arXiv subjects

G. Leyva

Publications and source records attributed to G. Leyva.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2016

Coupled magnetic and elastic properties in LaPr(CaSr)MnO manganites

We investigate a series of manganese oxides, the La0.225Pr0.4(Ca1-xSrx)0.375MnO3 system. The x = 0 sample is a prototype compound for the study of phase separation in manganites, where ferromagnetic and charge ordered antiferromagnetic phases coexist. Replacing Ca2+ by Sr2+ gradually turns the system into a homogeneous ferromagnet. Our results show that the material structure plays a major role in the observed magnetic properties. On cooling, at temperatures below 100 K, a strong contraction of the lattice is followed by an increase in the magnetization. This is observed both through thermal expansion and magnetostriction measurements, providing distinct evidence of magneto-elastic coupling in these phase separated compounds.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Avalanche-like metamagnetic transition in (LaNd)CaMnO manganites

We investigate the behavior of ultrasharp metamagnetic transitions in La(5/8-y)Nd(y)Ca(3/8)MnO(3) manganites. These compounds change from a low temperature ferromagnetic metallic state at low Nd doping to a charge-ordered antiferromagnetic insulator for high Nd content. At an intermediate doping a phase-separated state is established. At low temperatures (2 K), we observe an avalanche-like field-induced metamagnetic transition, when the entire compound changes abruptly from one phase to the other. We investigate the signatures of this ultrasharp transition using magnetization and specific heat measurements. We observe a first order transition in the specific heat associated with discontinuous jumps in the magnetization. A strong increase of the sample temperature is simultaneously observed. The results are interpret in terms of latent heat release from the field induced enhancement of the ferromagnetic fraction, triggering the avalanche process.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Asymmetric pulsing for reliable operation of titanium/manganite memristors

We present a pulsing protocol that significantly increases the endurance of a titanium-manganite interface used as a binary memory cell. The core of this protocol is an algorithm that searches for the proper values for the set and reset pulses, canceling the drift in the resistance values. A set of experiments show the drift-free operation for more than $10^{5}$ switching cycles, as well as the detrimental effect by changing the amplitude of pulses indicated by the protocol. We reproduced the results with a numerical model, which provides information on the dynamics of the oxygen vacancies during the switching cycles.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Equilibrium tuned by a magnetic field in phase separated manganite

We present magnetic and transport measurements on La5/8-yPryCa3/8MnO3 with y = 0.3, a manganite compound exhibiting intrinsic multiphase coexistence of sub-micrometric ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic charge ordered regions. Time relaxation effects between 60 and 120K, and the obtained magnetic and resistive viscosities, unveils the dynamic nature of the phase separated state. An experimental procedure based on the derivative of the time relaxation after the application and removal of a magnetic field enables the determination of the otherwise unreachable equilibrium state of the phase separated system. With this procedure the equilibrium phase fraction for zero field as a function of temperature is obtained. The presented results allow a correlation between the distance of the system to the equilibrium state and its relaxation behavior.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Abrupt field-induced transition triggered by magnetocaloric effect in phase-separated manganites

The occurrence at low temperatures of an ultrasharp field-induced transition in phase separated manganites is analyzed. Experimental results show that magnetization and specific heat step-like transitions below 5 K are correlated with an abrupt change of the sample temperature, which happens at a certain critical field. This temperature rise, a magnetocaloric effect, is interpreted as produced by the released energy at the transition point, and is the key to understand the existence of the abrupt field-induced transition. A qualitative analysis of the results suggests the existence of a critical growing rate of the ferromagnetic phase, beyond which an avalanche effect is triggered.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

Revealing polarons with high pressure on low electron-doped manganites

Pressure sensitivity (up to 1 GPa) of the electrical resistivity and of the ac susceptibility was measured for low electron doping levels of Ca$_{1-x}$Y$_x$MnO$_3$ (CYMO) and of Ca$_{1-x}$Sm$_x$MnO$_3$ (CSMO) ceramic samples (0.05 $\leq$ x $\leq$ 0.15). A very weak pressure dependence of the Curie temperature (T$_c$) was observed for both systems ($\sim$ 6 K GPa$^{-1}$), when compared to the hole-doped manganites of the same T$_c$ ($\sim$ 20 K GPa$^{-1}$). Our results can be interpreted within a modified Double Exchange scenario, where pressure alters the reduction of the bandwidth produced by the electron-phonon interaction associated with small Fröhlich polarons in the weak to intermediate coupling regime.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2003

Low temperature irreversibility induced by thermal cycles on two prototypical phase separated manganites

We have studied the effect of irreversibility induced by repeated thermal cycles on the electric transport and magnetization of polycrystalline samples of La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and La0.325Pr0.3Ca0.375MnO3. An increase of the resistivity and a decrease of the magnetization at different temperature ranges after cycling is obtained in the temperature range between 300 K and 30 K. Both compounds are known to exhibit intrinsic submicrometric coexistence of phases and undergo a sequence of phase transitions related to structural changes. Changes induced by thermal cycling can be partially inhibited by applying magnetic field and hydrostatic pressure. Our results suggest that the growth and coexistence of phases with different structures gives rise to microstructural tracks and strain accommodation, producing the observed irreversibility. Irrespective of the actual ground state of each compound, the effect of thermal cycling is towards an increase of the amount of the insulating phase in both compounds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

