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At least 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Magnetic Damping in Polycrystalline Thin-Film Fe-V Alloys

Here, we report on the magnetic damping properties of polycrystalline Fe-V alloy thin films that are deposited at room temperature. By varying the concentration of V in the alloy, the saturation magnetization can be adjusted from that of Fe to near zero.We show that exceptionally low values of the damping parameter can be maintained over the majority of this range, with a minimum damping at approximately 15%–20% V concentration. Such a minimum is qualitatively reproduced with ab initio calculations of the damping parameter, although at a concentration closer to 10% V. The measured intrinsic damping has a minimum value of (1.53±0.08)×10 –3 , which is approximately a factor of 3 higher than our calculated value of 0.48×10 –3 . From first-principles theory, we outline the factors that are mainly responsible for the trend of the damping parameter in these alloys. In particular, the band structure and resulting damping mechanism is shown to change at V concentrations greater than approximately 35% V content.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Long mean free paths of room-temperature THz acoustic phonons in a high thermal conductivity material

We report measurements of room-temperature mean free paths of long-lived THz acoustic phonons in wurtzite GaN. Longitudinal phonon wave packets are excited and probed by femtosecond laser pulses in two InGaN-GaN multiple quantum well structures separated by a GaN layer. By measuring the temperature dependence of the phonon attenuation in the range 80–300 K we isolate the intrinsic phonon mean free path at 300 K which is found to be 5.3 and 3.5 μm at 1.06 and 1.43 THz, respectively. The measurements are found to be in good agreement with ab initio calculations which show that the main channel of the acoustic phonon decay is a three-phonon scattering process involving the acoustic phonon and two high-frequency optical phonons. Here, our results indicate that the contribution of low-THz acoustic phonons to thermal transport in GaN is relatively smaller than in Si; thus finite size effects are expected to be less important in GaN.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Noncollinear magnetic structure and anisotropic magnetoelastic coupling in cobalt pyrovanadate $\mathrm{Co_2V_2O_7}$

$\mathrm{Co_2V_2O_7}$ was recently reported to exhibit remarkable magnetic-field-induced magnetization plateaus and ferroelectricity, but its magnetic ground state remains ambiguous. Magnetometry measurements and time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction (NPD) have been employed to study the structural and magnetic properties of $\mathrm{Co_2V_2O_7}$, which includes two nonequivalent Co sites. Upon cooling below the Néel temperature $T_N = 6.0(2)$ K, we observe magnetic Bragg peaks at 2 K in NPD, which indicates the formation of long-range magnetic order of $\mathrm{Co^{2+}}$ moments. After symmetry analysis and magnetic structure refinement, we demonstrate that $\mathrm{Co_2V_2O_7}$ possesses a complicated noncollinear magnetic ground state with Co moments mainly located in the b-c plane and forming a noncollinear spin-chain-like structure along the c -axis. The ab initio calculations demonstrate that the noncollinear magnetic structure is more stable than various ferromagnetic states at low temperature. The noncollinear magnetic structure with a canted ↑↑↓↓ spin configuration is considered to be the origin of magnetoelectric coupling in$\mathrm{Co_2V_2O_7}$ because the inequivalent exchange striction induced by the spin-exchange interaction between the neighboring spins could be the driving force of ferroelectricity. Finally, it is also found that the deviation of lattice parameters a and b is opposite below $T_N$, while the lattice parameter c and $β$ stay almost constant below $T_N$, evidencing the anisotropic magnetoelastic coupling in $\mathrm{Co_2V_2O_7}$.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Bose-Einstein condensation of triplons close to the quantum critical point in the quasi-one-dimensional spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ antiferromagnet $\mathrm{NaVOPO_4}$

