Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:35:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 1163668 bytes, checksum: 64200c64d035a7079604e87dcef40c01 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-03-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / In this work we have studied the spin dynamics in the two-dimensional classical XY model, including nonmagnetic impurities. The analytic results, tested by simulations, indicate two forms of "pinning" a vortex by means of two spin vacancies. Besides, they reveal an effective interaction of attractive nature among these defects. We have also analyzed the neutron scattering function Sxx(->q; w) for a system containing a percentage of nonmagnetic sites. The central and spin waves peaks obtained in our simulations are completely different from the that of the pure case and, in addition, a small inelastic peak arises. We propose a phenomenological theory based on the vortex-vacancy interactions to explain the observed modifications. / Neste trabalho estudamos a dinâmica de spins no modelo XY 2D clássico, incluindo impurezas não-magnéticas. Os resultados analíticos, testados por simulações, indicam duas formas de "aprisionar" um vórtice por meio de duas vacâncias de spin. Além disso, revelam uma interação efetiva do tipo atrativa entre estes defeitos. Analisamos também a função espalhamento de nêutrons Sxx(->q, w) para um sistema contendo uma porcentagem de sítios não-magnéticos. O pico central e o de ondas de spin obtidos em nossas simulações são completamente diferentes do caso puro e, em adição, um pequeno pico inelástico surge. Propomos uma teoria fenomenológica baseada na interação vórtice-vacância para explicar as modificações observadas.

No contexto de sistemas de baixa anisotropia, medidas de magnetização para verificar os efeitos magnéticos induzidos pela substituição do íon Mn+2 por Cu+2 em um quase unidimensional antiferromagneto tipo Heisenberg CsMn1-xCuxA3.2H2O (A = Cl, Br) foram feitas. Nas amostras diluídas com derivados de Br observamos o aparecimento de uma magnetização remanente abaixo de TN quando elas são resfriadas em um pequeno campo axial aplicado ao longo do eixo fácil. Isso não ocorre com as amostras diluídas com derivados de Cl. A troca intra-cadeia tanto com os compostos de Cl e Br é antiferromagnética, entretanto a troca entre-cadeias ao longo de eixo fácil é antiferromagnética no composto com Cl e ferromagnética com o Br. Esse fato parece ser determinístico no surgimento de momentos espontâneos abaixo de TN no composto com bromo. Além disso, medidas de magnetização do monocristal antiferromagnético de sítio diluído A2Fe1-xInxCl5.H2O (A = Cs) foram feitas em baixos campos magnéticos (H) aplicados ao longo do eixo de fácil magnetização. Os dados revelaram que uma magnetização remanente Mr se desenvolve abaixo a temperatura de Néel TN. Essa Mr(T) é paralela ao eixo fácil e satura para campos H ~ 1Oe e ela aumenta com decréscimo de T. Ela também possui uma dependência de temperatura como outros sistemas diluídos da mesma família (A = K, Rb). Para todos esses sistemas, a curva normalizada Mr(t)/ Mr(t = 0,3), onde t=T/TN é a temperatura reduzida, é independente de x e acompanha uma curva universal. No contexto de sistemas de alta anisotropia, a dependência da temperatura do excesso de magnetização em baixos e altos campos foi investigada para o antiferromagneto 3D de Ising FexZn1-xF2 (x = 0.72; 0.46 e 0.31) e também o sistema puro FeF2. Verificamos que Mr surge tanto paralela ou perpendicular ao eixo fácil. A magnitude de Mr, para baixos campos (H < 1 Oe) depende de H, mas satura para campos de alguns Oersted. O esperado comportamento de campo aleatório (RF), em campos altos, é observado quando H é aplicado ao longo do eixo fácil. / In the context of low anisotropy, the magnetization measurements to find out the magnetic effects induced by the substitution of Mn+2 by Cu+2 íons in the quaseone-dimensional Heisenberg-like antiferromagnets CsMn1-xCuxA3.2H2O (A = Cl,Br) were made. In the diluted samples of the Br derivative, we observe the appearance of a remanent magnetization (Mr) below TN when they are cooled in a small axial magnetic field applied along the easy axis. This does not occur in the diluted samples of the Cl derivative. The intra-chain exchange both in Cl and Br compounds is antiferromagnetic, however the inter-chain exhange along the easy axis is antiferromagnetic in the chloride compound and ferromagnetic