arXiv subjects

Yoshiteru Maeno

Publications and source records attributed to Yoshiteru Maeno.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Induced ferromagnetic moment at the interface between epitaxial SrRuO$_3$ film and Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ single crystal

SrRuO$_3$ (SRO113) is an important material for device physics particularly as one of the best metallic oxide electrodes for ferroelectric devices. This oxide has moderate electron correlations with novel properties including ferromagnetic ordering, which can be utilized in future to spintronics and superconducting spintronics devices. Recently, we observed strongly enhanced magnetization of SRO113 thin films grown on single crystals of the spin-triplet superconductor Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ (SRO214). To clarify the origin of such an enhancement, we conducted systematic investigations of magnetic properties of SRO113 films deposited on a variety of oxide substrates. We carefully subtracted the substrate contributions and found that the enhanced 2 magnetization occurs only for SRO113/SRO214 films. We further found that neither strain nor metallicity of the substrate plays any significant roles in the enhancement. The X-ray magnetic circular dichroism reveals that the substrate-induced strain does not switch the Ru4+ state from the low-spin to high-spin states. The film-thickness dependence of the magnetization of SRO113/SRO214 films strongly suggest that the additional magnetization arises due to the induction of magnetic moment into the SRO214 substrate over 20-nm depth. Our results imply new magnetic functionality that can trigger studies searching for yet unknown physical phenomena in magnetic ruthenates.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Effect of delithiation on the dimer transition of the honeycomb-lattice ruthenate Li$_{2-x}$RuO$_3$

The honeycomb-lattice ruthenate Li$_2$RuO$_3$ is made heavily Li-deficient by chemical oxidation by iodine. The delithiation triggers a different phase Li$_{2-x}$RuO$_3$, the "D-phase", with superlattice. For the first time we disclose the magnetic and structural properties of the D-phase in the dimer-solid state. The low temperature magnetic susceptibility and the bond lengths indicate a bonding configuration consisting of both Ru$^{4+}$-Ru$^{4+}$ and Ru$^{5+}$-Ru$^{5+}$ dimers.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Effect of disorder on the dimer transition of the honeycomb-lattice compound Li$_{2}$RuO$_3$

We report the dependence of magnetic properties on the crystalline disorder in Li$_{2}$RuO$_3$ with Ru honeycomb lattice. This oxide exhibits unconventional Ru-dimer transition below $T_\text{d} \sim$ 540 K. We demonstrate that the cell parameters, related to the coherence of the dimer formation, are strongly dependent on the synthesis procedure. We show that the magnetic behavior at the dimer transition is closely related to the lattice parameters. In particular, we revealed that samples with well-ordered dimers exhibit a first-order magnetic transition with the onset exceeding 550~K, higher than that reported previously. We discuss possible dimer configurations leading to this magneto-lattice coupling.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Inversion symmetry of Josephson current as test of chiral domain wall motion in Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$

Clarifying the chiral domains structure of superconducting Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ has been a long-standing issue in identifying its peculiar topological superconducting state. We evaluated the critical current $I_{c}$ versus the magnetic field $H$ of Nb/Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ Josephson junctions, changing the junction dimension in expectation of that the number of domains in the junction is controlled. $I_{c}(H)$ exhibits a recovery from inversion symmetry breaking to invariance when the dimension is reduced to several microns. This inversion invariant behavior indicates the disappearance of domain walls; thus, the size of a single domain is estimated at approximately several microns.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Compact AC Susceptometer for Fast Sample Characterization down to 0.1 K

We report a new design of an AC magnetic susceptometer compatible with the Physical Properties Measurement System (PPMS) by Quantum Design, as well as with its adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator option. With the elaborate compact design, the susceptometer allows simple and quick sample mounting process. The high performance of the susceptometer down to 0.1 K is demonstrated using several superconducting and magnetic materials. This susceptometer provides a method to quickly investigate qualities of a large number of samples in the wide temperature range between 0.1 and 300 K.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Ferromagnetic properties of SrRuO3 thin films deposited on the spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4

We report magnetic properties of epitaxial thin films of the itinerant ferromagnet SrRuO3 deposited on the cleaved ab surface of the spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4. The films exhibit ferromagnetic transition near 160 K as in the bulk SrRuO3, although the films are under 1.7% compressive strain. The observed magnetization is even higher than that of the bulk SrRuO3. In addition, we newly found that the magnetization relaxation after field removal is strongly anisotropic: two relaxation processes are involved when magnetic domains are aligned along the ab-plane.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Quantum Oscillations and Magnetic Reconstruction in the Delafossite PdCrO$_2$

