Atsushi Miyake

Magnetic control of transverse electric polarization in BiFeO 3

Numerous attempts have been made to realize crossed coupling between ferroelectricity and magnetism in multiferroic materials at room temperature. BiFeO3 is the most extensively studied multiferroic material that shows multiferroicity at temperatures significantly above room temperature. Here we present high-field experiments on high-quality mono-domain BiFeO3 crystals reveal substantial electric polarization orthogonal to the widely recognized one along the trigonal c axis. This novel polarization appears to couple with the domains of the cycloidal spin order and, hence, can be controlled using magnetic fields. The transverse polarization shows the non-volatile memory effect at least up to 300 K.

Quantum Hall effect in a bulk antiferromagnet EuMnBi2 with magnetically confined two-dimensional Dirac fermions.

Quantum transport of quasi–two-dimensional Dirac fermions is largely controlled by magnetic order in a layered magnet. For the innovation of spintronic technologies, Dirac materials, in which low-energy excitation is described as relativistic Dirac fermions, are one of the most promising systems because of the fascinating magnetotransport associated with extremely high mobility. To incorporate Dirac fermions into spintronic applications, their quantum transport phenomena are desired to be manipulated to a large extent by magnetic order in a solid. We report a bulk half-integer quantum Hall effect in a layered antiferromagnet EuMnBi2, in which field-controllable Eu magnetic order significantly suppresses the interlayer coupling between the Bi layers with Dirac fermions. In addition to the high mobility of more than 10,000 cm2/V s, Landau level splittings presumably due to the lifting of spin and valley degeneracy are noticeable even in a bulk magnet. These results will pave a route to the engineering of magnetically functionalized Dirac materials.

One-Third Magnetization Plateau with a Preceding Novel Phase in Volborthite

We have synthesized high-quality single crystals of volborthite, a seemingly distorted kagome antiferromagnet, and carried out high-field magnetization measurements up to 74 T and ^{51}V NMR measurements up to 30 T. An extremely wide 1/3 magnetization plateau appears above 28 T and continues over 74 T at 1.4 K, which has not been observed in previous studies using polycrystalline samples. NMR spectra reveal an incommensurate order (most likely a spin-density wave order) below 22 T and a simple spin structure in the plateau phase. Moreover, a novel intermediate phase is found between 23 and 26 T, where the magnetization varies linearly with magnetic field and the NMR spectra indicate an inhomogeneous distribution of the internal magnetic field. This sequence of phases in volborthite bears a striking similarity to those of frustrated spin chains with a ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor coupling J_{1} competing with an antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor coupling J_{2}.

Quantum Hall states observed in thin films of Dirac semimetal Cd 3 As 2

A well known semiconductor Cd3As2 has reentered the spotlight due to its unique electronic structure and quantum transport phenomena as a topological Dirac semimetal. For elucidating and controlling its topological quantum state, high-quality Cd3As2 thin films have been highly desired. Here we report the development of an elaborate growth technique of high-crystallinity and high-mobility Cd3As2 films with controlled thicknesses and the observation of quantum Hall effect dependent on the film thickness. With decreasing the film thickness to 10 nm, the quantum Hall states exhibit variations such as a change in the spin degeneracy reflecting the Dirac dispersion with a large Fermi velocity. Details of the electronic structure including subband splitting and gap opening are identified from the quantum transport depending on the confinement thickness, suggesting the presence of a two-dimensional topological insulating phase. The demonstration of quantum Hall states in our high-quality Cd3As2 films paves a road to study quantum transport and device application in topological Dirac semimetal and its derivative phases.Despite many achievements in the topological semimetal Cd3As2, the high-quality Cd3As2 films are still rare. Here, Uchida et al. grow high-crystallinity and high-mobility Cd3As2 thin films and observe quantum Hall states dependent on the confinement thickness.

