Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

A. K. Singh

Publications and source records attributed to A. K. Singh.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Atomically thin gallium layers from solid-melt exfoliation

Among the large number of promising two-dimensional (2D) atomic layer crystals, true metallic layers are rare. Through combined theoretical and experimental approaches, we report on the stability and successful exfoliation of atomically thin gallenene sheets, having two distinct atomic arrangements along crystallographic twin directions of the parent alpha-gallium. Utilizing the weak interface between solid and molten phases of gallium, a solid-melt interface exfoliation technique is developed to extract these layers. Phonon dispersion calculations show that gallenene can be stabilized with bulk gallium lattice parameters. The electronic band structure of gallenene shows a combination of partially filled Dirac cone and the non-linear dispersive band near Fermi level suggesting that gallenene should behave as a metallic layer. Furthermore it is observed that strong interaction of gallenene with other 2D semiconductors induces semiconducting to metallic phase transitions in the latter paving the way for using gallenene as interesting metallic contacts in 2D devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Polarization-tailored Fano interference in plasmonic crystals: A Mueller matrix model of anisotropic Fano resonance

We present a simple yet elegant Mueller matrix approach for controlling the Fano interference effect and engineering the resulting asymmetric spectral line shape in anisotropic optical system. The approach is founded on a generalized model of anisotropic Fano resonance, which relates the spectral asymmetry to two physically meaningful and experimentally accessible parameters of interference, namely, the Fano phase shift and the relative amplitudes of the interfering modes. The differences in these parameters between orthogonal linear polarizations in an anisotropic system are exploited to desirably tune the Fano spectral asymmetry using pre- and post-selection of optimized polarization states. Experimental control on the Fano phase and the relative amplitude parameters and resulting tuning of spectral asymmetry is demonstrated in waveguided plasmonic crystals using Mueller matrix-based polarization analysis. The approach enabled tailoring of several exotic regimes of Fano resonance including the complete reversal of the spectral asymmetry. The demonstrated control and the ensuing large tunability of Fano resonance in anisotropic systems shows potential for Fano resonance-based applications involving control and manipulation of electromagnetic waves at the nano scale.

physics.optics↗

Effect of cobalt substitution on structural, impedance, ferroelectric and magnetic properties of multiferroic Bi_2Fe_4O_9 ceramics

Structural, impedance, ferroelectric and magnetic properties were examined in multiferroic Bi_{2}Fe_{4(1-x)}Co_{4x}O_{9} (0$\leq$x$\leq$0.02) ceramics synthesized via solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction analysis and Rietveld refinement showed secondary phase formation (for x$\geq$0.01) which was subsequently confirmed from room temperature Raman spectroscopy study. The frequency dependence of impedance and electric modulus of the material showed the presence of non-Debye type relaxation in all the samples. The values of the activation energies calculated from imaginary impedance and modulus lie in the range of 0.92-0.99 eV which confirmed that the oxygen vacancies play an important role in the conduction mechanism. Moreover, suitable amount of Co substitution significantly enhanced the remnant polarisation (2P_{r}) from 0.1193 $μ$C/cm^{2} (x=0) to 0.2776 $μ$C/cm^{2} (x=0.02). Besides, room temperature M-H measurement showed improved ferromagnetic hysteresis loop for all the modified samples. The remnant magnetization (M_{r}) and coercive field (H_{c}) increased from 0.0007 emu/gm and 42 Oe for x=0 to 0.1401 emu/gm and 296 Oe for x=0.02. The improved ferroelectricity was due to Co 3d-O 2p hybridization and enhanced magnetization originated from the partial substitution of Co^{3+} ions leading to breakdown of balance between the anti-parallel sub lattice magnetization of Fe^{3+} ions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Structural, optical and complex impedance spectroscopy study of multiferroic Bi2Fe4O9 ceramic

