97 research outputs found
Magnetism of small V clusters embedded in a Cu fcc matrix: an ab initio study
We present extensive first principles density functional theory (DFT)
calculations dedicated to analyze the magnetic and electronic properties of
small V clusters (n=1,2,3,4,5,6) embedded in a Cu fcc matrix. We consider
different cluster structures such as: i) a single V impurity, ii) several
V dimers having different interatomic distance and varying local atomic
environment, iii) V and iv) V clusters for which we assume compact
as well as 2- and 1-dimensional atomic configurations and finally, in the case
of the v) V and vi) V structures we consider a square pyramid and a
square bipyramid together with linear arrays, respectively. In all cases, the V
atoms are embedded as substitutional impurities in the Cu network. In general,
and as in the free standing case, we have found that the V clusters tend to
form compact atomic arrays within the cooper matrix. Our calculated non
spin-polarized density of states at the V sites shows a complex peaked
structure around the Fermi level that strongly changes as a function of both
the interatomic distance and local atomic environment, a result that
anticipates a non trivial magnetic behavior. In fact, our DFT calculations
reveal, in each one of our clusters systems, the existence of different
magnetic solutions (ferromagnetic, ferrimagnetic, and antiferromagnetic) with
very small energy differences among them, a result that could lead to the
existence of complex finite-temperature magnetic properties. Finally, we
compare our results with recent experimental measurements.Comment: 7 pages and 4 figure
Induced ferromagnetism in Mn3N2 phase embedded in Mn/Si3N4 multilayers
Room temperature ferromagnetism has been obtained for different sets of Mn/Si3N4 multilayers
prepared by sputtering. In order to find the most suitable conditions to stabilize the ferromagnetic
ordering in this system, the evolution of the magnetic properties has been studied for films in which
the Si3N4 layer thickness was maintained constant while that of the Mn layer was varied,
Mn tm/Si3N4 3.4 nm n, and conversely, in Mn 0.7 nm/Si3N4 tsn 43 samples, in which the Mn
layer thickness was kept constant while varying the Si3N4 layer thickness. Structural, compositional,
electronic and magnetic characterizations have been performed by means of x-ray reflectometry,
Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, x-ray absorption, and
superconducting quantum interference device for further knowledge of the magnetic-structural
relationship in this system. Our results show that the peculiar magnetic behavior of these films is
mainly related to the stabilization of a slightly distorted Mn3N2 phase that is induced by the Si3N4
at the interfaces. For samples with larger Mn layer thickness, metallic Mn and Mn3N2 phases
coexist, which leads to a reduction of the total magnetization per Mn atom due to the presence of
metallic Mn. For small Mn layer thickness tm 0.86 nm, where noncontinuous Mn3N2 layers are
formed, the magnetization decreases noticeably due to the superparamagnetic size limit. It has been
found that the best conditions for the stabilization of the ferromagnetism in this system occur when
both, the manganese-rich and the silicon nitride layers, are continuous and with similar thickness,
close to 3.5 nm.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España-MAT2006-01004, MAT2008-06542-C04-01, MAT2008-06765-C02-02, S-0505/MAT/0194, Consolider 2010_26400 y Nanoselect CSD2007-0004
Tuning the size, composition and structure of Au and Co50Au50 Nanoparticles by High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering in gas-phase Synthesis
Gas-phase synthesis of nanoparticles with different structural and chemical distribution is reported using a circular magnetron sputtering in an ion cluster source by applying high-power impulses. The influence of the pulse characteristics on the final deposit was evaluated on Au nanoparticles. The results have been compared with the more common direct current approach. In addition, it is shown for the first time that high-power impulses in magnetron based gas aggregation sources allows the growth of binary nanoparticles, CoAu in this case, with a variety of crystalline and chemical arrangements which are analyzed at the atomic level
Spontaneous Formation of Core@shell Co@Cr Nanoparticles by Gas Phase Synthesis
This work presents the gas phase synthesis of CoCr nanoparticles using a magnetron-based gas aggregation source. The effect of the particle size and Co/Cr ratio on the properties of the nanoparticles is investigated. In particular, we report the synthesis of nanoparticles from two alloy targets, Co90Cr10 and Co80Cr20. In the first case, we observe a size threshold for the spontaneous formation of a segregated core@shell structure, related to the surface to volume ratio. When this ratio is above one, a shell cannot be properly formed, whereas when this ratio decreases below unity the proportion of Cr atoms is high enough to allow the formation of a shell. In the latter case, the segregation of the Cr atoms towards the surface gives rise to the formation of a shell surrounding the Co core. When the proportion of Cr is increased in the target (Co80Cr20), a thicker shell is spontaneously formed for a similar nanoparticle size. The magnetic response was evaluated, and the influence of the structure and composition of the nanoparticles is discussed. An enhancement of the global magnetic anisotropy caused by exchange bias and dipolar interactions, which enables the thermal stability of the studied small particles up to relatively large temperatures, is reported
Application of diamond-like carbon coatings to elastomers frictional surfaces
