62 research outputs found
Phonon Raman scattering of perovskite LaNiO3 thin films
We report an investigation of perovskite-type LaNiO3 thin films by Raman
scattering in both various scattering configurations and as a function of
temperature. The room-temperature Raman spectra and the associated phonon mode
assignment provide reference data for phonon calculations and for the use of
Raman scattering for structural investigations of LaNiO3, namely the effect of
strain in thin films or heterostructures. The temperature-dependent Raman
spectra from 80 to 900 K are characterized by the softening of the rotational
A1g mode, which suggest a decreasing rhombohedral distortion towards the ideal
cubic structure with increasing temperature
Raman scattering investigation across the magnetic and MI transition in rare earth nickelate RNiO3 (R = Sm, Nd) thin films
We report a temperature-dependent Raman scattering investigation of thin film
rare earth nickelates SmNiO3, NdNiO3 and Sm0.60Nd0.40NiO3, which present a
metal-to-insulator (MI) transition at TMI and an antiferromagnetic-paramagnetic
Neel transition at TN. Our results provide evidence that all investigated
samples present a structural phase transition at TMI but the Raman signature
across TMI is significantly different for NdNiO3 (TMI = TN) compared to SmNiO3
and Sm0.60Nd0.40NiO3 (TMI =/ TN). It is namely observed that the
paramagnetic-insulator phase (TN < T < TMI) in SmNiO3 and Sm0.60Nd0.40NiO3 is
characterized by a pronounced softening of one particular phonon band around
420 cm-1. This signature is unusual and points to an important and continuous
change in the distortion of NiO6 octahedra (thus the Ni-O bonding) which
stabilizes upon cooling at the magnetic transition. The observed behaviour
might well be a general feature for all rare earth nickelates with TMI =/ TN
and illustrates intriguing coupling mechanism in the TMI > T > TN regime.Comment: Revised & published versio
SmNiO3/NdNiO3 thin film multilayers
Rare earth nickelates RENiO3 which attract interest due to their sharp
metal-insulator phase transition, are instable in bulk form due to the
necessity of an important oxygen pressure to stabilize Ni in its 3+ state of
oxidation. Here, we report the stabilization of rare earth nickelates in
[(SmNiO3)t/(NdNiO3)t]n thin film multilayers, t being the thickness of layers
alternated n times. Both bilayers and multilayers have been deposited by
Metal-Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition. The multilayer structure and the
presence of the metastable phases SmNiO3 and NdNiO3 are evidenced from by X-ray
and Raman scattering. Electric measurements of a bilayer structure further
support the structural quality of the embedded rare earth nickelate layers.Comment: Appl. Phys. Lett. (2011), accepte
Uniform non-stoichiometric titanium nitride thin films for improved kinetic inductance detector array
We describe the fabrication of homogeneous sub-stoichiometric titanium
nitride films for microwave kinetic inductance detector (mKID) arrays. Using a
6 inch sputtering target and a homogeneous nitrogen inlet, the variation of the
critical temperature over a 2 inch wafer was reduced to <25 %. Measurements of
a 132-pixel mKID array from these films reveal a sensitivity of 16 kHz/pW in
the 100 GHz band, comparable to the best aluminium mKIDs. We measured a noise
equivalent power of NEP = 3.6e-15 W/Hz^(1/2). Finally, we describe possible
routes to further improve the performance of these TiN mKID arrays.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Journal of low temperature physics,
Proceedings of LTD-1
Design, Implementation and First Measurements with the Medipix Neutron Camera in CMS
The Medipix detector is the first device dedicated to measuring mixed-field
radiation in the CMS cavern and able to distinguish between different particle
types. Medipix2-MXR chips bump bonded to silicon sensors with various neutron
conversion layers developed by the IEAP CTU in Prague were successfully
installed for the 2008 LHC start-up in the CMS experimental and services
caverns to measure the flux of various particle types, in particular neutrons.