Multiferroic bismuth ferrite Bi_2Fe_4O_9 (BFO) ceramic was synthesized by conventional solid state reaction route. X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement show formation of single phase ceramic with orthorhombic crystal structure (space group Pbam). The morphological study depicted a well-defined grain of size $\simeq$2μm. The optical studies were carried out by using UV-Vis spectrophotometer which shows a band gap of 1.53 eV and a green emission spectrum at 537 is observed in the Photoluminescence study. The frequency dependent dielectric study at various temperature revealed that the dielectric constant decreases with increase in frequency. A noticeable peak shift towards higher frequency with increasing temperature is observed in the frequency dependent dielectric loss plot. The impedance spectroscopy shows a substantial shift in imaginary impedance (Z") peaks toward the high frequency side described that the conduction in material favoring the long range motion of mobile charge carriers. The presence of non-Debye type multiple relaxations has been confirmed by complex modulus analysis. The frequency dependent ac conductivity at different temperatures indicates that the conduction process is thermally activated. The variation of dc conductivity exhibited a negative temperature coefficient of resistance behavior. The activation energy calculated from impedance, modulus and conductivity data confirmed that the oxygen vacancies play a vital role in the conduction mechanism.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Preliminary study of feasibility of an experiment looking for excited state double beta transitions in tin

An attempt to study the feasibility of a new experiment to search for double beta decay in $^{112}$Sn and $^{124}$Sn was carried out by using ultra-low background HPGe detector (244 cm$^{3}$) inside the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) of the INFN (Italy). A small sample of natural Sn was examined for 2367.5 h. The radioactive contamination of the sample has been estimated. The data has also been considered to calculate the present sensitivity for the proposed search; half-life limits $\sim$ $10^{17} - 10^{18}$ years for $β^{+}$EC and EC-EC processes in $^{112}$Sn and $\sim$ $10^{18}$ years for $β^{-}β^{-}$ transition in $^{124}$Sn were measured. In the last section of the paper the enhancement of the sensitivity for a proposed experiment with larger mass to reach theoretically estimated values of half-lives is discussed.

nucl-ex↗

Antimagnetic rotation and sudden change of electric quadrupole transition strength in 143Eu

Lifetimes of the states in the quadrupole structure in 143Eu have been measured using the Doppler shift attenuation method as well as parity of the states in the sequence has been firmly identified from polarization measurement using the Indian National Gamma Array. The decreasing trends of the deduced quadrupole transition strength B(E2) with spin, along with increasing J (2) /B(E2) values before band crossing, conclusively establish the origin of these states as arising out of antimagnetic rotation. The abrupt increase in the B(E2) values after the band crossing in the quadrupole band, a novel feature observed in the present experiment, may indicates the crossing of different shears configurations resulting in re-opening of shears structure. The results are well reproduced by numerical calculation within the framework of semi-classical geometric model.

nucl-ex↗

Energy and momentum of Bianchi Type VI_h Universes

We obtain the energy and momentum of the Bianchi type VI_h universes using different prescriptions for the energy-momentum complexes in the framework of general relativity. The energy and momentum of the Bianchi VI_h universe are found to be zero for the parameter h = -1 of the metric. The vanishing of these results support the conjecture of Tryon that Universe must have a zero net value for all conserved quantities.This also supports the work of Nathan Rosen with the Robertson-Walker metric. Moreover, it raises an interesting question: "Why h=-1 case is so special?"

gr-qc↗

Correlation of magneto-electric coupling with crystal structure in Dy doped hexagonal YMnO3

Coexistence of mutually influencing ferroelectric and magnetic ordering at low temperature in hexagonal phase of rare-earth manganites gives rise to interesting physical phenomena. Here, we report a detailed analysis of powder neutron diffraction (ND) studies on polycrystalline Y1-xDyxMnO3 (x = 0, 0.05) as a function of temperature. Our analysis shows that Dy doping at Y site leads to modification in lattice constants: unit cell shrinks in c direction, but expands in ab plane, unit cell volume increases and effective Mn magnetic moment also reduces. All the Mn-O bond lengths and O-Mn-O bond angles shows significant variations leading to reduction in tilting of MnO5 polyhedra. Dielectric measurements on these samples show that, due to Dy doping, inverse S-shape anomaly shifts to the lower temperature side and magnetoelectric coupling decreases. Magnetic measurements confirm the decrease in the frustration of Mn triangular lattice. Temperature dependent specific heat measurement shows anomaly at Néel temperature (TN) and results indicate a decrease in entropy due to Dy doping. These results are understood in terms of modification in magnetoelectric coupling triggered due to Dy induced strain in Y plane of YMnO3.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Effect of Organoclay on Compatibilization, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Polycarbonate/Polystyrene Blends