Nitrile-butyl rubber-like materials were coated with amorphous hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings in order to modify their surface and tribological properties. Measurements of water contact angle were performed by the sessile drop method and showed that the coated samples are more hydrophobic with water contact angles up to 116°. The surface free energy of the elastomers was calculated by the acid-base regression method considering polar and dispersive contributions and the results were correlated with changes in the surface chemistry measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It has been found that the lower presence of oxygen functional groups on the elastomer surfaces led to lower surface free energies, even though the polar contribution was not predominant. We also found that the DLC coatings led to a significant decrease of the surface free energy (up to 16%) and that there is a good correlation between the surface free energy values and the corresponding water contact angle values. The coefficient of friction was also measured and presented a significant decrease after coating with DLC. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the EU from the Sixth framework programme in the KRISTAL Project no. 515837-2. L. Martínez and Y. Huttel acknowledge the Spanish “Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia” for the “Juan de la Cierva” and “Ramón y Cajal” programmes, respectively. R. Nevshupa acknowledges the “Marie Curie” programme (MIF1-CT-2006-22067)
Curie temperature enhancement of electron doped SrFeMoO perovskites studied by photoemission spectroscopy
We report here on the electronic structure of electron-doped half-metallic
ferromagnetic perovskites such SrLaFeMoO (=0-0.6) as
obtained from high-resolved valence-band photoemission spectroscopy (PES). By
comparing the PES spectra with band structure calculations, a distinctive peak
at the Fermi level (E) with predominantly (Fe+Mo) t
character has been evidenced for all samples, irrespectively of the values
investigated. Moreover, we show that the electron doping due to the La
substitution provides selectively delocalized carriers to the
t metallic spin channel. Consequently, a gradual rising of
the density of states at the E has been observed as a function of the La
doping. By changing the incoming photon energy we have shown that electron
doping mainly rises the density of states of Mo parentage. These findings
provide fundamental clues for understanding the origin of ferromagnetism in
these oxides and shall be of relevance for tailoring oxides having still higher
T
Interface alloying effects in the magnetic properties of Fe nanoislands capped with different materials
We show that Fe nanoislands capped with Al, Pd, and Pt protecting layers include an alloy at the interface with the capping layer, which explains the previously known capping layer dependence on the interparticle magnetic coupling. Vibrating sample magnetometry results, for instance, are evidencing a reduction in the magnetization measured under a magnetic field of 15 mT, which is larger in the case of the Al capping and which is due to the presence of a magnetically dead interface alloy. This reduction is also observed at the atomic level using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements, showing a capping layer dependence of the Fe magnetic-moment reduction that is similar for the Pd and Pt capping, and stronger for the Al capping. The trend in the magnetic properties as a function of the capping layer is explained in the light of x-ray photoemission spectroscopy results that evidence the formation of alloys at the interface between the Fe nanoislands and the capping layers. The present results highlight the strong influence of interface alloying in systems of reduced dimensionality. In particular, it is shown that the magnetic properties are strongly affected at both the atomic and macroscopic level
Magnetic order of Cr thin films in Nb/Cr/Fe-nanoisland hybrid: a comparative study between magnetic and superconducting properties
Shifted hysteresis loops characteristic of the exchange bias effect between a ferromagnet and an antiferromagnet are demonstrated in structures formed by a 2.5 nm Cr layer deposited on top of an array of Fe nanoislands (Cr/Fe-nanoislands). This effect evidences the persistence of antiferromagnetic (AF) order for Cr layers much thinner than the thickness reported in the literature. The field shift measured is found to increase for the smallest island sizes, which can be related with the enhancement of the Fe-nanoisland surface to volume ratio. The comparative study between superconducting proximity effects in Nb/Cr/Fe-nanoislands and Nb/normal metal/Fe-nanoisland hybrids (where the normal metals used are Al and Pt) confirms the presence of AF order in the 2.5 nm Cr spacer layer. A much shorter penetration depth of the Cooper pairs into the AF Cr layers than in the normal metal Pt and Al spacer layers is deduced
Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in chemically disordered FePd-FeV(100) alloy thin films
We find that the use of V(100) buffer layers on MgO(001) substrates for the epitaxy of FePd binary alloys yields to the formation at intermediate and high deposition temperatures of a FePd¿FeV mixed phase due to strong V diffusion accompanied by a loss of layer continuity and strong increase of its mosaic spread. Contrary to what is usually found in this kind of systems, these mixed phase structures exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) which is not correlated with the presence of chemical order, almost totally absent in all the fabricated structures, even at deposition temperatures where it is usually obtained with other buffer layers. Thus the observed PMA can be ascribed to the V interdiffusion and the formation of a FeV alloy, being the global sample saturation magnetization also reduced
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