arXiv subjects

Sonachalam Arumugam

Publications and source records attributed to Sonachalam Arumugam.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Pressure-enhanced superconductivity in cage-type quasiskutterudite Sc5Rh6Sn18 single crystal

Sc5Rh6Sn18 with a cage-type quasiskutterudite crystal lattice and type II superconductivity, with superconducting transition temperature Tc = 4.99 K, was investigated under hydrostatic high-pressure (HP) using electrical transport, synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. Our data show that HP enhance the metallic nature and Tc of the system. Tc is found to show a continuous increase reaching to 5.24 K at 2.5 GPa. Athough the system is metallic in nature, Raman spectroscopy investigations at ambient pressure revealed the presence of three weak modes at 165.97, 219.86 and 230.35 cm-1, mostly related to the rattling atom Sc. The HP-XRD data revealed that the cage structure was stable without any structural phase transition up to ~7 GPa. The lattice parameters and volume exhibited a smooth decrease without any anomalies as a function of pressure in this pressure range. In particular, a second order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state can describe the pressure dependence of the unit cell volume well, yielding a bulk modulus of ~ 97 GPa. HP Raman investigations revealed a linear shift of all the three Raman modes to higher wavenumbers with increasing pressure up to ~8 GPa. As the pressure enhances the bond overlap, thus inducing more electronic charges into the system, HP-XRD and Raman results may indciate the possibility of obtaining higher Tc with increasing pressures in this pressure range.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Effect of hydrostatic pressure on ferromagnetism in two-dimensional CrI$_3$

We have investigated the magnetic properties of highly anisotropic layered ferromagnetic semiconductor CrI$_3$ in presence of hydrostatic pressure ($P$). At ambient pressure, magnetization exhibits a clear anomaly below 212 K along with a thermal hysteresis over a wide temperature range (212-180 K), where a first-order structural transition is observed. CrI$_3$ undergoes a second-order ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transition with Curie temperature $T_C$=60.4 K. With application of pressure, the transition becomes sharper and $T_C$ is found to increase from 60.4 to 64.9 K as $P$ increases from 0 to 1.0 GPa. $T_C$ increases with $P$ in a sublinear fashion. The thermal hysteresis in magnetization and the increase of $T_C$ with pressure suggest that the spin and lattice degrees of freedom are coupled. The observed increase in $T_C$ has been explained on the basis of change in inter-layer coupling and Cr-I-Cr bond angle with pressure.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Superconductivity in Se-doped new materials EuSr2Bi2S4F4 and Eu2SrBi2S4F4

From our powder x ray diffraction pattern, electrical transport and magnetic studies we report the effect of isovalent Se substitution at S sites in the newly discovered systems EuSr2Bi2S4F4 and Eu2SrBi2S4F4. We have synthesized two new variants of 3244 type superconductor with Eu replaced by Sr which is reported elsewhere [Z. Haque et. al.]. We observe superconductivity at Tc 2.9 K (resistivity) and 2.3 K (susceptibility) in EuSr2Bi2S4-xSexF4 series for x = 2. In the other series Eu2SrBi2S4-xSexF4, two materials (x= 1.5; Tc = 2.6 K and x = 2; Tc = 2.75 K) exhibit superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Unusual mixed valence of Eu in two new materials EuSr2Bi2S4F4 and Eu2SrBi2S4F4: Mössbauer and X-ray photoemission Spectroscopy investigations

We have synthesized two new Eu-based compounds, EuSr2Bi2S4F4 and Eu2SrBi2S4F4 which are derivatives of Eu3Bi2S4F4, an intrinsic superconductor with Tc = 1.5 K. They belong to a tetragonal structure (SG: I4/mmm, Z = 2), similar to the parent compound Eu3Bi2S4F4. Our structural and 151Eu Mössbauer spectroscopy studies show that in EuSr2Bi2S4F4, Eu-atoms exclusively occupy the crystallographic 2a-sites. In Eu2SrBi2S4F4, 2a-sites are fully occupied by Eu-atoms and the other half of Eu-atoms and Sr-atoms together fully occupy 4e-sites in a statistical distribution. In both compounds Eu atoms occupying the crystallographic 2a-sites are in a homogeneous mixed valent state ~ 2.6 - 2.7. From our magnetization studies in an applied H = 9 Tesla, we infer that the valence of Eu-atoms in Eu2SrBi2S4F4 at the 2a-sites exhibits a shift towards 2+. Our XPS studies corroborate the occurrence of valence fluctuations of Eu and after Ar-ion sputtering show evidence of enhanced population of Eu2+-states. Resistivity measurements, down to 2 K suggest a semi-metallic nature for both compounds.

cond-mat.supr-con↗