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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Spontaneous Hall effect enhanced by local Ir moments in epitaxial Pr 2 Ir 2 O 7 thin films

Rare-earth pyrochlore iridates ( RE 2 Ir 2 O 7 ) consist of two interpenetrating cation sublattices, the RE with highly frustrated magnetic moments, and the iridium with extended conduction orbitals significantly mixed by spin-orbit interactions. The coexistence and coupling of these two sublattices create a landscape for discovery and manipulation of quantum phenomena such as the topological Hall effect, massless conduction bands, and quantum criticality. Thin films allow extended control of the material system via symmetry-lowering effects such as strain. While bulk Pr 2 Ir 2 O 7 shows a spontaneous hysteretic Hall effect below 1.5 K, we observe the effect at elevated temperatures up to 15 K in epitaxial thin films on (111) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates synthesized via solid-phase epitaxy. Similar to the bulk, the lack of observable long-range magnetic order in the thin films points to a topological origin. We use synchrotron-based element-specific x-ray diffraction and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism to compare powders and thin films to attribute the spontaneous Hall effect in the films to localization of the Ir moments. Further, we link the thin-film Ir local moments to lattice distortions absent in the bulklike powders. We conclude that the elevated-temperature spontaneous Hall effect is caused by the topological effect originating either from the Ir or Pr sublattice, with interaction strength enhanced by the Ir local moments. This spontaneous Hall effect with weak net moment highlights the effect of vanishingly small lattice distortions as a means to discover topological phenomena in metallic frustrated magnetic materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

T d to 1 T' structural phase transition in the WTe 2 Weyl semimetal

Elastic neutron scattering on a single crystal combined with powder x-ray diffraction measurements were carried out to investigate how the crystal structure evolves as a function of temperature in the Weyl semimetal WTe 2 . Here, a sharp transition from the low-temperature orthorhombic phase T d to the high-temperature monoclinic phase 1T' was observed at ambient pressure in the single crystal near ~565 K. Unlike in MoTe 2 , the solid-solid transition from T d to 1T' occurs without the cell doubling of the intermediate T d * phase with AABB (or ABBA) layer stacking. In powders, however, the thermal transition from the Td to the 1T' phase was broadened and a two-phase coexistence was observed until 700 K, well above the structural transition.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ferrimagnetic 120 ° magnetic structure in Cu 2 OSO 4

We report magnetic properties of a 3d 9 (Cu 2+ ) magnetic insulator Cu 2 OSO 4 measured on both powder and single crystal. The magnetic atoms of this compound form layers whose geometry can be described either as a system of chains coupled through dimers or as a kagome lattice where every third spin is replaced by a dimer. Specific heat and DC susceptibility show a magnetic transition at 20 K, which is also confirmed by neutron scattering. Magnetic entropy extracted from the specific heat data is consistent with an S=1/2 degree of freedom per Cu 2+ , and so is the effective moment extracted from DC susceptibility. The ground state has been identified by means of neutron diffraction on both powder and single crystal and corresponds to an ~120° spin structure in which ferromagnetic intradimer alignment results in a net ferrimagnetic moment. No evidence is found for a change in lattice symmetry down to 2 K. Finally, our results suggest that Cu 2 OSO 4 represents a type of model lattice with frustrated interactions where interplay between magnetic order, thermal and quantum fluctuations can be explored.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Stripe antiferromagnetic ground state of the ideal triangular lattice compound KErSe 2

Rare-earth triangular lattice materials have been proposed as a good platform for the investigation of frustrated magnetic ground states. KErSe 2 , with the delafossite structure, contains perfect two-dimensional Er 3 + triangular layers separated by potassium ions, realizing this ideal configuration and inviting study. In this study, we investigate the magnetism of KErSe 2 at millikelvin temperatures by heat capacity and neutron powder diffraction. Heat capacity results reveal a magnetic transition at 0.2 K in zero applied field. This long-range order is suppressed by an applied magnetic field of 0.5 T below 0.08 K. Neutron powder diffraction suggests that the zero-field magnetic structure orders with k = ( 1 2 , 0 , 1 2 ) in a stripe spin structure. Unexpectedly, Er is found to have a reduced moment of 3.06(1) μ B /Er in the ordered state, and diffuse magnetic scattering, which originates at higher temperatures, is found to persist in the ordered state, potentially indicating magnetic fluctuations. Neutron diffraction collected under an applied field shows a metamagnetic transition at ~ 0.5 T to ferromagnetic order with k = ( 0 , 0 , 0 ) and two possible structures, which are likely dependent on the applied field direction. The zero-field stripe spin structure can be explained by the anisotropic interactions or the first-, second-, and third-neighbor couplings in the antiferromagnetic triangular lattice.