Pristine and organoclay modified polycarbonate/polystyrene (PC/PS) blends are prepared using melt-mixing technique. These blends are characterized for their morphology, structural, thermal and mechanical properties. Though our FTIR and XRD results show weak interactions between PC and PS phases, however, DSC and morphological study reveals that pristine PC/PS blends are immiscible. On other hand, introduction of organoclay results compatibilization of two polymer phases which is supported by significant shift in glass transition temperatures of the component phases and a distinct morphology having no phase segregation on sub-micron scale. Intercalation of polymers inside the clay gallery is achieved and is supported by XRD studies. A better thermal stability and higher value of modulus of the compatibilized blends compared to pristine PC/PS blends also support the reinforcement effect of organoclay to the PC/PS blend matrix.

physics.chem-ph↗

Statistics of Night time Ionospheric Scintillation Using GPS data at low latitude ground station Varanasi

Ionospheric scintillation is the rapid change in the phase and/or the amplitude of a radio signal as it passes through small scale plasma density irregularities in the ionosphere. These scintillations not only can reduce the accuracy of GPS/Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) receiver pseudo-range and carrier phase measurement but also can result in a complete loss of lock on a satellite. Scintillation in the ionosphere varies as the sun spot number (SSN), Geomagnetic index (o < Kp < 9), time of year, time of day, geographical position. Most scintillation occurs for a few hours after sunset during the peak years of the solar cycle. Typically delay locked loop/phase locked loop designs of GPS/SBAS receivers enable them to handle moderate amount if scintillations. Consequently, any attempt to determine the effects of scintillations on GPS/SBAS must consider both predictions of scintillation activity in the ionosphere and residual effect of this activity after processing by a receiver. In this work dual frequency (f1 = 1.5 GHz, f2 = 1.2 GHz) GPS data recorded at low latitude station Varanasi (Geographic latitude 250 18/ N, longitude 820 59/ E) have been analyzed to monitor the amplitude scintillation index (S4) from January 2009 to December 2009. These analyzed data is used to study the monthly and seasonal variability of ionospheric plasma bubbles at low latitude. We have studied the power spectral density of the signal and using it we have calculated the estimated scintillation pattern velocity.

physics.ao-ph↗

Small Quadrupole Deformation for the Dipole Bands in 112In

High spin states in $^{112}$In were investigated using $^{100}$Mo($^{16}$O, p3n) reaction at 80 MeV. The excited level have been observed up to 5.6 MeV excitation energy and spin $\sim$ 20$\hbar$ with the level scheme showing three dipole bands. The polarization and lifetime measurements were carried out for the dipole bands. Tilted axis cranking model calculations were performed for different quasi-particle configurations of this doubly odd nucleus. Comparison of the calculations of the model with the B(M1) transition strengths of the positive and negative parity bands firmly established their configurations.

nucl-ex↗

Study of Energy Spectra and Electromagnetic moments of Double Beta Decay Nuclei in Deformed Hartree-Fock Model

Spectroscopy of nuclei in the mass range A=76 to A=130, participating in double beta decay processes are studied in the framework of the self-consistent deformed Hartree-Fock (HF) and angular momentum (J) projection model. Spectra of ground bands have been studied and compared with available experimental results for even-even parent and daughter as well as for intermediate odd-odd nuclei. To test the reliability of the wave functions we have also calculated the reduced E2 transition matrix elements, electric quadrupole moments and magnetic dipole moments for these nuclei. The calculated results are compared with the experimental findings and substantial agreement is achieved.

nucl-th↗

Rotational Bands and Electromagnetic Transitions of some even-even Neodymium Nuclei in J-Projected Hartree-Fock Model

