arXiv subjects

V. P. S. Awana

Publications and source records attributed to V. P. S. Awana.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Superconductivity with Topological non-trivial surface states in NbC

Quantum materials with non-trivial band topology and bulk superconductivity are considered superior materials to realize topological superconductivity. In this regard, we report detailed Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and Z2 invaraints for the NbC superconductor, exhibiting its band structure to be topologically non-trivial. Bulk superconductivity at 8.9K is confirmed through DC magnetization measurements under Field Cooled (FC) and Zero Field Cooled (ZFC) protocols. This superconductivity is found to be of type-II nature as revealed by isothermal M-H measurements and thus calculated the Ginzberg-Landau parameter. A large intermediate state is evident from the phase diagram, showing NbC to be a strong type-II superconductor. Comparing with earlier reports on superconducting NbC, a non-monotonic relationship of critical temperature with lattice parameters is seen. In conclusion, NbC is a type-II around 10K superconductor with topological non-trivial surface states.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Effect of magnetic (Nd) doping on electrical and magnetic properties of topological Sb2Te3 single crystal

Here, we report the growth and characterization of single crystals of NdxSb2-xTe3, by solid state reaction route via self-flux method. The phase and layered growth are confirmed through x-ray diffraction and Scanning electron microscopy respectively. A slight contraction in lattice parameters is seen after Nd doping. Also a minute shift in vibrational modes of recorded Raman spectra has been observed by doping of Nd in Sb2Te3. The magneto-resistance values under magnetic field of 5Tesla for Sb2Te3 are 75 percent at 2.5K and 60 percent at 20K, but only 40 percent at 5K for Nd0.1Sb1.9Te3. DC magnetic measurements exhibit expected diamagnetic and paramagnetic behaviors for pure and Nd doped crystals respectively. A cusp-like behavior is observed in magneto conductivity of both pure and Nd doped crystals at low magnetic fields below 1 Tesla which is analyzed using Hikami Larkin Nagaoka (HLN) model. For Sb2Te3 the fitted parameters alpha values are -1.02 and -0.58 and the phase coherence lengths are 50.8(6)nm & 34.9(8)nm at temperatures 2.5K and 20K respectively. For Nd0.1Sb1.9Te3, alpha is -0.29 and coherence length is 27.2(1) nm at 5K. The α values clearly show the presence of weak anti localization effect in both, pure and Nd doped samples. Also with Nd doping, the contribution of bulk states increases in addition to conducting surface states in overall conduction mechanism.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Structural and WAL analysis of Topological single-crystal SnSb2Te4

Here, we report successful single crystal growth of SnSb2Te4 using the self-flux method. Unidirectional crystal growth is confirmed through X Ray Diffraction (XRD) pattern taken on mechanically cleaved crystal flake while the rietveld refined Powder XRD (PXRD) pattern confirms the phase purity of the grown crystal. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image and Energy Dispersive X-Ray analysis (EDAX) confirm crystalline morphology and exact stoichiometry of constituent elements. Vibrational Modes observed in Raman spectra also confirm the formation of the SnSb2Te4 phase. DC resistivity measurements confirm the metallic character of the grown crystal. Magneto-transport measurements up to 5T show a nonsaturating low magneto-resistance percentage. V type cusp and Hikami Larkin Nagaoka (HLN) fitting at lower field confirms the Weak Anti-localization (WAL) effect in SnSb2Te4. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were showing topological non-trivial electronic band structure. It is the first-ever report on MR study and WAL analysis of SnSb2Te4 single crystal.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Probing the Topological Surface States through Magnetoresistance and Ultrafast Charge Carrier Dynamics in (Bi/Sb)2Te3

Topological insulators with their topological protected surface states are highly promising quantum materials. In this article the micro-flakes of single-crystalline topological insulators Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 are explored through physical parameter measurement at low temperatures and thereby the charge carrier dynamics are investigated at 5K to study the various optical transitions related to these surface states. The magnetoresistance is experimentally investigated at temperatures of 5K and 100K for a field range of 1Tesla. The occurrence of the weak anti-localization effect predicts the presence of topologically protected surface states in the systems. Further, the ultrafast femtosecond transient reflectance spectroscopy is performed at different temperatures, varying from a room temperature (300K) to a low temperature of 5K, to find the TSS related transitions at low temperatures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Modeling of Magneto-Conductivity of Bismuth Selenide -- A Topological Insulator

