arXiv subjects

Jaafar Ghanbaja

Publications and source records attributed to Jaafar Ghanbaja.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Epitaxial $\mathrm{Co_2MnSi}$ with intrinsic magnetocrystalline anisotropy as a route to bias-field-free nonlinear half-metal magnonics at the nanoscale

Half-metallic Heusler compounds like $\mathrm{Co_2MnSi}$ allow to bridge magnonic and spintronic functionality for hybrid unconventional computing approaches with sought-after properties like 100% spin polarization and associated low Gilbert damping $\alpha\leq 10^{-3}$. However, the desirable material parameters are inherently tied to the crystal lattice with a particularly critical dependence on structural order in $\mathrm{Co_2MnSi}$. To date, the successful fabrication of nanoscale devices with robust structural integrity remains yet a challenge, and consequently the impact of the material parameters on the resulting nonlinear spin-wave dynamics remains largely unexplored. Here, we report on a study of linear and nonlinear spin-wave dynamics in transversally magnetized $\mathrm{Co_2MnSi}$ waveguides with impeccable crystalline ordering. We show that epitaxial, $\mathrm{L2}_1$-ordered $\mathrm{Co_2MnSi}$ exhibits an intrinsic cubic anisotropy with first- and second-order contributions, stabilizing a magnetization alignment along the crystal $\langle110\rangle$ directions. We confirm the implication of an unaffected crystal structure resulting in preserved magnetic properties in the patterned structures. Herein, the persistent magnetocrystalline anisotropy reshapes the spin-wave dispersion which yields a first-order nonlinear instability suppression range extending over several GHz - even for vanishing bias fields. Moreover, the intrinsic magnetocrystalline anisotropy can be exploited to counteract shape demagnetization for a stabilized low bias field operation in the favourable Damon-Eshbach geometry with high group velocities and decay lengths. Together with the proven half-metallicity and ultralow Gilbert damping, this research establishes $\mathrm{Co_2MnSi}$ as a robust, scalable platform towards bias-field-free nonlinear half-metal magnonics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Improvement of piezocatalytic performance of Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 perovskite using K doping for efficient Rhodamine B degradation

Piezocatalysis, based on the piezoelectric properties of catalysts, breaks down the barrier between mechanical energy and chemical energy. It describes the use of charges induced by piezoelectricity to assist typical chemical processes while harvesting various forms of mechanical green energy. The performance of piezocatalysis is predominantly governed by the piezoelectric properties of materials. The main aim of this work is to evaluate and analyze the potential of potassium doped sodium bismuth titanate Na0.5-xKxBi0.5TiO3 abbreviated as NKxBT (0, 0.15, 0.20, and 0.25), as a piezocatalyst in the degradation of the organic dye Rhodamine B RhB under ultrasonic vibration. The synthesis of NKxBT nanopowders was conducted using the sol-gel autocombustion method. Coupled structural analysis reveals the presence of an intermediate Morphotropic Phase Boundary (MPB, where two phases coexist) in the optimal NK15BT composition. The piezocatalytic degradation results showed a total piezo-degradation in only 90 min and a rate constant 8 times higher than the undoped NK0BT. The enhanced piezocatalytic activity results from a synergistic effect of MPB presence, reduced particle size, optimal bandgap and high lattice strain. The NK15BT sample also demonstrated good reusability and good mineralization.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Rapid and Highly Efficient Synergistic Sonophotocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange with CuDoped LaFeO3 Perovskite Nanoparticles