Structural and magnetic properties of a quasi-one-dimensional spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ compound $\mathrm{NaVOPO_4}$ are explored by x-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, high-field magnetization, specific heat, electron spin resonance, and $\mathrm{^{31}P}$ nuclear magnetic resonance measurements, as well as complementary ab initio calculations. Whereas magnetic susceptibility of $\mathrm{NaVOPO_4}$ may be compatible with the gapless uniform spin chain model, detailed examination of the crystal structure reveals a weak alternation of the exchange couplings with the alternation ratio $α ≃ 0.98$ and the ensuing zero-field spin gap $Δ_0/k_B ≃ 2.4 K$ directly probed by field-dependent magnetization measurements. No long-range order is observed down to 50 mK in zero field. However, applied fields above the critical field $H_{c1} ≃ 1.6 T$ give rise to a magnetic ordering transition with the phase boundary $T_N ∝(H - H_{c1})^{\frac{1}{Φ}}$, where $Φ ≃ 1.8$ is close to the value expected for Bose-Einstein condensation of triplons. Finally, with its weak alternation of the exchange couplings and small spin gap, $\mathrm{NaVOPO_4}$ lies close to the quantum critical point.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Ab initio exact diagonalization simulation of the Nagaoka transition in quantum dots

Recent progress of quantum simulators provides insight into the fundamental problems of strongly correlated systems. To adequately assess the accuracy of these simulators, the precise modeling of the many-body physics, with accurate model parameters, is crucially important. In this paper, we employed an ab initio exact diagonalization framework to compute the correlated physics of a few electrons in artificial potentials. We apply this approach to a quantum-dot system and study the magnetism of the correlated electrons, obtaining good agreement with recent experimental measurements in a plaquette. Through control of dot potentials and separation, including geometric manipulation of tunneling, we examine the Nagaoka transition and determine the robustness of the ferromagnetic state. While the Nagaoka theorem considers only a single-band Hubbard model, in this work we perform extensive ab initio calculations that include realistic multiorbital conditions in which the level splitting is smaller than the interactions. In this work, this simulation complements the experiments and provides insight into the formation of ferromagnetism in correlated systems. More generally, our calculation sets the stage for further theoretical analysis of analog quantum simulators at a quantitative level.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Microscopic nonequilibrium energy transfer dynamics in a photoexcited metal/insulator heterostructure

The element specificity of soft x-ray spectroscopy makes it an ideal tool for analyzing the microscopic origin of ultrafast dynamics induced by localized optical excitation in metal-insulator heterostructures. As such, using [Fe/MgO]$_n$ as a model system, we perform ultraviolet pump/soft x-ray probe experiments, which are sensitive to all constituents of these heterostructures, to probe both electronic and lattice excitations. Complementary ultrafast electron diffraction experiments independently analyze the lattice dynamics of the Fe constituent, and together with ab initio calculations yield comprehensive insight into the microscopic processes leading to local relaxation within a single constituent or nonlocal relaxation between two constituents. Besides electronic excitations in Fe, which are monitored at the Fe L 3 absorption edge and relax within 1 ps by electron-phonon coupling, soft x-ray analysis identifies a change at the oxygen K absorption edge of theMgO layers which occurs within 0.5 ps. This ultrafast energy transfer across the Fe-MgO interface is mediated by high-frequency, interface vibrational modes, which are excited by hot electrons in Fe and couple to vibrations in MgO in a mode-selective, nonthermal manner. A second, slower timescale is identified at the oxygen K pre-edge and the Fe L 3 edge. The slower process represents energy transfer by acoustic phonons and contributes to thermalization of the entire heterostructure. We thus find that the interfacial energy transfer is associated with nonequilibrium behavior in the phonon system. Because our experiments lack signatures of charge transfer across the interface, we conclude that phonon-mediated processes dominate the competition of electronic and lattice excitations in these nonlocal, nonequilibrium dynamics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Carrier- and strain-tunable intrinsic magnetism in two-dimensional $MAX_3$ transition metal chalcogenides

