50 research outputs found
Local atomic and magnetic structure of dilute magnetic semiconductor (Ba,K)(Zn,Mn)As
We have studied the atomic and magnetic structure of the dilute ferromagnetic
semiconductor system (Ba,K)(Zn,Mn)As through atomic and magnetic pair
distribution function analysis of temperature-dependent x-ray and neutron total
scattering data. We detected a change in curvature of the temperature-dependent
unit cell volume of the average tetragonal crystallographic structure at a
temperature coinciding with the onset of ferromagnetic order. We also observed
the existence of a well-defined local orthorhombic structure on a short length
scale of \AA, resulting in a rather asymmetrical local environment
of the Mn and As ions. Finally, the magnetic PDF revealed ferromagnetic
alignment of Mn spins along the crystallographic -axis, with robust
nearest-neighbor ferromagnetic correlations that exist even above the
ferromagnetic ordering temperature. We discuss these results in the context of
other experiments and theoretical studies on this system
The synthesis and characterization of 1111-type diluted magnetic semiconductors (La1-xSrx)(Zn1-xTMx)AsO (TM = Mn, Fe, Co)
The doping effect of Sr and transition metals Mn, Fe, Co into the direct-gap
semiconductor LaZnAsO has been investigated. Our results indicate that the
single phase ZrCuSiAs-type tetragonal crystal structure is preserved in
(La1-xSrx)(Zn1-xTMx)AsO (TM = Mn, Fe, Co) with the doping level up to x = 0.1.
While the system remains semiconducting, doping with Sr and Mn results in
ferromagnetic order with TC ~ 30K, and doping with Sr and Fe results in a spin
glass like state below ~6K with a saturation moment of ~0.02 muB/Fe, an order
of magnitude smaller than the ~0.4 muB/Mn of Sr and Mn doped samples. The same
type of magnetic state is observed neither for (Zn,Fe) substitution without
carrier doping, nor for Sr and Co doped specimens.Comment: Accepted for publication in EP
Verification of Anderson superexchange in MnO via magnetic pair distribution function analysis and ab initio theory
We present a temperature-dependent atomic and magnetic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of neutron total scattering measurements of antiferromagnetic MnO, an archetypal strongly correlated transition-metal oxide. The known antiferromagnetic ground-state structure fits the low-temperature data closely with refined parameters that agree with conventional techniques, confirming the reliability of the newly developed magnetic PDF method. The measurements performed in the paramagnetic phase reveal significant short-range magnetic correlations on a ∼1  nm length scale that differ substantially from the low-temperature long-range spin arrangement. Ab initio calculations using a self-interaction-corrected local spin density approximation of density functional theory predict magnetic interactions dominated by Anderson superexchange and reproduce the measured short-range magnetic correlations to a high degree of accuracy. Further calculations simulating an additional contribution from a direct exchange interaction show much worse agreement with the data. The Anderson superexchange model for MnO is thus verified by experimentation and confirmed by ab initio theory
muSR and Magnetometry Study of the Type-I Superconductor BeAu
We present muon spin rotation and relaxation (muSR) measurements as well as
demagnetising field corrected magnetisation measurements on polycrystalline
samples of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor BeAu. From muSR measurements
in a transverse field, we determine that BeAu is a type-I superconductor with
Hc = 256 Oe, amending the previous understanding of the compound as a type-II
superconductor. To account for demagnetising effects in magnetisation
measurements, we produce an ellipsoidal sample, for which a demagnetisation
factor can be calculated. After correcting for demagnetising effects, our
magnetisation results are in agreement with our muSR measurements. Using both
types of measurements we construct a phase diagram from T = 30 mK to Tc = 3.25
K. We then study the effect of hydrostatic pressure and find that 450 MPa
decreases Tc by 34 mK, comparable to the change seen in type-I elemental
superconductors Sn, In and Ta, suggesting BeAu is far from a quantum critical
point accessible by the application of pressure.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Superconductivity: Exotic Commonalities in Phase and Mode
Recent muon and neutron experiments on the new FeAs-based superconductors
revealed phase diagrams characterized by first-order evolution from
antiferromagnetic to superconducting states, and an inelastic magnetic
resonance mode whose energy scales as . These features
exhibit striking commonalities with cuprate, backyball, organic, and
heavy-fermion superconductors as well as superfluid He.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, original version of News and Views for Nature
Materials submitted on Feb. 8, 2009; revised version will appear as Nature
Materials 8 (April, 2009) 253-25
Disentangling superconducting and magnetic orders in NaFe_1-xNi_xAs using muon spin rotation
Muon spin rotation and relaxation studies have been performed on a "111"
family of iron-based superconductors NaFe_1-xNi_xAs. Static magnetic order was
characterized by obtaining the temperature and doping dependences of the local
ordered magnetic moment size and the volume fraction of the magnetically
ordered regions. For x = 0 and 0.4 %, a transition to a nearly-homogeneous long
range magnetically ordered state is observed, while for higher x than 0.4 %
magnetic order becomes more disordered and is completely suppressed for x = 1.5
%. The magnetic volume fraction continuously decreases with increasing x. The
combination of magnetic and superconducting volumes implies that a
spatially-overlapping coexistence of magnetism and superconductivity spans a
large region of the T-x phase diagram for NaFe_1-xNi_xAs . A strong reduction
of both the ordered moment size and the volume fraction is observed below the
superconducting T_C for x = 0.6, 1.0, and 1.3 %, in contrast to other iron
pnictides in which one of these two parameters exhibits a reduction below TC,
but not both. The suppression of magnetic order is further enhanced with
increased Ni doping, leading to a reentrant non-magnetic state below T_C for x
= 1.3 %. The reentrant behavior indicates an interplay between
antiferromagnetism and superconductivity involving competition for the same
electrons. These observations are consistent with the sign-changing s-wave
superconducting state, which is expected to appear on the verge of microscopic
coexistence and phase separation with magnetism. We also present a universal
linear relationship between the local ordered moment size and the
antiferromagnetic ordering temperature TN across a variety of iron-based
superconductors. We argue that this linear relationship is consistent with an
itinerant-electron approach, in which Fermi surface nesting drives
antiferromagnetic ordering.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures, Correspondence should be addressed to Prof.
Yasutomo Uemura: [email protected]