arXiv subjects

Sharath Kumar C

Publications and source records attributed to Sharath Kumar C.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Nitrogen-Vacancy-Mediated Magnetism in Sputtered GdN Thin Films

Among rare-earth nitrides (RENs), gadolinium nitride (GdN) stands out as a promising material for spintronics owing to its distinctive combination of semiconducting behavior, strong exchange interactions, and intrinsically soft ferromagnetism. Its relatively high Curie temperature and large saturation magnetization make it an attractive candidate for device concepts such as non-volatile memory elements and spin-based transistors, motivating efforts toward low-cost, uniform, and compositionally controlled thin-film growth. In this work, we deposited GdN thin films on SiO2/AlN substrates using DC sputtering under reactive nitridation conditions, with thicknesses varying from 18 to 180 nm, and systematically investigated their structural and magnetic properties. The films exhibit soft ferromagnetic ordering, characterized by a coercive field of approximately 200 Oe and a Curie temperature (Tc) near 70 K. Structural analysis reveals lattice distortions and local strain associated with nitrogen-vacancy defects, whose concentration varies with film thickness. Our theoretical studies establish a direct correlation between the observed Raman modes of the GdN lattice and the reduced magnetization induced by nitrogen vacancies. These vacancies give rise to defect-mediated ferromagnetism, leading to a measurable enhancement of Tc from 68 K to 82 K across the studied thickness range. The observed magnetic behavior is well described by the bound magnetic polaron (BMP) model, confirming that nitrogen vacancies are key contributors to ferromagnetic ordering while preserving the soft-magnetic character intrinsic to GdN. This study underscores the pivotal role of defect engineering in optimizing GdN thin films for spintronics applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Superconductivity in single crystals of a quasi-one dimensional infinite chain cuprate Sr$_x$Ca$_{1-x}$CuO$_2$ at 90 K

Although there is no complete theory of high temperature superconductivity, the importance of CuO$_2$ planes in cuprate superconductors is confirmed from both theory and experiments. Strong Coulomb repulsion between electrons on the CuO$_2$ plane makes the resultant electron system highly correlated and a difficult problem to solve since exact solutions of many-body Hamiltonian in two dimensions do not exist. If however, superconductivity can arise in structures having chains rather than planes and having a high critical temperature, then the high temperature superconductivity problem could become more tractable since exact solutions in one dimension do exist. In this paper, we report the observation of bulk superconductivity in single crystals of a cuprate Sr$_x$Ca$_{1-x}$CuO$_2$ at very high critical temperature, T$_c$, of $\sim$ 90 K whose structure reveals the presence of infinite double chains of Cu-O-Cu-O instead of CuO$_2$ planes, thus, ensuring quasi-one dimensional superconductivity. Bulk superconducting behaviour was observed in \textit{dc} magnetisation, \textit{ac} susceptibility as well as resistance measurements. The observation of bulk superconductivity in Sr$_x$Ca$_{1-x}$CuO$_2$ having chains of Cu-O-Cu-O rather than planes of CuO$_2$ at a high T$_c$ of 90 K is expected to profoundly impact our understanding of high temperature superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Bipartite entanglement via distance between the states in a one dimensional spin 1/2 dimer copper acetate monohydrate

In this paper, we used a theoretical measure known as distance between the states, $\mathcal{E}(\rho_e)$, to determine the bipartite entanglement of a one dimensional magnetic dimer system. The calculation was compared with the well-known entanglement measure, concurrence, and found to be the same. $\mathcal{E}(\rho_e)$ was, then, expressed in terms of two thermodynamic quantities, namely, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat. Experimental verification of temperature variation of the bipartite entanglement measure in terms of magnetic susceptibility and specific heat was done on single crystals of copper acetate-an excellent one dimensional dimer system. The results showed the existence of bipartite entanglement till temperatures as high as room temperature! Large sized single crystals of copper acetate were grown by a new evaporation technique and characterised by TGA, IR and Raman spectroscopy measurements.Density functional theory calculations were done to calculate the delocalisation index which showed much lower values of $\delta(Cu,Cu)$ than other bonds, implying that the probability of direct Cu-Cu exchange in copper acetate is very small.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

One-dimensional magnetism in a facile spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet with a low saturation field

This work reports the synthesis, structure and magnetic properties of the single crystal of a facile spin 1/2 one dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet bis(4-aminopyridinium) bis(oxalato)cuprate(II) dihydrate, (C 5 H 7 N 2 ) 2 [Cu(C 2 O 4 ) 2 ].2H 2 O. Single crystals of large sizes of the title compound were obtained using the technique of liquid-liquid diffusion or layer diffusion with 100 % yield. Single crystal X-ray diffraction measurements revealed a very good quality of the grown single crystals with small value of goodness of fit R obtained at 1.058. The structure comprises corner-sharing CuO 6 octahedra resulting in Cu-Cu chains in the a-direction that are very well isolated in the b and c directions. Density functional theory (DFT) with three different basis sets (B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p); B3LYP/LanL2DZ and B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p), B3LYP/LanL2DZ) generated the optimized geometry of a monomeric unit as well as its vibrational spectra. The vibrational frequency corresponding to the CuO 6 octahedron was found in the experimentally obtained IR spectrum that matched very well with the theoretically obtained IR spectra incorporating the mixed basis. Temperature dependent dc magnetic susceptibility revealed a low temperature peak suggesting the presence of low dimensional magnetism in the system. Bonner-Fisher fit confirmed the one dimensional nature of the magnetic interaction with an exchange coupling constant of 1.23 K. Magnetisation measurements along with Quantum Monte Carlo simulations confirm this metal-organic crystal to be a very good spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet with a low saturation field H s of 1.75 T.

cond-mat.str-el↗