We report the magneto-conductivity analysis of Bi2Se3 single crystal at different temperatures in a magnetic field range of 14Tesla. The single crystals are grown by the self-flux method and characterized through X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Raman Spectroscopy. The single crystals show magnetoresistance (MR) of around 380 percent at a magnetic field of 14T and a temperature of 5K. The Hikami Larkin Nagaoka (HLN) equation has been used to fit the magneto-conductivity (MC) data. However, the HLN fitted curve deviates at higher magnetic fields above 1 Tesla, suggesting that the role of surface driven conductivity suppresses with an increasing magnetic field. This article proposes a speculative model comprising of surface-driven HLN and added quantum diffusive and bulk carriers driven classical terms. The model successfully explains the MC of the Bi2Se3 single crystal at various temperatures (5 to 200K) and applied magnetic fields (up to 14Tesla).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Comprehensive Analysis for the High Field Magneto-conductivity of Bi2Te3 Single Crystal

Here, we report the magneto-conductivity (up to 14Tesla and down to 5K) analysis of Bi2Te3 single-crystal. A sharp magneto-conductivity (MC) rise (inverted v-type cusp) is observed near H=0 due to the weak antilocalization (WAL) effect, while a linear curve is observed at higher fields. We account for magneto-conductivity (MC) over the entire range of applied magnetic fields of up to 14Tesla and temperatures from 100K to 5K in a modified HLN modelling (addition of quadratic (BH2) through quantum and classical components involvement. The additional term BH2 reveals a gradual change of a (HLN parameter) from -0.421(6) to -0.216(1) as the temperature increases from 5 to 100K. The phase coherence length Lphi obtained from both conventional and modified modelling decreased with increasing temperature but remains more protracted than the mean free path (L) of electrons. It shows the quantum phase coherence effect dominates at high temperature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Excited-state dynamics of structurally characterized crystal of SnxSb1-x

The topological behavior of heavy metal alloys opens a vast area for incredible research and future technology. Here, we extend our previous report about the superconducting properties of Sn0.4Sb0.6 along with the compositional variation of Sn and Sb in SnxSb1-x (with (X=0.5 and 0.6)) to study the detailed optical properties. Structural and morphological details of grown crystal are carried from the previous study. Further, the samples are excited by a pump of 2.61 eV with a broad probe of 0.77-1.54 eV in the NIR regime for transient reflectance ultrafast studies (TRUS) measurements. The differential reflectance profile shows an unprecedented negative magnitude, and the average power-dependent analysis of this negative trend has been analyzed. This article not only provides evidence of band filling phenomenon in the samples but also shows that with the variation of average power, there is a definite increase in the excited charge carriers, and thereby enhancing the band filling response. The estimated value of the bandgap between the band filled states and valence state is also determined from these studies. The nonlinear properties and bandgap analysis of the studied topological alloys and similar materials help in the advancement of various nonlinear optical applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

High Field Magneto-Transport of Mixed Topological Insulators Bi2Se3-xTex (x = 0, 1, 2 & 3)

The article comprises structural, microstructural, and physical properties analysis of Bi2Se3-xTex (x= 0, 1, 2 and 3) mixed topological insulator (MTI) single crystals. All the crystals were grown through a well-optimized solid-state reaction route via the self-flux method. These MTI are well characterized through XRD (X-ray Diffraction), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), EDAX (Energy Dispersive spectroscopy), and thereby, the physical properties are analyzed through the RT (Resistance vs temperature) down to 10K as well as the magneto-resistance (MR) measurements (at 5K) in a magnetic field of up to 10 Tesla. The MR drastically varies from x=0 to x=3 in MTI, from a huge 400 percent, it goes down to 20 percent and 5 percent and eventually back to 315 percent. This fascinated behaviour of MR is explained in this article through HLN (Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka) equation and an additional term. This article not only proposed the mesmerizing behavior of MR in MTI but also explains the reason through competing WAL (Weak Anti-Localization) and WL (Weak Localization) conduction processes.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Raman Spectroscopy of Bi2Se3-xTex (x= 0 to 3) Topological Insulator Crystals

