No Arabic abstract
We study vanadium spinels $A$V$_2$O$_4$ ($A$ = Cd, Mg) in pulsed magnetic fields up to 65 T. A jump in magnetization at $mu_0 H approx$ 40 T is observed in the single-crystal MgV$_2$O$_4$, indicating a field induced quantum phase transition between two distinct magnetic orders. In the multiferroic CdV$_2$O$_4$, the field-induced transition is accompanied by a suppression of the electric polarization. By modeling the magnetic properties in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling characteristic of vanadium spinels, we show that both features of the field-induced transition can be successfully explained by including the effects of the local trigonal crystal field.
Motivated by recent theoretical and experimental controversy, we present a theoretical study to clarify the orbital symmetry of the ground state of vanadium spinel oxides AV$_2$O$_4$ (A=Zn, Mg, Cd). The study is based on an effective Hamiltonian with spin-orbital superexchange interaction and a local spin-orbit coupling term. We construct a classical phase-diagram and prove the complex orbital nature of the ground state. Remarkably, with our new analysis we predict correctly also the coherent tetragonal flattening of oxygen octahedra. Finally, through analytical considerations as well as numerical ab-initio simulations, we propose how to detect the predicted complex orbital ordering through vanadium K edge resonant x-ray scattering.
The metal-insulator transition (MIT) of BaVS3 is suppressed under pressure and above the critical pressure of p~2GPa the metallic phase is stabilized. We present the results of detailed magnetoresistivity measurements carried out at pressures near the critical value, in magnetic fields up to B=12T. We found that slightly below the critical pressure the structural tetramerization -- which drives the MIT -- is combined with the onset of magnetic correlations. If the zero-field transition temperature is suppressed to a sufficiently low value (T_MI<15K), the system can be driven into the metallic state by application of magnetic field. The main effect is not the reduction of T_MI with increasing B, but rather the broadening of the transition due to the applied magnetic field. We tentatively ascribe this phenomenon to the influence on the magnetic structure coupled to the bond-order of the tetramers.
Cubic spinel GeNi2O4 exhibits intriguing magnetic properties with two successive antiferromagnetic phase transitions (TN1 12.1 and TN2 11.4 K) with the absence of any structural transition. We have performed detailed heat capacity and magnetic measurements in different crystallographic orientations. A new magnetic phase in presence of magnetic field (H > 4 T) along the [111] direction is revealed, which is not observed when the magnetic field is applied along the [100] and [110] directions. High field neutron powder diffraction measurements confirm such a change in magnetic phase, which could be ascribed to a spin reorientation in the presence of magnetic field. A strong magnetic anisotropy and competing magnetic interactions play a crucial role on the complex magnetic behavior in this cubic system.
Amorphous vanadium dioxide (VO$_{2}$) films deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) were crystallized with an ex situ anneal at 660-670 ${deg}$C for 1-2 hours under a low oxygen pressure (10$^{-4}$ to 10$^{-5}$ Torr). Under these conditions the crystalline VO$_{2}$ phase was maintained, while formation of the V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ phase was suppressed. Electrical transition from the insulator to the metallic phase was observed in the 37-60 ${deg}$C range, with a R$_{ON}$/R$_{OFF}$ ratio of up to about 750 and critical transition temperature of 7-10 ${deg}$C. Electric field applied across two-terminal device structures induced a reversible phase change, with a room temperature transition field of about 25 kV/cm in the VO$_{2}$ sample processed with the 2 hr long anneal. Both the width and slope of the field induced MIT hysteresis were dependent upon the VO$_{2}$ crystalline quality.
We demonstrate that the onset of complex spin orders in ACr$_2$O$_4$ spinels with magnetic A$=$Co, Fe and Cu ions lowers the lattice symmetry. This is clearly indicated by the emergence of anisotropic lattice dynamics -- as evidenced by the pronounced phonon splittings -- even when experiments probing static distortions fail. We show that the crystal symmetry in the magnetic phase is reduced from tetragonal to orthorhombic for FeCr$_2$O$_4$ and CuCr$_2$O$_4$ with Jahn-Teller active A-site ions. The conical spin structure in FeCr$_2$O$_4$ is also manifested in the phonon frequencies. In contrast, the multiferroic CoCr$_2$O$_4$ with no orbital degrees of freedom remains nearly cubic in its ground state.