In this paper, we systematically investigated the structural and magnetic properties of CrTe by combining particle swarm optimization algorithm and first-principles calculations. With the electronic correlation effect considered, we predicted the ground-state structure of CrTe to be NiAs-type (space group P63/mmc) structure at ambient pressure, consistent with the experimental observation. Moreover, we found two extra meta-stable Cmca and R3m structure which have negative formation enthalpy and stable phonon dispersion at ambient pressure. The Cmca structure is a layered antiferromagnetic metal. The cleaved energy of a single layer is 0.464 J/m2, indicating the possible synthesis of CrTe monolayer. R3m structure is a ferromagnetic half-metal. When the pressure was applied, the ground-state structure of CrTe transitioned from P63/mmc to R3m, then to Fm3m structure at a pressure about 34 and 42 GPa, respectively. We thought these results help to motivate experimental studies the CrTe compounds in the application of spintronics.
From ferromagnetic semiconductor to anti-ferromagnetic metal in epitaxial Cr$_x$Te$_y$ monolayers
University of St Andrews（圣安德鲁斯大学）；STFC Central Laser Facility, Research Complex at Harwell（STFC中央激光设施，哈韦尔研究综合体）；Diamond Light Source（钻石光源）；Universität Bonn（波恩大学）
Co-rich Co$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$ alloys have hcp or fcc disordered phases and those ferromagnetic orderings are significantly deteriorated with increasing Mn concentration $x$ in bulk. On the other hand, those metastable bcc phases show properties attractive to spintronics, e.g., high tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio of more than 200% (600%) at 300 K (10 K) in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with the $x$ = 0.25 bcc alloy electrodes [Kunimatsu et al., Appl. Phys. Express 13, 083007 (2020)]. Here, we report systematic study of structure and magnetism for epitaxial thin films as well as the TMR effe…
$α$-CoV$_{2}$O$_{6}$ consists of $j_{\mathrm{eff}}={1 \over 2}$ Ising spins located on an anisotropic triangular motif with magnetization plateaus in an applied field. We combine neutron diffraction with low temperature magnetization to investigate the magnetic periodicity in the vicinity of these plateaus. We find these steps to be characterized by metastable and spatially short-range ($ξ\sim$ 10 $Å$) magnetic correlations with antiphase boundaries defining a local periodicity of $\langle \hat{T}^{2} \rangle =\ \uparrow \downarrow$ to $\langle \hat{T}^{3} \rangle =\ \uparrow \uparrow \downarr…
Compositionally complex materials (CCMs) present a potential paradigm shift in the design of magnetic materials. These alloys exhibit long-range structural order coupled with limited or no chemical order. As a result, extreme local environments exist with a large opposing magnetic energy term, which can manifest large changes in the magnetic behavior. In the current work, the magnetic properties of (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni) alloys are presented. These materials were prepared by room-temperature combinatorial sputtering, resulting in a range of compositions with a single BCC structural phase and no chem…
We propose a design scheme for potential electrides derived from conventional materials. Starting with rare-earth-based ternary halides, we exclude halogens and perform global structure optimization to obtain thermodynamically stable or metastable phases but having an excess of electrons confined inside interstitial cavities. Then, spin-polarized interstitial states are induced by chemical substitution with magnetic lanthanides. To demonstrate the capability of our approach, we test with 11 ternary halides and successfully predict 30 stable and metastable phases of nonmagnetic electrides subje…
First-Principles Study of Magnetism, Electronic Structure, and Bonding in Nb-Mn-Ge Kagome Compounds
Ames National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Iowa State University（艾姆斯国家实验室，美国能源部，爱荷华州立大学）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University（爱荷华州立大学物理与天文系）；Department of Physics, Xiamen University（厦门大学物理系）
Experimentally discovered compounds in the iron-nitrogen system belong to the low concentration part of the Fe-N phase diagram. In our paper, which is based on ab initio calculations we have studied formation and stability of high-pressure iron mono-nitride phases, and particularly the new magnetic phase with a NiAs-type structure. We have investigated the role of dynamic, thermodynamic and electronic properties, such as electronic correlations and pressure-induced phase stabilisation. We demonstrate that the new hexagonal FeN phase is stable for a wide range of external pressure and it can be…
Using density functional calculations we have investigated the local spin moment formation and lattice deformation in graphene when an isolated vacancy is created. We predict two competing equilibrium structures: a ground state planar configuration with a saturated local moment of 1.5 $μ_B$, and a metastable non-planar configuration with a vanishing magnetic moment, at a modest energy expense of ~50 meV. Though non-planarity relieves the lattice of vacancy-induced strain, the planar state is energetically favored due to maximally localized defect states (v$σ$, v$π$). In the planar configuratio…
On the basis of ab-initio pseudopotential calculations, we study structural, magnetic, dynamical, and mechanical properties of the hypothetical CaC ionic compound in the rock-salt (RS), B2, zinc-blende (ZB), wurtzite (WZ), NiAs (NA), anti-NiAs (NA*), and CrB (B33) structures. It is argued that the ZB, WZ, NA, and RS structures are more ionic while the NA*, B2, and B33 structures are more covalent systems. As a result of that, the nonmagnetic B33-CaC is the energetically preferred system, while the more ionic structures prefer a ferromagnetic ground state with high Fermi level spin polarization…
