arXiv subjects

O. F. de Lima

Publications and source records attributed to O. F. de Lima.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Comparative study on magnetoresistance of carbon-cobalt nanocomposite thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

We present a comparative study on the influence of applied magnetic field on the resistance of $C_{1-x}Co_x$ thin films (with $x=0.1$, $0.15$ and $0.2$) grown on $Si$ substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique. It is found that the behavior of magnetoresistance (MR) drastically depends on the temperature. Namely, at low temperatures MR is positive and its behavior is governed by the field mediated weak localization scenario. While at high temperatures MR turns negative and its behavior is dominated by electron scattering on ferromagnetic cobalt atoms.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Deciphering M-T diagram of shape memory Heusler alloys: reentrance, plateau and beyond

We present our recent results on temperature behaviour of magnetization observed in Ni_47Mn_39In_14 Heusler alloys. Three regions can be distinguished in the M-T diagram: (I) low temperature martensitic phase (with the Curie temperature T_CM = 140 K), (II) intermediate mixed phase (with the critical temperature T_MS = 230 K) exhibiting a reentrant like behavior (between T_CM and T_MS) and (III) high temperature austenitic phase (with the Curie temperature T_CA = 320 K) exhibiting a rather wide plateau region (between T_MS and T_CA). By arguing that powerful structural transformations, causing drastic modifications of the domain structure in alloys, would also trigger strong fluctuations of the order parameters throughout the entire M-T diagram, we were able to successfully fit all the data by incorporating Gaussian fluctuations (both above and below the above three critical temperatures) into the Ginzburg-Landau scenario.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Synthesis, characterization and magnetic properties of room-temperature nanofluid ferromagnetic graphite

We report the chemical synthesis route, structural characterization, and physical properties of nanofluid magnetic graphite (NFMG) obtained from the previously synthesized bulk organic magnetic graphite (MG) by stabilizing the aqueous ferrofluid suspension with an addition of active cationic surfactant. The measured magnetization-field hysteresis curves along with the temperature dependence of magnetization confirmed room-temperature ferromagnetism in both MG and NFMG samples.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Magnetic phases evolution in the LaMn1-xFexO3+y system

We have investigated the crystal structure and magnetic properties for polycrystalline samples of LaMn1-xFexO3+y, in the whole range x=0.0 to x=1.0, prepared by solid state reaction in air. All samples show the ORT-2 orthorhombic structure that suppresses the Jahn-Teller distortion, thus favoring a ferromagnetic (FM) superexchange (SE) interaction between Mn^{3+}-O-Mn^{3+}. For x=0.0 the oxygen excess (y ~ 0.09) produces vacancies in the La and Mn sites and generates a fraction around 18% of Mn^{4+} ions and 82% of the usual Mn^{3+} ions, with possible double exchange interaction between them. The Fe doping in this system is known to produce only stable Fe^{3+} ions. We find an evolution from a fairly strong FM phase with a Curie temperature T_{C} ~ 160 K, for x=0.0, to an antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase with T_{N} = 790 K, for x=1.0, accompanied by clear signatures of a cluster-glass behavior. For intermediate Fe contents a mixed-phase state occurs, with a gradual decrease (increase) of the FM (AFM) phase, accompanied by a systematic transition broadening for 0.2 < x < 0.7. A model based on the expected exchange interaction among the various magnetic-ion types, accounts very well for the saturation-magnetization dependence on Fe doping.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Magnetic and superconducting properties of RuSr2 Gd1.5Ce0.5Cu2O10-x samples: dependence on the oxygen content and ageing effects

The magnetic and superconducting properties of RuSr2Gd1.5Ce0.5Cu2O10-x polycrystalline samples with different oxygen doping level are presented. A strong suppression of the superconducting temperature (Tc), as well as a reduction in the superconducting fraction, occurs as the oxygen content is reduced by annealing the samples in oxygen deprived atmospheres. Drastic changes in the electrical resistivity are observed above Tc, possibly associated with oxygen removal mainly from grain boundaries. However, the magnetic ordering is relatively less affected by the changes in oxygen content of the samples. The spin glass transition is enhanced and shifted to higher temperatures with the reduction in oxygen content. This could be correlated with an increase in the spins disorder and frustration for the oxygen depleted samples. Also, the same oxygen vacancy induced disorder could explain the reduction in the fraction of the sample showing antiferromagnetic order. We also report significant changes in the measured properties of the samples as a function of time.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Fabrication and physical properties of stable room temperature bulk ferromagnetic graphite

The search for macroscopic magnetic ordering phenomena in organic materials, in particular in pure graphite, has been one of the more exciting scientific activities working in the frontiers of physics, chemistry, and materials science. In this Letter we report on a novel chemical route leading to undoubtedly obtain macroscopic quantities of magnetic graphite. This material has a stable and strong ferromagnetic response even at room temperature where it can be attracted by a commercial magnet. We have obtained this magnetic graphite by a vapor reaction consisting of a controlled etching on the graphite structure. This behavior has been previously predicted and postulated to be associated to micro-structural characteristics breaking the continuity of the delocalized p-electron clouds of the graphitic material, thus allowing the existence of magnetic centers related to the topology.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