Here, we present a density functional theory study of the carrier-density and strain dependence of magnetic order in two-dimensional (2D) $MAX_3$ ($\textit{M}$ = V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni; $\textit{A}$ = Si, Ge, Sn; and $\textit{X}$ = S, Se, Te) transition metal trichalcogenides. Our ab initio calculations show that this class of compounds includes wide and narrow gap semiconductors, metals, and half-metals, and that most of these compounds are magnetic. Although antiferromagnetic order is most common, ferromagnetism is predicted in $\textit{M}$SiSe 3 for $\textit{M}$ = Mn and Ni; in $\textit{M}$SiTe 3 for $\textit{M}$ = V and Ni; in MnGeSe 3 ; $\textit{M}$GeTe 3 for $\textit{M}$ = Cr, Mn, and Ni; in FeSnS 3 ; and in MSnTe 3 for $\textit{M}$ = V, Mn, and Fe. Among these compounds CrGeTe 3 , VSnTe 3 , and CrSnTe 3 are ferromagnetic semiconductors. Our calculations suggest that the competition between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic order can be substantially altered by strain engineering, and in the semiconductor case also by gating. The associated critical temperatures can be enhanced by means of carrier doping and strains.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Glide-resolved photoemission spectroscopy: Measuring topological invariants in nonsymmorphic space groups

The two classes of 3D, time-reversal-invariant insulators are known to subdivide into four classes in the presence of glide symmetry. Here, we extend this classification of insulators to include glide-symmetric Weyl metals and find a finer $\mathbb{Z}_4 ⊕\mathbb {Z}$ classification. We further elucidate the smoking-gun experimental signature of each class in the photoemission spectroscopy of surface states. Measuring the $\mathbb{Z}_4$ topological invariant by photoemission relies on identifying the glide representation of the initial Bloch state before photoexcitation—we show how this is accomplished with relativistic selection rules, combined with standard spectroscopic techniques to resolve both momentum and spin. In this work, our method relies on a spin-momentum locking that is characteristic of all glide-symmetric solids (inclusive of insulators and metals in trivial and topological categories). As an orthogonal application, given a glide-symmetric solid with an ideally symmetric surface, we may utilize this spin-momentum locking to generate a source of fully spin-polarized photoelectrons, which have diverse applications in solid-state spectroscopy. Our ab initio calculations predict Ba 2 Pb, stressed Na 3 Bi, and KHgSb to realize all three, nontrivial insulating phases in the $\mathbb{Z}_4$ classification.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Electronic structure of the Si-containing topological Dirac semimetal CaAl 2 Si 2

There has been an upsurge in the discovery of topological quantum materials, where various topological insulators and semimetals have been theoretically predicted and experimentally observed. However, very few of them contain silicon, the most widely used element in the electronics industry. Recently, ternary compound CaA l 2 S i 2 has been predicted to be a topological Dirac semimetal, hosting Lorentz-symmetry-violating quasiparticles with a strongly tilted conical band dispersion. In this work, by using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we investigated the comprehensive electronic structure of CaA l 2 S i 2 . A pair of topological Dirac crossings is observed along the k z direction, in good agreement with the ab initio calculations, confirming the topological Dirac semimetal nature of the compound. Our study expands the topological material family on Si-containing compounds, which have great application potential in realizing low-cost, nontoxic electronic devices with topological quantum states.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thermal effects on the electronic properties of sodium electride under high pressures

Sodium is a simple metal at ambient conditions, while it transits to an electride phase at pressures above ~160 GPa along the room temperature isotherm. Here we explore the thermal effects on the electronic properties of the $hP4$ phase of sodium along the $ρ$ = 5.872 g/cm 3 isochore. We quantitatively classify this phase as an insulator based on the criterion of nearsightedness of the one-particle density matrix. Ab initio calculations suggest that the band gap of this insulator decreases with increasing temperature along the isochore, primarily because of ionic distortions; culminating in an insulator-to-metal transition upon melting at $T_m \approx 2100$ $\hbox{K}$. This transition is accompanied by residual electronic localization (in d orbitals) in the form of dynamic electron bubbles and a change in hybridization form $p–d$ to $s–p$ upon melting. This transition is explored by tracking the electronic and electro-optical properties along the isochore under consideration.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ca 2 MnO 4 structural path: Following the negative thermal expansion at the local scale

