In this contribution to the special issue on multiferroics we focus on multiferroicity driven by different forms of charge ordering. We will present the generic mechanisms by which charge ordering can induce ferroelectricity in magnetic systems. There is a number of specific classes of materials for which this is relevant. We will discuss in some detail $(i)$ perovskite manganites of the type (PrCa)MnO$_3$, $(ii)$ the complex and interesting situation in magnetite Fe$_3$O$_4$, $(iii)$ strongly ferroelectric frustrated LuFe$_2$O$_4$, $(iv)$ an example of a quasi one-dimensional organic system. All these are "type-I" multiferroics, in which ferroelectricity and magnetism have different origin and occur at different temperatures. In the second part of this article we discuss "type-II" multiferroics, in which ferroelectricity is completely {\it due to} magnetism, but with charge ordering playing important role, such as $(v)$ the newly-discovered multiferroic Ca$_3$CoMnO$_6$, $(vi)$ possible ferroelectricity in rare earth perovskite nickelates of the type RNiO$_3$, $(vii)$ multiferroic properties of manganites of the type RMn$_2$O$_5$, $(viii)$ of perovskite manganites with magnetic E-type ordering and $(ix)$ of bilayer manganites.
Effects of Sr substitution at A-site in ordered perovskite Ba3-xSrxMnNb2O9 (x = 1 and 3) have been investigated using X-ray diffraction, magnetization, dielectric/magnetodielectric and neutron diffraction measurements. The parent compound Ba3MnNb2O9 having a large spin (S=5/2) is known to exhibit type-II multiferroic properties with quasi 2D triangular lattice antiferromagnetic ground state. A slight perturbation in exchange interaction due to substitution of smaller size isovalent ion at the A-site in Ba3-xSrxMnNb2O9 (x = 1 and 3) has been found to alter the ground states drastically and henc…
Density-functional calculations are carried out to investigate incommensurate magnetic structures and ferroelectric polarization in newly discovered multiferroic material MnI$_2$. The exchange interactions among local moments on Mn are parameterized by mapping the mean-field Heisenberg model on to total energy difference of several magnetic ordering states. The experimentally observed noncollinear magnetic states are well reproduced by using this model and exchange interaction parameters. The direction of polarization experimentally measured is also consistent with the result derived from the …
We show that charge ordered rare-earth nickelates of the type RNiO3 (R= Ho, Lu, Pr and Nd) are multiferroic with very large magnetically induced ferroelectric (FE) polarizations. This we determine from first principles electronic structure calculations. The emerging FE polarization is directly tied to the long-standing puzzle of which kind of magnetic ordering is present in this class of materials: its direction and size indicate the type of ground-state spin configuration that is realized. Vice versa, the small energy differences between the different magnetic orderings suggest that a chosen …
We uncover a new pathway towards multiferroicity, showing how magnetism can drive ferroelectricity without relying on inversion symmetry breaking of the magnetic ordering. Our free-energy analysis demonstrates that any commensurate spin-density-wave ordering with a phase dislocation, even if it is collinear, gives rise to an electric polarization. Due to the dislocation the electronic and magnetic and inversion centers do not coincide, which turns out to be a sufficient condition for multiferroic coupling. The novel mechanism explains the formation of multiferroic phases at the magnetic commen…
Multiferroic materials have attracted great interests but are rare in nature. In many transitional metal oxides, charge ordering and magnetic ordering coexist, so that a method of engineering charge-ordered materials into ferroelectric materials would lead to a large class of multiferroic materials. We propose a strategy for designing new ferroelectric or even multiferroic materials by inserting a spacing layer into each two layers of charge-ordered materials and artificially making a superlattice. One example of the model demonstrated here is the perovskite (LaFeO$_3$)$_2$/LaTiO$_3$ (111) sup…
Large electron-electron Coulomb-interactions in correlated systems can lead to a periodic arrangement of localized electrons, the so called "charge-order". The latter is here proposed as a driving force behind ferroelectricity in iron fluoride K0.6FeF3. By means of density functional theory, we propose different non-centrosymmetric d5/d6 charge-ordering patterns, each giving rise to polarization along different crystallographic axes and with different magnitudes. Accordingly, we introduce the concept of "ferroelectric anistropy" (peculiar to improper ferroelectrics with polarization induced by…
We argue for a recently observed puzzling multiferroic behavior in s=1/2 1D chain cuprate LiCu2O2 with edge-shared arrangement of CuO4 plaquettes and incommensurate spiral spin ordering can be consistently explained if one takes into account the nonrelativistic exchange-induced electric polarization on the Cu2+ centers substituting for the positions native for the Cu1+ ions. These substituent centers are proved to be an effective probe of the spin incommensurability and magnetic field effects.