Stable room temperature magnetic graphite

Carbon materials are attracting increasing attention due to the novelty of the associated physical properties and the potential applications in high-tech devices. The possibility to achieve outstanding properties in macroscopic carbon materials opens up a profusion of new striking applications. Magnetic properties induced by defects on graphite structures, such as pores, edges of the planes and topological defects, have been theoretically predicted. The possible coexistence of sp3 and sp2 bonds have been also invoked to predict this behavior (for a review, see ref. 1). Some reports have proved the existence of weak ferromagnetic-like magnetization loops in highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) (ref. 2-3). Very recently two reports showed that the existence of ferromagnetism in pure carbon is unambiguously possible (ref. 4-5). Here we report on a novel and inexpensive chemical route consistent in a controlled etching on the graphite structure to obtain macroscopic amounts of magnetic pure graphite. This material has a strong magnetic response even at room temperature where it can be attracted by a commercial magnet and would be the experimental confirmation for the defect induced magnetism previously predicted.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

Comparative study of specific heat measurements in LaMnO3, La1.35Sr1.65Mn2O7, La1.5Sr0.5NiO4 and La1.5Sr0.5CoO4

We present the temperature dependence of the specific heat, without external magnetic field and with H= 9 T, for LaMnO3, La1.35Sr1.65Mn2O7, La1.5Sr0.5NiO4 and La1.5Sr0.5CoO4 single crystals. We found that spin-wave excitations in the ferromagnetic and bilayer-structure La1.35Sr1.65Mn2O7 were suppressed by the 9 T magnetic field. On the other hand, the external magnetic field had no effect in the specific heat of the other three antiferromagnetic samples. Also, the electronic part of the interactions were removed at very low temperatures in the La1.5Sr0.5NiO4 single crystal, even with a zero applied magnetic field. Below 4 K, we found that the specific heat data for La1.35Sr1.65Mn2O7 and La1.5Sr0.5NiO4 crystals could be fitted to an exponential decay law. Detailed magnetization measurements in this low temperature interval showed the existence of a peak close to 2 K. Both results, magnetizations and specific heat suggest the existence of an anisotropy gap in the energy spectrum of La1.35Sr1.65Mn2O7 and La1.5Sr0.5NiO4 compounds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

Physical properties of single-crystalline fibers of the colossal-magnetoresistance manganite La0.7Ca0.3MnO3

We have grown high-quality single crystals of the colossal-magnetoresistance (CMR) material La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 by using the laser heated pedestal growth (LHPG) method. Samples were grown as fibers of different diameters, and with lengths of the order of centimeters. Their composition and structure were verified through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microcopy with EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis) and by Rietveld analysis. The quality of the crystalline fibers was confirmed by Laue and EBSD (Electron Backscatter Diffraction) patterns. Rocking curves performed along the fiber axis revealed a half-height width of 0.073 degrees. The CMR behavior was confirmed by electrical resistivity and magnetization measurements as a function of temperature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

Disorder effects at low temperatures in La_{0.7-x}Y_{x}Ca_{0.3}MnO_{3} manganites

With the aim of probing the effect of magnetic disorder in the low-temperature excitations of manganites, specific-heat measurements were performed in zero field, and in magnetic fields up to 9 T in polycrystalline samples of La_{0.7-x}Y_{x}Ca_{0.3}MnO_{3}, with Y concentrations x=0, 0.10, and 0.15. Yttrium doping yielded the appearance of a cluster-glass state, giving rise to unusual low-temperature behavior of the specific-heat. The main feature observed in the results is a strong enhancement of the specific-heat linear term, which is interpreted as a direct consequence of magnetic disorder. The analysis was further corroborated by resistivity measurements in the same compounds.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2003

Spin Glass Behavior in the Ru-1222 and Ru-1212 rutheno-cuprate families: a comparative study

Strong evidences of a spin glass phase on polycrystalline RuSr2Ln1.5Ce0.5Cu2O10-x (LnRu-1222, Ln = Y, Ho and Dy) is provided by ac susceptibility and dc magnetization measurements. The fingerprint of a spin glass transition, the frequency-dependent cusp in ac susceptibility vs. T measurements at low magnetic field, is observed for all LnRu-1222 samples. The strong supression of the cusp in the ac susceptibility measurement in the presence of magnetic fields as low as 500 Oe, and the results of thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) and isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) measurements are also evidences of a spin glass behavior. By comparing these results with measurements on a YRu-1212 sample we conclude that the glassy behavior is characteristic of the Ru-1222 phase, not being observed for the studied YRu-1212 sample. We suggest that the spin glass transition occur only in the Ru-1222 phase possibly due to the larger number of oxygen vacancies present in these compounds.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

