Novel Mn-doped chalcopyrites

Heavily Mn-doped II-VI-V-2 semiconductors, such as CdGeP2 and ZnGeP2 have been prepared by depositing Mn on single crystalline substrate at nearly 400 T in an ultra high vacuum chamber. Well-defined ferromagnetic hysteresis with a saturation behavior appears in the magnetization curve up to above room temperature. The chemical states of the ZDGeP(2):Mn interface has been clarified by a careful in situ photoemission spectroscopy. The as-prepared surface consists of Ge-rich, metallic Mn compound. In and below the sub-surface region, dilute divalent Mn species as precursors of the DMS phase exist. No MnP phase was observed at any stage of the depth profile. Theoretical band-calculation suggests that the system with vacancies (Cd, V-c, Mn)GeP2 or a non-stoichiometric (Cd, Ge, Mn)GeP2 are ferromagnetic and energetically stable although ferromagnetism is not stable in a stoichiometric compound (Cd, Mn)GeP2. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Growth, magnetotransport, and magnetic properties of ferromagnetic (In,Mn)Sb crystals

In1−xMnxSb crystals are grown with different Mn doping concentrations (x = 0.006, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.04) beyond the equilibrium solubility limit by the horizontal Bridgman technique. Structural, magnetic, and magnetotransport properties of the grown crystals are studied in the temperature range 1.4–300 K. Negative magnetoresistance and anomalous Hall effect are observed below 10 K. The anomalous Hall coefficient is found to be negative. The temperature dependence of the magnetization measurement shows a magnetic ordering below 10 K, which could arise from InMnSb alloy formation. Also, the saturation in magnetization observed even at room temperature suggests the existence of ferromagnetic MnSb clusters in the crystals, which has been verified by scanning electron microscopy studies. The carrier concentration increases with Mn doping, and this results in a decrease of resistivity. The carrier concentration and mobility at room temperature for the doped crystals are ∼ 2×1019 cm−3 and ∼ 200 cm2/V s, respectively. The observed anomalous Hall effect suggests the carrier mediated ferromagnetism below 10 K in In1−xMnxSb crystals.

On the magnetization reversal of the oxide-based exchange spring magnet

The role of the soft phase (Ni0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4) on the magnetization reversal and coercivity mechanism of the Ni0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4/BaFe12O19 nanocomposite has been investigated. The presence of the interacting field and the disorder in the nanocomposite has been confirmed by the variation of Jr/Jr(∞) vs Jd/Jr(∞) and the irreversible magnetization. To understand the relative strength of the pinning and the nucleation, the magnetic viscosity measurement has been done and the thermal activation volume has been estimated. From the Barbier plot and the activation volume measurement, the dominant mechanism governing the magnetization reversal process has been proposed.

A note on magnetization of high temperature superconductors (YBCO, BSCCO) in mixed state

We present a critical study of the temperature and field dependence magnetization of high temperature superconductors (HTSCs). The controversial field dependence of dM/dInB for YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7) (YBCO) and Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8) (BSCCO) is discussed using different models. Moreover, for both the systems the magnetization (M(H)) dependence is compared with field (H) dependence. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ZnFe(2)O(4): Rapid and sub-100 degrees C synthesis and anneal-tuned magnetic properties

Nanocrystalline zinc ferrite (ZFO) has been synthesized from metal acetylacetonates by microwave irradiation for 5 min in the presence of a surfactant. The as-prepared material is ZFO and has been subjected in air to conventional furnace annealing and to rapid annealing at different temperatures. Both annealing protocols lead to well-crystallized ZFO, with crystallite sizes in the range similar to 8-20 nm, which is ferrimagnetic, even at room temperature, with magnetization attaining saturation. While the magnetization M(S) of conventionally annealed ZFO varies with crystallite size in the expected manner, rapid annealing leads to high M(S) even when the crystallite size is relatively large. The coercivity is greater in the conventionally annealed ZFO. Thermal and magnetic measurements suggest that the inhomogeneous site cationic distribution within each crystallite caused by rapid annealing can be used to tailor the magnetic behaviour of nanocrystalline ferrites.

Martensite-like transition and spin-glass behavior in nanocrystalline Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3

We report on isothermal pulsed (20 ms) field magnetization, temperature dependent AC - susceptibility, and the static low magnetic field measurements carried out on 10 nm sized Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 nanoparticles (PCMO10). The saturation field for the magnetization of PCMO10 (similar to 250 kOe) is found to be reduced in comparison with that of bulk PCMO (similar to 300 kOe). With increasing temperature, the critical magnetic field required to `melt' the residual charge-ordered phase decays exponentially while the field transition range broadens, which is indicative of a Martensite-like transition. The AC - susceptibility data indicate the presence of a frequency-dependent freezing temperature, satisfying the conventional Vogel-Fulcher and power laws, pointing to the existence of a spin-glass-like disordered magnetic phase. The present results lead to a better understanding of manganite physics and might prove helpful for practical applications. Copyright 2011 Author(s). This article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. doi:10.1063/1.3664786]

Tailoring the Magnetic and Optical Characteristics of Nanocrystalline BiFeO3 by Ce Doping

The Ce-doped BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using a facile solgel route with varying Ce concentrations in the range of 15 mol%. Ferroelectric transition temperature was found to shift from 723 degrees C +/- 5 degrees C for pristine BFO NPs to 534 degrees C +/- 3 degrees C for 5 mol% Ce-doped BFO NPs. UVVis absorption spectra of BFO NPs showed a significant blue shift of similar to 100 nm on Ce doping. The Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectrum centered similar to 550 cm(-1) becomes considerably broadened on Ce doping which is due to additional closely spaced vibrational peaks as revealed by the second derivative FTIR analysis. High-frequency EPR measurements indicated that clustering occurs at high dopant levels, and that Fe is present as Fe(3+)corroborating Mossbauer measurements. The values of saturation and remanent magnetization for 3% Ce-doped BFO NPs are 3.03 and 0.49 emu/g, respectively, which are quite significant at room temperature, making it more suitable for technological applications.