We discuss the particle size driven tunability of the coexistence of ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity in Pr0.67Ca0.33MnO3(PCMO) with the help of x ray diffraction, magnetization, impedance spectroscopy, and remanent polarization measurements. The remanent polarization measurements using the positive up negative down method clearly prove the existence of ferroelectricity in PCMO with phase separation between Zener polaron(ZP) ordered P21nm and disordered Pbnm structures. We also find that the ferroelectric response is enhanced in nanocrystalline samples so long as ZP ordering is not destroye…
We demonstrate that ethylammonium copper chloride, (C2H5NH3)2CuCl4, a member of the hybrid perovskite family is an electrically polar and magnetic compound with dielectric anomaly around the Curie point (247 K). We have found large spontaneous electric polarization below this point accompanied with a color change in the sample. The system is also ferroelectric, with large remnant polarization (37μC/cm2) that is comparable to classical ferroelectric compounds. The results are ascribed to hydrogen-bond ordering of the organic chains. The coexistence of ferroelectricity and dominant ferromagnetic…
The recently observed multiferroic behavior in the s=1/2 chain cuprate LiVCuO_4 (LiCuVO_4) with edge-shared CuO_4 plaquettes and helical spin ordering does not agree with the existing theories such as a spin-current scenario. We argue that the effect can be consistently explained, if the exchange-induced electric polarization on the out-of-chain Cu^2+ centers substituting for Li-ions in LiVCuO_4 is taken into account. These substituent centers are proved to be an effective probe of the spin incommensurability and the magnetic field effects.
We show by means of ab-initio calculations that the organic molecular crystal TTF-CA is multiferroic: it has an instability to develop spontaneously both ferroelectric and magnetic ordering. Ferroelectricity is driven by a Peierls transition of the TTF-CA in its ionic state. Subsequent antiferromagnetic ordering strongly enhances the opposing electronic contribution to the polarization: it is so large that it switches the direction of the total ferroelectric moment. Within an extended Hubbard model we capture the essence of the electronic interactions in TTF-CA, confirm the presence of a multi…
Local multiferroic ordering at room temperature in collinear magnetoelectric antiferromagnets induced by flexo-Zeeman coupling
Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V.（德累斯顿-罗森多夫亥姆霍兹中心）；Faculty of Physics of Dresden University of Technology（德累斯顿工业大学物理学院）；Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie（柏林亥姆霍兹材料与能源中心）；Department of Applied Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology（瑞典皇家理工学院应用物理系）
Frustration-induced multiferroicity in hauerite MnS2
Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden（德累斯顿莱布尼茨固体与材料研究所）；University of Salzburg（萨尔茨堡大学）；Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen（格罗宁根大学泽尔尼克先进材料研究所）；Technische Universität Dresden（德累斯顿工业大学）
Polycrystalline YMn1-xFexO3 (YMFO_x) (0 <= x <= 0.1) compounds have been prepared in single phase and characterized by synchrotron X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy, magnetization, and dielectric measurements. Iron-substitution in hexagonal YMnO3 causes intra-lattice changes exceeding those of the lattice cell. XANES provide mixed-valence Mn3+/Mn4+ and Fe4+ charge states in these manganites, consistent with the observed decrease of the effective magnetic moment with Fe-doping. Magnetization M(T) evidence antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering of the specimens with little wea…
The possibility of multiferroicity arising from charge ordering in LuFe2O4 and structurally related rare earth ferrites is reviewed. Recent experimental work on macroscopic indications of ferroelectricity and microscopic determination of coupled spin and charge order indicates that this scenario does not hold. Understanding the origin of the experimentally observed charge and spin order will require further theoretical work. Other aspects of recent research in these materials, such as geometrical frustration effects, possible electric-field-induced transitions, or orbital order are also briefl…
Multiferroics, defined for those multifunctional materials in which two or more kinds of fundamental ferroicities coexist, have become one of the hottest topics of condensed matter physics and materials science in recent years. The coexistence of several order parameters in multiferroics brings out novel physical phenomena and offers possibilities for new device functions. The revival of research activities on multiferroics is evidenced by some novel discoveries and concepts, both experimentally and theoretically. In this review article, we outline some of the progressive milestones in this st…
A dielectric anomaly has been found near the incommensurate to commensurate antiferromagnetic phase transition (TN2=230 K) in YBaCuFeO5 ceramics, a compound which crystallizes in an ordered perovskite structure. The existence of electric polarization below TN2 suggests the magnetism induced charge polarization effect that is also confirmed by its strong magnetic field dependence below TN2. Accordingly, the peak near TN2 of the magnetodielectric effect indicates a maximum of magnetodielectric susceptibility near the spin reorientation transition. Considering the abundance of magnetic compounds …