High temperature specific heat and magnetic measurements in Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 and R0.5Ca0.5MnO3 (R=Nd, Sm, Dy and Ho) samples

We have made a magnetic characterization of Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3, Nd0.5Ca0.5MnO3, Sm0.5Ca0.5MnO3, Dy0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and Ho0.5Ca0.5MnO3 polycrystalline samples. Ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic and charge ordering transitions in our samples agree with previous reports. We also report specific heat measurements with applied magnetic fields between 0 and 9 T and temperatures between 2 and 300 K in all cases. Each curve was successfully fitted at high temperatures by an Einstein model with three optical phonon modes. Close to the charge ordering and ferromagnetic transition temperatures the specific heat curves showed peaks superposed to the characteristic response of the lattice oscillations. The entropy variation corresponding to the charge ordering transition was higher than the one corresponding to the ferromagnetic transition. The external magnetic field seems to have no effect in specific heat of the CO phase transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

Spin Glass Behavior in RuSr2Gd1.5Ce0.5Cu2O10

The dynamics of the magnetic properties of polycrystalline RuSr2Gd1.5Ce0.5Cu2O10 (Ru-1222) have been studied by ac susceptibility and dc magnetization measurements, including relaxation and ageing studies. Ru-1222 is a reported magneto-superconductor with Ru spins magnetic ordering at temperatures near 100 K and superconductivity in Cu-O2 planes below Tc ~ 40 K. The exact nature of Ru spins magnetic ordering is still debated and no conclusion has been reached yet. In this work, a frequency-dependent cusp was observed in ac susceptibility vs. T measurements, which is interpreted as a spin glass transition. The change in the cusp position with frequency follows the Vogel-Fulcher law, which is commonly accepted to describe a spin glass with magnetically interacting clusters. Such interpretation is supported by themoremanaent magnetization (TRM) measurements at T = 60 K. TRM relaxations are well described by a stretched exponential relation, and present significant ageing effects.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2002

Specific heat and magnetic measurements in Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3, Nd0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and Ho0.5Ca0.5MnO3 samples

We studied the magnetization as a function of temperature and magnetic field in the compounds Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3, Nd0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and Ho0.5Ca0.5MnO3. It allowed us to identify the ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic and charge ordering phases in each case. The intrinsic magnetic moments of Nd3+ and Ho3+ ions experienced a short range order at low temperatures. We also did specific heat measurements with applied magnetic fields between 0 and 9 T and temperatures between 2 and 300 K in all three samples. Close to the charge ordering and ferromagnetic transition temperatures the specific heat curves showed peaks superposed to the characteristic response of the lattice oscillations. Below 10 K the specific heat measurements evidenced a Schottky-like anomaly for all samples. However, we could not successfully fit the curves to either a two level nor a distribution of two-level Schottky anomaly. Our results indicated that the peak temperature of the Schottky anomaly was higher in the compounds with narrower conduction band.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2001

Studies on the Anisotropic Properties of MgB2

This paper presents a brief review on the reported anisotropic properties of MgB2, in the superconducting state (e.g. upper critical field Hc2, field penetration depth, coherence length, energy gap) as well as in the normal state (e.g., magnetoresistance, compressibility, thermal expansion). So far, the reported results have been obtained using aligned crystallites, c-axis oriented thin films and sub-millimeter crystals. Since impurity scattering affects directly the gap anisotropy it could be one of the main reasons for the different values observed in the Hc2 anisotropy ratio, ranging between 1.3 and 2.6.

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↗

arXiv2001

Irreversible magnetization under rotating fields and lock-in effect on ErBa_2Cu_3O_7 single crystal with columnar defects

We have measured the irreversible magnetization M_i of an ErBa_2Cu_3O_7 single crystal with columnar defects (CD), using a technique based on sample rotation under a fixed magnetic field H. This method is valid for samples whose magnetization vector remains perpendicular to the sample surface over a wide angle range - which is the case for platelets and thin films - and presents several advantages over measurements of M_L(H) loops at fixed angles. The resulting M_i(Θ) curves for several temperatures show a peak in the CD direction at high fields. At lower fields, a very well defined plateau indicative of the vortex lock-in to the CD develops. The H dependence of the lock-in angle ϕ_L follows the H^{-1} theoretical prediction, while the temperature dependence is in agreement with entropic smearing effects corresponding to short range vortex-defects interactions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Study of magnetic and specific heat measurements at low temperatures in Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 and Nd0.5Ca0.5MnO3

The magnetization at low temperatures for Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 and Nd0.5Ca0.5MnO3 samples showed a rapid increase with decreasing temperatures, contrary to a La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 sample. Specific heat measurement at low temperatures showed a Schottky-like anomaly for the first two samples. However, there is not a straight forward correlation between the intrinsic magnetic moment of the Nd3+ ions and the Schottky-like anomaly.

cond-mat.str-el↗