arXiv subjects

M. A. Avila

Publications and source records attributed to M. A. Avila.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Pressure and chemical substitution effects in the local atomic structure of BaFe2As2

The effects of K and Co substitutions and quasi-hydrostatic applied pressure (P<9 GPa) in the local atomic structure of BaFe2As2, Ba(Fe{0.937}Co{0.063})2As2 and Ba{0.85}K{0.15}Fe2As2 superconductors were investigated by extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements in the As K absorption edge. The As-Fe bond length is found to be slightly reduced (<~ 0.01 Angstroms) by both Co and K substitutions, without any observable increment in the corresponding Debye Waller factor. Also, this bond is shown to be compressible (k = 3.3(3)x10^{-3} GPa^{-1}). The observed contractions of As-Fe bond under pressure and chemical substitutions are likely related with a reduction of the local Fe magnetic moments, and should be an important tuning parameter in the phase diagrams of the Fe-based superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Eu2+ spin dynamics in the filled skutterudites EuM4Sb12 (M = Fe, Ru, Os)

We report evidence for a close relation between the thermal activation of the rattling motion of the filler guest atoms, and inhomogeneous spin dynamics of the Eu2+ spins. The spin dynamics is probed directly by means of Eu2+ electron spin resonance (ESR), performed in both X-band (9.4 GHz) and Q-band (34 GHz) frequencies in the temperature interval 4.2 < T < 300 K. A comparative study with ESR measurements on the Beta-Eu8Ga16Ge30 clathrate compound is presented. Our results point to a correlation between the rattling motion and the spin dynamics which may be relevant for the general understanding of the dynamics of cage systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Low temperature line-width broadening in optical-conductivity spectra of the off-center rattling phonons in type-I clathrate Ba$_8$Ga$_{16}$Sn$_{30}$

With a terahertz time-domain spectrometer (0.3 - 3.0 THz) we have measured the optical conductivity of the type-I clathrate Ba$_8$Ga$_{16}$Sn$_{30}$ at temperatures from 300 K down to 7 K. Independent six spectra superimposed on the Drude conductivity are identified to infrared active vibrational modes of guest Ba ions and the cages. While the spectra of five higher-frequency modes depend hardly on temperature, the lowest-lying spectrum with a peak at 0.72 THz due to the Ba(2) ion's off-centering vibration in the oversized cage changes with temperature characteristically. With lowering temperature, the spectral shape of this so-called rattling phonon continues to become so broad that the line-width amounts to be comparable to the peak frequency. Furthermore, below about 100 K, the single broad peak tends to split into two subpeaks. While this splitting can be explained by assuming a multi-well anharmonic potential, the strong enhancement of the line-width broadening toward low temperature, cannot be understood, since the Boltzmann factor generally sharpens the low-temperature spectra.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Coexisting on- and off-center Yb3+ sites in Ce1-xYbxFe4P12 skutterudites

Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) measurements performed on the filled skutterudite system Ce1-x$YbxFe4P12 (x< 0.003) unequivocally reveal the coexistence of two Yb3+ resonances, associated with sites of considerably different occupations and temperature behaviors. Detailed analysis of the ESR data suggests a scenario where the fraction of oversized (Fe2P3)4 cages that host Yb ions are filled with a low occupation of on-center Yb3+ sites and a highly occupied T-dependent distribution of off-center Yb3+ sites. Analysis of the 171Yb3+ (I=1/2) isotope hyperfine splittings reveal that these two sites are associated with a low (~ 1 GHz) and a high (> 15 GHz) rattling frequency, respectively. Our findings introduce Yb3+ in Th symmetry systems and uses the Yb3+ ESR as a sensitive microscopic probe to investigate the Yb3+ ions dynamics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Optical conductivity of rattling phonons in type-I clathrate Ba$_8$Ga$_{16}$Ge$_{30}$

