R. Vidyasagar

Study on spin-splitting phenomena in the band structure of GdN

An exceptional kind of spin splitting in the band structure of AlN/GdN/AlN double heterostructures has been studied by employing temperature-dependent spectroscopy. This spin splitting can be attributed to both the band-gap shrink and the difference between minority and majority band energies in GdN below the Curie point; these results have been established by evaluating the optical band gaps at the X-point. The temperature-dependent magnetization measurements that provide direct evidence of the magnetic ordering below 32 K and it is described by long-range spin correlation in GdN.

Ferromagnetic properties of GdN thin films studied by temperature dependent circular polarized spectroscopy

Magneto-optical properties of GdN thin films have been investigated by employing temperature dependent optical circular dichroism spectroscopy and angular dependent resonance field measurement. Spin-splitting in the band structure of GdN thin films has been evaluated by optical circular dichroism absorbance spectra, and the manifested spin-splitting energy ascribed to the difference between majority and minority spin band states in GdN. The plot of left circular polarization and right circular polarization bandgap reflects the half-hysteresis loop (positive side) trend, which is evidenced by magnetization measurements. The angular dependent resonance field measurements showed strong magnetic anisotropy along in-plane of GdN, which is attributed to the disturbance in the spin alignment in GdN. We demonstrate that the ferromagnetic properties depend on the film thickness. These results provide a pathway to control the spin ordering using circularly polarized light and the magnetic anisotropy.

Giant optical splitting in the spin-states assisting a sharp magnetic switching in GdN thin films

The spin-states splitting and spin ordering in the band structure of GdN thin films have been studied using optical absorbance spectroscopy and magnetometer. Remarkably, the optical absorbance measurements indicate a giant splitting in the spin-states near-infrared frequency regime, through which the spin-up and spin-down states of the GdN films have been evaluated. Both the spin-up and spin-down states split subsequently wider, which attributes to a combining effect from the nitrogen vacancies, and the population of electronic states pertaining to the spins associated with 4f states of Gd3+ ions. While spin-splitting energy enhances, magnetic-hysteresis loops suggest a sharp magnetic switching feature.

Defect chemistry and relaxation processes: effect of an amphoteric substituent in lead-free BCZT ceramics

The effect of praseodymium (Pr), an amphoteric substituent, on phase transition, dielectric relaxation and electrical conductivity has been studied and analysed in 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 (BCZT) ceramics synthesized by a solid state reaction method. Structural investigations showed co-existence of two phases - tetragonal (P4mm) and rhombohedral (R3m) - for compositions with x ≤ 0.05 wt% Pr. Temperature dependent dielectric studies revealed two phase transitions - rhombohedral (R) → tetragonal (T) and T → cubic (C) - that gradually evolved into one T → C transition for x > 0.05 wt% Pr in BCZT. A dielectric relaxation behaviour was observed in the temperature range of 275-500 °C that was attributed to the localized relaxation process (short-range hopping motion of oxygen vacancies) in the bulk of the material. Grain and grain boundary conductivity evaluated from the impedance data revealed that Pr acts as a donor dopant for x ≤ 0.05 wt% while it is an acceptor for higher concentration, in accordance with XRD observations. Defect chemistry analysis for better interpretation of the acquired data is presented. Frequency and temperature dependent ac conductivity studies were also performed and the obtained activation energy values were associated with possible conduction mechanisms.

GMI in the reentrant spin-glass Fe90Zr10 alloy: Investigation of the spin dynamics in the MHz frequency regime

Giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) in the reentrant spin-glass (SG) phase of ferromagnetic Fe90Zr10 is reported. The temperature (T) dependence of the GMI allows the investigation of the spin dynamics in the SG phase in the MHz frequency regime and thus very short relaxation times τ (∼10−8 s). The GMI shows a broad maximum around 150 K and diminishes with decreasing T below the glass temperature Tg of 15 K. The magnetic permeability data obtained from the GMI data show the general features observed in the ac magnetic susceptibility measured at lower frequencies (10 ≤ f ≤ 104 Hz), yielding values of Tf (=Tg(f)) that allow testing the validity of the power-law scaling used for describing the dynamics of SG-phases up to 15 MHz. A log-log plot of τ (=1/f) versus the reduced critical temperature shows two distinct regimes in the time-domain: (1) a critical slowing-down is observed for values τ > 3 × 10−3 s; and (2) for 7 × 10−8 ≤ τ ≤ 3 × 10−3 s. In the latter case a fitting to the power-law yields the value 7.4 for ...