We report crystal growth and Raman spectroscopy characterization of pure and mixed bulk topological insulators. The series comprises of both binary and ternary tetradymite topological insulators. We analyzed in detail the Raman peaks of vibrational modes as out of plane Ag, and in plane Eg for both binary and ternary tetradymite topological insulators. Both out of plane Ag exhibit obvious atomic size dependent peak shifts and the effect is much lesser for the former than the latter. The situation is rather interesting for in plane Eg, which not only shows the shift but rather a broader hump like structure. The de convolution of the same show two clear peaks, which are understood in terms of the presence of separate in plane BiSe and BiTe modes in mixed tetradymite topological insulators. Summarily, various Raman modes of well-characterized pure and mixed topological insulator single crystals are reported and discussed in this article.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Type-II Superconductivity below 4K in Sn0.4Sb0.6

In this article, we report the occurrence of superconductivity in Sn0.4Sb0.6 single crystal at below 4K. Rietveld refined Powder XRD data confirms the phase purity of as grown crystal, crystallizing in rhombohedral R-3m space group with an elongated (2xc) unit cell in c-direction. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image and EDAX measurement confirm the laminar growth and near to desired stoichiometry ratio. Raman Spectroscopy data shows the vibrational modes of Sn-Sb and Sb-Sb modes at 110 and 135cm-1. ZFC (Zero-Field-Cooled) magnetization measurements done at 10Oe showed sharp superconducting transitions at 4K along with a minor step at 3.5K. On the other hand, Paramagnetic Meissner Effect (PME) is observed in FC measurements. Magnetization vs applied field (M-H) plots at 2, 2.2, 2.5, 2.7, 3, 3.2, 3.5, and 3.7K shows typical Type-II nature of observed superconductivity with lower and upper critical fields (Hc1 and Hc2) at 69.42Oe and 630Oe respectively at 2K. Type-II superconductivity is also confirmed by calculated Ginzburg-Landau Kappa parameter value of 3.55. Characteristics length viz. coherence length and penetration depth are also calculated. Weak granular coupling is observed from R-T plot, in which resistance is not dropping to zero down to 2K.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Crystal Growth and characterization of possible New Magnetic Topological Insulators FeBi2Te4

Here we report successful single crystal growth of new possible magnetic topological insulator (MTI) FeBi2Te4 by self-flux method via vacuum encapsulation process. The detailed Rietveld analysis of Powder XRD data shows the as grown MTI crystal to be mainly dominated by FeBi2Te4 phase along with minority phases of Bi2Te3 and FeTe. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image shows the morphology of as grown MTI single crystal to be of layered type laminar structure. Raman spectroscopy of the crystal exhibited three distinct phonon modes at 65, 110, and 132 cm-1 along with two split secondary modes at 90, and 144cm-1. The secondary split modes are result of FeTe intercalation in Bi2Te3 unit cell. Magneto-resistance measurement has been performed at different temperatures i.e. 200K, 20K and 2K in applied magnetic fields up to 12 Tesla, which showed very low MR in comparison to pure Bi2Te3 crystal. Temperature dependence of DC magnetization measurements show the FeBi2Te4 crystal to be mainly of ferromagnetic (FM) or ferri-magnetic nature above 295 K, albeit a secondary weak magnetic transition is seen at 54-46K as well. Detailed isothermal magnetization (MH) results showed that FM saturation moment at 295K is 0.00213emu/g, which is nearly invariant till 400 K. Summary, we had grown an MTI FeBi2Te4 single crystal, which may be a possible entrant for Quantum Anomalous Hall (QAH) effect at room temperature or above.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Exploration of terahertz from time-resolved ultrafast spectroscopy in single-crystal Bi2Se3 topological insulator