A series of infrared-active optical phonons have been detected in type-I clathrate Ba$_8$Ga$_{16}$Ge$_{30}$ by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The conductivity spectra with the lowest-lying peaks at 1.15 and 1.80 THz are identified with so-called rattling phonons, i.e., optical modes of the guest ion Ba$^{2+}(2)$ with $T_{1u}$ symmetry in the oversized tetrakaidecahedral cage. The temperature dependence of the spectra from these modes are totally consistent with calculations based on a one-dimensional anharmonic potential model that, with decreasing temperature, the shape becomes asymmetrically sharp associated with a softening for the weight to shift to lower frequency. These temperature dependences are determined, without any interaction effects, by the Bose-factor for optical excitations of anharmonic phonons with the nonequally spaced energy levels.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

A Kondo lattice antiferromagnet CePd5Al2

We report on the electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and heat-capacity measurements on a new intermetallic compound CePd5Al2, crystallizing in the ZrNi2Al5-type tetragonal structure, with lattice parameters a = 4.156 A and c = 14.883 A. The compound presents Kondo lattice behavior and an easy-plane antiferromagnetic ground state with two magnetic transitions at 2.9 K and 3.9 K. The Sommerfeld coefficient is estimated as 60 mJ/mol K^2.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Cage-size control of guest vibration and thermal conductivity in Sr8Ga16Si30-xGex

We present a systematic study of thermal conductivity, specific heat, electrical resistivity, thermopower and x-ray diffraction measurements performed on single-crystalline samples of the pseudoquaternary type-I clathrate system Sr8Ga16Si30-xGex, in the full range of 0 < x < 30. All the samples show metallic behavior with n-type majority carriers. However, the thermal conductivity and specific heat strongly depend on x. Upon increasing x from 0 to 30, the lattice parameter increases by 3%, from 10.446 to 10.726 A, and the localized vibrational energies of the Sr guest ions in the tetrakaidekahedron (dodecahedron) cages decrease from 59 (120) K to 35 (90) K. Furthermore, the lattice thermal conductivity at low temperatures is largely suppressed. In fact, a crystalline peak found at 15 K for x = 0 gradually decreases and disappears for x > 20, evolving into the anomalous glass-like behavior observed for x = 30. It is found that the increase of the free space for the Sr guest motion directly correlates with a continuous transition from on-center harmonic vibration to off-center anharmonic vibration, with consequent increase in the coupling strength between the guest's low-energy modes and the cage's acoustic phonon modes.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Glasslike vs. crystalline thermal conductivity in carrier-tuned Ba8Ga16X30 clathrates (X = Ge, Sn)

The present controversy over the origin of glasslike thermal conductivity observed in certain crystalline materials is addressed by studies on single-crystal x-ray diffraction, thermal conductivity k(T) and specific heat Cp(T) of carrier-tuned Ba8Ga16X30 (X = Ge, Sn) clathrates. These crystals show radically different low-temperature k(T) behaviors depending on whether their charge carriers are electrons or holes, displaying the usual crystalline peak in the former case and an anomalous glasslike plateau in the latter. In contrast, Cp(T) above 4 K and the general structural properties are essentially insensitive to carrier tuning. We analyze these combined results within the framework of a Tunneling/Resonant/Rayleigh scatterings model, and conclude that the evolution from crystalline to glasslike k(T) is accompanied by an increase both in the effective density of tunnelling states and in the resonant scattering level, while neither one of these contributions can solely account for the observed changes in the full temperature range. This suggests that the most relevant factor which determines crystalline or glasslike behavior is the coupling strength between the guest vibrational modes and the frameworks with different charge carriers.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Tunable charge carriers and thermoelectricity of single-crystal Ba8Ga16Sn30

We have grown single crystals of the type-VIII intermetallic clathrate Ba8Ga16Sn30 from both Sn and Ga flux, evaluated their compositions through electron microprobe analysis and studied their transport properties through measurements on temperature dependent resistivity, thermopower and Hall coefficient. Crystals grown in Sn flux show n-type carriers and those from Ga flux show p-type carriers, whereas all measured compositions remain very close to the stoichiometric 8:16:30 proportion of Ba:Ga:Sn, expected from charge-balance principles. Our results indicate a very high sensitivity of the charge carrier nature and density with respect to the growth conditions, leading to relevant differences in transport properties which point to the importance of tuning this material for optimal thermoelectric performance.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Direct observation of Fe spin reorientation in single crystalline YbFe6Ge6