Quasi-two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensation of spin triplets in the dimerized quantum magnet Ba2CuSi2O6Cl2

We synthesized single crystals of composition Ba 2 CuSi 2 O 6 Cl 2 and investigated their quantum magnetic properties. The crystal structure is closely related to that of the quasi-two-dimensional (2D) dimerized magnet BaCuSi 2 O 6 also known as Han purple. Ba 2 CuSi 2 O 6 Cl 2 has a singlet ground state with an excitation gap of /k B = 20.8 K. The magnetization curves for two different field directions almost perfectly coincide when normalized by the g factor except for a small jump anomaly for a magnetic field perpendicular to the c axis. The magnetization curve with a nonlinear slope above the critical field is in excellent agreement with exact-diagonalization calculations based on a 2D coupled spin-dimer model. Individual exchange constants are also evaluated using density functional theory (DFT). The DFT results demonstrate a 2D exchange network and weak frustration between interdimer exchange interactions, supported by weak spin-lattice coupling implied from our magnetostriction data. The magnetic-field-induced spin ordering in Ba 2 CuSi 2 O 6 Cl 2 is described as the quasi-2D Bose-Einstein condensation of triplets.

Consecutive magnetic phase diagram of UCoGe-URhGe-UIrGe system

Abstract We prepared single crystals in UCo1−xRhxGe and UIr1−xRhxGe systems to establish a complex dU-U-T (dU-U is the shortest interatomic uranium distance and T is temperature) magnetic phase diagram. This recognized a characteristic maximum in magnetic susceptibility at temperature Tmax along the b axis as an important parameter. Three magnetically ordered regions can be distinguished within this scope; first a ferromagnetic region with Curie temperature

Resistive memory effects in BiFeO3 single crystals controlled by transverse electric fields

The effects of electric fields perpendicular to the c-axis of the trigonal cell in single crystals of BiFeO3 are investigated through magnetization and resistance measurements. Magnetization and resistance exhibit hysteretic changes under applied electric fields, which can be ascribed to the reorientation of the magnetoelectric domains. Samples are repetitively switched between high- and low-resistance states by changing the polarity of the applied electric fields over 20 000 cycles at room temperature. These results demonstrate the potential of BiFeO3 for use in non-volatile memory devices.

Development of non-metallic diamond anvil cell and quantum oscillation measurement of CePt2ln7 in a pulsed-magnet

In order to combine the extreme conditions of high pressure and magnetic field, we have developed a non-metallic diamond anvil cell to avoid Joule-heating in a pulsed-magnetic field. Although the cell is deformed with loading, a maximum pressure of ~ 8.5 GPa can be applied. Quantum oscillation measurements using tunnel diode oscillator have been performed for heavy fermion antiferromagnet CePt2In7 in a pulsed field and at ambient pressure. The detail of the pressure cell and field-induced Fermi surface changes of CePt2In7 are discussed.

Novel multiferroic phase of CsCuCl3 in High Magnetic Fields

We measured the magnetization and the electric polarization under pulsed magnetic field up to 44 T. In magnetization measurements for H//b* (perpendicular to the ca-plane), we found a new phase transition through the differential magnetization at 17 T, which is slightly higher than the field range of the magnetization plateau. This finding was supported by the electronic polarization measurements, with the observation of a bump structure in dP/dB signal. These results suggest the new phase transition.

Observation of Poiseuille flow of phonons in black phosphorus

Hydrodynamic flow of phonons, previously detected only in a handful of solids, is observed in black phosphorus. The travel of heat in insulators is commonly pictured as a flow of phonons scattered along their individual trajectory. In rare circumstances, momentum-conserving collision events dominate, and thermal transport becomes hydrodynamic. One of these cases, dubbed the Poiseuille flow of phonons, can occur in a temperature window just below the peak temperature of thermal conductivity. We report on a study of heat flow in bulk black phosphorus between 0.1 and 80 K. We find a thermal conductivity showing a faster than cubic temperature dependence between 5 and 12 K. Consequently, the effective phonon mean free path shows a nonmonotonic temperature dependence at the onset of the ballistic regime, with a size-dependent Knudsen minimum. These are hallmarks of Poiseuille flow previously observed in a handful of solids. Comparing the phonon dispersion in black phosphorus and silicon, we show that the phase space for normal scattering events in black phosphorus is much larger. Our results imply that the most important requirement for the emergence of Poiseuille flow is the facility of momentum exchange between acoustic phonon branches. Proximity to a structural transition can be beneficial for the emergence of this behavior in clean systems, even when they do not exceed silicon in purity.