We report quantum oscillation data on the metallic triangular antiferromagnet PdCrO$_2$. We find that, to very high accuracy, the observed frequencies of PdCrO$_2$ can be reproduced by reconstruction of the (nonmagnetic) PdCoO$_2$ Fermi surface into a reduced zone. The reduced zone corresponds to a magnetic cell containing six chromium sites, giving a $\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3}$ in-plane reconstruction, and $\times 2$ interplane reconstruction. The interplane ordering represents a reduction in lattice symmetry, possibly to monoclinic, and an associated lattice distortion is expected. In addition, we report a magnetic transition under an applied in-plane field that is probably equivalent to the spin-flop transition reported for CuCrO$_2$, and present data on its field-angle dependence. We also report measurements of the resistivity of PdCrO$_2$ up to 500 K.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Quenched metastable vortex states in Sr2RuO4

Sr2RuO4, a leading-candidate spin-triplet superconductor and a highly anisotropic quasi-two-dimensional type-II superconductor, provides unique opportunity to study unconventional as well as conventional vortex phases. To investigate its vortex-matter phases, we studied the ac susceptibility of Sr2RuO4 for fields parallel to the RuO2 plane by adapting two different thermal processes: In addition to the ordinary field sweep (FS) process, we newly employed the "each-point field cooling (EPFC)" process, in which the superconductivity is once thermally destroyed before collecting the data. We find that the ac susceptibility signal substantially changes with the EPFC process.This result indicates that we succeed in inducing new metastable vortex states by the EPFC process.We also find a new field scale H*1, below which the FS and EPFC processes provide the same value of the ac susceptibility. This new field scale suggests a liquid-like vortex state in the low-field region.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Higher-Tc Superconducting Phase in Sr2RuO4 Induced by In-Plane Uniaxial Pressure

We revealed that the superconducting transition temperature Tc of the multi-component superconductor Sr2RuO4 is enhanced to 3.3 K under in-plane uniaxial pressure that reduces the tetragonal crystal symmetry. This result suggests that new superconducting phases with a one-component order parameter are induced. We have also clarified the inplane pressure direction dependence of the emergence of this higher-Tc superconducting phase: pressure along the [100] direction is more favorable than pressure along the [110] direction. This result is probably closely related to the direct shortening of the in-plane Ru-O bond length along the pressure direction and the approach of the gamma Fermi surface to the van Hove singularity under the pressure parallel to the [100] direction.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Ferromagnetic SrRuO3 thin-film deposition on a spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4 with highly conducting interface

Ferromagnetic SrRuO3 thin films are deposited on the ab-surface of single crystals of the spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4 as substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The films are under a severe in-plane compressive strain. Nevertheless, the films exhibit ferromagnetic order with the easy axis along the c-direction below the Curie temperature of 158 K. The electrical transport reveals that the SrRuO3/Sr2RuO4 interface is highly conducting, in contrast with the interface between other normal-metals and the ab-surface of Sr2RuO4. Our results will stimulate the investigations on proximity effects between a ferromagnet and a spin-triplet superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Sharp magnetization jump at the first-order superconducting transition in Sr2RuO4

The magnetization and magnetic torque of a high-quality single crystal of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ have been measured down to 0.1 K under a precise control of the magnetic-field orientation. When the magnetic field is applied exactly parallel to the $ab$ plane, a sharp magnetization jump $4πδM$ of $(0.74 \pm 0.15)$ G at the upper critical field $H_{{\rm c2},{ab}} \sim 15$ kOe with a field hysteresis of 100 Oe is observed at low temperatures, evidencing a first-order superconducting-normal transition. A strong magnetic torque appearing when $H$ is slightly tilted away from the $ab$ plane confirms an intrinsic anisotropy $\varGamma=ξ_a/ξ_c$ of as large as 60 even at 100 mK, in contrast with the observed $H_{\rm c2}$ anisotropy of $\sim 20$. The present results raise fundamental issues in both the existing spin-triplet and spin-singlet scenarios, providing, in turn, crucial hints toward the resolution of the superconducting nature of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Specific-heat evidence of the first-order superconducting transition in Sr2RuO4

We investigate the specific heat of ultra-pure single crystals of Sr2RuO4, a leading candidate of a spin-triplet superconductor. We for the first time obtained specific-heat evidence of the first-order superconducting transition below 0.8 K, namely divergent-like peaks and clear hysteresis in the specific heat at the upper critical field. The first-order transition occurs for all in-plane field directions. The specific-heat features for the first-order transition are found to be highly sensitive to sample quality; in particular, the hysteresis becomes totally absent in a sample with slightly lower quality. These thermodynamic observations provide crucial bases to understand the unconventional pair-breaking effect responsible for the first-order transition.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Magnetic structure of the conductive triangular-lattice antiferromagnet PdCrO2