High temperature susceptibility in electron doped Ca1-xYxMnO3: Double Exchange vs Superexchange

We present a study of the magnetic properties of the electron doped manganites Ca1-xYxMnO3 (for 0<=x<=0.25) in the paramagnetic regime. For the less doped samples (x<=0.1) the magnetic susceptibility, c(T), follows a Curie-Weiss (CW) law only for T > 450 K and, below this temperature, c^-1(T) shows a ferrimagnetic-like curvature. We approached the discussion of these results in terms of a simple mean-field model where double exchange, approximated by a ferromagnetic Heisenberg-like interaction between Mn3+ and Mn4+ ions, competes with classical superexchange. For higher levels of doping (x>=0.15), the CW behaviour is observed down to the magnetic ordering temperature (Tmo) and a better description of c(T) was obtained by assuming full delocalization of the eg electrons. In order to explore the degree of delocalization as a function of T and x, we analyzed the problem through Montecarlo simulations. Within this picture we found that at high T the electrons doped are completely delocalized but, when Tmo is approached, they form magnetic polarons of large spin that cause the observed curvature in c^-1(T) for x<=0.1.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

Persistent magnetoresistive memory in phase separated manganites

We have studied magnetic and transport properties on different manganese oxide based compounds exhibiting phase separation: polycrystalline La5/8-yPryCa3/8MnO3 (y=0.3) and La1/2Ca1/2Mn1-zFezO3 (z = 0.05), and single crystals of La5/8-yPryCa3/8MnO3 (y=0.35). Time dependent effects indicate that the fractions of the coexisting phases are dynamically changing in a definite temperature range. We found that in this range the ferromagnetic fraction f can be easily tuned by application of low magnetic fields (< 1 T). The effect is persistent after the field is turned off, thus the field remains imprinted in the actual value of f and can be recovered through transport measurements. This effect is due both to the existence of a true phase separated equilibrium state with definite equilibrium fraction f0, and to the slow growth dynamics. The fact that the same global features were found on different compounds and in polycrystalline and single crystalline samples, suggests that the effect is a general feature of some phase separated media.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Non-volatile magnetoresistive memory in phase separated La$_{0.325}$Pr$_{0.300}$Ca$_{0.375}$MnO$_3$

We have measured magnetic and transport response on the polycrystalline La$_{5/8-y}$Pr$_y$Ca$_{3/8}$MnO$_3$ ($y=0.30$, average grain size 2 microns) compound. In the temperature range where ferromagnetic metallic and insulating regions coexist we observed a persistent memory of low magnetic fields ($<$ 1 T) which is determined by the actual amount of the ferromagnetic phase. The possibility to manipulate this fraction with relatively small external perturbations is related to the phase separated nature of these manganese oxide based compounds. The colossal magnetoresistance figures obtained (about 80%) are determined by the fraction enlargement mechanism. Self-shielding of the memory to external fields is found under certain described circumstances. We show that this non-volatile memory has multilevel capability associated with different applied low magnetic field values.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2001

Double Exchange in Electron Doped Ca1-xYxMnO3 Manganites

We have studied structural, magnetic and transport properties as a function of temperature and magnetic field in the electron doped manganite YxCa1-xMnO3, for 0 0. With a simple model where antiferromagnetic (AF) superexchange and ferromagnetic (FM) double exchange (DE) compete, we fit the experimental χ(x, T) obtaining parameter values which indicate that the FM-DE interaction is about twice as intense as the AF interaction. In the ordered phase, the H-dependence of the magnetization M(x,T) is explained in terms of magnetic polarons. We propose that the displacement of the eg electrons (in the G-type AF background) causes the alignement of the polaron with H. Signatures of polaronic behavior were also found in the x and T dependence of the electric resistivity.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2000

Controlled Phase Separation in La_0.5 Ca_0.5 Mn O_3

A systematic study of phase separation effects in polycrystalline La_0.5 Ca_0.5 Mn O_3 obtained under different thermal treatments is reported. Samples with average grain size ranging from 200 to 1300 nm were studied. Magnetic and electrical measurements show quantitative differences among samples in their low temperature behavior. indicating that the fraction of the ferromagnetic (FM) phase gradually decreases as the grain size increase. Percolation of the FM phase in samples with a small fraction of this phase suggests that grain boundaries play a distinctive role in the spatial distribution of coexisting phases. The defective structure at the grain surface could explain the local inhibition of the antiferromagnetic charge ordered phase, an effect that is gradually removed with increasing grain size. Qualitative agreement of the data with this description is found. This effect is also found to be highly dependent on the oxygen content of the samples and its spatial distribution.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