We have grown single crystals of YbFe6Ge6 and LuFe6Ge6 and characterized their anisotropic behaviour through low field magnetic susceptibility, field-dependent magnetization, resistivity and heat capacity measurements. The Yb+3 valency is confirmed by LIII XANES measurements. YbFe6Ge6 crystals exhibit a field-dependent, sudden reorientation of the Fe spins at about 63 K, a unique effect in the RFe6Ge6 family (R = rare earths) where the Fe ions order anti-ferromagnetically with Neel temperatures above 450 K and the R ions' magnetism appears to behave independently. The possible origins of this unusual behaviour of the ordered Fe moments in this compound are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Structural, transport, and thermal properties of single crystalline type-VIII clathrate Ba8Ga16Sn30

We report the electrical resistivity, Hall coefficient, thermoelectric power, specific heat, and thermal conductivity on single crystals of the type-VIII clathrate Ba8Ga16Sn30 grown from Sn-flux. Negative S and R_H over a wide temperature range indicate that electrons dominate electrical transport properties. Both rho(T) and S(T) show typical behavior of a heavily doped semiconductor. The absolute value of S increases monotonically to 243 uV/K with increasing temperature up to 550 K. The large S may originate from the low carrier concentration n=3.7x10^19 cm^(-3). Hall mobility u_H shows a maximum of 62 cm^2/Vs around 70 K. The analysis of temperature dependence of u_H suggests a crossover of dominant scattering mechanism from ionized impurity to acoustic phonon scattering with increasing temperature. The existence of local vibration modes of Ba atoms in cages composed of Ga and Sn atoms is evidenced by analysis of experimental data of structural refinement and specific heat, which give an Einstein temperature of 50 K and a Debye temperature of 200 K. This local vibration of Ba atoms should be responsible for the low thermal conductivity (1.1 W/m K at 150 K). The potential of type-VIII clathrate compounds for thermoelectric application is discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

YbNiSi3: a new antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice with strong exchange interaction

We report on the structural, thermodynamic and transport properties of high-quality single crystals of YbNiSi3 grown by the flux method. This compound crystallizes in the SmNiGe3 layered structure type of the Cmmm space group. The general physical behavior is that of a Kondo lattice showing an antiferromagnetic ground state below T_N = 5.1 K. This is among the highest ordering temperatures for a Yb-based intermetallic, indicating strong exchange interaction between the Yb ions, which are close to +3 valency based on the effective moment of 4.45 mu_B/f.u. The compound has moderately heavy-electron behavior with Sommerfeld coefficient 190 mJ/mol K^2. Resistivity is highly anisotropic and exhibits the signature logarithmic increase below a local minimum, followed by a sharp decrease in the coherent/magnetically ordered state, resulting in residual resistivity of 1.5 micro Ohm cm and RRR = 40. Fermi-liquid behavior consistent with a ground-state doublet is clearly observed below 1 K.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2003

Anomalous temperature-dependent transport in YbNi2B2C and its correlation to microstructural features

We address the nature of the ligandal disorder leading to local redistributions of Kondo temperatures, manifested as annealing-induced changes in the transport behavior of the heavy fermion system YbNi2B2C. The anomalous transport behavior was fully characterized by temperature dependent resistivity measurements in an extended range of 0.4 < T < 1000 K for as-grown and optimally annealed single crystals, and microstructural changes between these two types of samples were investigated by single-crystal x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Our results point to lattice dislocations as the most likely candidate to be affecting the surrounding Yb ions, leading to a distribution of Kondo temperatures. This effect combined with the ability to control defect density with annealing offers the possibility of further understanding of the more general problem of the enhanced sensitivity of hybridized Kondo states to disorder, particularly above the coherence temperature.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2003

Anisotropic magnetization, specific heat and resistivity of RFe2Ge2 single crystals

