17,771 research outputs found
Lattice structure and magnetization of LaCoO3 thin films
We investigate the structure and magnetic properties of thin films of the
LaCoO compound. Thin films are deposited by pulsed laser deposition on
various substrates in order to tune the strain from compressive to tensile.
Single-phase (001) oriented LaCoO layers were grown on all substrates
despite large misfits. The tetragonal distortion of the films covers a wide
range from -2% to 2.8%. Our LaCoO films are ferromagnetic with Curie
temperature around 85 K, contrary to the bulk. The total magnetic moment is
below /Co, a value relatively small for an exited spin-state
of the Co ions, but comparable to values reported in literature. A
correlation of strain states and magnetic moment of Co ions in
LaCoO thin films is observed.Comment: submitted tu European Phys. J.
Strain-induced insulator state in La_0.7Sr_0.3CoO_3
We report on the observation of a strain-induced insulator state in
ferromagnetic La_0.7Sr_0.3CoO_3 films. Tensile strain above 1% is found to
enhance the resistivity by several orders of magnitude. Reversible strain of
0.15% applied using a piezoelectric substrate triggers huge resistance
modulations, including a change by a factor of 10 in the paramagnetic regime at
300 K. However, below the ferromagnetic ordering temperature, the magnetization
data indicate weak dependence on strain for the spin state of the Co ions. We
interpret the changes observed in the transport properties in terms of a
strain-induced splitting of the Co e_g levels and reduced double exchange,
combined with a percolation-type conduction in an electronic cluster state
A 'p-n' diode with hole and electron-doped lanthanum manganite
The hole-doped manganite La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 and the electron-doped manganite
La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 undergo an insulator to metal transition at around 250 K, above
which both behave as a polaronic semiconductor. We have successfully fabricated
an epitaxial trilayer (La0.7Ca0.3MnO3/SrTiO3/La0.7Ce0.3MnO3), where SrTiO3 is
an insulator. At room temperature, i.e. in the semiconducting regime, it
exhibits asymmetric current-voltage (I-V) characteristics akin to a p-n diode.
The observed asymmetry in the I-V characteristics disappears at low
temperatures where both the manganite layers are metallic. To the best of our
knowledge, this is the first report of such a p-n diode, using the polaronic
semiconducting regime of doped manganites.Comment: PostScript text and 2 figures, to be published in Appl. Phys. Lett
The role of carbon for superconductivity in MgCNi from specific heat
The influence of carbon deficiency on superconductivity of MgCNi is
investigated by specific heat measurements in the normal and superconducting
state. In order to perform a detailed analysis of the normal state specific
heat, a computer code is developed which allows for an instantaneous estimate
of the main features of the lattice dynamics. By analyzing the evolution of the
lattice vibrations within the series and simultaneously considering the visible
mass enhancement, the loss in the electron-phonon coupling can be attributed to
significant changes of the prominent Ni vibrations. The present data well
supports the recently established picture of strong electron-phonon coupling
and ferromagnetic spin fluctuations in this compound.Comment: 4 pages, latex, corrections to the text, one reference added, one
figure correcte
Reversible strain effect on the magnetization of LaCoO3 films
The magnetization of ferromagnetic LaCoO3 films grown epitaxially on
piezoelectric substrates has been found to systematically decrease with the
reduction of tensile strain. The magnetization change induced by the reversible
strain variation reveals an increase of the Co magnetic moment with tensile
strain. The biaxial strain dependence of the Curie temperature is estimated to
be below 4K/% in the as-grown tensile strain state of our films. This is in
agreement with results from statically strained films on various substrates
Weak inter-band coupling in MgB: a specific heat analysis
The superconducting state of MgB is investigated by specific
heat measurements in detail. The specific heat in the normal state is analyzed
using a recently developed computer code. This allows for an extraction of the
electronic specific heat in the superconducting state with high accuracy and a
fair determination of the main lattice features. One of the two investigated
samples shows a hump in the specific heat at low temperatures within the
superconducting state, accompanied by an unusual low value of the small gap,
, pointing to a very weak inter-band coupling. This
sample allows for a detailed analysis of the contribution from the -band
to the electronic specific heat in the superconducting state. Therefore the
usual analysis method is modified, to include the individual conservation of
entropy of both bands. From analyzing the deviation function of
MgB, the theoretically predicted weak inter-band coupling scenario is
confirmed.Comment: major revision
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