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We report on a strain-induced and temperature dependent uniaxial anisotropy in V2O3/Ni hybrid thin films, manifested through the interfacial strain and sample microstructure, and its consequences on the angular dependent magnetization reversal. X-ray diffraction and reciprocal space maps identify the in-plane crystalline axes of the V2O3; atomic force and scanning electron microscopy reveal oriented rips in the film microstructure. Quasi-static magnetometry and dynamic ferromagnetic resonance measurements identify a uniaxial magnetic easy axis along the rips. Comparison with films grown on sapphire without rips shows a combined contribution from strain and microstructure in the V2O3/Ni films. Magnetization reversal characteristics captured by angular-dependent first order reversal curve measurements indicate a strong domain wall pinning along the direction orthogonal to the rips, inducing an angular-dependent change in the reversal mechanism. The resultant anisotropy is tunable with temperature and is most pronounced at room temperature, which is beneficial for potential device applications.

We searched for new structural, magnetic and superconductivity phases in the Pr-Si system using high-pressure high-temperature and arc melting syntheses. Both high and low Si concentration areas of the phase diagram were explored. Although a similar approach in the La-Si system produced new stable superconducting phases, in the Pr-Si system we did not find any new superconductors. At low Si concentrations, the arc-melted samples were doped with C or B. It was found that addition of C gave rise to multiple previously unknown ferromagnetic phases. Furthermore, X-ray refinement of the undoped samples confirmed the existence of the so far elusive Pr3Si 2 phase. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

In this paper we describe a methodology for the search for new superconducting materials. This consists of a parallel synthesis of a highly inhomogeneous alloy which covers large areas of the metallurgical phase diagram combined with a fast, microwave-based method which allows non-superconducting portions of the sample to be discarded. Once an inhomogeneous sample containing a minority phase superconductor is identified, we revert to well-known thorough identification methods which include standard physical and structural methods. We show how a systematic structural study helps in avoiding misidentification of new superconducting materials when there are indications from other methods of new discoveries. These ideas are applied to the La-Si-C system which exhibits promising normal state properties which are sometimes correlated with superconductivity. Although this system shows indications for the presence of a new superconducting compound, the careful analysis described here shows that the superconductivity in this system can be attributed to intermediate binary and single phases of the system. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd.

We studied the temperature dependence of the magnetic properties of VO2/Ni bilayers deposited on three different substrates. The temperature induced VO2 transformation from a monoclinic to a rutile structure induces strain in the Ni film. Due to an inverse magnetostrictive effect, the coercivity of the Ni films is strongly modified. The morphology of the films is influenced by the substrate choice and has a strong impact on the magnetic properties. Ni films grown on top of rutile VO2 show a reversible change in the coercivity and a strong enhancement of the coercivity near the transition temperature. The coercivity enhancement of Ni is associated with the phase coexistence observed in the VO2 first order phase transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a Surface Plasmon Resonance spectroscopy study of Co-Phthalocyanine (CoPc) thin films grown on Au layers at different substrate temperatures. We demonstrate that for quantitative analysis, fitting of the resonance angle alone is insufficient and Whole Curve Analysis (WCA) needs to be performed. This is because CoPc thin film dielectric constant and thickness are strongly affected by substrate temperature, even when the total deposited mass remains fixed. Using WCA, we are able to uniquely fit both the dielectric constants and the thicknesses of the films without making a priori assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetoresistance of Ni/V2O3/Py devices shows interesting behavior in the temperature dependence across the V2O3 metal-insulator transition. A spin-valve effect (∼0.1%) is found below the transition temperature when V2O3 is in the insulating phase. Contrary to expectation, the spin-valve effect disappears when device is heated above 150 K and V2O3 is in the metallic state. At these temperatures, the behavior of the device is governed by anisotropic magnetoresistance of Ni. Using finite method analysis of our device we show that disappearance of the spin-valve effect cannot be explained by changes in the current distribution with temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been recently reported that some nonmagnetic materials in bulk state exhibit magnetic behavior at the nanoscale due to surface and size effects. The experimental observation of these effects is based on the measurement of very small magnetic signals. Thus, some spurious effects that are not critical for bulk materials with large magnetic signals may become important when measuring small signals (typically below 10-4 emu). Here, we summarize some sources of these small magnetic signals that should be considered when studying this new nanomagnetism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work the study of oleic acid and oleylamine-capped gold nanoparticles is presented. The structural characterization of the sample shows 6.7 nm gold nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution. The experimental optical absorption spectrum has a maximum at 2.35 eV. The calculated optical absorption spectrum is shifted and narrower than the experimental one, indicating that the oleic acid and oleylamine do not merely passivate the metallic nanoparticles but modify its electronic structure. These gold nanoparticles show in addition a kind of magnetic order similar to other organic passivated gold nanoparticles as thiol-capped gold nanoparticles. Although the magnetic interactions seem to be weaker than in thiol-capped ones, the magnetic behavior looks similar to that, i.e., an invariant temperature dependence of the magnetization from 5 to 300 K and a noticeable coercive field. We analyze the influence of the organic layer bonding the nanoparticles on the magnetic behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies are conducted to explain the electronic structure, as well as the surface magnetism observed in the various ZnO/[Co.sub.3][O.sub.4] mixtures. The various electrostatic interactions taking place between the oxides of the mixtures are also analyzed.

The magnetic properties of bulk hybrid V2O3/Ni composites were studied as a function of composition and synthesis conditions. We find a sharp increase in the coercivity and a sharp decrease of the magnetization as the temperature of the bulk materials passes through the V2O3 structural phase transition. The magnitude of the effect of the V2O3 phase transformation on the magnetic properties of the Ni is strongly dependent on sintering temperature. The V2O3 crystallite size is also dependent on the sintering conditions. Stress on the Ni particles due to the V2O3 structural transformation produces an inverse magnetostrictive effect which is responsible for the changes in the magnetic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]