Rotational structures of even-even $^{148-160}$Nd nuclei are studied with the self-consistent deformed Hartree-Fock (HF) and angular momentum (J) projection model. Spectra of ground band, recently observed $K=4^{-}$, $K=5^{-}$ and a few more excited, positive and negative parity bands have been studied upto high spin values. Apart from these detailed electromagnetic properties (like E2, M1 matrix elements) of all the bands have been obtained. There is substantial agreement between our model calculations and available experimental data. Predictions are made about the band structures and electromagnetic properties of these nuclei. Some 4-qasiparticle K-isomeric bands and their electromagnetic properties are predicted.

nucl-th↗

Dominance of magnetoelastic coupling in multiferroic hexagonal YMnO_3

Hexagonal YMnO_3 with space group P63cm is one of the rare examples of multiferroic materials that exhibit co-dependence of a robust ferroelectric phase along with antiferromagnetic ordering. This is primarily ascribed to tilting of the MnO_5 polyhedra driven by magnetoelectric coupling. We report on the effect of magnetic field at the atomic level in YMnO_3 by utilizing magnetic field and temperature dependent neutron diffraction measurements. We show that near the Néel temperature the lattice parameters, effective magnetic moment per site, Mn-O bond lengths and O-Mn-O bond angles show large variations and these are further modified in the presence of magnetic field. We observe distinct changes with the application of magnetic field in the paramagnetic state both in atomic positions and in the bulk dielectric constant. Our results provide unambiguous confirmation of the role played by exchange-striction over and above the much studied magnetoelectric coupling in this frustrated antiferromagnet.

cond-mat.str-el↗

FPGA Based Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulated Waveform Generation for Solar (PV) Rural Home Power Inverter

With the increasing concern about global environmental protection and energy demand due to rapid growth of population in developing countries and the diminishing trend of resources of conventional grid supply, the need to produce freely available pollution free natural energy such as solar/wind energy has been drawing increasing interest in every corner of the world. In an effort to utilize these energies effectively through Power converter, a great deal of research is being carried out by different researchers / scientist and engineers at different places in the world to meet the increasing demand of load. The study presents methodology to integrate solar (PV) energy (which is freely available in every corner of the world) with grid source and supplement the existing grid power in rural houses during its cut off or restricted supply period. In order to get consistency in supply a DG is also added as a standby source in the proposed integration of network. The software using novel Direct PWM modulation strategy and its soft control features extend the flexibility to control converter (inverter) parameters like voltage, frequency, number of samples of PWM pulses constituting sine-wave without changing any hardware configuration in the circuit. The system simulation of PWM Pulse generation has been done on a XILINX based FPGA Spartan 3E board using VHDL code. The test on simulation of PWM generation program after synthesis and compilation were recorded and verified on a prototype sample.

cs.OH↗

Effect of epitaxial strain on the magneto-electric coupling of YMnO3 thin films

We report synthesis of phase pure multiferroic YMnO3 thin films on sapphire (0001)with conducting ZnGaO buffer contact layer. Films were prepared by using pulsed laser deposition technique and characterized using x-ray diffraction(XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive absorption spectroscopy (EDAX) and magnetic field dependent dielectric measurement techniques. Structural characterizations indicated phase purity and epitaxial nature of the films. The dielectric response indicated an anomaly in dielectric constant and tand in the vicinity of 30 K, well below the bulk Neel temperature ~ 70 K. This anomaly in dielectric constant and tand and its magnetic field dependence is explained as an influence of strain due to lattice mismatch between the substrate and YMnO3 film. A substantial enhancement in magnetocapacitance was also observed for magnetic field applied parallel to ab plane of the film. Our results show that it is possible to tune the multiferroic property of YMnO3 via changes in ferroelastic route.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Field dependent competing magnetic ordering in multiferroic Ni3V2O8

The geometrically frustrated magnet Ni3V2O8 undergoes a series of competing magnetic ordering at low temperatures. Most importantly, one of the incommensurate phases has been reported to develop a ferroelectric correlation caused by spin frustration. Here we report an extensive thermodynamic, dielectric and magnetic study on clean polycrystalline samples of this novel multiferroic compound. Our low temperature specific heat data at high fields up to 14 Tesla clearly identify the development of a new magnetic field induced phase transition below 2 K that shows signatures of simultaneous electric ordering. We also report temperature and field dependent dielectric constant that enables us to quantitatively estimate the strength of magneto-electric coupling in this improper ferroelectric material.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