2-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2022

Incommensurate spin density wave and magnetocaloric effect in the metallic triangular lattice HoAl 2 Ge 2

Here, we report the magnetic structure and the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of the ternary compound HoAl 2 Ge 2 with a trigonal CaAl 2 Si 2 -type crystal structure. A neutron powder diffraction experiment reveals that HoAl 2 Ge 2 exhibits an incommensurate spin density wave (SDW) with a propagation vector k=(0.23,0,0.06). The special arrangement of magnetic moments in HoAl 2 Ge 2 induces interesting physical phenomena and large magnetocaloric effects. The rise in resistivity at low temperatures indicates the effect of the SDW state in the electronic transport. The maximum magnetic-entropy change is –16.1J/kg K under a magnetic field change of 0–70 kOe for an isotropic HoAl 2 Ge 2 powder and it increases to –17.9J/kg K for a single crystal when the magnetic field (H) is applied parallel to the ab plane. A large rotating magnetic-entropy change of –5.1J/kg K for H=20 kOe in a HoAl 2 Ge 2 single crystal is obtained, which is closely associated to the magnetic anisotropy of the SDW order and its response to the external magnetic field. We discuss the large MCE in terms of the field-induced metamagnetic transition from the incommensurate SDW order to the ferromagnetic order. Our study establishes the triangular lattice R Al 2 Ge 2 (R=rare-earth elements) as a unique family of compounds to explore the existence of the incommensurate spin density waves and the correlated physical properties.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Local site behavior of the 5$d$ and 4$f$ ions in the frustrated pyrochlore Ho 2 Os 2 O 7

The pyrochlore osmate Ho 2 Os 2 O 7 is a candidate material for a fragile J=0 local singlet ground state, however little is known regarding the single-ion behavior of either the Os or Ho ions. To address this we present polarized neutron powder diffraction (PNPD) and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) measurements that separately probe the local site behavior of the Os and Ho ions. The PNPD results are dominated by Ho 3+ scattering and the analysis reveals local site susceptibility behavior consistent with spin ice materials. Complimentary unpolarized neutron powder diffraction show an ordered spin ice ground state in an applied magnetic field. To isolate the Os 4+ single-ion behavior we present resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) measurements at the osmium L-edge. Analysis of the RIXS spectra parameterize the spin-orbit coupling (0.35 eV), Hund’s coupling (0.27 eV) and trigonal distortion (-0.17 eV). Here, the results are considered within the context of a J=0 model and possible departures from this through structural distortions, excitonic interactions and 5d-4f interactions between the Os ion and the surrounding Ho lattice. The experimental methodology employed highlights the complimentary information available in rare earth based 5d pyrochlores from distinct neutron and x-ray scattering techniques that allow for the isolation and determination of the behavior of the different ions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Magnetic structure and Ising-like antiferromagnetism in the bilayer triangular lattice compound NdZnPO

Here, the complex interplay of spin frustration and quantum fluctuations in low-dimensional quantum materials leads to a variety of intriguing phenomena. This research focuses on a detailed analysis of the magnetic behavior exhibited by NdZnPO, a bilayer spin-1/2 triangular lattice antiferromagnet. The investigation employs magnetization, specific heat, and powder neutron scattering measurements. At zero field, a long-range magnetic order is observed at T N = 1.64 K. Powder neutron diffraction experiments show the Ising-like magnetic moments along the c-axis, revealing a stripe like magnetic structure with magnetic propagation vector (1/2, 0, 1/2). Application of a magnetic field along the c-axis suppresses the antiferromagnetic order, leading to a fully polarized ferromagnetic state above B c = 4.5 T. This transition is accompanied by notable enhancements in the nuclear Schottky contribution. Moreover, the absence of spin frustration and expected field-induced plateau-like phases are remarkable observations. Detailed calculations of magnetic dipolar interactions revealed complex couplings reminiscent of a honeycomb lattice, suggesting the potential emergence of Kitaev-like physics within this system. This comprehensive study of the magnetic properties of NdZnPO highlights unresolved intricacies, underscoring the imperative for further exploration to unveil the underlying governing mechanisms.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evaluating the effects of structural disorder on the magnetic properties of Nd 2 Zr 2 O 7

