Residual Magnetic Moment Influences the Features of Fe3s XPS Spectrum: A Case Study

Background: Fe 3sXPS spectrumexhibits doublet peak instead of predicted singlet peak based on spin-orbit coupling theory. This anomalous behavior is considered to be magnetic origin. However, the effect of residual magnetic moment to the features of Fe3s doublet peakis not understood fully. Objective: This study aims to verify the effect of residual magnetic moment on the spectral features of Fe3s XPS spectrum of magnetic material. Method: As a case study, we have carried out a high temperature XPS study of the Fe 3s spectrum of magnetic domain aligned (MDA) sample with composition composed of SrFe10.8Al1.2O19. In addition, the XPS data have been compared with the data acquired at different temperatures of magnetic domain non-aligned (MDNA) sample. Results: The results show that the majority peak intensity and minority peak width of Fe 3s spectrum of MDA are smaller than those of the MDNA sample, and they increase systematically with increasing temperature. However, it is noted that the features of Fe3s spectrum of both MDA and MDNA samples are completely overlapped near and above the Curie temperature, Tc ~ 670K. Conclusion: The analysis of XPS data suggests that the residual magnetic moment influences the spectral features of Fe3s spectrum. These results provide evidences that it is important to consider the contribution of residual magnetic moment while deriving information from Fe 3s XPS spectrum of MDA sample.

Preparation, Structure, and Electrical Properties of Cobalt-Modified Bi(Sc3/4In1/4)O3–PbTiO3–Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 High-Temperature Piezoelectric Ceramics

Cobalt-modified 0.40Bi(Sc3/4In1/4)O3–0.58PbTiO3–0.02Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 ceramics (abbreviated as BSI–PT–PMN–xCo) were produced by conventional two-step solid-state processing. The phase structure, micro structure morphology, and electrical properties of BSI–PT–PMN–xCo were systematically studied. The introduction of Co ions exerted a significant influence on the structure and electrical properties. The experiment results demonstrated that Co ions entered the B-sites of the lattice, resulting in slight lattice distortion and a smaller lattice constant. The average grain size increased from ~1.94 μm to ~2.68 μm with the increasing Co content. The optimized comprehensive electrical properties were obtained with proper Co-modified content 0.2 wt.%. The Curie temperature (Tc) was 412 °C, the piezoelectric constant (d33) was 370 pC/N, the remnant polarization (Pr) was 29.2 μC/cm2, the relatively dielectric constant (εr) was 1450, the planar electromechanical coupling coefficient (kp) was 46.5, and the dielectric loss (tanδ) was 0.051. Together with the enhanced DC resistivity of 109 Ω cm under 300 °C and good thermal stability, BSI–PT–PMN–0.2Co ceramic is a promising candidate material for high-temperature piezoelectric applications.

Tuning the Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in Fe5GeTe2 by Arsenic Substitution

In order to tune the magnetic properties of the cleavable high-Curie temperature ferromagnet Fe5-xGeTe2, the effect of increasing the electron count through arsenic substitution has been investigated. Small additions of arsenic (2.5 and 5%) seemingly enhance ferromagnetic order in polycrystalline samples by quenching fluctuations on one of the three magnetic sublattices, whereas larger As concentrations decrease the ferromagnetic Curie temperature (TC) and saturation magnetization. This work also describes the growth and characterization of Fe4.8AsTe2 single crystals that are structurally analogous to Fe5-xGeTe2 but with some phase stability complications. Magnetization measurements reveal dominant antiferromagnetic behavior in Fe4.8AsTe2 with a Neel temperature of TN ≈42K. A field-induced spin-flop below TN results in a switch from negative to positive magnetoresistance, with significant hysteresis causing butterfly-shaped resistance loops. In addition to reporting the properties of Fe4.8GeTe2, this work shows the importance of manipulating the individual magnetic sublattices in Fe5-xGeTe2 and motivates further efforts to control the magnetic properties in related materials by fine tuning of the Fermi energy or crystal chemistry.

