Synthesis and crystal growth

Abstract:

Magnetically induced ferroelectric multiferroics present an exciting new paradigm in the design of multifunctional materials, by intimately coupling magnetic and polar order. Magnetoelectricity creates a novel quasiparticle excitation--the electromagnon--at terahertz frequencies, with spectral signatures that unveil important spin interactions. To date, electromagnons have been discovered at low temperature (<70 K) and predominantly in rare-earth compounds such as RMnO3. Here we demonstrate using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy that intersublattice exchange in the improper multiferroic cupric oxide (CuO) creates electromagnons at substantially elevated temperatures (213-230 K). Dynamic magnetoelectric coupling can therefore be achieved in materials, such as CuO, that exhibit minimal static cross-coupling. The electromagnon strength and energy track the static polarization, highlighting the importance of the underlying cycloidal spin structure. Polarized neutron scattering and terahertz spectroscopy identify a magnon in the antiferromagnetic ground state, with a temperature dependence that suggests a significant role for biquadratic exchange.

Abstract:

A characteristic feature of spin ice is its apparent violation of the third law of thermodynamics. This leads to a number of interesting properties including the emergence of an effective vacuum for magnetic monopoles and their currents – magnetricity. Here we add a new dimension to the experimental study of spin ice by fabricating thin epitaxial films of Dy2Ti2O7, varying between 5 and 60 monolayers on an inert substrate. The films show the distinctive characteristics of spin ice at temperatures >2 K, but at lower temperature we find evidence of a zero entropy state. This restoration of the third law in spin ice thin films is consistent with a predicted strain-induced ordering of a very unusual type, previously discussed for analogous electrical systems. Our results show how the physics of frustrated pyrochlore magnets such as spin ice may be significantly modified in thin-film samples.

Abstract:

: High-density growth of single-crystalline Bi2Se2Te nanowires was achieved via the vapour-liquid-solid process. The stoichiometry of samples grown at various substrate temperatures is precisely determined based on energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy on individual nanowires. We discuss the growth mechanism and present insights into the catalyst-precursor interaction.

Abstract:

We investigate the magnetic ordering and dynamics of the stripe phase of La5/3Sr1/3CoO4, a material shown to have an hourglass magnetic excitation spectrum. A combination of muon-spin relaxation, nuclear magnetic resonance, and magnetic susceptibility measurements strongly suggest that the physics is determined by a partially disordered configuration of charge and spin stripes whose frustrated magnetic degrees of freedom are dynamic at high temperature and which undergo an ordering transition around 35 K with coexisting dynamics that freeze out in a glassy manner as the temperature is further reduced. © 2014 American Physical Society.

Abstract:

Three-dimensional (3D) topological Dirac semimetals (TDSs) are a recently proposed state of quantum matter 1-6that have attracted increasing attention in physics and materials science. A 3D TDS is not only a bulk analogue of graphene; it also exhibits non-trivial topology in its electronic structure that shares similarities with topological insulators. Moreover, a TDS can potentially be driven into other exotic phases (such as Weyl semimetals, axion insulators and topological superconductors), making it a unique parent compound for the study of these states and the phase transitions between them. Here, by performing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we directly observe a pair of 3D Dirac fermions in Cd3 As2, proving that it is a model 3D TDS. Compared with other 3D TDSs, for example, β-cristobalite BiO2 (ref.) and Na 3 Bi (refs,), Cd3 As2 is stable and has much higher Fermi velocities. Furthermore, by in situ doping we have been able to tune its Fermi energy, making it a flexible platform for exploring exotic physical phenomena. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.