In this article, we reconnoiter the differential reflection signal of a Bi2Se3 single crystal flake, using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy in the femtosecond time domain and thereby explore the experimental data in terms of terahertz frequency generated in the sample. An exfoliated flake of a well characterized self-flux grown bulk Bi2Se3 single crystal having rhombohedral structure and layered morphology is used in the present study. The kinetic profile of the same being generated through a reflection signal by a pump laser of 650 nm at an average power of 0.5 mW is studied utilizing time-resolved ultrafast technique. The silhouette as a function of probe delay predicting the capability of the terahertz generation is estimated. Here, two methods FFT (fast Fourier transformation) and FFD (filtering high-frequency component followed by fitting data) are performed to estimate the value of terahertz generated in the system. While comparing the two (FFT & FFD) it is found that a large amount of magnitude difference occurs in the prediction of terahertz frequency. Summarily, we not only report the generation of terahertz in Bi2Se3 flake, also but points out that the exact order of magnitude and the capability of the same depends upon the method of analysis. It is important to extract the vibration signal from the background one so that to find the exact order of magnitude and capability of terahertz generation by any quantum material.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Bulk Superconductivity below 6K in PdBi2Te3 topological single crystal

We study the structural and bulk superconducting properties of self flux grown PdBi2Te3 single crystal. Phase purity of as grown crystal is confirmed by Rietveld refinement of gently crushed powder XRD of the same. PdBi2Te3 crystallizes in rhombohedral structure with R-3 m space group along with small impurity of Bi. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images showed layered structure and the elemental analysis by energy dispersive X Ray analysis (EDAX) done on same confirmed the stoichiometry to be near to PdBi2Te3. Characteristic vibrational modes viz. A11g, Eg2, A21g are clearly observed in Raman spectrum, and are slightly shifted from that as in case of Bi2Te3. Bulk superconductivity is confirmed by FC and ZFC magnetization measurements (M-T) exhibiting diamagnetic transition with Tconset at around 6K. M-H plots at different temperatures of 2K, 2.5K, 3K, 3.5K, 4K, 4.5K, 5K and 6K showed clear opening of the loop right up to 6K. Both M-T and M-H clearly establish the appearance of bulk type II superconductivity below 6K in studied PdBi2Te3. The lower critical field Hc1 and upper critical field Hc2 are at 180Oe at 4800Oe respectively at 2K for as grown PdBi2Te3 crystal. Other critical parameters of superconductivity such as coherence length, penetration depth and kappa parameter are also calculated.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Superconductivity below 2.5K in Nb0.25Bi2Se3 topological insulator single crystal

We report crystal growth and below 2.5K superconductivity of Nb0.25Bi2Se3. These crystals are grown by self flux method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of as grown crystal flake shows (00l) plane (c-orientation) growth. The Rietveld refinement of crushed crystal powder XRD (PXRD) pattern confirms the phase purity of the studied sample having R-3m space group of rhombohedral crystalline structure. The Raman spectrum of the studied Nb0.25Bi2Se3 crystal distinctly shows three well defined vibrational modes in terms of A11g, Eg2, A21g at around 72, 129 and 173cm-1, which are slightly shifted in comparison to pure Bi2Se3. Magnetization studies in terms of field cooled (FC) and Zero field cooled (ZFC) magnetic susceptibility measurements show the diamagnetic transition (Tconset) of the compound at around 2.5K and near saturation of the same below around 2.1K. The isothernal magnetization (MH) being taken at 2K, revealed the lower critical field (Hc1) of around 50Oe and the upper critical field (Hc2) of 900Oe. It is clear the studied Nb0.25Bi2Se3 is a bulk superconductor. The superconducting critical parameters thus calculated viz. the coherence length, upper and lower critical fields and superconducting transition temperature for as grown Nb0.25Bi2Se3 single crystal are reported here.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka (HLN) Fitting of Magneto Transport of Bi2Se3 Single Crystal in Different Magnetic Field Ranges

