24 research outputs found
Neutron scattering study of ferroelectric Sn2P2S6 under pressure
Ferroelectric phase transition in the semiconductor Sn2P2S6 single crystal
has been studied by means of neutron scattering in the pressure-temperature
range adjacent to the anticipated tricritical Lifshitz point (p=0.18GPa,
T=296K). The observations reveal a direct ferroelectric-paraelectric phase
transition in the whole investigated pressure range (0.18 - 0.6GPa). These
results are in a clear disagreement with phase diagrams assumed in numerous
earlier works, according to which a hypothetical intermediate incommensurate
phase extends over several or even tens of degrees in the 0.5GPa pressure
range. Temperature dependence of the anisotropic quasielastic diffuse
scattering suggests that polarization fluctuations present above TC are
strongly reduced in the ordered phase. Still, the temperature dependence of the
(200) Bragg reflection intensity at p=0.18GPa can be remarkably well modeled
assuming the order-parameter amplitude growth according to the power law with
logarithmic corrections predicted for a uniaxial ferroelectric transition at
the tricritical Lifshitz point
Terahertz and infrared spectroscopic evidence of phonon-paramagnon coupling in hexagonal piezomagnetic YMnO3
Terahertz and far-infrared electric and magnetic responses of hexagonal
piezomagnetic YMnO3 single crystals are investigated. Antiferromagnetic
resonance is observed in the spectra of magnetic permeability mu_a [H(omega)
oriented within the hexagonal plane] below the Neel temperature T_N. This
excitation softens from 41 to 32 cm-1 on heating and finally disappears above
T_N. An additional weak and heavily-damped excitation is seen in the spectra of
complex dielectric permittivity epsilon_c within the same frequency range. This
excitation contributes to the dielectric spectra in both antiferromagnetic and
paramagnetic phases. Its oscillator strength significantly increases on heating
towards room temperature thus providing evidence of piezomagnetic or
higher-order couplings to polar phonons. Other heavily-damped dielectric
excitations are detected near 100 cm-1 in the paramagnetic phase in both
epsilon_c and epsilon_a spectra and they exhibit similar temperature behavior.
These excitations appearing in the frequency range of magnon branches well
below polar phonons could remind electromagnons; however, their temperature
dependence is quite different. We have used density functional theory for
calculating phonon dispersion branches in the whole Brillouin zone. A detailed
analysis of these results and of previously published magnon dispersion
branches brought us to the conclusion that the observed absorption bands stem
from phonon-phonon and phonon- paramagnon differential absorption processes.
The latter is enabled by a strong short-range in-plane spin correlations in the
paramagnetic phase.Comment: subm. to PR
Magnetodielectric coupling and phonon properties of compressively strained EuTiO3 thin films deposited on LSAT
Compressively strained epitaxial (001) EuTiO3 thin films of tetragonal
symmetry have been deposited on (001) (LaAlO3)_0.29-(SrAl_{1/2}Ta_{1/2}O3)_0.71
(LSAT) substrates by reactive molecular-beam epitaxy. Enhancement of the Neel
temperature by 1 K with 0.9% compressive strain was revealed. The polar phonons
ofthe films have been investigated as a function of temperature and magnetic
field by means of infrared reflectance spectroscopy. All three infrared active
phonons show strongly stiffened frequencies compared to bulk EuTiO3 in
accordance with first principles calculations. The phonon frequencies exhibit
gradual softening on cooling leading to an increase in static permittivity. A
new polar phonon with frequency near the TO1 soft mode was detected below 150
K. The new mode coupled with the TO1 mode was assigned as the optical phonon
from the Brillouin zone edge, which is activated in infrared spectra due to an
antiferrodistortive phase transition and due to simultaneous presence of polar
and/or magnetic nanoclusters. In the antiferromagnetic phase we have observed a
remarkable softening of the lowest-frequency polar phonon under an applied
magnetic field, which qualitatively agrees with first principles calculations.
This demonstrates the strong spin-phonon coupling in EuTiO3, which is
responsible for the pronounced dependence of its static permittivity on
magnetic field in the antiferromagnetic phase.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
First-principles design and subsequent synthesis of a material to search for the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron
We describe the first-principles design and subsequent synthesis of a new
material with the specific functionalities required for a solid-state-based
search for the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron. We show
computationally that perovskite-structure europium barium titanate should
exhibit the required large and pressure-dependent ferroelectric polarization,
local magnetic moments, and absence of magnetic ordering even at liquid helium
temperature. Subsequent synthesis and characterization of
EuBaTiO ceramics confirm the predicted desirable
properties.Comment: Nature Materials, in pres
The Buffer Gas Beam: An Intense, Cold, and Slow Source for Atoms and Molecules
Beams of atoms and molecules are stalwart tools for spectroscopy and studies
of collisional processes. The supersonic expansion technique can create cold
beams of many species of atoms and molecules. However, the resulting beam is
typically moving at a speed of 300-600 m/s in the lab frame, and for a large
class of species has insufficient flux (i.e. brightness) for important
applications. In contrast, buffer gas beams can be a superior method in many
cases, producing cold and relatively slow molecules in the lab frame with high
brightness and great versatility. There are basic differences between
supersonic and buffer gas cooled beams regarding particular technological
advantages and constraints. At present, it is clear that not all of the
possible variations on the buffer gas method have been studied. In this review,
we will present a survey of the current state of the art in buffer gas beams,
and explore some of the possible future directions that these new methods might
take
Lattice instabilities in bulk
The phase purity and the lattice dynamics in bulk EuTiO3 were investigated both microscopically, using x-ray and neutron diffraction, 151Eu-Mössbauer spectroscopy, and 151Eu nuclear inelastic scattering, and macroscopically using calorimetry, resonant ultrasound spectroscopy, and magnetometry. Furthermore, our investigations were corroborated by abinitio theoretical studies. The perovskite symmetry, Pm3¯m, is unstable at the M- and R-points of the Brillouin zone. The lattice instabilities are lifted when the structure relaxes in one of the symmetries: I4/mcm, Imma, R3¯c with relative relaxation energy around −25meV. Intimate phase analysis confirmed phase purity of our ceramics. A prominent peak in the Eu specific density of phonon states at 11.5meV can be modeled in all candidate symmetries. A stiffening on heating around room temperature is indicative of a phase transition similar to the one observed in SrTiO3, however, although previous studies reported the structural phase transition to the tetragonal I4/mcm phase our detailed sample purity analysis and thorough structural studies using complementary techniques did not confirm a direct phase transition. Instead, in the same temperature range, Eu delocalization is observed which might explain the lattice dynamical instabilities