Motivated by the variation in reported lattice parameters of floating-zone-grown Nd 2 Zr 2 O 7 crystals, we have performed a detailed study of the relationship between synthesis environment, structural disorder, and magnetic properties. Using a combination of polycrystalline standards, electron-probe microanalysis, and scattering techniques, we show that crystals grown under atmospheric conditions have a reduced lattice parameter relative to pristine polycrystalline powders due to occupation of the Nd site by excess Zr (i.e., negative stuffing). In contrast, crystals grown under high-pressure Ar are nearly stoichiometric with an average lattice parameter approaching the polycrystalline value. While minimal disorder of the oxygen sublattices is observed on the scale of the average structure, neutron pair-distribution function analysis indicates a highly local disorder of the oxygen coordination, which is only weakly dependent on growth environment. Most importantly, our magnetization, heat capacity, and single-crystal neutron scattering data show that the magnetic properties of crystals grown under high-pressure Ar match closely with those of stoichiometric powders. Neutron scattering measurements reveal that the signature of magnetic moment fragmentation—the coexistence of all-in-all-out (AIAO) magnetic Bragg peaks and diffuse pinch-point scattering due to spin-ice correlations–persists in these nearly stoichiometric crystals. However, in addition to an increased AIAO transition temperature, the diffuse signal is seemingly stabilized and remains nearly unchanged upon warming to 800 mK. This behavior indicates that both the AIAO magnetic order and spin-ice correlations are sensitive to deviations of the Nd stoichiometry.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Magnetic order and spin liquid behavior in [Mo 3 ] 11+ molecular magnets

Molecular magnets based on [Mo 3 ] 11+ units with one unpaired electron per trimer have attracted recent interest due to the identification of quantum spin liquid candidacy in some family members. Here, we present comprehensive measurements on polycrystalline samples of ZnScMo 3 O 8 , MgScMo 3 O 8 , and Na 3 Sc 2 Mo 5 O 16 with the same Mo 3 O 13 magnetic building blocks. In this work, the crystal structures are characterized with x-ray or neutron powder diffraction and the magnetic ground states are determined by performing ac and dc susceptibility, specific heat, neutron powder diffraction, and muon spin relaxation measurements. Our work indicates that ZnScMo 3 O 8 and MgScMo 3 O 8 have ferromagnetic Curie-Weiss temperatures of 18.5 and 11.9 K, ordered ground states with net moments (low-moment ferromagnetism or canted antiferromagnetism), and zero field ordering temperatures of $T_c$ = 6 K and $T_c$ < 2 K, respectively. On the other hand, Na 3 Sc 2 Mo 5 O 16 hosts a dynamical magnetic ground state with no evidence for magnetic ordering or spin freezing down to 20 mK despite an antiferromagnetic Curie-Weiss temperature of –36.2 K, and therefore is a candidate for quantum spin liquid behavior. By comparing the present results to past work on the same family of materials, we construct a phase diagram which illustrates that the magnetic ground states of these Mo-based molecular magnets are very sensitive to small changes in the nearest-neighbor Mo-Mo distance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Successive magnetic orderings in the Ising spin chain magnet DyNi 5 Ge 3

In this report, we investigated a new rare-earth-based one-dimensional Ising spin chain magnet DyNi 5 Ge 3 by means of magnetization, specific heat, and powder neutron diffraction measurements. Due to the crystalline electrical field splitting, the magnetic Dy ions share an Ising-like ground doublet state. Owning to the local point symmetry, these Ising moments form into two canted magnetic sublattices, which were further confirmed by the angle-dependent magnetization measurement. In zero fields, two successive antiferromagnetic phase transitions were found at temperatures T N1 =6K and T N2 =5K, respectively. Only part of the moments are statically ordered in this intermediate state between T N1 and T N2 . Powder neutron diffraction experiments at different temperatures were performed as well. Further, an incommensurate magnetic propagation vector of k m =(0.5,0.4,0.5) was identified. The refined spin configurations through the irreducible representation analysis confirmed that these Ising spins are canted in the crystal ab plane.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

ac susceptibility studies of intra- and intergrain properties of high-$J_c$ Bi-2212 wires

Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O x (Bi-2212) is the only high-$T_c$ superconductor (HTS) available as a multifilamentary round wire with multiple architectures and it is a very promising conductor for the realization of high-field applications. Despite their relatively simple wire fabrication by the powder-in-tube technique, Bi-2212 wires require a tightly controlled overpressure heat treatment (HT) with a multi-parameter time-temperature schedule to achieve high critical current density, $J_c$. Further, the variation of these HT parameters, changes in the wire design, wire diameter and powder quality can lead to variations in both the microstructure and the superconducting performance. Particularly noticeable are variations in $J_c$ performance and degree of filament bridging. In this work, we focus on the use of different magnetic characterization techniques to estimate the bridging level and assess the balance of INTER-grain and intra-grain superconducting properties including the irreversibility field ($H_{\text{irr}}$) and the pinning energy ($U_0$) in differently processed wires. Regardless of the actual bridging level, we find that the supercurrent flows at the filament bundle level, not just at the individual filament level. Moreover, using AC susceptibility we identify two distinct supercurrent contributions, one related to the intra-grain and one to the INTER-grain properties, whose irreversibility fields are different but without large sample-to-sample variation. Moreover, an additional component of intra-grain pinning mechanism becomes effective at low temperatures with positive effects also on the INTER-grain performance. The work clearly shows that detailed magnetic characterizations can become valuable tools to investigate the performance of differently processed Bi-2212 wires, correlating their microstructure and overall transport $J_c$, to obtain a deeper understanding of the causes of performance variation and paths to achieve further improvement.

2212↗
DOE OSTI2023

Magnetic properties of the quasi-one-dimensional S = 1 spin chain antiferromagnet BaNi Te 2 O 7

We report a quasi-one-dimensional S=1 spin chain compound BaNiTe 2 O 7 . This magnetic system has been investigated by magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and neutron powder diffraction. These results indicate that BaNiTe 2 O 7 develops a short-range magnetic correlation around T ~ 22K. With further cooling, an antiferromagnetic phase transition is observed at T N ~ 5.4K. Neutron powder diffraction revealed antiferromagnetic noncollinear order with a commensurate propagation vector k = (1/2,1,0). The refined magnetic moment size of Ni 2+ at 1.5 K is 1.84 μB , and its noncollinear spin texture is confirmed by first-principles calculations. In conclusion, inelastic neutron-scattering results and density functional theory calculations confirmed the quasi-one-dimensional nature of the spin systems.

1-dimensional spin chains↗
DOE OSTI2024

Tuning the spontaneous exchange bias effect in La 1.5 Sr 0.5 CoMnO 6 with sintering temperature

Here, in this study, we present a study of the influence of microstructure on the magnetic properties of polycrystalline samples of the La 1.5 Sr 0.5 CoMnO 6 double perovskite, with primary attention to the spontaneous exchange bias effect, a fascinating recently discovered phenomena for which some materials exhibit unidirectional magnetic anisotropy after being cooled in zero magnetic fields. By sintering La 1.5 Sr 0.5 CoMnO 6 at different temperatures, we obtained samples with distinct average grain sizes, ranging from 1.54-6.65 μm. A detailed investigation of the material's structural, morphologic, electronic, and magnetic properties using x-ray powder diffraction, powder neutron diffraction, x-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and ac and dc magnetometry has revealed a systematic enhancement of the exchange bias effect with increasing the average grain size. This evolution is discussed in terms of changes in the material's porosity and grain morphology and its influence on the exchange couplings at the magnetic interfaces.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Synthesis and characterization of the novel breathing pyrochlore compound Ba 3 ⁢Tm 2⁢ Zn 5⁢ O 11

In this study, a novel material from the rare-earth based breathing pyrochlore family, Ba 3 ⁢Tm 2 ⁢Zn 5 ⁢O 11 , was successfully synthesized. Powder x-ray diffraction and high-resolution powder neutron diffraction confirmed phase purity and the $F\bar4$3⁢𝑚 breathing pyrochlore crystal structure, while thermogravimetric analysis revealed incongruent melting behavior compared to its counterpart, Ba 3 ⁢Yb 2⁢ Zn 5⁢ O 11 . High-quality single crystals of Ba 3 ⁢Tm 2 ⁢Zn 5 ⁢O 11 were grown using the traveling solvent floating zone technique and assessed using Laue x-ray diffraction and single crystal x-ray diffraction. Further, thermodynamic characterization indicated paramagnetic behavior down to 0.05 K, and inelastic neutron scattering measurements identified distinct dispersionless crystal electric field energy bands, with the fitted crystal electric field model predicting a single-ion singlet ground state and an energy gap of ∼9 meV separating it from the first excited (singlet) state. Additional low-energy excitation studies on single crystals revealed dispersionless bands at 0.8 and 1 meV. Computed phonon dispersions from first-principles calculations ruled out phonons as the origin of these modes, further illustrating the puzzling and unique properties of Ba 3 ⁢Tm⁢ 2 Zn 5 ⁢O 11 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Coexistence of commensurate and incommensurate antiferromagnetic ground states in Co 𝑥 ⁢NbSe 2 single crystal