A series of manganites Tb1-xHoxMnO3 (0<=x<=0.6) with orthorhombic structure are synthesized and detailed investigations on their multiferroicity are performed. Successive magnetic transitions upon temperature variation are evidenced for all samples, and both the Mn3+ spiral spin ordering and rare-earth spin ordering are suppressed with increasing x. Significant enhancement of both the polarization and magnetoelectric response within 0.2<x<0.4 is observed, which may be ascribed to the competition possibly existing between spiral and E-type spin orders. Theoretical calculation is given based on …
Cupric oxide is a unique magnetic ferroelectric material with a transition temperature significantly higher than the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. However, the mechanism of high-T$_c$ multiferroicity in CuO remains puzzling. In this paper, we clarify the mechanism of high-T$_c$ multiferroicity in CuO, using combined first-principles calculations and an effective Hamiltonian model. We find that CuO contains two magnetic sublattices, with strong intrasublattice interactions and weakly frustrated intersublattice interactions, which may represent one of the main reasons for the high ordering t…
LuFe2O4 exhibits multiferroicity due to charge order on a frustrated triangular lattice. We find that the magnetization of LuFe2O4 in the multiferroic state can be electrically controlled by applying voltage pulses. Depending on with or without magnetic fields, the magnetization can be electrically switched up or down. We have excluded thermal heating effect and attributed this electrical control of magnetization to an intrinsic magnetoelectric coupling in response to the electrical breakdown of charge ordering. Our findings open up a new route toward electrical control of magnetization.
We have studied the influence of laser illumination on the magnetization in multiferroic YbFe2O4 single crystals. A photoinduced magnetization change has been confirmed in both ab plane and c axis direction. The temperature dependence of the photoinduced magnetization reduction excludes laser heating as the cause. In terms of the breakdown of charge order driven by laser illumination, the photoinduced magnetization change provides a strong evidence for the spin-charge coupling in YbFe2O4. This photomagnetic effect based on charge-order-induced multiferroicity could be used for non-thermal opti…
Hexagonal LuFeO$_3$ has drawn a lot of research attention due to its contentious room-temperature multiferroicity. Due to the unstability of hexagonal phase in the bulk form, most experimental studies focused on LuFeO$_3$ thin films which can be stabilized by strain using proper substrates. Here we report on the hexagonal phase stabilization, magnetism, and magnetoelectric coupling of bulk LuFeO$_3$ by partial Sc-substitution of Lu. First, our first-principles calculations show that the hexagonal structure can be stabilized by partial Sc substitution, while the multiferroic properties includin…
We discuss a new mechanism of orbital ordering, which in charge transfer insulators is more important than the usual exchange interactions and which can make the very type of the ground state of a charge transfer insulator, i.e. its orbital and magnetic ordering, different from that of a Mott-Hubbard insulator. This purely electronic mechanism allows us to explain why orbitals in Jahn-Teller materials typically order at higher temperatures than spins, and to understand the type of orbital ordering in a number of materials, e.g. K_2CuF_4, without invoking the electron-lattice interaction.
We have investigated possible spin and charge ordered states in 3d transition-metal oxides with small or negative charge-transfer energy, which can be regarded as self-doped Mott insulators, using Hartree-Fock calculations on d-p-type lattice models. It was found that an antiferromagnetic state with charge ordering in oxygen 2p orbitals is favored for relatively large charge-transfer energy and may be relevant for PrNiO$_3$ and NdNiO$_3$. On the other hand, an antiferromagnetic state with charge ordering in transition-metal 3$d$ orbitals tends to be stable for highly negative charge-transfer e…
In the present work we analyze the influence of the charge-ordering on the magnetocaloric effect of Pr$_{1-x}$Ca$_x$MnO$_3$ manganites. The results for the samples with $x<$0.30 present the usual ferromagnetic behavior, peaking at the Curie temperature T$_C$. In contrast, for the samples above the onset concentration for the charge-ordering ($x\sim$0.30), an anomalous magnetic entropy change was observed below the charge-ordering temperature $T_{CO}$, persisting for lower temperatures. This effect is associated to a positive contribution to the magnetic entropy change due to charge-ordering, w…
Trirutile-type LiFe$_2$F$_6$ is a charge-ordered material with Fe$^{2+}$/Fe$^{3+}$ configuration. Here its physical properties, including magnetism, electronic structure, phase transition, and charge ordering, are studied theoretically. On one hand, the charge ordering leads to improper ferroelectricity with a large polarization. On the other hand, its magnetic ground state can be tuned from the antiferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic by moderate compressive strain. Thus, LiFe$_2$F$_6$ can be a rare multiferroic with both large magnetization and polarization. Most importantly, since the charge orde…
In this communication the enhancement of low temperature magnetoresistance in polycrystalline La1-xCaxMnO3 manganites is discussed. It is shown that so-called grain boundary effects seem to be the simplest and natural explanation of this phenomenon.
