National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

We investigated the AC magnetic response of a YBa2Cu3O7 film with embedded BaZrO3 nanorods and Y2O3 nanoparticles at a static magnetic field H-dc lower than the matching field H-Phi. We proposed a practical formula for the determination of the induced current J during AC susceptibility measurements, which allows us to directly obtain the pinning potential U-c from the characteristics of electric field E versus J. We show that the dynamic critical current J(d) induced at the depinning frequency f(d) can be experimentally obtained by measuring m'(T) and m ''(T) at different frequencies and amplitudes. It was found that the value of f(d) obtained by extrapolation of J to J(d) in the PHz domain is much higher than the frequency reported for ordinary YBa2Cu3O7 thin films as determined by microwave impedance measurements. AC susceptibility, vortex dynamics, pinning energy, depinning frequency, dynamic critical current, microwave impedance measurements

Interfacial properties of organic adsorbates featuring aromatic -orbitals on metal surfaces play an important role for organic electronics and spintronics. Pyrene is a flat aromatic molecule with a size between ultimately small benzene and extended graphene segments. The deposition of pyrene molecules onto clean and reactive surfaces with a sub-monolayer coverage under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions is challenging, since pyrene is a solid with a high vapor pressure. Here, a sublimation procedure under UHV and image pyrene adlayers on in situ prepared Au(111) and Fe/W(110) substrates by means of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy is presented. For Au(111), the molecule-surface interaction is weak as indicated by the specific herringbone reconstruction of the Au(111) surface that is visible through the self-assembled pyrene adlayer. Pyrene desorption due to weak intermolecular interaction self-limits the growth to one monolayer (ML). On the more reactive 2-4 ML thick Fe films on W(110), the molecular order of the pyrene adlayer sensitively depends on the Fe thickness-dependent dislocation pattern at the substrate surface. Irregular arrangements occur for 1 ML Fe and near substrate dislocations for 2-4 ML Fe. Self-assembled ordered arrays form predominantly for 2 ML Fe, where the dislocation pattern leaves sufficiently large unperturbed areas between the dislocation lines.

Refined structure of the ferritic phase induced by mechanical milling (under reducing atmosphere) and its thermal stability are required in various applications of nanostructured ferritic alloys. The impurification with nitrogen and oxygen uptaken from the air is very probable during ball-milling, especially at the long-time high-energy milling conditions. As a rule, these interstitial impurities in as-milled powders are in quantities under the sensibility limit of conventional measurement techniques, such as XRD and SEM/ EDS. To evidence the tendency for microstructure modification by impurities introduced during milling, the Fe-14Cr-3W-0.4Ti-0.25Y(2)O(3) (Fe14Cr) ferritic steel powders (re)loaded in air and milled up to 170 h with interruption of the milling process, and heated up to 1373 K were investigated by thermal analysis in correlation with X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. XRD failed to detect the impurities in powders milled up to 38 h in air although a consistent mass loss related to the degassing of N-2 was registered in thermogravimetric, TG, curves. (Fe,Cr)(4)N, fcc-c, (Fe, Cr)(2)O-3 impurity phases in powders milled over 38 h in air and (Fe,Cr)(2)O-4 formed upon heating were readily detected by XRD. The analysis of these results allowed to better understand the impurification process and to generalise it for any as-milled Fe-Cr-based alloy powder processed in any milling conditions irrespective of the milling atmosphere, duration and thus, of amounts of contaminants. The quality of three powders milled for 170 h in three different conditions was compared: in air, under an argon atmosphere with interruptions of the milling process and under an argon atmosphere without interruption of the milling process. The contamination of powder milled for 170 h under an argon atmosphere without interruption of the milling process is insignificant (corresponding to less than 0.5 mass% mass loss in TG) as compared to powders obtained in the other two milling conditions. New approaches for minimising the contamination from air are suggested.

Arrays of Ni submicron wires surrounded by poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) submicron tubes were prepared via solution-processed polymer and Ni electrodeposition into anodic aluminum oxide template. The PVDF solution was filtered in vacuum through the template and the resulting dried structure was used for the electrodeposition of Ni wires. The obtained core-shell submicron wire structure consists of a metallic magnetic nanowire core of about 50 mu m in length and about 300 nm diameter surrounded by a polymer tube shell with thickness less than 10 nm. The specific ferroelectric beta-phase of the polymer was obtained whereas the magnetic behavior of the Ni-cores was proven to be specific to an array of ferromagnetic Ni cylindrical wires (about 0.62 mu(B)/Ni atom) with magnetization reversal mechanisms dominated by dipolar interactions and domain wall displacements. No significant differences of the magnetization reversal mechanism were observed in case of Ni submicron wires surrounded by PVDF tubes and similar Ni wires without PVDF shell, suggesting that magneto-coupling effects in such systems might be observed only by measuring the perturbation of the electric state of the polymer shell under a magnetic excitation of the Ni cores.