In Co 𝑥 ⁢NbSe 2 , crystal symmetry and cobalt site occupation drive the formation of two distinct magnetic phases. At 𝑥=1/4, the centrosymmetric structure (𝑃⁢6 3 /𝑚⁢𝑚⁢𝑐) promotes Co-Co interactions leading to the formation of an 𝐴-type antiferromagnetic structure phase with a transition temperature of 𝑇$^𝐴_𝑁$=169K. At 𝑥=1/3, the noncentrosymmetric structure (𝑃⁢6 3 ⁢22) induces a lower-temperature magnetic phase with 𝑇$^S_𝑁$=28K. We report the coexistence of both substructures within a superlattice, with a nuclear propagation vector of (1/3, 1/3, 0) relative to the host lattice. Single crystals of Co 0.28 ⁢NbSe 2 exhibit both magnetic transitions, with 𝑇$^𝐴_𝑁$ corresponding to the 𝑥∼1/4 phase and 𝑇$^S_𝑁$ corresponding to the 𝑥∼1/3 phase. Magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements confirm these transitions, although only the high-temperature 𝑇$^𝐴_𝑁$ phase significantly affects resistivity. We successfully isolate each phase in powder samples, while single crystals with an intercalation ratio of 𝑥=0.28 display the coexistence of both phases in a single sample. Using single-crystal neutron diffraction, we solved the magnetic structure of the high-temperature centrosymmetric phase (𝑇$^𝐴_𝑁$), and neutron powder diffraction revealed the double-𝑞 magnetic structure of the low-temperature noncentrosymmetric phase (𝑇$^S_𝑁$).

RKKY interaction↗
DOE OSTI2025

Single-Crystal Diffuse Neutron Scattering Study of the Dipole-Octupole Quantum Spin-Ice Candidate Ce 2⁢ Zr 2 ⁢O 7 : No Apparent Octupolar Correlations Above 𝑇 = 0.05 K

The insulating magnetic pyrochlore Ce 2 ⁢Zr 2 ⁢O 7 has gained attention as a quantum spin-ice candidate with dipole-octupole character that arises from the crystal-electric-field ground-state doublet for the Ce 3+ Kramers ion. This dipole-octupole character permits both spin-ice phases based on magnetic dipoles and those based on more-exotic octupoles. This work reports low-temperature neutron diffraction measurements on single-crystal Ce 2 ⁢Zr 2⁢ O 7 with 𝑄 coverage both at low 𝑄, where the magnetic form factor for dipoles is near maximal, and at high 𝑄, covering the region where the magnetic form factor for Ce 3+ octupoles is near maximal. This study was motivated by recent powder neutron diffraction studies of other Ce-based dipole-octupole pyrochlores, Ce 2 ⁢Sn 2 ⁢O 7 and Ce 2 ⁢Hf 2 ⁢O 7 , which each showed temperature-dependent diffuse diffraction at high 𝑄, interpreted as arising from octupolar correlations. Our measurements use an optimized single-crystal diffuse scattering instrument that allows us to screen against strong Bragg scattering from Ce 2 ⁢Zr 2 ⁢O 7 . The temperature-difference neutron diffraction reveals a low-𝑄 peak consistent with dipolar spin-ice correlations reported in previous work, and an alternation between positive and negative net intensity at higher 𝑄. These features are consistent with our numerical-linked-cluster calculations using pseudospin interaction parameters previously reported for Ce 2 ⁢Zr 2⁢ O 7 , Ce 2 ⁢Sn 2 ⁢O 7 , and Ce 2 ⁢Hf 2 ⁢O 7 . Importantly, neither the measured data nor any of the NLC calculations show evidence for increased scattering at high 𝑄 resulting from octupolar correlations. We conclude that at the lowest attainable temperature for our measurements (𝑇 = 0.05 K), scattering from octupolar correlations in Ce 2 ⁢Zr 2 ⁢O 7 is not present in the neutron diffraction signal on the level of our observation threshold of around 0.1% of the low-𝑄 dipole scattering. We compare these results to those obtained earlier on powder Ce 2 ⁢Sn 2 ⁢O 7 and Ce 2⁢ Hf 2⁢ O 7 , and to low-energy inelastic neutron scattering from single-crystal Ce 2 ⁢Zr 2 ⁢O 7 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cluster spin glass correlations and dynamics in Zn 0.5⁢ Mn 0.5⁢ Te