Using a combination of Density Functional Theory, mean-field analysis and exact diagonalization calculations we reveal the emergence of a dimerized charge ordered state in TMTTF$_2$-PF$_6$ organic crystal. The interplay between charge and spin order leads to a rich phase diagram. Coexistence of charge ordering with a structural dimerization results in a ferroelectric phase, which has been observed experimentally. The tendency to the dimerization is magnetically driven revealing TMTTF$_2$-PF$_6$ as a multiferroic material.
We study the deformation of a Fermi surface (FS) near charge-ordering (CO) transition. By applying a fluctuation-exchange approximation to the two-dimensional extended Hubbard model, we show that the FS is largely modified by strong charge fluctuations when the wave number of the CO pattern does not match the nesting vector of the FS in a noninteracting system. We also discuss the enhanced anisotropy in quasiparticle properties in the resultant metallic state.
Electron microdiffraction study of phase transition in La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 revealed temperature dependent (h+1/2,0,l) diffraction spots. Their intensity peaks at Tc. Quantitative electron diffraction intensity analysis shows that they come from nanometer-sized domains with modulated transverse atomic displacements in the orthorhombic a-c plane, which has two types of Mn ions and thus charge ordering. The average domain is ~3.6 nm in diameter and ~1.5 nm in height (along the b-axis). The number of domains increases and then decreases, as the sample is cooled through Tc.
Charge-lattice fluctuations are observed in the layered perovskite manganite LaSr2Mn2O7 by Raman spectroscopy as high as 340 K and with decreasing temperature they become static and form a charge ordered (CO) phase below TCO=210 K. In the static regime, superlattice reflections are observed through neutron and x-ray diffraction with a propagation vector (h+1/4,k-1/4,l). Crystallographic analysis of the CO state demonstrates that the degree of charge and orbital ordering in this manganite is weaker than the charge ordering in three dimensional perovskite manganites. A TN=170K a type-A antiferro…
The charge order of CE phase in half-doped manganites is studied, based on an argument that the charge-ordering is caused by the Jahn-Teller distortions of MnO6 octahedra rather than Coulomb repulsion between electrons. The uantitative calculation on the ferromagnetic zigzag chain as the basic structure unit of CE phase within the framework of two-orbital double exchange model including Jahn-Teller effect is performed, and it is shown that the charge-disproportionation of Mn cations in the charge-ordered CE phase is less than 13%. In addition, we predict the negative charge-disproportionation …
We have explored spin, charge and orbitally ordered states in La1-xSrxMnO3 (0 < x < 1/2) using model Hartree-Fock calculations on d-p-type lattice models. At x=1/8, several charge and orbitally modulated states are found to be stable and almost degenerate in energy with a homogeneous ferromagnetic state. The present calculation indicates that a ferromagnetic state with a charge modulation along the c-axis which is consistent with the experiment by Yamada et al. might be responsible for the anomalous behavior around x = 1/8.