The integration of sonocatalysis with photocatalysis offers a powerful strategy for advanced wastewater treatment by overcoming rapid charge carrier recombination in conventional photocatalytic systems. Although these processes are often treated separately due to their distinct mechanisms, their combination creates a highly efficient synergistic system. In this study, we investigate the sonophotocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) using Cu-doped LaFeO3 perovskite nanoparticles. The Cu doped catalyst demonstrated excellent performance, achieving a degradation rate of 0.0455 min-1 and complete removal of MO within 120 minutes under combined ultrasonic and light irradiation. A strong synergistic effect was observed, with a synergy index of approximately 10, highlighting the enhanced interaction between sonocatalysis and photocatalysis. The catalyst also exhibited good stability and reusability, maintaining high efficiency over four consecutive cycles. Mechanistic studies using scavenger experiments revealed that hydroxyl radicals and photogenerated holes are the main reactive species responsible for degradation. A plausible reaction pathway is proposed based on these findings. Overall, Cu doped LaFeO3 shows superior sonophotocatalytic activity compared to the undoped material, demonstrating the potential of synergistic sonophotocatalytic processes for efficient pollutant removal.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Order-disorder duality of high entropy alloys extends non-linear optics

Order versus disorder in the structure of materials plays a key role in the theoretical prediction of their properties. However, this structural description appears to be ineffective for new families of materials such as high entropy alloys (HEAs), which combine crystallographic order with chemical disorder. Here, we demonstrate for five-element HEAs as pure solid solutions that the chemical disorder of the elements decorating their cubic structure underlies the generation of second optical harmonics, overcoming the theoretical limit imposed on centrosymmetric crystals. Moreover, we discover that this disorder, inherent to HEAs, sets a threshold for non-linear light emission from the 4th to the 26th order. As a consequence of the 0.5 eV broadening of the energy levels of the five elements of the HEA, the emission spectrum covers broad visible (400-650 nm) and infrared (800-1600 nm) ranges. In addition to the challenge of theoretically predicting non-linear effects in unconventional materials, the duality of structural order and chemical disorder in HEAs offers the opportunity to design sustainable alternatives to urgently needed optical materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Giant and anisotropic enhancement of spin-charge conversion in double Rashba interface graphene-based quantum system

The ever-increasing demand for efficient data storage and processing has fueled the search for novel memory devices. Spintronics offers an alternative fast and efficient solution using spin-to-charge interconversion. In this work, we demonstrate a remarkable thirty-four-fold increase in spin-to-charge current conversion when incorporating a 2D epitaxial graphene monolayer between iron and platinum layers by exploring spin-pumping on-chip devices. Furthermore, we find that the spin conversion is also anisotropic. We attribute this enhancement and anisotropy to the asymmetric Rashba contributions driven by an unbalanced spin accumulation at the differently hybridized top and bottom graphene interfaces, as highlighted by ad-hoc first-principles theory. The improvement in spin-to-charge conversion as well as its anisotropy reveals the importance of interfaces in hybrid 2D-thin film systems opening up new possibilities for engineering spin conversion in 2D materials, leading to potential advances in memory, logic applications, or unconventional computing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

One-Step Formation of Plasmonic Cu Nanodomains in p-Type Cu$_2$O Matrix Films for Enhanced Photoconversion of n-ZnO/p-Cu$_2$O Heterojunctions

Plasmonic Cu nanoparticles were in-situ grown into a Cu$_2$O semiconductor matrix by using reactive magnetron sputtering and adjusting the amount of oxygen available during the synthesis in order to prevent the oxidation of part of copper atoms landed on the film surface. Varying only the oxygen flowrate (OFR) and using a single Cu target it was possible to observe the evolution in the simultaneous formation of metallic Cu and Cu$_2$O phases for oxygen-poor conditions. Suchformation is accompanied by the development of the surface plasmon band (SPB) corresponding to Cu, as evidenced by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The bandgap values of the elaborated composites containing embedded Cu plasmonic nanodomains were lower than the bandgap of single-phased Cu$_2$O films, likely due to the higher defect density associated to the nanocrystalline nature of films, promoted by the presence of metallic Cu. The resistivity of the thin films increased with more oxidative deposition conditions and was associated to an increase in Cu$_2$O/Cu ratio and smaller and more isolated Cu particles, as evidenced by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Photoconversion devices based on the studied nanocomposites were characterized by I-V and spectral photocurrent measurements, showing an increase in the photocurrent density under light illumination as consequence of the plasmonic particles excitation leading to hot carrier's injection in the nearby ZnO and Cu$_2$O semiconductors.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2022

