No Arabic abstract
The electronic and magnetic properties of transition metal dichalcogenides are known to be extremely sensitive to their structure. In this paper we study the effect of structure on the electronic and magnetic properties of mono- and bilayer $VSe_2$ films grown using molecular beam epitaxy. $VSe_2$ has recently attracted much attention due to reports of emergent ferromagnetism in the 2D limit. To understand this important compound, high quality 1T and distorted 1T films were grown at temperatures of 200 $^text{o}$C and 450 $^text{o}$C respectively and studied using 4K Scanning Tunneling Microscopy/Spectroscopy. The measured density of states and the charge density wave (CDW) patterns were compared to band structure and phonon dispersion calculations. Films in the 1T phase reveal different CDW patterns in the first layer compared to the second. Interestingly, we find the second layer of the 1T-film shows a CDW pattern with 4a $times$ 4a periodicity which is the 2D version of the bulk CDW observed in this compound. Our phonon dispersion calculations confirm the presence of a soft phonon at the correct wavevector that leads to this CDW. In contrast, the first layer of distorted 1T phase films shows a strong stripe feature with varying periodicities, while the second layer displays no observable CDW pattern. Finally, we find that the monolayer 1T $VSe_2$ film is weakly ferromagnetic, with ~ $3.5 {mu}_B$ per unit similar to previous reports.
Cubic spinel CoCr2O4 has attained recent attention due to its multiferroic properties. However, the Co site substitution effect on the structural and magnetic properties has rarely been studied in thin film form. In this work, the structural and magnetic properties of Co1-xNixCr2O4 (x = 0, 0.5) epitaxial thin films deposited on MgAl2O4 (100) and MgO (100) substrates to manipulate the nature of strain in the films using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique are presented. The epitaxial nature of the films was confirmed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) measurements. Raman measurements revealed a disappearance of characteristic A1g and F2g modes of the CoCr2O4 with increase in the Ni content. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies show a modification of the surface morphology upon Ni substitution. Magnetic measurements disclose that the ferrimagnetic Curie temperature (Tc) of the CoCr2O4 in thin film grown on MgAl2O4 (100) and MgO (100) substrates were found to be 100.6 +/- 0.5 K and 93.8 +/- 0.2 K, respectively. With Ni substitution the transition temperatures significantly get enhanced from that of CoCr2O4. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) suggests Cr3+ oxidation states in the films, while Co ions are present in a mixed Co2+/Co3+ oxidation state. The substitution of Ni at Co site significantly modifies the line shape of the core level as well as the valence band. Ni ions are also found to be in a mixed 2+/3+ oxidation state. O 1s core level display asymmetry related to possible defects like oxygen vacancies in the films.
The double perovskite Sr2CrReO6 is an interesting material for spintronics, showing ferrimagnetism up to 635 K with a predicted high spin polarization of about 86%. We fabricated Sr2CrReO6 epitaxial films by pulsed laser deposition on (001)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates. Phase-pure films with optimum crystallographic and magnetic properties were obtained by growing at a substrate temperature of 700 degree C in pure O2 of 6.6x10-4 mbar. The films are c-axis oriented, coherently strained, and show less than 20% anti-site defects. The magnetization curves reveal high saturation magnetization of 0.8 muB per formula unit and high coercivity of 1.1 T, as well as a strong magnetic anisotropy.
CaFe2O4 is a highly anisotropic antiferromagnet reported to display two spin arrangements with up-up-down-down (phase A) and up-down-up-down (phase B) configurations. The relative stability of these phases is ruled by the competing ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions between Fe3+ spins arranged in two different environments, but a complete understanding of the magnetic structure of this material does not exist yet. In this study we investigate epitaxial CaFe2O4 thin films grown on TiO2 (110) substrates by means of Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). Structural characterization reveals the coexistence of two out-of-plane crystal orientations and the formation of three in-plane oriented domains. The magnetic properties of the films, investigated macroscopically as well as locally, including highly sensitive Mossbauer spectroscopy, reveal the presence of just one order parameter showing long-range ordering below T = 185 K and the critical nature of the transition. In addition, a non-zero in-plane magnetization is found, consistent with the presence of uncompensated spins at phase or domain boundaries, as proposed for bulk samples.
We report the growth of thin films of the mixed valence compound YbAl$_{3}$ on MgO using molecular-beam epitaxy. Employing an aluminum buffer layer, epitaxial (001) films can be grown with sub-nm surface roughness. Using x-ray diffraction, in situ low-energy electron diffraction and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy we establish that the films are ordered in the bulk as well as at the surface. Our films show a coherence temperature of 37 K, comparable to that reported for bulk single crystals. Photoelectron spectroscopy reveals contributions from both $textit{f}^{13}$ and $textit{f}^{12}$ final states establishing that YbAl$_{3}$ is a mixed valence compound and shows the presence of a Kondo Resonance peak near the Fermi-level.
The influence of La and Nd co-substitution on the structural and magnetic properties of BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films was examined. Epitaxial thin films of pure and, La and Nd co-doped BFO on the SrRuO3 buffered single crystal SrTiO3 (001) substrate were deposited using pulsed laser deposition. The structural change in co doped La and Nd BFO thin films which was caused by the changes of force constant in the crystal lattice induced by ionic radii mismatch was investigated. Raman spectroscopy studies manifest the structural change in doped BFO films from rhombohedral to monoclinic distorted phase which is induced by the co substitution of La and Nd. Room temperature magnetic hysteresis curves indicated that saturation magnetization is enhanced in the doped film with saturation magnetization of ~20 emu/cm3. The dielectric and magnetic properties are effectively improved in BLNFO films compared to pure BFO thin films.