substrate azimuth and atomic force microscopy measurements reveal that La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃ and SrTiO₃ grow both in a three dimensional mode and that the roughness of the lower and upper magnetic/non-magnetic interfaces ranges between 2 and 4 Å. Cross-section transmission electron microscopy observations show that the layers are continuous, with an homogeneous thickness, and that the interfaces are mostly sharp and correlated. The magnetization curves show a two step reversal of the magnetization, with very distinct coercive fields. A small anisotropy is observed for the CoFe₂ layer with an in plane easy magnetization axis along the [110]SrTiO₃ direction. Minor magnetization loops indicate that the coupling between the magnetic layers is negligible.     

Synthesis and characterization of Ca3Co4O9 thin films prepared by sol-gel spin-coating technique on Al2O3(001)

Ca₃Co₄O₉ thin films are deposited on Al₂O₃(001) substrates using a sol-gel spin-coating process. X-ray diffraction shows that the film exhibits a single phase of Ca₃Co₄O₉ with the (00l) planes parallel to the film surface. The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility showed as expected the existence of two magnetic transitions similar to those observed in bulk samples: a ferrimagnetic and a spin-state transition around 19 and 375 K, respectively. At 5 K the magnetization curves along the c-axis of the Al₂O₃(001) show that the remanent magnetization and coercive field are close to those obtained for films grown by pulsed laser deposition, which evidences the interest to use such an easy technique to grow complex thin films oxides.     

High Field Magnetization Investigation and Mean Field Theory in Amorphous Co<Subscript>75</Subscript>Er<Subscript>17</Subscript>B<Subscript>8</Subscript> Ribbons

Amorphous Co₇₅Er₁₇B₈ ribbons were prepared by the melt spinning technique, and their magnetic properties were studied. Mean field theory was used to describe the temperature dependence of magnetization. High-field magnetization studies performed in magnetic fields up to 15 T have revealed a magnetic behavior typical of a non-collinear magnetic structure of Er and Co sublattices. The simulated magnetization curves show the existence of two critical fields at H _cri1 =?9.5 T and H _cri2 =?94.2 T, corresponding to collinear ferrimagnet, and collinear field-forced ferromagnetic behaviors. The high value of H _cri2 highlights the strong antiferromagnetic interaction between Er and Co sublattices. From the non-collinear regime, the inter-subnetwork molecular field coefficients of the ferrimagnetic alloy were accurately evaluated. In addition, it is shown that the region of canted moments can be satisfactorily described by a phase diagram in the H-T plane.     

Analysis of electrical properties using complex impedance spectroscopy in solid solutions (PbTiO 3 ) 0.97 -(LaFeO 3 ) 0.03 prepared by sol-gel technique

The AC complex impedance spectroscopy technique was utilized to extract electrical parameters in (PbTiO3)0.97-(LaFeO3)0.03 ceramic in wide ranges of freque     

Photoelectric Effects in Single Domain BiFeO3 Crystals

Energy harvesting from sunlight is essential in order to save fossil fuels, which are found in limited amount in the earth's crust. Photovoltaic devices converting light into electrical energy are presently made of semiconducting materials, but ferroelectrics are also natural candidates because of their internal built‐in electric field. Although they are clearly uncompetitive for mainstream applications, the possibility to output high photovoltages is making these materials reconsidered for targeted applications. However, their intrinsic properties regarding electronic transport and the origin of their internal field are poorly known. Here, it is demonstrated that under intense illumination and electric field, oxygen vacancies can be controllably generated in BiFeO₃ to dramatically increase the conductance of BiFeO₃ single crystals to a controllable value spanning 6 orders of magnitude while at the same time triggering light sensitivity in the form of photoconductivity, diode, and photovoltaic effects. Properties of the bulk and the Schottky interfaces with gold contacts are disentangled and it is shown that bulk effects are time dependent. The photocurrent has a direction that can be set by an applied field without changing the ferroelectric polarization direction. The self‐doping procedure is found to be essential in both the generation of electron hole pairs and the establishment of the internal field that separates them.     

Structural, optical, and magnetic properties of Fe-doped ZnO films prepared by spray pyrolysis method

Zn_1−xFe_xO thin films with different Fe content were deposited on glass substrates at 450 °C by spray pyrolysis technique. The effect of doping on the structural and optical properties of ZnO films was investigated. X-ray diffraction has shown that the films are polycrystalline and textured with the c-axis of the wurtzite structure along the growth direction. Scanning electron microscopy has shown that the surface of the films are homogeneous. The magnetic measurements performed at 5 K using a SQUID magnetometer showed the co-existence of paramagnetic, antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic contributions.     

Random Magnetic Anisotropy Studies in SmCo<Subscript>5</Subscript> Thin Films

SmCo₅ thin films with different thicknesses were prepared by electron beam evaporation on Kapton substrates. The out-of-plane hysteresis loops for different thicknesses reveal a maximum coercive field when the thickness is 15 nm. Using random magnetic anisotropy model, the thickness dependence of magnetic properties was studied in SmCo₅ nanocrystalline films and several fundamental magnetic parameters were extracted. We have determined the local magnetic anisotropy constant K ₁ which is found to increase with increasing film thickness except for t =?7 nm which is thought to arise from the structural imperfection of the SmCo₅ films.     

Influence of Si substitution on magnetic properties,random anisotropy,and magnetocaloric effect of nanocrystalline Sm2Fe17−xSix

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - Nanocrystalline iron-rich intermetallic compounds Sm2Fe17?xSix ( $$x = 0, 1, 1.5, 2$$ ) were studied by means of X-ray diffraction...