Here, we present a combined magnetometry, muon spin-relaxation (𝜇⁢SR), and neutron-scattering study of the insulating spin glass Zn 0.5 ⁢Mn 0.5 ⁢Te, for which magnetic Mn 2+ and nonmagnetic Zn 2+ ions are randomly distributed on a face-centered cubic lattice. The magnetometry and 𝜇⁢SR results confirm a spin freezing transition around 𝑇 𝑓 ≈ 23 K, with the spin-fluctuation rate decreasing gradually and somewhat inhomogeneously through the sample volume as the temperature decreases toward 𝑇 𝑓 . Characteristic spin-correlation times well above 𝑇 𝑓 are on the order of 10 −10 s, much slower than typically observed in canonical spin glasses but in line with expectations for a cluster spin glass. Using magnetic pair distribution function (mPDF) analysis and reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modeling of the magnetic diffuse neutron-scattering data, we show that the spin-glass ground state consists of clusters of spins exhibiting short-range-ordered type-III antiferromagnetic correlations with a locally ordered moment of 3.1⁢(1)⁢𝜇 B between nearest-neighbor spins. The type-III correlations decay exponentially as a function of spin separation distance with a correlation length of approximately 5 Å. The diffuse magnetic scattering and corresponding mPDF show no significant changes across 𝑇 𝑓 , indicating that the dynamically fluctuating short-range spin correlations in the paramagnetic state retain the same basic type-III configuration that characterizes the spin-glass state; the only change apparent from the neutron-scattering data is a gradual reduction of the correlation length and locally ordered moment with increasing temperature. Taken together, these results paint a unique and detailed picture of the local magnetic structure and dynamics in Zn 0.5 ⁢Mn 0.5⁢ Te and provide strong evidence that this material is best described as a cluster spin glass. In addition, this work showcases a statistical method for extracting diffuse scattering signals from neutron powder diffraction data, which we developed to facilitate the mPDF and RMC analysis of the neutron data. This method has the potential to be broadly useful for neutron powder diffraction experiments on a variety of materials with short-range atomic or magnetic order.

magnetism↗
DOE OSTI2026

Competing magnetic phases in Cr 3+𝛿 ⁢Te 4 are spatially segregated

Cr 1+𝑥⁢ Te 2 is a self-intercalated van der Waals system that is of current interest for its room-temperature room-temperature ferromagnetic (FM) phases and tunable topological properties. In bulk samples, the strain from the interstitial Cr ions leads to distinct structural phases for different ranges of 𝑥. Early neutron powder diffraction (NPD) measurements on the monoclinic phase Cr 3 ⁢Te 4 (𝑥=0.5) presented evidence for competing FM and antiferromagnetic (AFM) phases. Here we apply neutron diffraction to a single crystal of Cr 3+𝛿 ⁢Te 4 with 𝛿=−0.10 and discover that it consists of two distinct monoclinic phases, one with FM order below 𝑇 C ≈321 K and another that develops AFM order below 𝑇 N ≈86 K. In contrast, we find that a crystal with 𝛿=−0.26 exhibits only FM order below 𝑇 C ≈285 K. The single-crystal analysis is complemented by results obtained with NPD, x-ray powder diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements on the 𝛿=−0.10 composition. From observations of spontaneous magnetostriction of opposite sign at 𝑇 C and 𝑇 N , along with the TEM evidence for both monoclinic phases in a single thin ( ≈100 nm) grain, we conclude that the two phases must have a fine-grained ( ≲100 nm) intergrowth character, as might occur from high-temperature spinodal decomposition during the growth process. Calculations of the relaxed lattice structures for the FM and AFM phases with density functional theory provide a rationalization of the observed spontaneous magnetostrictions. Correlations between the magnitude and orientation of the magnetic moments with lattice parameter variation demonstrate that the magnetic orders are sensitive to strain, thus explaining why magnetic ordering temperatures and anisotropies can be different between bulk and thin-film samples, when the latter are subject to epitaxial strain. Our results point to the need to investigate the supposed coexistence FM and AFM phases reported elsewhere in the Cr 1+𝑥 ⁢Te 2 system, such as in the Cr 5 ⁢Te 8 phase (𝑥=0.25).

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