We performed neutron single crystal and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction experiments in order to investigate the magnetic and crystal structures of the conductive layered triangular-lattice antiferromagnet PdCrO2 with a putative spin chirality, which contributes to an unconventional anomalous Hall effect. We revealed that the ground-state magnetic structure is a commensurate and nearly-coplanar 120-degrees spin structure. The 120-degrees plane in different Cr layers seem to tilt with one another, leading to a small noncoplanarity. Such a small but finite non-coplanar stacking of the 120-degrees planes gives rise to a finite scalar spin chirality, which may be responsible for the unconventional nature of the Hall effect of PdCrO2.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Transport properties of Ag5Pb2O6: a three-dimensional electron-gas-like system with low-carrier-density

We report normal-state transport properties of the single-crystalline samples of the silver-lead oxide superconductor Ag5Pb2O6, including the electrical resistivity, magnetoresistance, and Hall coefficient. From the Hall coefficient measurement, we confirmed that the carrier density of this oxide is as low as 5x10^{21} cm^{-3}, one order of magnitude smaller than those for ordinary alkali metals and noble metals. The magnetoresistance behavior is well characterized by the axial symmetry of the Fermi surface and by a single relaxation time. The T^2 term of the resistivity is scaled with the specific heat coefficient, based on the recent theory for the electron-electron scattering. The present results provide evidence that Ag5Pb2O6 is a low-carrier-density three-dimensional electron-gas-like system with enhanced electron-electron scatterings.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Anisotropic uniaxial pressure response of the Mott insulator Ca2RuO4

We have investigated the in-plane uniaxial pressure effect on the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator Ca2RuO4 from resistivity and magnetization measurements. We succeeded in inducing the ferromagnetic metallic phase at lower critical pressure than by hydrostatic pressure, indicating that the flattening distortion of the RuO6 octahedra is more easily released under in-plane uniaxial pressure. We also found a striking in-plane anisotropy in the pressure responses of various magnetic phases: Although the magnetization increases monotonically with pressure diagonal to the orthorhombic principal axes, the magnetization exhibits peculiar dependence on pressure along the in-plane orthorhombic principal axes. This peculiar dependence can be explained by a qualitative difference between the uniaxial pressure effects along the orthorhombic a and b axes, as well as by the presence of twin domain structures.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Electronic Structure of the Metallic Antiferromagnet PdCrO$_2$ Measured by Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy

PdCrO$_2$ is material which has attracted interest due to the coexistence of metallic conductivity associated with itinerant Pd 4d electrons and antiferromagnetic order arising from localized Cr spins. A central issue is determining to what extent the magnetic order couples to the conduction electrons. Here we perform angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to experimentally characterize the electronic structure. We find that the Fermi surface has contributions from both bulk and surface states, which can be experimentally distinguished and theoretically verified by slab band structure calculations. The bulk Fermi surface shows no signature of electronic reconstruction in the antiferromagnetic state. This observation suggests that there is negligible interaction between the localized Cr spin structure and the itinerant Pd electrons measured by ARPES.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Electric-field-induced metal maintained by current of the Mott insulator Ca2RuO4

Recently, application of electric field (E-field) has received considerable attention as a new method to induce novel quantum phenomena since application of E-field can tune the electronic states directly with obvious scientific and industrial advantages over other turning methods. However, E-field-induced Mott transitions are rare and typically require high E-field and low temperature. Here we report that the multiband Mott insulator Ca2RuO4 shows unique insulator-metal switching induced by applying a dry-battery level voltage at room temperature. The threshold field Eth ~40 V/cm is much weaker than the Mott gap energy. Moreover, the switching is accompanied by a bulk structural transition. Perhaps the most peculiar of the present findings is that the induced metal can be maintained to low temperature by a weak current.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Extremely Large Magnetoresistance in the Nonmagnetic Metal PdCoO2

Extremely large magnetoresistance is realized in the nonmagnetic layered metal PdCoO2. In spite of a highly conducting metallic behavior with a simple quasi-two-dimensional hexagonal Fermi surface, the interlayer resistance reaches up to 35000% for the field along the [1-10] direction. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the resistance becomes nonmetallic for this field direction, while it remains metallic for fields along the [110] direction. Such severe and anisotropic destruction of the interlayer coherence by a magnetic field on a simple Fermi surface is ascribable to orbital motion of carriers on the Fermi surface driven by the Lorentz force, but seems to have been largely overlooked until now.

cond-mat.str-el↗