in the bromide. This fact seems to be deterministic in the appearance of the net moments below TN in the bromide. Moreover, the magnetization measurements on single crystals of the sitediluted antiferromagnet A2Fe1-xInxCl5.H2O (A = Cs) were carried out at low magnetic fields (H) applied along the easy axis. The data revealed that a Mr develops below the Néel temperature TN. This Mr(T) is parallel to the easy axis , saturates for H ~ 1 Oe and it increases with decreasing T. It has also temperature dependence as another diluted systems of the same family (A = K, Rb). For all these systems the normalized Mr(t)/Mr(t = 0,3), where t = T/TN is the reduced temperature, is independet of x and follow a universal curve. In the context of high anisotropy, the temperature dependence of the excess magnetization at low and high fields was investigated for the diluted antiferromagnet FexZn1-xF2 (x = 0.72; 0.46 and 0.31) and pure system FeF2 as well. It was found that Mr is either along the easy axis or perpendicular to it. The size of Mr for very low fields (H < 1 Oe) depends on H but it sature for fields of the order of few Oersteds. The expected random field (RF) behaivor is observed when H is applied along the easy axis at higher fields.

Sistema de baixa dimensionalidade tÃm atraÃdo uma grande atenÃÃo ultimamente devido a sistemas como grafeno e nanotubos de carbono. Tais sistemas tÃm grandes possibilidades de aplicaÃÃes tecnolÃgicas, em particular na criaÃÃo de dispositivos eletrÃnicos, devido Ãs suas propriedades eletrÃnicas especÃficas. Nesse sentido, o estudos de outros sistemas em baixa dimensÃo se torna urgente. Mais especificamente, o estudo de propriedades magnÃticas de materiais de materiais em baixa dimensionalidade tambÃm trÃs grandes novidades no comportamento de sistemas ferromagnÃticos. O comportamento de ondas de spin em tais sistemas pode ser para o estudo da spintrÃnica e o desenvolvimento de novos aparelhos e memÃrias magnÃticas. Dessa forma temos como objetivo nesse trabalho estudar o comportamento de ondas de spin em sistemas bidimensionais ferromagnÃticos. Por sistemas bidimensionais consideramos aqui redes bidimensionais decoradas. As decoraÃÃes sÃo introduzidas para gerar redes com mais de um Ãtomo na base da cÃlula unitÃria da rede para estudarmos a riqueza do espectro das ondas de spin devido a essas modificaÃÃes. A princÃpio tratamos com uma superposiÃÃo de redes quadradas onde o deslocamento dessas redes depende dos parÃmetros de controle &#945; e &#946;. TambÃm usamos a superposiÃÃo de um rede quadrada sobre um hexagonal / Low-dimensional systems have attracted much attention lately due to systems such as graphene and carbon nanotubes. Such systems have great potential for technological applications. In particular the creation of electronic devices due to their specific electronic properties. In this sense , the study of other systems in low dimension becomes urgent. More specifically , the study of magnetic properties of materials at low dimensionality also brings great new features in the behavior of ferromagnetic systems . The behavior of spin waves in such systems may be important to the study of spintronic and the development of new devices and magnetic memories . Thus in this work we aim to study the behavior of ferromagnetic spin waves in two-dimensional systems . For two-dimensional systems we consider here two-dimensional networks decorated . The decorations are introduced to generate networks with more than one basic atom in the unit cell of the system to study the richness of the spectrum of spin waves due to these changes . At first deal with a superimposition of square networks where the displacement of these networks depends on the control parameters alpha and beta . We also use the superposition of a square on a hexagonal network.