Concentration Of Magnetic Impurities Research Articles

Structure of Ancient Glass by 29 Si Magic Angle Spinning NMR Spectroscopy.

29 Si magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy has been applied for the first time to the structural analysis of ancient glass samples obtained from archaeological excavations. The results show that it is possible to establish the distribution of Si environments in ancient glass by 29 Si MAS NMR, so long as the concentrations of magnetic impurities, such as Mn and Fe oxides, are low. In general, good agreement has been obtained with compositions determined by means of electron probe microanalysis. In addition, the 29 Si MAS NMR data reveal structural differences between glasses manufactured at separate ancient sites.

Low temperature anomaly of light stimulated magnetization and heat capacity of the 1D diluted magnetic semiconductors

This article reports magnetization and specific heat capacity anomalies in one dimensional diluted magnetic semiconductors observed at very low temperatures. Based on quantum field theory double time temperature dependent Green function technique is employed to evaluate magnon dispersion and the time correlation function. It is understood that magnon-photon coupling and magnetic impurity concentration controls both, such that near absolute temperature magnetization is nearly zero and abruptly increase to saturation level with decreasing magnon-photon coupling strength. We also found out dropping of magnetic specific heat capacity as a result of increase in magnetic impurity concentration x, perhaps because of inter-band disorder that would suppress the enhancement of density of spin waves.

Multipolar Kondo effect in a S01−P23 mixture of Yb173 atoms

Whereas in the familiar Kondo effect the exchange interaction is dipolar, it can also be multipolar, as has been realized in a recent experiment. Here we study multipolar Kondo effect in a Fermi gas of cold $^{173}$Yb atoms. Making use of different AC polarizability of the electronic ground state Yb($^{1}$S$_{0}$) and the long-lived metastable state Yb$^{*}$($^{3}$P$_{2}$), it is suggested that the latter atoms can be localized and serve as a dilute concentration of magnetic impurities while the former ones remain itinerant. The exchange mechanism between the itinerant Yb and the localized Yb$^{*}$ atoms is analyzed and shown to be antiferromagnetic. The quadruple and octuple interactions act to enhance the Kondo temperature $T_K$ that is found to be experimentally accessible. The bare exchange Hamiltonian needs to be decomposed into dipole ($d$), quadruple ($q$) and octuple ($o$) interactions in order to retain its form under renormalization group (RG) analysis, in which the corresponding exchange constants ($\lambda_{\mathrm{d}}$, $\lambda_{\mathrm{q}}$ and $\lambda_{\mathrm{o}}$) flow independently. Numerical solution of the RG scaling equations reveals a few finite fixed points, indicating an over-screening, which suggests a non-Fermi liquid phase. The impurity contribution to the magnetic susceptibility is calculated in the weak coupling regime (${T}\gg{T}_{K}$).

A new route to enhance the ferromagnetic transition temperature in diluted magnetic semiconductors

We investigate the magnetic and the transport properties of diluted magnetic semiconductors using a spin-fermion Monte-Carlo method on a simple cubic lattice in the intermediate coupling regime. The ferromagnetic transition temperature Tc shows an optimization behavior with respect to the absolute carrier density pabs and the magnetic impurity concentration x as seen in the experiments. Our calculations also show an insulator-metal-insulator transition across the optimum pabs where the Tc is maximum. Remarkably, the optimum pabs values lie in a narrow range around 0.11 (holes/site) for all x values and the ferromagnetic Tc increases with x. We explain our results using the polaron percolation mechanism and outline a new route to enhance the ferromagnetic transition temperature in experiments.

Ferromagnetism in chiral multilayer two-dimensional semimetals

We calculate the temperature-dependent long-range magnetic coupling in the presence of dilute concentrations of random magnetic impurities in chiral multilayer two-dimensional semimetals, i.e., undoped intrinsic multilayer graphene. Assuming a carrier-mediated indirect Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida exchange interaction among the well-separated magnetic impurities with the itinerant carriers mediating the magnetic interaction between the impurities, we investigate the magnetic properties of intrinsic multilayer graphene using an effective chiral Hamiltonian model. We find that due to the enhanced density of states in the rhombohedral stacking sequence of graphene layers, the magnetic ordering of multilayer graphene is ferromagnetic in the continuum limit. The ferromagnetic transition temperature is calculated using a finite-temperature self-consistent field approximation and found to be within the experimentally accessible range for reasonable values of the impurity-carrier coupling.