They have operated almost continuously during the 2010 run period, and the
results shown here are from the proton run between the beginning of July and
the end of October 2010. Clear signals are seen and different particle types
have been observed during regular LHC luminosity running, and an agreement in
the measured flux rate is found with the simulations. These initial results are
promising, and indicate that these devices have the potential for further and
future LHC and high energy physics applications as radiation monitoring devices
for mixed field environments, including neutron flux monitoring. Further
extensions are foreseen in the near future to increase the performance of the
detector and its coverage for monitoring in CMS.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, submitted to JINS
A hysteresis model with dipole interaction: one more devil-staircase
Magnetic properties of 2D systems of magnetic nanoobjects (2D regular
lattices of the magnetic nanoparticles or magnetic nanostripes) are considered.
The analytical calculation of the hysteresis curve of the system with
interaction between nanoobjects is provided. It is shown that during the
magnetization reversal system passes through a number of metastable states. The
kinetic problem of the magnetization reversal was solved for three models. The
following results have been obtained. 1) For 1D system (T=0) with the
long-range interaction with the energy proportional to , the
staircase-like shape of the magnetization curve has self-similar character. The
nature of the steps is determined by interplay of the interparticle interaction
and coercivity of the single nanoparticle. 2) The influence of the thermal
fluctuations on the kinetic process was examined in the framework of the
nearest-neighbor interaction model. The thermal fluctuations lead to the
additional splitting of the steps on the magnetization curve. 3) The
magnetization curve for system with interaction and coercivity dispersion was
calculated in mean field approximation. The simple method to experimentally
distinguish the influence of interaction and coercivity dispersion on the
magnetization curve is suggested.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure
Utilité du débat scientifique dans l'enseignement supérieur : application à la physique quantique
International audienc
Epitaxial and polycrystalline BaFe12O19 thin films grown by chemical vapour deposition
Epitaxial and polycrystalline barium hexaferrite BaFe12O19 thin films were prepared by metalorganic chemical Vapour deposition (MOCVD). Films were grown by a liquid MOCVD technique which aim is to control precisely the precursor vapour pressures. Two kinds of substrates were used: sapphire (001) and silicon thermally oxidized. On Si/SiO2 films are polycrystalline and the magnetization is isotropic. On Al2O3 (001), structural studies reveal the films to be predominantly single phase, well crystallized without annealing procedure and with the c-axis perpendicular to the film plane; epitaxial relationships between the film and the substrate were determined. The magnetic parameters, deduced from vibrating sample magnetometer measurements, show a high dependence of the magnetization with the orientation of the field with respect to the surface of the film. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved
Periodic sub-micrometric structures using a 3D laser interference pattern
International audienceA method to obtain three-dimensional sub-micrometric periodic structures is presented. The experimental setup consists in a pulsed UV laser beam source (l = 355 nm) coming into an interferometer in order to generate four beams converging inside a chamber. According to the directions, to the relative intensities and to the polarizations of these four beams, a 3D interference pattern can be obtained inside the overlapping volume of these four beams; the characteristics of the four laser beams have been optimized in order to obtain a maximal contrast of intensity. In order to visualize the interference pattern, its contrast and its stability at each laser pulse, a video camera coupled to an oil immersion microscope objective has been installed above the interferometer. By suppressing the central beam, it is also possible to generate a bidimensional interference pattern which defines an hexagonal structure in the (1 1 1) plane with a period of 377 nm. This optical setup has been used to obtain 3D sub-micrometric periodic structures in negative photoresists. Experiments consist in a one-or multi-pulse irradiation of the photoresist followed by a development procedure which leads to a sub-micrometric face-centred cubic structure cut in a (1 1 1) plane with a cell parameter of 650 nm. The optimization of the experimental conditions is presented for two kinds of photoresists; the role of the substrate according to its reflectivity at the laser wavelength and its influence on the interference pattern is also discussed.
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