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:35:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:00:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Neste trabalho foi realizada a investigação de interações hiperfinas em amostra nano estruturadas e filmes finos de dióxido de háfnio por meio da técnica de correlação angular gama-gama perturbada (CAP), com o intuito de realizar um estudo sistemático do comportamento dos parâmetros quadrupolares com a temperatura de tratamento térmico. Para a realização destas medidas foi utilizada a ponta de prova 181Hf -> 181Ta que foi produzida na própria amostra por irradiação, no reator IEA-R1 do IPEN. As amostras foram obtidas através do processo químico sol-gel e as análises dos compostos realizadas por difração de raios-X, EDS e MEV. As amostras em forma de pó foram todas produzidas pelo Laboratório de Interações Hiperfinas do IPEN, no entanto o filme fino com espessura de 10nm foi produzido pelo Centro de Lasers e Aplicações (CLA) do IPEN e o filme fino de espessura de 409nm foi produzido pelo Laboratório de Interações Hiperfinas da Universidade de Lisboa. As medidas foram realizadas todas à temperatura ambiente e os resultados mostraram que a fase monoclínica encontra-se presente em todas as amostras e sua fração tende a aumentar sempre com o aumento da temperatura de tratamento térmico na qual foram submetidas às amostras. A impurificação de algumas amostras com elementos Co e Fe foi realizada com a intenção de se observar o comportamento da amostra em função da temperatura de tratamento térmico e também verificar a existência de ferromagnetismo à temperatura ambiente. / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

The study of the co-existence of singlet superconductivity and ferromagnetism in bulk materials has been a long standing and intriguing problem in condensed matter physics since the superconductivity and ferromagnetism are quantum mechanically antagonistic to each other (i.e. parallel alignment of spins in the ferromagnet and Cooper pairs with oppositely aligned spins in the superconductor).Though it is incompatible to have the coexistence of singlet superconductivity and ferromagnetism in bulk compound, it is highly possible to artificially fabricate superconductor (S)/ferromagnet (F) heterostructures using various thin film deposition techniques and to study the interplay between the two antagonistic quantum phases over their characteristic length scales. The mutual interaction between the two competing order parameters at the interface in hybrid S/F heterostructures give rise to a variety of novel exotic physical phenomena. Moreover, the spin polarized transport and tunneling experiments in S/F heterostructures seem to be very much useful for providing important information on the spin dependent electronic properties of high Tc superconductors below and above the transition temperature. This can help a lot to understand the long debated unusual electronic properties and pairing mechanism of high Tc superconductors. In addition to the rich fundamental aspects buried in the study of S/F heterostructures, one can also use the spin dependent properties of high Tc superconductors in S/F heterostructures to design new spintronics devices from the application point of view. In this thesis an attempt is made to understand the spin polarized electron transport across S/F heterostructures where the superconductor used is YBa2Cu3O7-δand the ferromagnets are La0.5Sr0.5CoO3, La0.7Sr0.3MnO3, and La0.7Ca0.3MnO3. In addition, the magnetic properties of the La1-x SrxCoO3 system is also investigated in detail. The thesis is organized in six chapters and a brief summary of each chapter is given below. Chapter1 gives a brief introduction to the superconductivity, ferromagnetism and the interplay between superconductivity and ferromagnetism at the interface of S/F heterostructures. It also describes various exotic phenomena and the proximity effect that emerges at the S/F interface due to competing interactions. In addition, it also includes a discussion on various types of indirect magnetic interactions and basic idea about the spin glass ordering in magnetic materials. Chapter 2 outlines the basic principles of various experimental techniques employed for the work presented in this thesis. Chapter 3 describes an extensive magnetic and magnetotransport study of the La1-xSrxCoO3 system to understand the manifestation of various magnetic phases associated with it. The first section of this chapter aims at understanding the phase separation scenario in La0.85Sr0.15CoO3. Since the magnetic behavior of La0.85Sr0.15CoO3 is in the border area of spin glass (SG) and ferromagnetic (F) region in the x-T phase diagram; it has been subjected to a controversial debate for the last several years; while some groups show evidence for magnetic phase separation (PS), others show SG behavior. However, the experimental results presented in this thesis clearly demonstrate that the instability towards PS with inhomogeneous states or competing phases in La0.85Sr0.15CoO3 is not inherent or intrinsic to this