We report the detailed study of structural micro-structuraland high magnetic field magneto transport propertiesof Bi2Se3single crystal. Bi2Se3 single crystal is grown through conventional solid-state reaction route via the self-flux method. Rietveld analysis on Powder X-ray Diffraction showed that the studied Bi2Se3 crystal is crystallized in single-phase without any impurity. The surface morphology analyzed through Scanning Electron Microscopy study which shows that as-grown single crystal exhibit layered type structure and the quantitative weight of the atomic constituents (Bi and Se) are found to be closeto the stoichiometric amount in energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. Low temperature (2.5K) magneto-resistance (MR) exhibited a v-type cusp around origin at lower magnetic field, which is the sign of weak anti-localization effect. Further, Bi2Se3 single crystal magneto conductivity data is fitted by well-known HLN equation in different magnetic field range of 2Tesla, 4Tesla and 6Tesla and the resultant found that the conduction mechanism of Bi2Se3 is dominated by WAL state.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Bi2Se3 Topological Insulator

We investigate the ultrafast transient absorption spectrum of Bi2Se3 topological insulator. Bi2Se3 single crystal is grown through conventional solid-state reaction routevia self-flux method. The structural properties have been studied in terms of high-resolution Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD). Detailed Rietveld analysis of PXRD of the crystal showed that sample is crystallized in the rhombohedral crystal structure with a space group of R-3m, and the lattice parameters are a=b=4.14A and c=28.7010A. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) result shows perfectly crystalline structure with layered type morphology which evidenced from surface XRD. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis determined quantitative amounts of the constituent atoms, found to be very close to their stoichiometric ratio. Further the fluence dependent nonlinear behaviour is studied by means of ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. The ultrafast spectroscopy also predicts the capability of this single crystal to generate Terahertz (THz) radiations (T-rays).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Crystal Growth and basic transport and magnetic properties of MnBi2Te4

We report successful growth of magnetic topological insulator (MTI) MnBi2Te4. The heating schedule basically deals with growth of the crystal from melt at 900C and very slow cooling (1C/hr) to around 600C with 24 hours hold time, followed by cooling to room temperature. Our detailed, PXRD Reitveld analysis showed that the resultant crystal is dominated mainly by MnBi2Te4 and minor phases of Bi2Te3 and MnTe. The transport measurements showed a step like behavior at around 150K followed by cusp like structure in resistivity at around 25K (TP) due reported anti-ferromagnetic ordering of Mn. Both the resistivity transitions are seen clearly in dR/dT measurements at 150K and 20K respectively. The 25K transition of the compound is also seen in magnetic susceptibility. Low temperature (5K) magnetoresistance (MR) in applied field of up to 6 Tesla exhibited negative ve MR below 3 Tesla and +ve for higher fields. Also, seen are steps in MR below one Tesla. The studied MnBi2Te4 MTI crystal could be a possible candidate for Quantum Anomalous Hall (QAH) effect.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Structural, Surface Morphology and Magneto-Transport properties of Self Flux Grown Eu Doped Bi2Se3 Single Crystal

Here, we report the effect of europium (Eu) doping in Bi2Se3 topological insulator (TI) by using different characterization techniques viz. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) and magneto-transport measurements. Temperature dependent electrical resistivity curves revealed a metallic behaviour both in the presence and absence of applied magnetic field. Magneto-transport measurements showed a decrease in the magneto-resistance (MR) value of the Eu0.1Bi1.9Se3 sample (32% at 5K) in comparison to the pure Bi2Se3 sample (80% at 5K). For, Eu0.1Bi1.9Se3 sample, a complex crossover between WL and WAL phenomenon was observed at lower applied magnetic fields, whereas the same was absent in case of the pristine one. Further, HLN (Hikami Larkin Nagaoka) fitted magneto-conductivity (MC) analysis revealed a competing weak anti localization (WAL) and weak localization (WL) behaviour. Summarily, in the present work we study the structural, surface morphology and magneto-transport properties of as grown Eu0.1Bi1.9Se3 single crystals.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