Charge order suppression, emergence of ferromagnetism and absence of exchange bias effect in Bi0.25Ca0.75MnO3 nanoparticles: Electron paramagnetic resonance and magnetization studies

We report the results of magnetization and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies on nanoparticles (average diameter similar to 30 nm) of Bi0.25Ca0.75MnO3 (BCMO) and compare them with the results on bulk BCMO. The nanoparticles were prepared using the nonaqueous sol-gel technique and characterized by XRD and TEM analysis. Magnetization measurements were carried out with a commercial physical property measurement system (PPMS). While the bulk BCMO exhibits a charge ordering transition at similar to 230 K and an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition at similar to 130 K, in the nanoparticles, the CO phase is seen to have disappeared and a transition to a ferromagnetic (FM) state is observed at T-c similar to 120 K. However, interestingly, the exchange bias effect observed in other nanomanganite ferromagnets is absent in BCMO nanoparticles. EPR measurements were carried out in the X-band between 8 and 300 K. Lineshape fitting to a Lorentzian with two terms (accounting for both the clockwise and anticlockwise rotations of the microwave field) was employed to obtain the relevant EPR parameters as functions of temperature. The results confirm the occurrence of ferromagnetism in the nanoparticles of BCMO. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4730612]

Understanding the Magnetization Reversal in Six-Fold Anisotropic Hexagonal Networks

Isolated magnetic nanowires have been studied extensively and the magnetization reversal mechanism is well understood in these systems. But when these nanowires are joined together in different architectures, they behave differently and can give novel properties. Using this approach, one can engineer the network architectures to get artificial anisotropy. Here, we report six-fold anisotropy by joining the magnetic nanowires into hexagonal network. For this study, we also benchmark the widely used micromagnetic packages: OOMMF, Nmag, and LLG-simulator. Further, we propose a local hysteresis method by post processing the spatial magnetization information. With this approach we obtained the hysteresis of nanowires to understand the six-fold anisotropy and the reversal mechanism within the hexagonal networks.

Magnetization in electron- and Mn- doped SrTiO3

Mn- doped SrTiO3.0, when synthesized free of impurities, is a paramagnetic insulator with interesting dielectric properties. Since delocalized charge carriers are known to promote ferromagnetism in a large number of systems via diverse mechanisms, we have looked for the possibility of any intrinsic, spontaneous magnetization by simultaneous doping of Mn ions and electrons into SrTiO3 via oxygen vacancies, thereby forming SrTi1-xMnxO3-delta, to the extent of making the doped system metallic. We find an absence of any enhancement of the magnetization in the metallic sample when compared with a similarly prepared Mn doped, however, insulating sample. Our results, thus, are not in agreement with a recent observation of a weak ferromagnetism in metallic Mn doped SrTiO3 system.

Effects of two-wheelers on saturation flow at signalized intersections in developing countries

Two-wheelers (TW) constitute a major proportion of urban traffic in developing countries and therefore their effect on the saturation flow at signalized intersections could be substantial. This paper attempts to study and analyze the effect of two-wheelers on the saturation flow of signalized intersections by collecting data at a few signalized intersections in Bangalore, India. A strong correlation is observed between the measured saturation flow and the proportion of two-wheeler traffic, which suggest that two-wheelers have significant impact and should be considered in the capacity analysis of signalized intersections. In this paper, the effect of two-wheelers on saturation flow rate is incorporated in a previous model by calibrating and introducing a new adjustment factor for two-wheelers. Results show that saturation flow measured using the modified HCM equation is closer to observed saturation flow values.

Effect of Gd3+ on dielectric and magnetic properties of Y3Fe5O12

The Gd3+ doped Y3-xGdxFe5O12 (x=0.0, 0.05, 0.15, and 0.25) nanopowders were prepared using modified sol-gel route. The structural characterizations such as X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy has been carried out. The nanopowders were sintered at 700 degrees C/3 h. The lattice parameters and density of the samples were increased with an increase of Gd3+ concentration. The microstructure was analyzed using atomic force microscopy. The room temperature dielectric (epsilon' and epsilon `') and magnetic (mu' and mu `') properties were measured in the frequency range 5-50 GHz. with Gd3+ the dielectric properties were enhanced, but there is a decrease in the magnetic properties. The room temperature magnetization studies were carried out up to 1.5 T. the saturation and remnant magnetization were decreased with an increase of gadolinium concentration. These garnets have low permeability, low losses and a broad distribution of FMR line width which makes them a promising material for microwave devices can be used in the high frequency range i.e. up to 50 GHz. (C) 2013 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.

Damping of Sands for Varying Saturation

A series of resonant column tests have been performed in the torsional mode of vibration to assess the effect of saturation, starting from the near dry state to the fully saturated state, on the damping ratio of sands corresponding to the threshold strain level. Tests were carried out on three different gradations of sand for various combinations of relative density and effective confining pressure. For fine sands, a certain optimum degree of saturation exists at which the damping ratio minimizes; it is known that a decrease in Sr from a fully saturated state leads to a continuous increase in the matric suction. With an increase in the relative density, the optimum degree of saturation for fine sand increases marginally from 1.38 to 1.49%, but does not show any dependency on the effective confining pressure. In contrast, the minimum values of the damping ratio for medium and coarse sands are found to always correspond to the near dry state. The damping ratio decreases continuously with increases in relative density and effective confining pressure. The threshold strain level has been found to decrease continuously with increases in relative density and effective confining pressure. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.