We have grown RFe2Ge2 single crystals for R = Y and ten members of the lanthanide series (Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd-Tm, Lu) using Sn flux as the solvent. The method yields clean, high quality crystal plates as evidenced by residual resistivities and RRR values in the range of 3-12 uOhm cm and 20-90 respectively. The crystals are also virtually free of magnetic impurities or secondary phases, allowing the study of the intrinsic anisotropic magnetic behavior of each compound. Characterization was made with X-Ray diffraction, and temperature and field dependent magnetization, specific heat and resistivity. Very strong anisotropies arising mostly from CEF effects were observed for all magnetic rare earths except Gd. Antiferromagnetic ordering occurred at temperatures between 16.5 K (Nd) and 1.1 K (Ho) that roughly scale with the de Gennes factor for the heavy rare earths. For some members there is also a lower temperature transition associated with changes in the magnetic structure. Tm did not order down to 0.4 K, and appears to be a van Vleck paramagnet. All members which ordered above 2 K showed a metamagnetic transition at 2 K for fields below 70 kOe. The calculated effective moments per rare earth atom are close to the expected free ion values of R^3+ except for Sm which displays anomalous behavior in the paramagnetic state. The non-magnetic members of this series (Y, Lu) are characterized by an unusually large electronic specific heat coefficient (gamma ~ 60 mJ/mol K^2) and temperature-independent susceptibility term (chi_0 ~ 0.003 emu/mol), indicative of a relatively large density of states at the Fermi surface.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

Synthesis and Properties of YbB2

We report temperature and field dependent measurements of the magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and resistivity of sintered YbB2 pellets, prepared via two distinct reaction routes, utilizing different temperatures, pressures and sintering times. Sample behavior is affected by the preparation procedure, as a consequence of different secondary phases, most of which were identified via x-ray diffraction. These experiments show that YbB2 is a metal with the Yb atoms in or very close to their 3+ state. YbB2 appears to order anti-ferromagnetically at TN ~ 5.6 K, which can be considered a relatively high ordering temperature for an ytterbium-based intermetallic compound.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

Drastic annealing effects in transport properties of single crystals of the YbNi2B2C heavy fermion system

We report temperature dependent resistivity, specific heat, magnetic susceptibility and thermoelectric power measurements made on the heavy fermion system YbNi2B2C, for both as grown and annealed single crystals. Our results demonstrate a significant variation in the temperature dependent electrical resistivity and thermoelectric power between as grown crystals and crystals that have undergone optimal (150 hour, 950 C) annealing, whereas the thermodynamic properties: (c_p(T) and chi(T)) remain almost unchanged. We interpret these results in terms of redistributions of local Kondo temperatures associated with ligandal disorder for a small (~ 1%) fraction of the Yb sites.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2001

Columnar defects acting as passive internal field detectors

We have studied the angular dependence of the irreversible magnetization of several YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ and 2H-NbSe$_2$ single crystals with columnar defects tilted off the c-axis. At high magnetic fields, the irreversible magnetization $M_i(Θ_H)$ exhibits a well known maximum when the applied field is parallel to the tracks. As the field is decreased below $H \sim 0.02 H_{c2}$, the peak shifts away from the tracks' direction toward either the c-axis or the ab-planes. We demonstrate that this shift results from the misalignment between the external and internal field directions due to the competition between anisotropy and geometry effects.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Angular dependence of the bulk nucleation field Hc2 of aligned MgB2 crystallites

Studies on the new MgB2 superconductor, with a critical temperature Tc ~ 39 K, have evidenced its potential for applications although intense magnetic relaxation effects limit the critical current density, Jc, at high magnetic fields. This means that effective pinning centers must be added into the material microstructure, in order to halt dissipative flux movements. Concerning the basic microscopic mechanism to explain the superconductivity in MgB2, several experimental and theoretical works have pointed to the relevance of a phonon-mediated interaction, in the framework of the BCS theory. Questions have been raised about the relevant phonon modes, and the gap and Fermi surface anisotropies, in an effort to interpret spectroscopic and thermal data that give values between 2.4 and 4.5 for the gap energy ratio. Preliminary results on the anisotropy of Hc2 have shown a ratio, between the in-plane and perpendicular directions, around 1.7 for aligned MgB2 crystallites and 1.8 for epitaxial thin films. Here we show a study on the angular dependence of Hc2 pointing to a Fermi velocity anisotropy around 2.5. This anisotropy certainly implies the use of texturization techniques to optimize Jc in MgB2 wires and other polycrystalline components.

cond-mat.supr-con↗