Co-doped CeO2 thin films were grown from a bulk target with starting composition Ce0.95Yb0.04Er0.01O2 by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on a p(+)-n-n(+) single crystal silicon diode. The PLD laser fluence was varied between 1.7 J/cm(2) and 3.7 J/cm(2). The device with the film grown for a laser fluence of 2.3 J/cm(2) delivers the highest performance taking advantage of the up conversion (UC) effect provided by this film. Namely, the increase in the relative power conversion efficiency of the device is 12.1% and 39.2% for illumination under 1 and 2.1 sun, respectively, and its relative external quantum efficiency is 8.2% when illuminated with 980 nm light. The film grown for the optimum 2.3 J/cm(2) fluence shows good target-film composition transfer and a granular morphology with a low roughness. The UC mechanism consists of efficient energy transfer between spatially separated Yb3+ and Er3+ ions, i.e. the absorption of infrared light photons by the Yb3+ ions (F-2(7/2) -> F-2(5/2) transition) is followed by a two-step energy transfer process to neighboring Er3+ ions and by their characteristic luminescent emissions ((H-2(11/2), S-4(3/2)) -> I-4(15/2)) and (F-4(9/2) -> I-4(15/2)).

Arrays of magnetic Ni-Cu alloy nanowires with different compositions were prepared by a template-replication technique using electrochemical deposition into polycarbonate nanoporous membranes. Photolithography was employed for obtaining interdigitated metallic electrode systems of Ti/Au onto SiO2/Si substrates and subsequent electron beam lithography was used for contacting single nanowires in order to investigate their galvano-magnetic properties. The results of the magnetoresistance measurements made on single Ni-Cu alloy nanowires of different compositions have been reported and discussed in detail. A direct methodology for transforming the magnetoresistance data into the corresponding magnetic hysteresis loops was proposed, opening new possibilities for an easy magnetic investigation of single magnetic nanowires in the peculiar cases of Stoner-Wohlfarth-like magnetization reversal mechanisms. The magnetic parameters of single Ni-Cu nanowires of different Ni content have been estimated and discussed by the interpretation of the as derived magnetic hysteresis loops via micromagnetic modeling. It has been theoretically proven that the proposed methodology can be applied over a large range of nanowire diameters if the measurement geometry is suitably chosen.

Ce3+ and Tb3+-doped silico-phosphate films were obtained by using the sol-gel method, followed by the spin-coating deposition on silicon substrate. The homogeneity of the films was investigated by the conoscopy method. It was observed that the analysed films are isotropic but relatively inhomogeneous due to the specificity of the deposition technique. The morphology of the sol-gel films was investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. The elemental composition was determined by Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis. The magneto-optical investigations evidenced the capability of Ce and Tb-doped films of less than 2 mu m thickness to produce measurable Kerr rotations of 1 mdeg/T and 0.28 mdeg/T, respectively. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The nature of the second magnetization peak (SMP) appearing on the dc magnetic hysteresis curves of superconducting single crystals with random pinning is still under debate. Many interesting SMP models and mechanisms were proposed and considered so far, and it is believed at present that this effect is system dependent. We analyzed the dc magnetization curves and the magnetic relaxation in the SMP domain for various single-crystal specimens (superconducting cuprates and iron-based superconductors), of different pinning strengths, with the external magnetic field H oriented along the crystallographic c axis or perpendicular to it. The sample independent aspects revealed by the relaxation results are the absence of single-vortex collective pinning around the SMP onset field and the sign changing of the vortex creep exponent between the onset field and the peak field. This general behavior supports strongly the pinning-induced disordering of the low-H quasi-ordered vortex solid as the actual scenario for the SMP.

The electronic, magnetic and optical properties of doped CdS:Mn and co-doped CdS:Mn, Cr cubic structures were studied via Density Functional Theory and subsequently compared with the properties of undoped CdS. The doped compound presents semiconducting character similar to the undoped CdS, while the co-doped compound exhibits half metallic properties with a high spin polarization at the Fermi energy. The magnetic moments as well as the trend of magnetic exchange parameters of CdS:Mn and CdS:Mn,Cr, have been analyzed, in addition to the dielectric functions, by starting from calculated density of states for spin polarized configurations. The calculated absorption coefficients lead to direct information on the spectral energy distribution in the range of optoelectronic applications. The optical band gaps of doped and co-doped compounds are higher as compared to the undoped CdS, making the first compounds more interesting for possible technological applications for high density magneto-optical recording. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pristine and (SiC + Te)-added MgB2 powders, green and spark plasma sintered (SPS) compacts were investigated from the viewpoint of quasi-static and dynamic (Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar, SHPB) compressive mechanical properties The amount of the additive (SiC + Te) was selected to be the optimum one for maximization of the superconducting functional parameters. Pristine and added MgB2 show very similar compressive parameters (tan delta, fracture strength, Vickers hardness, others) and fragment size in the SHPB test. However, for the bulk SPSed samples the ratio of intergranular to transgranular fracturing changes, the first one being stronger in the added sample. This is reflected in the quasi-static K-IC that is higher for the added sample. Despite this result, sintered samples are brittle and have roughly similar fragmentation behavior as for brittle engineering ceramics. In the fragmentation process, the composite nature of our samples should be considered with a special focus on MgB2 blocks (colonies) that show the major contribution to fracturing. The Glenn-Chudnovsky model of fracturing under dynamic load provides the closest values to our experimental fragment size data.