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A growth diagram of Lu-Fe-0 compounds on MgO (111) substrates using pulsed laser deposition is constructed based on extensive growth experiments. The LuFe204 phase can only be grown in a small range of temperature and O2 pressure conditions. An understanding of the growth mechanism of Lu-Fe-0 compound films is offered in terms of the thermochemistry at the surface. Superparamagnetism is observed in the LuFe204 film and is explained in terms of the effect of the impurity hexagonal LuFeCO3 (h-LuFe03) phase and structural defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the origin of the exchange bias effect in the Au-Fe3O4 dumbbell nanoparticles in two samples with different sizes of the Au seed nanoparticles (4.1 and 2.7 nm) and same size of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (9.8 nm). The magnetization, small-angle neutron-scattering, synchrotron x-ray diffraction, and scanning transmission electron microscope measurements determined the antiferromagnetic FeO wüstite phase within Fe3O4 nanoparticles, originating at the interface with the Au nanoparticles. The interface between antiferromagnetic FeO and ferrimagnetic Fe3O4 is giving rise to the exchange bias effect. The strength of the exchange bias fields depends on the interfacial area and lattice mismatch between both phases. We propose that the charge transfer from the Au nanoparticles is responsible for a partial reduction of the Fe3O4 into the FeO phase at the interface with Au nanoparticles. The Au-O bonds are formed, presumably across the interface to accommodate an excess of oxygen released during the reduction of magnetite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the use of helium ion implantation to independently control the out-of-plane lattice constant in epitaxial La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films without changing the in-plane lattice constants. The process is reversible by a vacuum anneal. Resistance and magnetization measurements show that even a small increase in the out-of-plane lattice constant of less than 1% can shift the metal-insulator transition and Curie temperatures by more than 100 °C. Unlike conventional epitaxy-based strain tuning methods which are constrained not only by the Poisson effect but by the limited set of available substrates, the present study shows that strain can be independently and continuously controlled along a single axis. This permits novel control over orbital populations through Jahn-Teller effects, as shown by Monte Carlo simulations on a double-exchange model. The ability to reversibly control a single lattice parameter substantially broadens the phase space for experimental exploration of predictive models and leads to new possibilities for control over materials' functional properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A metastable phase α-FeSi2 was epitaxially stabilized on a silicon substrate using pulsed laser deposition. Nonmetallic and ferromagnetic behaviors are tailored on α-FeSi2 (111) thin films, while the bulk material of α-FeSi2 is metallic and nonmagnetic. The transport property of the films renders two different conducting states with a strong crossover at 50 K, which is accompanied by the onset of a ferromagnetic transition as well as a substantial magnetoresistance. These experimental results are discussed in terms of the unusual electronic structure of α-FeSi2 obtained within density functional calculations and Boltzmann transport calculations with and without strain. Our finding sheds light on achieving ferromagnetic semiconductors through both their structure and doping tailoring, and provides an example of a tailored material with rich functionalities for both basic research and practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal and magnetic structures of single-crystalline hexagonal LuFeO3 films have been studied using x-ray, electron, and neutron diffraction methods. The polar structure of these films are found to persist up to 1050 K; and the switchability of the polar behavior is observed at room temperature, indicating ferroelectricity. An antiferromagnetic order was shown to occur below 440 K, followed by a spin reorientation resulting in a weak ferromagnetic order below 130 K. This observation of coexisting multiple ferroic orders demonstrates that hexagonal LuFeO3 films are room-temperature multiferroics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study experimentally and theoretically the electronic and magnetic properties of two insulating double perovskites that show similar atomic and electronic structure but different magnetic properties. In magnetization measurements, La2ZnIrO6 displays weak ferromagnetic behavior below 7.5 K, whereas La2MgIrO6 shows antiferromagnetic behavior below. TN =12 K. Electronic structure calculations find that the weak ferromagnetic behavior observed in La2ZnIrO6 is in fact due to canted antiferromagnetism. The calculations also predict canted antiferromagnetic behavior in La2MgIrO6, but intriguingly, this was not observed. Neutron diffraction measurements confirm the essentially antiferromagnetic behavior of both systems but lack the sensitivity to resolve the small (O.22pB/Ir) ferromagnetic component in La2ZnIrO6. Overall, the results presented here indicate the crucial role