Competing effects of magnetic impurities in the anomalous Hall effect on the surface of a topological insulator

We investigate the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) on the surface of a topological insulator induced by a finite concentration of magnetic impurities, and find topologically nontrivial and trivial mechanisms simultaneously contributing to the Hall conductivity. In the topologically nontrivial mechanism, the impurities gap the surface spectrum and result in a half-integer quantized intrinsic Hall conductivity in units ${e}^{2}/h$, while in the topologically trivial mechanism, the half-integer quantized plateau is modified by impurity-induced localized states via a gap-filling process. The nonmagnetic charge potential itself, though participating in the gap-filling process, cannot induce the AHE. In the presence of a finite magnetic potential, the charge potential would destroy the symmetric distribution of the Hall conductivity by redistributing the localized levels. More interestingly, the sign of the Hall conductivity is tunable by changing the strength of the charge potential.

Kondo effect from a Lorentz-violating domain wall description of superconductivity

We extend recent results on domain wall description of superconductivity in an Abelian Higgs model by introducing a particular Lorentz-violating term. The temperature of the system is interpreted through the fact that the soliton following accelerating orbits is a Rindler observer experiencing a thermal bath. We show that this term can be associated with the {\sl Kondo effect}, that is, the Lorentz-violating parameter is closely related to the concentration of magnetic impurities living on a superconducting domain wall. We also found that the critical temperature decreasing with the impurity concentration as a non single-valued function, for the case $T_K < T_{c0}$, develops a negative curvature and presents deviations from the Abrikosov and Gor'kov theory, a phenomenon already supported by experimental evidence.

Magnetic properties of nitrogen-doped ZrO2: Theoretical evidence of absence of room temperature ferromagnetism

N-dopants in bulk monoclinic ZrO2 and their magnetic interactions have been investigated by DFT calculations, using the B3LYP hybrid functional. The electronic and magnetic properties of the paramagnetic N species, substitutionals and interstitials, are discussed. Their thermodynamic stability has been estimated as a function of the oxygen partial pressure. At 300 K, N prefers interstitial sites at any range of oxygen pressure, while at higher temperatures (700–1000 K), oxygen poor-conditions facilitate substitutional dopants. We have considered the interaction of two N defects in various positions in order to investigate the possible occurrence of ferromagnetic ordering. A very small magnetic coupling constant has been calculated for several 2N-ZrO2 configurations, thus demonstrating that magnetic ordering can be achieved only at very low temperatures, well below liquid nitrogen. Furthermore, when N atoms replace O at different sites, resulting in slightly different positions of the corresponding N 2p levels, a direct charge transfer can occur between the two dopants with consequent quenching of the magnetic moment. Another mechanism that contributes to the quenching of the N magnetic moments is the interplay with oxygen vacancies. These effects contribute to reduce the concentration of magnetic impurities, thus limiting the possibility to establish magnetic ordering.

Lieb-Mattis ferrimagnetism in magnetic semiconductors

We show the possibility of long-range ferrimagnetic ordering with a saturation magnetisation of the order of 1 Bohr magneton per spin for arbitrarily low concentration of magnetic impurities in semiconductors, provided that the impurities form a superstructure satisfying the conditions of the Lieb-Mattis theorem. Explicit examples of such superstructures are given for the wurtzite lattice, and the temperature of ferrimagnetic transition is estimated from a high-temperature expansion. Exact diagonalization studies show that small fragments of the structure exhibit enhanced magnetic response and isotropic superparamagnetism at low temperatures. A quantum transition in a high magnetic field is considered and similar superstructures in cubic semiconductors are discussed as well.

Subgap states in disordered superconductors with strong magnetic impurities

We study the density of states (DOS) in diffusive superconductors with pointlike magnetic impurities of arbitrary strength described by the Poissonian statistics. The mean-field theory predicts a nontrivial structure of the DOS with the continuum of quasiparticle states and (possibly) the impurity band. In this approximation, all the spectral edges are hard, marking distinct boundaries between spectral regions of finite and zero DOS. Considering instantons in the replica sigma-model technique, we calculate the average DOS beyond the mean-field level and determine the smearing of the spectral edges due interplay of fluctuations of potential and nonpotential disorder. The latter, represented by inhomogeneity in the concentration of magnetic impurities, affects the subgap DOS in two ways: via fluctuations of the pair-breaking strength and via induced fluctuations of the order parameter. In limiting cases, we reproduce previously reported results for the subgap DOS in disordered superconductors with strong magnetic impurities.

