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Electron-magnon coupling reveals key insights into the interfacial properties between non-magnetic metals and magnetic insulators, influencing charge transport and spin dynamics. Here, we present temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy and magneto-transport measurements of few-layer graphene (FLG)/antiferromagnetic FePS\(_3\) heterostructures. The magnon mode in FePS\(_3\) softens below 40 K, and effective magnon stiffness decreases with cooling. Magnetotransport measurements show that FLG exhibits negative magnetoresistance (MR) in the heterostructure at low fields (\(\pm 0.2 \, \text{T}\)), persisting up to 100 K; beyond this, MR transitions to positive. Notably, as layer thickness decreases, the coupling strength at the interface reduces, leading to a suppression of negative MR. Additionally, magnetodielectric measurements in the FLG/FePS\(_3\)/FLG heterostructure show an upturn at temperatures significantly below ($T_\text{N}$), suggesting a role for the magnon mode in capacitance, as indicated by hybridization between magnon and phonon bands in pristine FePS\(_3\) \textit{via} magnetoelastic coupling.

Phase change materials (PCMs) that exhibit volatile resistive switching are promising for emulating neuronal oscillators. Charge transfer insulators, such as ReNiO3 (where Re represents rare earth metals like Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu...), form a family of PCMs with tunable metal-insulator transition (MIT) temperatures across a broad range. Notably, MIT can be adjusted via chemical doping or strain engineering. EuNiO3, in particular, is an attractive choice for oscillator devices given its bulk transition temperature (TMI) of approximately 190{\deg}C, which is well above room temperature, reducing crosstalk issues while remaining low enough to support energy-efficient applications. We demonstrate a method to stabilize high-quality epitaxial EuNiO3 thin films through scalable reactive RF sputtering and post-annealing, optimizing oxygen partial pressures and annealing temperatures across two substrates. Growth at low or zero oxygen partial pressures resulted in amorphous samples, while higher pressures improved crystallinity but led to the stabilization of Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phases [An+1BnO3n+1] and associated faults. Post-annealing enhanced crystallinity in all samples, transforming RP phases and faults toward the perovskite phase. We conducted operando XRD and transport measurements on our films, finding the transition temperatures of perovskite phase samples grown on LAO and LSAT to be approximately 300{\deg}C and 250{\deg}C, respectively. We attribute the increase in TMI for LAO samples to in-plane compressive strain (-0.76%), which reduces the Ni-O-Ni bond angles in-plane. Similarly, LSAT samples experience in-plane tensile strain (2.1%), which decreases out-of-plane Ni-O-Ni bond angles, increasing TMI compared to bulk. However, this is counteracted by oxygen vacancies due to lowered formation energies. Films that stabilized in RP phases did not exhibit any transition., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

The anisotropic light-matter interactions in 2D materials have garnered significant attention for their potential to develop futuristic polarization-based optoelectronic devices, such as photodetectors and photo-actuators. In this study, we investigate the polarization-dependent interactions in ferroelectric 3R alpha-In2Se3 using Angle-Resolved Polarized Raman Spectroscopy (ARPRS) with different excitation lasers. Our experimental findings supported by complementary Density Functional Theory calculations demonstrate that the light-matter interactions depend not only on the crystallographic orientation but also on the excitation energy. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) confirms the highly anisotropic 3R crystal structure of alpha-In2Se3. This anisotropy in crystal structure facilitates significant optical anisotropy, driven by a complex interplay of electron-photon and electron-phonon interactions, which is reflected in the complex nature of the Raman tensor elements. These anisotropy interactions extend to the materials electrical response under light illumination. Remarkably, the anisotropic photo-response can be tuned by both polarization and wavelength of the incident light, making In2Se3 a promising material for advanced polarization-sensitive photodetection applications., Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, supporting information

Electric field-induced giant resistive switching triggered by insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) is one of the promising approaches for developing a new class of electronics often referred to as Mottronics. Achieving this resistive switching by minimal external field at room temperature is of paramount research and technological interest. Mott-IMT is often associated with structural modification, which is very important for optoelectronic and actuator applications. Here, we report a giant resistive switching of about 900 % at room temperature in disordered polycrystalline V2O3-Si thin film stabilized at the IMT phase boundary and associated structural transformation under a small electric field. The increase of electron population in the a1g band under the field is responsible for the Mott gap collapse that drives the structural transition. Furthermore, we also fabricated a room temperature Mott-FET with a channel ON/OFF resistive ratio of about 15. This study provides a fundamental mechanism of the Mott-IMT in V2O3 as well as its device applications., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures

On-chip refrigeration at cryogenic temperatures is becoming an important requirement in the context of quantum technologies and nanoelectronics. Ferroic materials with enhanced electrocaloric effects at phase transitions are good material candidates for the same. By exploiting the Mott metal-insulator transition (MIT) of TiOx(Ny), the bottom electrode, we engineer a depolarization field controlled reversible polar to non-polar phase transition in thick La-doped hafnia (40 nm). This transition occurs between ~125 and 140 K and produces giant negative pyroelectric and electrocaloric effects. Refrigeration metrics were estimated between 120 to 200 K, with a peak refrigerant capacity of 25 kJ Kg-1 (2 kJ Kg-1), peak isothermal entropy {\Delta}S~ 8 kJ Kg-1 K-1 (0.5 kJ Kg-1 K-1) and adiabatic {\Delta}Tcooling ~ 106 K (11 K) at ~140 K and 5 MV cm-1 (0.5 MV cm-1, and these are the largest reported in any electrocaloric system. Our work fundamentally proposes design guidelines to induce significant solid-state refrigeration through proximity effects, even at cryogenic temperatures relevant to quantum technologies.

We report an isothermal electric field-induced first-order phase transition from Mott-insulator to the metallic state in the epitaxial thin film of V$_2$O$_3$ in the temperature regime below its Mott transition temperature $\approx$ 180 K. This isothermal electric field induced transition is accompanied by interesting electro-thermal history effects, which depend on the measurement paths followed in the electric field - temperature phase space. These interesting properties result in tuneable resistive switching and distinct memristive behavior in V$_2$O$_3$. A generalized framework of disorder-influenced first-order phase transition in combination with a resistor network model has been used to explain the observed experimental features. These findings promise possibilities for Mott insulators to be highly energy-efficient switches in novel technologies like neuromorphic computing., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures

Induced magnetic order in a topological insulator (TI) can be realized either by depositing magnetic adatoms on the surface of a TI or engineering the interface with epitaxial thin film or stacked assembly of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials. Herein, we report the observation of spin-phonon coupling in the otherwise non-magnetic TI Bi$_\mathrm{2}$Te$_\mathrm{3}$, due to the proximity of FePS$_\mathrm{3}$ (an antiferromagnet (AFM), $T_\mathrm{N}$ $\sim$ 120 K), in a vdW heterostructure framework. Temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopic studies reveal deviation from the usual phonon anharmonicity originated from spin-lattice coupling at the Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$/FePS$_{3}$ interface at/below 60 K in the peak position (self-energy) and linewidth (lifetime) of the characteristic phonon modes of Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$ (106 cm$^{-1}$ and 138 cm$^{-1}$) in the stacked heterostructure. The Ginzburg-Landau (GL) formalism, where the respective phonon frequencies of Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$ couple to phonons of similar frequencies of FePS$_{3}$ in the AFM phase, has been adopted to understand the origin of the hybrid magneto-elastic modes. At the same time, the reduction of characteristic $T_\mathrm{N}$ of FePS$_3$ from 120 K in isolated flakes to 65 K in the heterostructure, possibly due to the interfacial strain, which leads to smaller Fe-S-Fe bond angles as corroborated by computational studies using density functional theory (DFT). Besides, inserting hexagonal boron nitride within Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$/FePS$_{3}$ stacking regains the anharmonicity in Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$. Controlling interfacial spin-phonon coupling in stacked heterostructure can have potential application in surface code spin logic devices., Comment: Accepted in Advanced Functional Materials

The sensitivity of ferroelectric domain walls to external stimuli makes them functional entities in nanoelectronic devices. Specifically, optically driven domain reconfiguration with in-plane polarization is advantageous and thus highly sought. Here, we show the existence of in-plane polarized sub-domains imitating a single domain state and reversible optical control of its domain wall movement in a single-crystal of ferroelectric BaTiO3. Similar optical control in the domain configuration of non-polar ferroelastic material indicates long-range ferroelectric polarization is not essential for the optical control of domain wall movement. Instead, flexoelectricity is found to be an essential ingredient for the optical control of the domain configuration and hence, ferroelastic materials would be another possible candidate for nanoelectronic device applications.