of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and the on-site Coulomb repulsion on the magnetic, transport, and thermodynamic properties of both compounds. The electronic structure calculations show that both compounds, like Sr2IrO4, are Jeff = 1/2 Mott insulators. Our present findings suggest that La2ZnIrO6 and La2MgIrO6 provide a new playground to study the interplay between SOC and on-site Coulomb repulsion in a Sd transition-metal oxide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a comprehensive study of dc susceptibility, specific-heat, neutron-diffraction, and inelastic neutron-scattering measurements on polycrystalline Ba3(Cr1-xVx)2O8 samples, where x=0, 0.06, 0.15, and 0.53. A Jahn-Teller structure transition occurs for x=0, 0.06, and 0.15 samples, and the transition temperature is reduced upon vanadium substitution from 70(2) K at x=0 to 60(2) K at x=0.06 and 0.15. The structure becomes less distorted as x increases, and such transition disappears at x=0.53. The observed magnetic excitation spectrum indicates that the singlet ground state remains unaltered and spin-gap energy Δ=1.3(1) meV is identical within the instrument resolution for all x. In addition, the dispersion bandwidth W decreases with increase of x. At x=0.53, W is reduced to 1.4(1) meV from 2.0(1) meV at x=0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional materials such as layered transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are ideal platforms for studying defect behaviors, an essential step towards defect engineering for novel material functions. Here, we image the 3D lattice locations of selenium-vacancy VSe defects and manipulate them using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) near the surface of PdSe2, a recently discovered pentagonal layered TMD. The VSe show a characterisitc charging ring in a spatially resolved conductance map, based on which we can determine its subsurface lattice location precisely. Using the STM tip, not only can we reversibly switch the defect states between charge neutral and charge negative, but also trigger migrations of VSe defects. This allows a demonstration of direct "writing" and "erasing" of atomic defects and tracing the diffusion pathways. First-principles calculations reveal a small diffusion barrier of VSe in PdSe2, which is much lower than S vacancy in MoS2 or an O vacancy in TiO2. This finding opens an opportunity of defect engineering in PdSe2 for such as controlled phase transformations and resistive-switching memory device application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetic domains in two-dimensional layered material Fe3GeTe2 are studied by using a variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscope with a magnetic tip after in situ cleaving of single crystals. A stripy domain structure is revealed in a zero-field-cooled sample below the ferromagnetic transition temperature of 205 K, which is replaced by separate double-walled domains and bubble domains when cooling the sample under a magnetic field of a ferromagnetic Ni tip. The Ni tip can further convert the double-walled domain to a bubble domain pattern as well as move the Neel-type chiral bubble in submicrometer distance. The temperature-dependent evolutions of both zero-field-cooled and field-cooled domain structures correlate well with the bulk magnetization from magnetometry measurements. Atomic resolution scanning tunneling images and spectroscopy are acquired to understand the atomic and electronic structures of the material, which are further corroborated by first-principles calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferromagnetic shape memory alloys (FSMAs) have shown great potential as active components in next generation smart devices due to their exceptionally large magnetic-field-induced strains and fast response times. During application of magnetic fields in FSMAs, as is common in several magnetoelastic smart materials, there occurs simultaneous rotation of magnetic moments and reorientation of twin variants, resolving which, although critical for design of new materials and devices, has been difficult to achieve quantitatively with current characterization methods. At the same time, theoretical modeling of these phenomena also faced limitations due to uncertainties in values of physical properties such as magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy (MCA), especially for off-stoichiometric FSMA compositions. Here, in situ polarized neutron diffraction is used to measure directly the extents of both magnetic moments rotation and crystallographic twin-reorientation in an FSMA single crystal during the application of magnetic fields. Additionally, high-resolution neutron scattering measurements and first-principles calculations based on fully relativistic density functional theory are used to determine accurately the MCA for the compositionally disordered alloy of Ni2Mn1.14Ga0.86. The results from these state-of-the-art experiments and calculations are self-consistently described within a phenomenological framework, which provides quantitative insights into the energetics of magnetostructural coupling in FSMAs. Based on the current model, the energy for magnetoelastic twin boundaries propagation for the studied alloy is estimated to be ~150kJ/m³. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]