The oxygen octahedral rotations in Ca 2 MnO 4 , the first member of the CaO(CaMnO 3 )n Ruddlesden-Popper family, is probed through a set of complementary techniques, including temperature-dependent neutron and x-ray diffraction, combined with local probe studies and ab initio calculations. Here we demonstrate the enhancement of the uniaxial negative thermal expansion coefficient from -1.26 ± 0.25 to -21 ± 1.8 ppm/K at the second order I4 1 /acd to I4/mmm structural phase transition, providing direct evidence for the corkscrew atomic mechanism. We establish, also, that the predicted I4/mmm high symmetry is attained around 1050 K. At lower temperatures, within the 10–1000 K temperature range, our first-principles calculations and detailed analysis of the Ca local environment reveals that the reported Aba2 structural phase, coexisting with the I4 1 /acd one, cannot describe correctly this compound. On the other hand, our data allow for the coexistence of the locally identical I4 1 /acd and Acam structural phases.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Space-time dependent thermal conductivity in nonlocal thermal transport

Nonlocal thermal transport is generally described by the Peierls-Boltzmann transport equation (PBE). However, solving the PBE for a general space-time dependent problem remains a challenging task due to the high dimensionality of the integro-differential equation. In this work, we present a direct solution to the space-time dependent PBE with a linearized collision matrix using an eigendecomposition method. We show that there exists a generalized Fourier-type relation that links heat flux to the local temperature, and this constitutive relation defines a thermal conductivity that depends on both time and space. Combining this approach with ab initio calculations of phonon properties, we demonstrate that the space-time dependent thermal conductivity gives rise to an oscillatory response in temperature in a transient grating geometry in high thermal conductivity materials. The present solution method allows us to extend the reach of our computational capability for heat conduction to space-time dependent nondiffusive transport regimes. Here, this capability will not only enable a more accurate interpretation of thermal measurements that observe nonlocal thermal transport, but also enhance our physical understanding of nonlocal thermal transport in high thermal conductivity materials that are promising candidates for nanoscale thermal management applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Buckled honeycomb antimony: Higher order topological insulator and its relation to the Kekulé lattice

Higher order topological tnsulators are d-spatial dimensional systems featuring topologically protected gapless states at their (d-n)-dimensional boundaries. With the help of ab initio calculations and tight-binding models along with symmetry considerations, we show that monolayer buckled honeycomb structures of group-V elements (Sb, As), which have already been synthesized, belong in this category and have a spinless charge fractionalization of $\frac{e}{2}$ at the corner states as well as weak topological edge states, protected by the S 6 symmetry operation, which classify this system as a quadrupole topological insulator. The robustness of these edge and corner states to perturbations is explicitly demonstrated.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Electron-phonon drag enhancement of transport properties from a fully coupled ab initio Boltzmann formalism

We present a combined treatment of the nonequilibrium dynamics and transport of electrons and phonons by carrying out ab initio calculations of the fully coupled electron and phonon Boltzmann transport equations. We find that the presence of mutual drag between the two carriers causes the thermopower to be enhanced and dominated by the transport of phonons, rather than electrons as in the traditional semiconductor picture. Drag also strongly boosts the intrinsic electron mobility, thermal conductivity and the Lorenz number. Impurity scattering is seen to suppress the drag enhancement of the thermal and electrical conductivities, while having weak effects on the enhancement of the Lorenz number and thermopower. We demonstrate these effects in n-doped 3C-SiC at room temperature, and explain their origins. This work establishes the roles of microscopic scattering mechanisms in the emergence of strong drag effects in the transport of the interacting electron-phonon gas.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Oxygen vacancy induced electronic structure modification of KTaO 3