compound; rather it is a consequence of the heat treatment condition during the preparation method. It is realized that low temperature annealed sample shows PS whereas the high temperature annealed sample shows the characteristics of canonical SG behavior. The second section of this chapter deals with a detailed study about the possible existence of various magnetic phases of La1-xSrxCoO3 in the range 0 ≤x ≤0.5. The dc magnetization study for x ≥0.18 exhibits the characteristic of ferromagnetic like behavior and for x<0.18, the SG behavior. More strikingly, the dc magnetization studies for x<0.18 rules out the existence of any ferromagnetic correlation that gives rise to irreversible line in the spin glass regime. The ac susceptibility study for x<0.18, exhibits a considerable frequency dependent peak shift, time-dependent memory effect, and the characteristic spin relaxation time scale τo ~10-13s, all pointing towards the characteristics of SG behavior. On the other hand, the ac susceptibility study in the higher doping ferromagnetic side exhibits the coexistence of glassy and ferromagnetic behavior. The glassiness is interpreted in terms of inter-cluster interaction. The reciprocal susceptibility vs. T plot in the paramagnetic side adheres strictly to Curie-Weis behavior and does not provide any signature for the pre-formation of ferromagnetic clusters well above the Curie temperature. The magnetotransport study reveals a cross over from metallic behavior to semiconducting like behavior for x ≤0.18 and the system exhibits a peak in MR in the vicinity of Tc on the metallic side and a large value of MR at low temperature on the semiconducting side. Such high value of MR in the semiconducting spin glass regime is strongly believed due to spin dependent part of random potential distribution. Based on the present experimental findings, a revised phase diagram has been constructed and each phase has been characterized with its associated properties. Chapter 4 deals with a comprehensive study of thickness dependent structural, magnetic and magnetotransport properties of oriented La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 thin films grown on LaAlO3 by pulsed laser deposition. The films are found to undergo a reduction in Curie temperature with decrease in film thicknesses and it is primarily caused by the finite size effect since the finite scaling law holds good over the studied thickness range. The contribution from strain induced suppression of the Curie temperature with decreasing film thickness is ruled out since all the films exhibit a constant out of plane tensile strain (0.5%) irrespective of their thickness. The coercivity of the films is observed to be an order of magnitude higher than that of the bulk. This is attributed to the local variation of the internal strain that introduces strong pinning sites (via. magnetoelastic interaction) for the magnetization reversal. In addition, an increase in the electrical resistivity and coercivity is observed with decrease in film thickness and it is strongly believed to be due to the interface effect. Chapter5 reports on the investigation of the effect of ferromagnetic layer on (i) pair breaking effect and (ii) vortex dynamics in different superconducting(S)/ ferromagnetic (F) bi-layers grown by pulsed laser deposition. The current (I) dependent electrical transport studies in the S/F bi-layers exhibit a significant reduction in the superconducting transition temperature with the increase in applied current as compared to single YBa2Cu3O7-δlayer and it follows I2/3 dependence in accordance with the pair breaking effect. Moreover, the superconducting transition temperature in YBa2Cu3O7-δ/ La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 bilayer is surprisingly found to be much larger than the YBa2Cu3O7-δ/La0.5Sr0.5CoO3. It appears that the current driven from a material with low spin polarization (-11%) like La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 can also suppress the superconductivity to a larger extent. This indicates that the degree of spin polarization of the ferromagnetic electrode is not the only criteria to determine the suppression of superconductivity by pair breaking effect in superconductor/ferromagnet hybrid structures; rather the transparency of the interface for the spin polarization, the formation of vortex state due to the stray field of ferromagnetic layer and the ferromagnetic domain patterns might play significant roles