Intrinsic magnetic refrigeration of a single electron transistor

In this work, we show that aluminium doped with low concentrations of magnetic impurities can be used to fabricate quantum devices with intrinsic cooling capabilities. We fabricate single electron transistors made of aluminium doped with 2% Mn by using a standard multi angle evaporation technique and show that the quantity of metal used to fabricate the devices generates enough cooling power to achieve a drop of 160 mK in the electron temperature at the base temperature of our cryostat (300 mK). The cooling mechanism is based on the magneto-caloric effect from the diluted Mn moments.

Spectral properties of superconductors with ferromagnetically ordered magnetic impurities

We present a comprehensive theoretical study of thermodynamic properties of superconductors with a dilute concentration of magnetic impurities, with focus on how the properties of the superconducting host change if the magnetic moments of the impurities order ferromagnetically. Scattering off the magnetic impurities leads to the formation of a band of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states within the superconducting energy gap that drastically influences superconductivity. In the magnetically ordered system, the magnetization displays a sudden drop as function of impurity density or magnetic moment amplitude. The drop occurs as the spin-polarized impurity band crosses the Fermi level and is associated with a quantum phase transition first put forward by Sakurai for the single impurity case. Taking into account that the background magnetic field created by the ordered impurity moments enters as a Zeeman shift, we find that the superconducting phase transition changes from second order to first order for high enough impurity concentration.

Magnetic field dependence of the precursor diamagnetism in La superconductors with magnetic Pr impurities

The interplay between fluctuating Cooper pairs and magnetic impurities in conventional BCS low-Tc superconductors has been studied through measurements of the magnetic field dependence of the fluctuation diamagnetism (FD) above Tc in lanthanum with praseodymium impurities. These measurements provide a crucial confirmation of our previous observation (F Soto et al 2006 Europhys. Lett. 73 587) that in the dilute impurity regime the FD increases almost linearly with the concentration of magnetic impurities. This striking effect is attributed to a variation due to the presence of the fluctuating Cooper pairs of the coupling between magnetic impurities. To describe these results at a phenomenological level, we propose a Gaussian Ginzburg–Landau model for the FD which includes an indirect contribution proportional to both the concentration of impurities and the density of the Cooper pairs. Our approach is able to explain simultaneously the FD increase due to magnetic impurities and its decrease with the application of large magnetic fields.

Lifetimes of magnons in two-dimensional diluted ferromagnetic systems

Spin dynamics in low dimensional magnetic systems has been of fundamental importance for a long time and has currently received an impetus owing to the emerging field of nanoelectronics. Knowledge of the spin wave lifetimes, in particular, can be favorable for future potential applications. We investigate the low-temperature spin wave excitations in two-dimensional disordered ferromagnetic systems, with a particular focus on the long wavelength magnon lifetimes. A semi-analytical Green's functions based approach is used to determine the dynamical spectral functions, for different magnetic impurity concentrations, from which the intrinsic linewidth is extracted. We obtain an unambiguous $q^4$ scaling of the magnon linewidth which is ascribed to the disorder induced damping of the spin waves, thereby settling a longstanding unresolved issue on the wave-vector dependence. Our findings are also in good agreement with previous theoretical studies on Heisenberg ferromagnets. Additionally, we demonstrate the futility of using the low moments associated with the spectral densities to evaluate the magnon dispersions and lifetimes.

Berry Approach to Intrinsic Anomalous Hall Conductivity in Dilute Magnetic Semiconductors (Ga&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;1-x&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;Mn&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;x&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;As)

We develop a model Hamiltonian to treat intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity in dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) of type (III, Mn, V) and obtain the Berry potential and Berry curvature which are responsible for intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity in Ga1-x MnxAs DMS. Based on Kubo formalism, we establish the relation between Berry curvature and intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity. We find that for strong spin-orbit interaction intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity is quantized which is in agreement with recent experimental observation. In addition, we show that the intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) can be controlled by changing concentration of magnetic impurities as well as exchange field. Since Berry curvature related contribution of anomalous Hall conductivity is believed to be dissipationless, our result is a significant step toward achieving dissipationless electron transport in technologically relevant conditions in emerging of spintronics.