Electronic transitions in GdN band structure

Using the near-infrared (NIR) absorbance spectroscopy, electronic transitions and spin polarization of the GdN epitaxial film have been investigated; and the GdN epitaxial film was grown by a reactive rf sputtering technique. The GdN film exhibited three broad bands in the NIR frequency regimes; and those bands are attributable primarily to the minority and majority spin transitions at the X-point and an indirect transition along the Γ-X symmetric direction of GdN Brillouin zone. We experimentally observe a pronounced red-shift of the indirect band gap when cooling down below the Curie temperature which is ascribed to the orbital-dependent coulomb interactions of Gd-5dxy electrons, which tend to push-up the N-2p bands. On the other hand, we have evaluated the spin polarization of 0.17 (±0.005), which indicates that the GdN epitaxial film has almost 100% spin-polarized carriers. Furthermore, the experimental result of GdN electronic transitions are consistent with the previous reports and are thus well-reproduced. The Arrott plots evidenced that the Curie temperature of GdN film is 36 K and the large spin moment is explained by the nitrogen vacancies and the intra-atomic exchange interaction.

Giant Zeeman shifts in the optical transitions of yttrium iron garnet thin films

We report the observation of giant Zeeman shifts in the optical transitions of high-quality very thin films of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) grown by rf sputtering on gadolinium gallium garnet substrates. The optical absorption profile measured with magneto-optical absorption spectroscopy shows dual optical transition in the UV-visible frequency region attributed to transitions from the O-2p valence band to the Fe-3d conduction band and from the O-2p valence band to Fe-2p53d6 excitonic states at the Γ-symmetry point of the YIG band structure. The application of a static magnetic field of only 0.6 kOe produces giant Zeeman shifts of ∼100 meV in the YIG band structure and ∼60 meV in the excitonic states corresponding to effective g-factors on the order of 104. The giant Zeeman effects are attributed to changes in energy levels by the large exchange fields of the Fe-3d orbitals during the magnetization process.

Microscopic properties of degradation-free capped GdN thin films studied by electron spin resonance

The microscopic magnetic properties of high-quality GdN thin films have been investigated by electron spin resonance (ESR) and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements. Detailed temperature dependence ESR measurements have shown the existence of two ferromagnetic components at lower temperatures, which was not clear from the previous magnetization measurements. The temperature, where the resonance shift occurs for the major ferromagnetic component, seems to be consistent with the Curie temperature obtained from the previous magnetization measurement. On the other hand, the divergence of line width is observed around 57 K for the minor ferromagnetic component. The magnetic anisotropies of GdN thin films have been obtained by the analysis of FMR angular dependence observed at 4.2 K. Combining the X-ray diffraction results, the correlation between the magnetic anisotropies and the lattice constants is discussed.

Evaluation of minority and majority spin band energies of ferromagnetic GdN thin film using optical absorption spectroscopy

Temperature dependent optical Tauc plots of AlN/GdN/AlN heterostructures have showed two optically induced transitions, and those optical transitions could be attributed to the minority and majority spin band energy. In contrast, temperature dependent magnetization measurements of GdN thin film provide direct evidence of spin ordering below 39 K, and which is also evidenced by Arrott plots.

Surface potential distribution of multilayer graphene using Kelvin probe and electric-field force microscopies

ABSTRACT Surface properties of multilayer graphene (MLG) were studied by Kelvin Probe and Electric-field Force Microscopies (KPFM and EFM). Using KPFM, we observed an increase in the work function of MLG with increasing thickness. This is attributed to the surface π-electrons of pz orbitals shifting the Fermi level away from the Dirac point. EFM measurements indicate that the EFM phase increases with DC electric fields (−5 V ≤ V ≤ 5 V) applied to the probe. The parabolic phase-shift dependence is pertaining to the electrostatic interaction produced at the tip-MLG interface. These results provide future directions in band-gap engineering of graphene-based devices.