We constructed the magnetic field-temperature phase diagrams of new quasi-two-dimensional isosceles triangular lattice antiferromagnets (TLAF) Ca 3 MNb 2 O 9 (M=Co, Ni) from dc and ac magnetic susceptibilities, specific heat, dielectric constant, and electric polarization measurements on single crystalline samples. Ca 3 CoNb 2 O 9 with effective spin-1/2 Co 2+ ions undergoes a two-step antiferromagnetic phase transition at T N1 = 1.3 K and T N2 = 1.5 K and enters a stripe ordered state at zero magnetic field. With increasing field, successive magnetic phase transitions, reminiscent of the up-up-down ( uud ) and the oblique phases, are observed. The dielectric constant of Ca 3 CoNb 2 O 9 shows anomalies related to the magnetic phase transitions, but clear evidence of ferroelectricity is absent. Meanwhile, Ca 3 NiNb 2 O 9 with spin-1 Ni 2+ ions also shows a two-step antiferromagnetic transition at T N1 = 3.8 K and T N2 = 4.2 K at zero field. For Ca 3 NiNb 2 O 9 , the electric polarization in the magnetic ordered phases was clearly observed from the pyroelectric current measurements, which indicates its coexistence of magnetic ordering and ferroelectricity.
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This content will become publicly available on June 14, 2024
Electrical, optical, and magnetic properties of amorphous yttrium iron oxide thin films and consequences for non-local resistance measurements
We present magnetic characterization, charge resistivity, and optical photoluminescence measurements on amorphous yttrium iron oxide thin films (a-Y–Fe–O), with supporting comparisons to amorphous germanium (a-Ge) films. We measured magnetic properties with both SQUID magnetometry and polarized neutron reflectometry. These results not only confirm that a-Y–Fe–O is a disordered magnetic material with strong predominantly antiferromagnetic exchange interactions and a high degree of frustration, but also that it is best understood electrically as a disordered semiconductor. As with amorphous germanium, a-Y–Fe–O obeys expectations for variable-range hopping through localized electron states over a wide range of temperature. We also clarify the consequences of charge transport through such a semiconducting medium for non-local voltage measurements intended to probe spin transport in nominally insulating magnetic materials. We further compare non-local resistance measurements made with “quasi-dc” automated current reversal to ac measurements made with a lock-in amplifier. These show that the “quasi-dc” measurement has an effective ac current excitation with frequency up to approximately 22 Hz, and that this effective ac excitation can cause artifacts in these measurements including incorrect sign of the non-local resistance. This comprehensive investigation of non-local resistance measurements in a-Y–Fe–O shows no evidence of spin transport on micrometer length scales, which is contrary to our original work, and in line with more recent investigations by other groups.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10429200
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Applied Physics
- Volume:
- 133
- Issue:
- 22
- ISSN:
- 0021-8979
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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