Temperature Dependence of the Spin-Hall Conductivity of a Two-Dimensional Impure Rashba Electron Gas in the Presence of Electron–Phonon and Electron–Electron Interactions

Based on Kubo’s linear response formalism, temperature dependence of the spin-Hall conductivity of a two-dimensional impure (magnetic and nonmagnetic impurities) Rashba electron gas in the presence of electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions is analyzed theoretically. We will show that the temperature dependence of the spin-Hall conductivity is determined by the relaxation rates due to these interactions. At low temperature, the elastic lifetimes ( $$\tau _\mathrm{n}$$ and $$\tau _\mathrm{m} )$$ are determined by magnetic and nonmagnetic impurity concentrations which are independent of the temperature, while the inelastic lifetimes ( $$\tau _\mathrm{ee}$$ and $$\tau _\mathrm{ep} )$$ related to the electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions, decrease when the temperature increases. We will also show that since the spin-Hall conductivity is sensitive to temperature, we can distinguish the intrinsic and extrinsic contributions.

Effects of magnetic and nonmagnetic impurities on the spin susceptibility of a noncentrosymmetrical superconductor: Application to CePt3Si

The combined effect of nonmagnetic and magnetic impurities on the spin susceptibility of a noncentrosymmetrical superconductor by considering a Cooper pairing model with a two-component order parameter composed of spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing components is investigated. For clean superconductor CePt3Si, the low-temperature dependence (T→0) of spin susceptibility is linear which suggests that the gap function has line nodes, consistent with our gap model. We will show that in the presence of magnetic impurities the susceptibility does not vanish even in the absence of spin orbit coupling and in the region where the energy gap still is finite, and in the low concentration of magnetic impurities the spin susceptibility at zero temperature is proportional to impurity concentration.

Lifshitz Transition in Kondo Alloys

We study the low-energy states of Kondo alloys as a function of the magnetic impurity concentration per site x and the conduction electron average site occupation n(c). Using two complementary approaches, the mean-field coherent potential approximation and the strong-coupling limit, we identify and characterize two different Fermi-liquid regimes. We propose that both regimes are separated by a Lifshitz transition at x=n(c). Indeed, we predict a discontinuity of the number of quasiparticles that are enclosed in the Fermi surface. This feature could provide a scenario for the non-Fermi liquid properties that were recently observed in Kondo alloy systems around x=n(c).

Magnetism in undoped ZnS nanotetrapods

The magnetism of undoped ZnS nanotetrapods, synthesized by a solvothermal method, has been investigated by magnetization measurements and first principle numerical calculations. The background magnetic impurity concentrations of Fe, Co and Ni were determined at ppm level by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Hysteresis loops of weak ferromagnetism were observed, attributable to the magnetic impurities. However, the total magnetic moments analyzed from the paramagnetism are far beyond the explanations from the presence of these magnetic impurities, by about two orders of magnitude larger. It implies a different origin of the magnetic moments. Electron microscopy analysis reveals that there are defects in the sample. Numerical simulations indicate that the excessive magnetic moments might arise from the local band structure of polarized electrons associated with the defects of cation deficiency. This study elaborates on the understanding of magnetic properties in the non-magnetic II-VI semiconductor nanomaterials.

Scattering at magnetic and nonmagnetic impurities on surfaces with strong spin-orbit coupling

Adsorption-induced reduction of surface-state conductivity in epitaxial Bi(111) films, a prototype system with large Rashba-induced surface-state splitting, by adsorbed atoms of Bi, Fe, and Co has been investigated by macroscopic surface magnetotransport measurements at a temperature of 10 K. A detailed analysis of magnetotransport, dc transport, and Hall data reveals that the scattering efficiencies for Co and Fe are larger by a factor of 2 than that for Bi. While for the latter charge transfer and change of band filling near the Fermi level are negligible, we find an increase of hole concentration upon Co and Fe adsorption. These atoms act as acceptors and immobilize on average about 0.5 electrons per adsorbed atom. Besides the dominant classical magnetoconductance signal the films show signatures of weak antilocalization, reflecting the strong spin-orbit coupling in Bi(111) surface states. This behavior can be changed to weak localization by the adsorption of high concentrations (0.1 monolayers) of magnetic impurities (Fe,Co), similarly to results found on the topological insulator Bi${}_{2}$Se${}_{3}$. Our results demonstrate that details of chemical bond formation for impurities are crucial for local spin moments and electronic scattering properties.