Search results for "Condensed Matter::Superconductivity"

Reduction of low-frequency 1/f noise in Al-AlOx-Al tunnel junctions by thermal annealing

2010

We report that annealing Al-AlOx-Al tunnel junctions in a vacuum chamber at temperature of 400C reduces the characteristic 1/f noise in the junctions, in some cases by an order of magnitude. Both ultra high vacuum and high vacuum fabricated samples demonstrated a significant reduction in the 1/f noise level. Temperature dependence of the noise was studied between 4.2 and 340 Kelvin, with a linear dependence below 100 K, but a faster increase above. The results are consistent with a model where the density of charge trapping two level-systems within the tunneling barrier is reduced by the annealing process.

Effect of annealing on Co2FeAl0.5Si0.5thin films: A magneto-optical and x-ray absorption study

2011

A series of Al and MgO-capped Co${}_{2}$FeAl${}_{0.5}$Si${}_{0.5}$ epitaxial thin films grown on MgO with various levels of L2${}_{1}$ ordering was obtained by in situ annealing. The films were studied by means of x-ray absorption spectroscopy, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), magneto-optical Kerr effect magnetometry, and Brillouin light scattering. We find the anisotropy constants decrease, while the spin wave stiffness increases as the samples are annealed to higher temperatures. The magnetization as determined by Brillouin light scattering reveals a maximum value at intermediate annealing temperatures. Surprisingly, the orbital-to-spin-moment ratio (as seen from XMCD) is essenti…

Tight-Binding study of the electronic and magnetic properties of an L1_0 ordered FeCu alloy

1997

We have calculated the electronic structure of the tetragonal L1$_0$ ordered FeCu by solving self-consistently a tight-binding Hamiltonian for s, p and d electrons. We have found by total energy calculation that this structure is ferromagnetic. In addition, we have determined that the equilibrium ratio between the interlayer and the intralayer lattice parameters is 0.947.

Hysteresis and change of transition temperature in thin films of Fe{[Me2Pyrz]3BH}2, a new sublimable spin-crossover molecule.

2015

Thin films of the spin-crossover (SCO) molecule Fe{[Me(2)Pyrz](3)BH}(2) (Fe-pyrz) were sublimed on Si/SiO2 and quartz substrates, and their properties investigated by X-ray absorption and photo-emission spectroscopies, optical absorption, atomic force microscopy, and superconducting quantum interference device. Contrary to the previously studied Fe(phen)(2)(NCS)(2), the films are not smooth but granular. The thin films qualitatively retain the typical SCO properties of the powder sample (SCO, thermal hysteresis, soft X-ray induced excited spin-state trapping, and light induced excited spin-state trapping) but present intriguing variations even in micrometer-thick films: the transition tempe…

Magnetic properties of the TbMn2 single crystals

1999

Abstract Single crystals of TbMn 2 were grown by the Czochralski method from a levitated melt. Results of electrical resistivity, magnetization in strong magnetic fields along the principal crystallographic directions, AC and DC magnetic susceptibility and the temperature dependence of the lattice parameter are presented.

Detection of magnetic thin film impurity phases using nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond crystal

2019

We demonstrate the possibility to detect magnetic impurity phases in thin films using magnetic field imaging technique based on a layer of nitrogen-vacancy centers in the diamond lattice. We demonstrate results of magnetic field distributions created by impurity phases as well as mechanical defects on the thin film surface.

Magnetization relaxation in the flux-creep annealing regime across the second magnetization peak of disordered YBa2Cu3O7− crystals

2001

Abstract The relaxation of the irreversible magnetization of disordered YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x crystals measured in the “flux-creep annealing” regime reveals that across the second magnetization peak (SMP) the barriers against flux motion remain finite at low current densities, which supports the existence of a crossover to a dissipation process involving the plastic deformation of the vortex system. In our experiments, the vortex creep process appears to be exclusively controlled by collective pinning barriers (diverging at low current densities) only below the onset of the SMP, where the vortex system is stable against dislocation formation. The (elastic) collective pinning barriers observed f…

Assessment on the use of the amorphous semiconductor theory for the analysis of oxide films

2015

Abstract Although the theory of Schottky barrier in amorphous semiconductors is generally accepted, the limits of validity of such theory have not yet been explored. The classic semi-analytical solution is obtained under the constraint of constant electronic density of states (DOS) distribution in the mobility gap. In order to take into account the presence of a DOS variable in energy, a semi-empirical corrective power law was introduced in this paper. It is shown that the equations derived for thick films maintain their validity also in the case of thin films, provided that the space charge region width remains lower than 70% of the whole film thickness. A new expression based on the use o…

2021

Controlling thermal transport at the nanoscale is vital for many applications. Previously, it has been shown that this control can be achieved with periodically nanostructured two-dimensional phononic crystals for the case of suspended devices. Here, we show that thermal conductance can also be controlled with three-dimensional phononic crystals, allowing the engineering of the thermal contact of more varied devices without the need for suspension in the future. We show the experimental results obtained at sub-Kelvin temperatures for two different period three-dimensional crystals and for a bulk control structure. The results show that the conductance can be enhanced with the phononic cryst…

Disorder-induced vibrational anomalies from crystalline to amorphous solids

2021

The origin of boson peak -- an excess of density of states over Debye's model in glassy solids -- is still under intense debate, among which some theories and experiments suggest that boson peak is related to van-Hove singularity. Here we show that boson peak and van-Hove singularity are well separated identities, by measuring the vibrational density of states of a two-dimensional granular system, where packings are tuned gradually from a crystalline, to polycrystals, and to an amorphous material. We observe a coexistence of well separated boson peak and van-Hove singularities in polycrystals, in which the van-Hove singularities gradually shift to higher frequency values while broadening th…