Ferroelectric Transition in Sr- and W-Doped BaTiO3 Solid Solutions

We synthesized Sr- and W-doped BaTiO3 (BTO) polycrystals by using a solid-state reaction method. The X-ray diffraction results showed that Sr and W atoms occupied the Ba and Ti sites in tetragonal BTO, respectively, and there were changes in the lattice constants and the volumes in the Sr- and W-doped BTO. We found a change in the latent heat and the Curie temperature (TC) during the transition between the ferroelectric and paraelectric phases while increasing the contents of Sr and W in the Sr- and W-doped BTO. This can be explained by the fact that the doping of Sr and W atoms in BTO prevented a distinct transition between the ferroelectric tetragonal and paraelectric cubic structures by decreasing the c/a ratio to a value close to unity. This study shows a way toward a strategy for modulating a crystal structure by using proper dopants for future applications in ferroelectricity-based devices.

Effect of Co/Ni Substituting Fe on Magnetocaloric Properties of Fe-Based Bulk Metallic Glasses

In this work, Fe80-xMxP13C7 (M = Co, Ni; x = 0, 5 and 10 at.%) bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) were prepared, and the effect of the Co/Ni elements substitution for Fe on the magnetocaloric properties of Fe80P13C7 BMG has been investigated systematically. The Curie temperature (TC) of the present Fe-based BMGs increases with the substitution of Fe by Co/Ni. The magnetic entropy change (ΔSM) of the present Fe-based BMGs increases first and then decreases with the increase of Fe substituted by Co, but monotonically decreases with the increase of Fe substituted by Ni. Among the present Fe-based BMGs, the Fe75Co5P13C7 BMG exhibits the maximum ΔSM value of 5.21 J kg−1 K−1 at an applied field of 5 T, which is the largest value among Fe-based amorphous alloys without any rare earth elements reported so far. The present Fe-based BMGs exhibit the large glass forming ability, tunable TC and enhanced ΔSM value, which are beneficial for magnetic refrigerant materials.

Sustained Coherent Epitaxy and Role of Oxygen Vacancies in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3􀀀 Thin Films Grown on SrTiO3 by Sputtering

Ferromagnetic La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 epitaxial thin films of single-crystal quality with very smooth surfaces are grown on SrTiO3 (100) substrates by on-axis rf magnetron sputtering. We find that the resistivity and the spontaneous magnetization for these 180 nm thick films are nearly equal to those of single crystals after thermal annealing. On the other hand, the Curie temperature TC is no higher than 270 K, a value far below the bulk one, which is quite unusual. As a clue to this riddle, we present a strong correlation between the lattice constant for these films and the amount of oxygen vacancies. From this, we conclude that the sustained coherent epitaxy takes place to match the lattice mismatch of 0.8% in the presence of a limited amount of oxygen vacancies, which relaxes the film in-plane stress while functions to significantly reduce TC.

Compositional Dependence of Curie Temperature and Magnetic Entropy Change in the Amorphous Tb–Co Ribbons

The Curie temperature (Tc) and magnetic entropy change (−ΔSm), and their relationship to the alloy composition of Tb–Co metallic glasses, were studied systematically in this paper. It was found that, in contrast to the situation in amorphous Gd–Co ribbons, the dependence of Tc on Tb content and the maximum −ΔSm vs. Tc -2/3 plots in Tb–Co binary amorphous alloys do not follow a linear relationship, both of which are supposed to be closely related to the non-linear compositional dependence of Tb–Co interaction due to the existence of orbital momentum in Tb.

Tuning the Magnetocaloric Properties of the La(Fe,Si)13 Compounds by Chemical Substitution and Light Element Insertion

LaFe13−xSix compounds exhibit a giant magnetocaloric effect and they are considered as a good magnetocaloric working substance for an environmentally friendly cooling technique. Nevertheless as the Curie temperature TC is around 200 K, it is necessary to tune TC near room temperature for magnetic refrigeration. In this work we present a review of the various methods of synthesis and shaping of the LaFe13−xSix type compounds as well as the influence of chemical substitution, light element insertion or combination of both on TC, magnetic entropy and adiabatic temperature variation (ΔSM and ΔTad), and stability upon cycling. The advantages and drawbacks of each method of preparation and type of element substitution/insertion are discussed. The implementation of these NaZn13 type materials in active magnetic refrigerator is presented and their performances are compared to that of Gd in prototypes.