In recent years, photosensitive materials have been in huge demand because of their fascinating ability to convert absorbed photon energy to generate strain and henceforth tuning the physical properties. In this report we detect the photosensitive activity of SrMnO3. Using the power dependent and temperature dependent Raman study with different laser sources having wavelengths across the optical band gap of SrMnO3, we divulge the photosensitive character of SrMnO3 thin films. Upon laser light illumination, Raman modes soften and softening further increases with increase in laser power. Similar kind of mode variation is observed with increasing temperature at fixed laser power. XAS in presence of laser illumination, reveals the change in crystal field splitting associated with mode softening., Comment: 28,13

BaTiO3 is a classical ferroelectric studied for last one century for its ferroelectric properties. Lattice dynamics of BaTiO3 is crucial as the utility of devices is governed by phonons. In this work, we show that traditional characterization of the polar phonon modes is ambiguous and often misinterpreted. By combining Raman, Neutron and X-ray diffraction, dielectric spectroscopic observations with first principle calculations, we have re-examined the character of the normal modes of phonons of BaTiO3. We obtained Eigen displacements of vibrational modes through DFT calculations and reclassified the polar modes being Slater (Ti-O), Last (Ba-TiO3) and Axe (BO6) vibrations by correlating experimental and theoretical calculations. The study thus provides correct nomenclature of the polar modes along with the evidence of presence of short range polar distortions along (111) directions in all the phases shown by BaTiO3. The Burns temperature and absence of second order contributions have been witnessed in the temperature dependent Raman study., Comment: 16 page 7 Figure

Recently, CuO has been proposed as a potential multiferroic material with high transition temperature. Competing models based on spin current and ionic displacements are invoked to explain ferroelectricity in CuO. The theoretical model predicting ionic displacement suggested that the shift in ions is essentially along b-axis with very small amplitude (~10-5 {\AA}). Experimentally detecting displacements of such a small amplitude in a particular direction is extremely challenging. Through our detailed polarized Raman spectroscopy study on epitaxial film of CuO, we have validated the theoretical study and provided direct evidence of displacement along the b-axis. Our study provides important contribution in the high temperature multiferroic compounds and showed for the first time, the use of the polarized Raman scattering in detecting ionic displacements at the femto-scale., Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures

This is the first report on the enhanced thermoelectric (TE) properties of novel Bi2S3-Bi nanocomposites synthesized using a one-step polyol method at different reaction temperatures (TRe) and time. They are well-characterized as nanorod-composites, coexistent with orthorhombic Bi2S3 and rhombohedral Bi phases together in which the latter coats the former forming Bi2S3-Bi core-shell type structures along with independent Bi nanoparticles (NPs). There is a very significant observation of systematic reduction in electri-cal resistivity \r{ho} with reaction temperature and time duration increase, revealing a promising approach for reduction of \r{ho} in this highly resistive Bi2S3 and hence resolving the earlier obstacles for its thermoelectric application potentials for the past few decades. Most astonishingly, TE power factor at 300 K of highest Bi content nanocomposite pellet, made at 27 oC using ~900 MPa pressure, is 3 orders of magnitude greater than that of hot-pressed Bi2S3, or even 23% better than that of spark plasma-sintered core-shell Bi2S3@Bi sample reported earlier (Tarachand et al. Nano Res. 2016, 9, 3291; Ge et al. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, 9, 4828). Considering the probable greatly reduced thermal conductivity due to their complex nanostructures, the significantly improved TE performance potential near 300 K is highly anticipated for these toxic- and rare earth element-free TE nanocomposites, making the present synthesis method as a pioneering approach for developing enhanced thermoelectric properties of Bi2S3-based materials without using extra sintering steps., Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, 32 references

Detailed Raman spectroscopy studies on polycrystalline Sr1-xPrxTiO3 (x=0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.09, 0.13, 0.15, 0.17) samples are reported elucidating the microscopic mechanism of relaxor ferroelectrics. The polar mode was observed upto very high temperature ~1000 K suggesting that the dipoles exists at temperatures well above the characteristic relaxor temperatures and they develop a short range correlation at 505 K leading to formation of PNRs. The TO2 polar mode showed anomalous softening in cooling below T~505 K supporting the growth of PNRs. Fano resonance is reported in the Pr doped compounds which decreases with increasing doping. Our work on Pr doped SrTiO3 reveals that the local TiO6 octahedral tilt scales with the intensity of the polar mode and hence can be used as an order parameter for relaxor transition. The study showed that the paraelectric to relaxor ferroelectric phase transition in this compound is random polarizability instability driven phenomenon which is correlated with the local octahedral tilt angle. The study supports competition and cancelation between lattice and polar instabilities at global length scale while cooperation between the two at local length scale. The modulation in local structure of the material in temperature interval related to dielectric anomaly has been observed which is not been investigated previously by any structural tool.