Ferrimagnet GdFeCo characterization for spin-orbitronics: large field-like and damping-like torques

Spintronics is showing promising results in the search for new materials and effects to reduce energy consumption in information technology. Among these materials, ferrimagnets are of special interest, since they can produce large spin currents that trigger the magnetization dynamics of adjacent layers or even their own magnetization. Here, we present a study of the generation of spin current by GdFeCo in a GdFeCo/Cu/NiFe trilayer where the FeCo sublattice magnetization is dominant at room temperature. Magnetic properties such as the saturation magnetization are deduced from magnetometry measurements while damping constant is estimated from spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR). We show that the overall damping-like (DL) and field-like (FL) effective fields as well as the associated spin Hall angles can be reliably obtained by performing the dependence of ST-FMR by an added dc current. The sum of the spin Hall angles for both the spin Hall effect (SHE) and the spin anomalous Hall effect (SAHE) symmetries are: $θ_{DL}^{SAHE} + θ_{DL}^{SHE}=-0.15 \pm 0.05$ and $θ_{FL}^{SAHE} + θ_{FL}^{SHE}=0.026 \pm 0.005$. From the symmetry of ST-FMR signals we find that $θ_{DL}^{SHE}$ is positive and dominated by the negative $θ_{DL}^{SAHE}$. The present study paves the way for tuning the different symmetries in spin conversion in highly efficient ferrimagnetic systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Current-induced spin torques on single GdFeCo magnetic layers

Spintronics exploits spin-orbit coupling (SOC) to generate spin currents, spin torques, and, in the absence of inversion symmetry, Rashba, and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions (DMI). The widely used magnetic materials, based on 3d metals such as Fe and Co, possess a small SOC. To circumvent this shortcoming, the common practice has been to utilize the large SOC of nonmagnetic layers of 5d heavy metals (HMs), such as Pt, to generate spin currents by Spin Hall Effect (SHE) and, in turn, exert spin torques on the magnetic layers. Here, we introduce a new class of material architectures, excluding nonmagnetic 5d HMs, for high-performance spintronics operations. We demonstrate very strong current-induced torques exerted on single GdFeCo layers due to the combination of large SOC of the Gd 5d states, and inversion symmetry breaking mainly engineered by interfaces. These "self-torques" are enhanced around the magnetization compensation temperature (close to room temperature) and can be tuned by adjusting the spin absorption outside the GdFeCo layer. In other measurements, we determine the very large emission of spin current from GdFeCo. This material platform opens new perspectives to exert "self-torques" on single magnetic layers as well as to generate spin currents from a magnetic layer.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

All-optical nanoscale heating and thermometry with resonant dielectric nanoparticles for photoinduced tumor treatment

All-dielectric nanophotonics becomes a versatile tool for various optical applications, including nanothermometry and optical heating. Its general concept includes excitation of Mie resonances in nonplasmonic nanoparticles. However, the potential of resonant dielectric nanoparticles in drug delivery applications still have not been fully realized. Here, optically resonant dielectric iron oxide nanoparticles ($α$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ NPs) are employed for remote rupture of microcontainers used as drug delivery platform. It is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated, that $α$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ NPs has several advantages in light-to-heat energy conversion comparing to previously used materials, such as noble metals and silicon, due to the broader spectral range of efficient optical heating, and in enhancement of thermally sensitive Raman signal. The $α$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ NPs embedded into the wall of universal drug carriers, polymer capsules, are used to experimentally determine the local temperature of the capsule rupture upon laser irradiation (170$^o$C). As a proof of principle, we successfully show the delivery and remote release of anticancer drug vincristine upon lowered laser irradiation (4.0$\times$10$^4$~W/cm$^2$) using polymer capsules modified with the $α$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ NPs. The biological tests were performed on two primary cell types: (i) carcinoma cells, as an example of malignant tumor, and (ii) human stem cells, as a model of healthy cells. The developed delivery system consisting of polymer capsules modified with the dielectric nanoparticles provides multifunctional platform for remote drug release and temperature detection.

physics.med-ph↗