to determine such effect. More interestingly, the spin diffusion length in YBa2Cu3O7-δis found have a much longer length scale than that reported earlier in the study of F/ S heterostructures. The activation energy (U) for the vortex motion in S/F bilayers is reduced remarkably by the presence of the F layers. In addition, the U exhibits a logarithmic dependence on the applied magnetic field in the S/F bilayers suggesting the existence of decoupled 2D pancake vortices. This result is discussed in terms of the reduction in the effective S layer thickness and the weakening of the S coherence length due to the presence of F layers. Chapter 6 deals with the magnetotransport study on two different kind of F/S/F trilayers viz. La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/YBa2Cu3O7-δ/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 and La0.5Sr0.5CoO3/YBa2Cu3O7-δ/La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 with changes in superconducting and ferromagnetic layer thickness. The activation energy for the vortex motion in F/S/F trilayer is found to decrease considerably as compared to S/F bilayer and it also exhibits a logarithmic dependence on magnetic field which gives the signature of existence of decoupled 2D pancake vortices. The magnetotransport study reveals that a much lower magnetic field is required to suppress the superconductivity in trilayer as compared to single YBCO layer. Moreover, the transport study also reveals that a threshold thickness of YBCO is required for the onset of superconductivity in trilayer structure and the onset of superconducting Tc increases with increase in YBCO thickness. More strikingly, a remarkable unconventional anisotropic superconducting Tc (Tc H║c-axis<Tc H⊥c-axis) is observed in La0.5Sr0.5CoO3/YBa2Cu3O7-δ/La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 trilayer for the magnetic field applied parallel and perpendicular to c-axis. The trilayer system also exhibits a huge positive magnetoresistance (MR) below superconducting Tc and it could arise due to vortex dissipation in liquid state of superconductor in the tri-layer structure. Finally, the thesis concludes with a general conclusion and an outlook in this area of research.

Orientador: Marco Antonio Bica de Moraes / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T19:35:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fischer_GiovanaZaniniGadioli_D.pdf: 32265979 bytes, checksum: f410dfb24adff86c43498027515957c8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Neste trabalho, a técnica de magnetron-sputtering foi empregada para fabricar filmes multicamadas de Gd/W e Gd/Cr, cujas propriedades magnéticas foram investigadas em função da espessura das camadas de Gd, dGd, e da temperatura do substrato, TS, durante a deposição. Espectroscopia de retroespalhamento Rutherford e espectroscopia fotoeletrônica de raios-x foram utilizadas, respectivamente, para detectar possível contaminação de oxigênio e para verificar a continuidade da camada de Gd sobre W e Cr. Difratometria de raios-X de baixo ângulo (GAXRD) e microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) foram empregadas para investigar a estrutura cristalina e morfologia das amostras. As análises de GAXRD mostraram que nas amostras Gd/W as camadas de Gd são amorfas. Nas amostras Gd/Cr, entretanto, a cristalinidade do Gd aumenta com o aumento de dGd e TS. Pelas medidas de MEV foi visto que os filmes de Gd tanto sobre W quanto Cr são granulares. Para investigar as propriedades magnéticas utilizamos um magnetômetro SQUID e um PPMS. O primeiro foi utilizado para as medidas de momento magnético em função do campo estático, Hdc, e da temperatura, T. O PPMS foi utilizado nas investigações de susceptibilidade magnética ac em função de T, medidas em diferentes frequências de oscilação do campo e diferentes Hdc. A complexa natureza magnética dos filmes com dGd = 10 nm foi observada através das isotermas M x H, que não apresentaram saturação, para a maioria das amostras, nem mesmo em baixas temperaturas e altos campos. Pela análise dos dados magnéticos em função da temperatura, observamos que o caráter ferromagnético nas amostras se acentua à medida que TS e dGd aumentam. A temperatura de Curie, TC, também depende de TS e dGd, aumenta de 247 a 297 K com o aumento dos dois últimos parâmetros. A partir das isotermas M x H o momento magnético de saturação a 0 K foi calculado, e ele mostrou-se dependente de TS. A existência de vidros