The transmission electron microscopy observations of the charge ordering (CO) which governs the electronic polarization in LuFe2O4-x clearly show the presence of a remarkable phase separation at low temperatures. Two CO ground states are found to adopt the charge modulations of Q1 = (1/3, 1/3, 0) and Q2 = (1/3 + y, 1/3 + y, 3/2), respectively. Our structural study demonstrates that the incommensurately Q2-modulated state is chiefly stable in samples with relatively lower oxygen contents. Data from theoretical simulations of the diffraction suggest that both Q1- and Q2-modulated phases have fer…
A unified theory is developed to explain various types of electronic collective behaviors in doped manganites R$_{1-x}$X$_x$MnO$_3$ (R = La, Pr,Nd etc. and X = Ca, Sr, Ba etc.). Starting from a realistic electronic model, we derive an effective Hamiltonianis by ultilizing the projection perturbation techniques and develop a spin-charge-orbital coherent state theory, in which the Jahn-Teller effect and the orbital degeneracy of e$_g$ electrons in Mn ions are taken into account. Physically, the experimentally observed charge ordering state and electronic phase separation are two macroscopic quan…
We have studied the chemical potential shift in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$NiO$_4$ and the charge ordering transition in La$_{1.67}$Sr$_{0.33}$NiO$_4$ by photoemission spectroscopy. The result shows a large ($\sim$ 1 eV/hole) downward shift of the chemical potential with hole doping in the high-doping regime ($δ\gtrsim$ 0.33) while the shift is suppressed in the low-doping regime ($δ\lesssim$ 0.33). This suppression is attributed to a segregation of doped holes on a microscopic scale when the hole concentration is lower than $δ\simeq 1/3$. In the $δ= 1/3$ sample, the photoemission intensity at the chemic…
Impurity effects on the stability of a ferromagnetic metallic state in a bicritical-state manganite, (La0.7Pr0.3)0.65Ca0.35MnO3, on the verge of metal-insulator transition have been investigated by substituting a variety of transition-metal atoms for Mn ones. Among them, Fe doping exhibits the exceptional ability to dramatically decrease the ferromagnetic transition temperature. Systematic studies on the magnetotransport properties and x-ray diffraction for the Fe-doped crystals have revealed that charge-orbital ordering evolves down to low temperatures, which strongly suppresses the ferromagn…
We consider the possible charge and orbital ordering in a Hollandite compound Bi_xV_8O_{16}, which is a new one-dimensional triangular-lattice t_{2g}-orbital system. Using the strong-coupling perturbation theory, we derive the effective spin-orbit Hamiltonian in the approximation neglecting the small off-diagonal hopping parameters or orbital fluctuation, whereby we obtain the spin Hamiltonians in the partial space of each orbital-ordering pattern. We then apply an exact-diagonalization technique on small clusters to these spin Hamiltonians and calculate the ground-state phase diagram. We find…
The realization of multiferroics in nanostructures, combined with a large electric dipole and ferromagnetic ordering, could lead to new applications, such as high-density multi-state data storage. Although multiferroics have been broadly studied for decades, ferromagnetic ferroelectricity is rarely explored, especially in two-dimensional (2D) systems. Here we report the discovery of 2D ferromagnetic ferroelectricity in layered transition metal halide systems. On the basis of first-principles calculations, we reveal that charged CrBr3 monolayer exhibits in-plane multiferroicity, which is ensure…
GaFeO3, AlFeO3 and related oxides are ferrimagnetic exhibiting magnetodielectric effect. There has been no evidence to date for ferroelectricity and hence multiferroicity in these oxides. We have investigated these oxides as well as oxides of the composition Al1-x-yGaxFe1+yO3 (x = 0.2, y = 0.2) for possible ferroelectricity by carrying out pyroelectric measurements. These measurements establish the occurrence of ferroelectricity at low temperatures below the Nèel temperature in these oxides. They also exhibit significant magnetoelectric effect. We have tried to understand the origin of ferroel…
The coexistence and coupling of magnetic and ferroelectric orderings in single phase multiferroics has evinced enormous scientific interest as it involves breaking of time reversal and space inversion symmetries in the same material. The mutual controllability of the two diverse orderings in multiferroics has potential for developing new generation multifunctional sensor, actuator and data storage devices. We present here evidence for a new exotic facet of multiferroicity, whereby one can raise the strength of antiferromagnetic (AFM) superexchange interaction and hence tune the Néel temperatur…
Materials which possess coupling between different degrees of freedom such as charge, spin, orbital and lattice are of tremendous interest due to their potential for device applications. It has been recently realized that some of manganite perovskite oxides show structural and ferroelectric instabilities which may be tuned by imposing internal or external strain. Among manganite perovskites, AMnO3 (A = Ca, Sr and Ba) are reported to be good candidates to show spin-phonon coupling driven multiferroicity. Here, we have probed the correlation between vibrational and magnetic properties in the 9R-…
In this letter we report the stress induced Mn charge-ordering process in the LiMn2O4 spinel, evidenced by the lattice strain evolutions due to the Jahn-Teller effects. In-situ neutron diffraction, reveals that the initial stage of this process at low stress, indicating the eg electron localization at the preferential Mn sites during the early phase transition, as an underlying charge ordering mechanism in the charge-frustrated LiMn2O4. The initial stage of this transition exhibits as a progressive lattice and charge evolution, without showing a first-order behavior.