The observation of a metallic interface between band insulators LaAlO 3 and SrTiO 3 has led to massive efforts to understand the origin of the phenomenon as well as to search for other systems hosting such two-dimensional electron gases (2-DEGs). However, the understanding of the origin of the 2-DEG is very often hindered as several possible mechanisms such as polar catastrophe, cationic intermixing, and oxygen vacancy (OV) can be operative simultaneously. The presence of a heavy element makes the KTaO 3 (KTO) based 2-DEG a potential platform to investigate spin-orbit coupling driven novel electronic and magnetic phenomena. In this work, we investigate the sole effect of OV in KTO, which makes KTO metallic. O K-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements find that OV dopes electrons in Ta t * 2g antibonding states. Photoluminescence measurements reveal the existence of a highly localized deep midgap state in oxygen-deficient KTO. Our detailed ab initio calculations demonstrate that such deep midgap state arises due to the linear clustering of OVs around Ta. Finally, our present work emphasizes that we must pay attention to the possible presence of OVs in interpreting emergent behavior of KTO-based heterostructures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Two-dimensional multifunctional materials from endohedral fullerenes

A multifunctional two-dimensional (2D) material is theoretically predicted based on systematic ab initio calculations and model simulations for the honeycomb lattice of endohedral fullerene W@C 28 molecules. It has structural bistability, ferroelectricity, multiple magnetic phases, and excellent valley characters and can be easily functionalized by the proximity effect with magnetic isolators such as MnTiO 3 . Furthermore, we may also manipulate the valley Hall and spin transport properties by selectively switching a few W@C 28 molecules to the metastable phase. These conclusions contribute to integrating different functions in a single 2D material for technological innovations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Towards cubic symmetry for Ir 4 + : Structure and magnetism of the antifluorite K 2 IrBr 6

Here, crystal structure, electronic state of Ir 4 + , and magnetic properties of the antifluorite compound K 2 IrBr 6 are studied using high-resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction, resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS), thermodynamic and transport measurements, and ab initio calculations. The crystal symmetry is reduced from cubic at room temperature to tetragonal below 170 K and eventually to monoclinic below 122 K. These changes are tracked by the evolution of the noncubic crystal-field splitting Δ measured by RIXS. Nonmonotonic changes in Δ are ascribed to the competing effects of the tilt, rotation, and deformation of the IrBr 6 octahedra as well as tetragonal strain on the electronic levels of Ir 4 + . The Néel temperature of T N = 11.9 K exceeds that of the isostructural K 2 IrCl 6 , and the magnitude of frustration on the fcc spin lattice decreases. We argue that the replacement of Cl by Br weakens electronic correlations and enhances magnetic couplings.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Empty perovskites as Coulomb floppy networks: Entropic elasticity and negative thermal expansion

Floppy networks (FNs) provide valuable insight into the origin of anomalous mechanical and thermal properties in soft matter systems, from polymers, rubber, and biomolecules to glasses and granular materials. Here, we use the same FN concept to construct a quantitative microscopic theory of empty perovskites, a family of crystals with ReO 3 structure, which exhibit a number of unusual properties. One remarkable example is ScF 3 , which shows a near-zero-temperature structural instability and large negative thermal expansion (NTE). Furthermore, we trace these effects to an FN-like crystalline architecture formed by strong nearest-neighbor bonds, which is stabilized by net electrostatic repulsion that plays a role similar to osmotic pressure in polymeric gels. NTE in these crystalline solids, which we conceptualize as Coulomb floppy networks, emerges from the tension effect of Coulomb repulsion combined with the FN's entropic elasticity and has the same physical origin as in gels and rubber. Our theory provides an accurate, quantitative description of phonons, thermal expansion, compressibility, and structural phase diagram, all in excellent agreement with experiments. The entropic stabilization of critical soft modes, which play only a secondary role in NTE, explains the observed phase diagram. Significant entropic elasticity resolves the puzzle of a marked, ≈50% discrepancy between the experimentally observed bulk modulus and ab initio calculations. The Coulomb FN approach is potentially applicable to other important materials with markedly covalent bonds, from perovskite oxides to iron chalcogenides, whose anomalous vibrational and structural properties are still poorly understood.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