Tuning interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in thin amorphous ferrimagnetic alloys.

Skyrmions can be stabilized in magnetic systems with broken inversion symmetry and chiral interactions, such as Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions (DMI). Further, compensation of magnetic moments in ferrimagnetic materials can significantly reduce magnetic dipolar interactions, which tend to favor large skyrmions. Tuning DMI is essential to control skyrmion properties, with symmetry breaking at interfaces offering the greatest flexibility. However, in contrast to the ferromagnet case, few studies have investigated interfacial DMI in ferrimagnets. Here we present a systematic study of DMI in ferrimagnetic CoGd films by Brillouin light scattering. We demonstrate the ability to control DMI by the CoGd cap layer composition, the stack symmetry and the ferrimagnetic layer thickness. The DMI thickness dependence confirms its interfacial nature. In addition, magnetic force microscopy reveals the ability to tune DMI in a range that stabilizes sub-100 nm skyrmions at room temperature in zero field. Our work opens new paths for controlling interfacial DMI in ferrimagnets to nucleate and manipulate skyrmions.

Enhanced thermoelectric figure of merit of p-type half-Heuslers.

Half-Heuslers would be important thermoelectric materials due to their high temperature stability and abundance if their dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) could be made high enough. The highest peak ZT of a p-type half-Heusler has been so far reported about 0.5 due to the high thermal conductivity. Through a nanocomposite approach using ball milling and hot pressing, we have achieved a peak ZT of 0.8 at 700 °C, which is about 60% higher than the best reported 0.5 and might be good enough for consideration for waste heat recovery in car exhaust systems. The improvement comes from a simultaneous increase in Seebeck coefficient and a significant decrease in thermal conductivity due to nanostructures. The samples were made by first forming alloyed ingots using arc melting and then creating nanopowders by ball milling the ingots and finally obtaining dense bulk by hot pressing. Further improvement in ZT is expected when average grain sizes are made smaller than 100 nm.

Electronic and atomic disorder in icosahedral AlPdRe.

Relations between electronic and atomic disorder of i-AlPdRe have been investigated by studies of neutron irradiated and annealed samples. The advantage with this technique is that a single sample can be monitored over a significant range of varying electronic properties, without concern for any influence of varying impurities. X-ray diffraction, the electrical resistivity and its temperature dependence, and the magnetoresistance are studied. The results show that annealings of an irradiated sample lead to improvement of the atomic order, as reflected in increased intensities of the x-ray diffraction peaks, while electronic properties change in the direction of increasing electronic disorder towards a metal-insulator transition. The observed relation in quasicrystals that improved atomic structure is associated with stronger anomalies in transport properties is thus also seen in i-AlPdRe. In particular, the variation of the diffusion constant in the region of small values of the resistivity is found to be similar for annealed polygrain samples and for single grain samples with varying Pd concentration, as evaluated from literature data, indicating a similar development of electronic disorder in both sets of samples. However, the problem remains as to why the resistivity is small in single grain samples which are atomically well-ordered. The possibility of a strong sensitivity to concentration differences is pointed out.

Electron localization in metallic quasicrystals.

Bulk icosahedral-quasicrystalline aluminum-palladium-rhenium alloys of high structural quality and thermal stability are found to exhibit low-temperature electrical resistivities that are four orders of magnitude larger than those found in disordered metals and metallic glasses. Experiments suggest that these quasiperiodic alloys, which have a semimetallic electron density, are insulators at low temperature. The findings are discussed in light of theories on electron localization and band-gap formation in ordered metallic systems.

Submicrometer Superconducting YBa2Cu3O6+x Particles Made by a Low-Temperature Synthetic Route.

Evidence suggests that superconducting, orthorhombic YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+x)+ (x greater, similar 0.5) is always produced by oxidation of the oxygen-deficient, tetragonal form (x less, similar 0.5) of this phase (commonly referred to as 123). A synthetic route whereby solution-derived, carbon-free precursors are decomposed at 650 degrees to 700 degrees C in inert atmosphere to yield tetragonal 123 is now available. Appropriate precursors include hydrated oxides derived from the hydrolysis of organometallic solutions and aqueous solution-derived hyponitrites. Subsequent oxidation of the tetragonal phase at 400 degrees C results in submicrometer particles of orthorhombic 123. Superconductivity (T(c) onset approximately 87 K) has been confirmed in these materials by both Meissner effect and specific-heat measurements.

Synthesis and properties of metallic glasses that contain aluminum.

The synthesis and properties of a class of metallic glasses containing up to 90 atomic percent aluminum are reported. The unusual formability of the glasses and their structural features are pointed out. Mechanical properties including tensile fracture strength and Young's modulus are reported along with crystallization temperatures. The unusually high strengths of the aluminum glasses can be of significant importance in obtaining high-strength low-density materials.

Superconducting and Magnetic Behavior in La2-xNaxCuO4.

New phases of the type La2-xAx(l+)CUO4-y have been prepared where A(l+) is sodium or potassium. The sodium phases are superconducting for x values from 0.2 to 0.5 at temperatures up to about 40 K. In addition, there are unusual magnetic properties below about 10 K that may be indicative of spin glass behavior. Phases of the type La2-xKxCuO4-y could only be prepared with x values up to about 0.1, and these phases are not superconducting above 4.2 K.