Observation of charge ordering in single crystalline and bulk polycrystalline systems of various rare-earth based manganites is well documented. However, there is hardly any manifestation of the same when the grain size is reduced to nanoscale. We have observed charge ordering in case of nanocrystalline Pr$_{0.65}$Ca$_{0.35}$MnO$_{3}$ of average particle size 40 nm. This phenomenon is attributed to the primary role played by the martensitic character of the charge order transition in the material.
Nanoparticles of Nd1=2Sr1=2MnO3 of average particle sizes 12 nm and 25 nm are prepared by sol-gel technique. Transport, magnetotransport, magnetization and I-V characteristics studies have been performed on the nanoparticles. Although the particle size is order of magnitude smaller than the correlation length of charge ordering of the bulk material,the existence of charge ordered state has been observed in the nanoparticles at low temperature.
We show that in mixed-valence 3d transition metal oxides undergoing a structural transition, the low temperature phase results from an effective ordering of the charge. This arrangement and the quantitative evaluation of the atomic charges are determined by using resonant x-ray scattering experiments further analyzed with the help of ab initio calculations of the corresponding scattering factors. We have found that this reorganization concerns only a small fraction of electron and is necessary to reconcile all the experimental data.
By means of first-principles simulations, we unambiguously show that improper ferroelectricity in magnetite in the low-temperature insulating phase is driven by charge-ordering. An accurate comparison between monoclinic ferroelectric Cc and paraelectric P2/c structures shows that the polarization arises because of "shifts" of electronic charge between octahedral Fe sites, leading to a non-centrosymmetric Fe2+/Fe3+ charge-ordered pattern. Our predicted values for polarization, in good agreement with available experimental values, are discussed in terms of point-charge dipoles located on selecte…
We carry out first-principles density-functional-theory calculations to elucidate the polarization switching mechanism in charge-ordering-induced ferroelectrics based on the prototypical case of the (SrVO$_3$)$_1$(LaVO$_3$)$_1$ superlattice. We find that lattice relaxation for a specific charge ordering state can "lock" that state in, making non-adiabatic switching to a different CO variant energetically prohibitive, and in some cases, even making the energy barrier for adiabatic switching prohibitively large. We classify charge-ordering materials into two types, polyhedral breathing and off-c…
Charge ordering behavior is observed in the crystal prepared through the immersion of the $Na_{0.41}CoO_2$ crystal in distilled water. Discovery of the charge ordering in the crystal with Na content less than 0.5 indicates that the immersion in water brings about the reduction of the $Na_{0.41}CoO_2$. The formal valence of Co changes from +3.59 estimated from the Na content to +3.5, the same as that in $Na_{0.5}CoO_2$. The charge compensation is confirmed to arise from the intercalation of the oxonium ions as occurred in the superconducting sodium cobalt oxide bilayer-hydrate.\cite{takada1} Th…
Transport and magnetic properties have been studied in two sets of sol-gel prepared Pr$_{1/2}$Sr$_{1/2}$MnO$_{3}$ nanoparticles having average particle size of 30 nm and 45 nm. Our measurements suggest that the formation of charge ordered state is largely affected due to lowering of particle size, but the ferromagnetic transition temperature ($T_{C}$) remains unaffected.
In this paper, we present the observation of the electric field control on the charge-ordering and metamagnetic transitions during the magnetization measurements in a single crystal of Pr0.6Ca0.4MnO3 (PCMO). We have demonstrated that the complete melting of charge ordering can be realized in a single crystal of PCMO by applying a voltage as small as 2.5 V, which otherwise needs magnetic fields in excess of 11 T. The maximum change in magnetization with applied voltage occurs across the charge-ordering transition temperature (TCO = 235 K). Even though the electric field does not seem to affect …
We introduce ultrafast low-energy electron diffraction (ULEED) in backscattering for the study of structural dynamics at surfaces. Using a tip-based source of ultrashort electron pulses, we investigate the optically-driven transition between charge-density wave phases at the surface of 1T-TaS2. The large transfer width of the instrument allows us to employ spot-profile analysis, resolving the phase-ordering kinetics in the nascent incommensurate charge-density wave phase. We observe a coarsening that follows a power-law scaling of the correlation length, driven by the annihilation of dislocati…