magnéticos nas amostras com dGd = 10 nm foi fortemente sugerida pelos resultados obtidos de magnetização e susceptibilidade ac, ambas em função de T. Para filmes com dGd = 10 nm, o efeito magnetocalórico foi investigado através da variação de entropia magnética, ?SM, em função da temperatura, para a remoção de um campo de 50 kOe. Curva de ?SM x T para as amostras Gd/Cr com TS = 300 e 500 ºC exibiram picos a alta temperatura denotando ferromagnetismo. Por outro lado, a amostra Gd/Cr depositada a 30ºC e todos os filme Gd/W não apresentaram nenhum pico em ?SM x T, indicando ausência ou baixa quantidade da fase ferromagnética. Todas as medidas são consistentes em indicar múltiplas fases magnéticas nas amostras e temperaturas de transição. Uma forte consistência entre as medidas magnéticas, GAXRD e MEV é verificada / Abstract: Direct current magnetron sputtering was used to synthetize Gd/W and Gd/Cr multilayer films, whose magnetic properties were investigated as a function of the Gd layer thickness, dGd, and the substrate temperature, TS, during deposition. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed, respectively, to detect possible oxygen contamination and to check the continuity of the coverage of the Gd layers on top of those of W and Cr. Grazing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the crystalline structure and the morphology of the samples. The GAXRD analyses have shown that in the Gd/W samples the Gd layers are amorphous. In the Gd/Cr samples, however, Gd is crystalline. In these samples, the Gd crystalline order increases with increasing TS and dGd. From the SEM analysis, it was found that the Gd layers in either Gd/W or Gd/Cr samples were granular. To investigate the magnetic properties of the films, SQUID and PPMS magnetometries were used. With the former technique, the magnetic moments of the samples were measured as a function of a dc magnetic field, Hdc, and temperature, T. By PPMS, alternating magnetic fields, superimposed by different Hdc fields were used. The moments were measured as a function of T, Hdc and the frequency of the alternating field. The complex magnetic nature of the films with dGd = 10 nm was observed from the M x H isotherms, which did not show, for most of the samples, saturation even at high magnetic films and low temperatures. From the magnetic data as a function of temperature, it was observed that ferromagnetic character of the samples is enhanced as dGd and TS were increased. The Curie temperature, TC, also depends on TS and dGd as it increases from 247 to 297 K as the latter variables are increased. From the M x H isotherms the saturation magnetic moment at 0 K was determined, and it was observed that it depends on TS. The existence of magnetic glass states in samples with dGd = 10 nm was strongly suggested from both magnetization and ac susceptibility measurements as a function of T. For films with dGd = 10 nm, the magnetocaloric effect was investigated by the magnetic entropy change, ?SM, as a function of the temperature for the removal of a 50 kOe field. The ?SM x T plots for the Gd/Cr samples deposited at TS = 300 and 500 ºC exhibited high temperature peaks denoting ferromagnetism. On the other hand, for the Gd/Cr sample deposited at 30 ºC and for the all the Gd/W samples, such peaks were not seen, indicating the absence, or low-content, ferromagnetic phase. All magnetic measurements are consistent in indicating multiple magnetic phases in the samples and magnetic transition temperatures. A strong consistency among the magnetic and the GAXRD and SEM observations was also verified / Doutorado / Física da Matéria Condensada / Doutora em Ciências

The focus of the work is on the epitaxial growth of Mn5Ge3 layers on Ge (001) via ultra-fast solid-state reaction between Mn and Ge using millisecond range FLA at the ambient pressure in continuous N2 flow. Epitaxial Mn5Ge3 layers were obtained both on Ge (001) and Ge (111) substrates by optimizing the fabrication parameters, Mn thickness (30 nm), FLA energy density (100-110 Jcm-2) and FLA duration time. The epitaxial relationship between the alloy film and substrate is the (100) plane of Mn5Ge3 along [001] direction parallel with the [100] direction of Ge (001) plane. It is notable that the hexagonal c axis of Mn5Ge3 on Ge (001) is parallel to the film surface plane, while the reported Mn5Ge3’s c axis on Ge (111) tends to be perpendicular to the film plane. In fact, using ultrafast-SPE the c-axis of Mn5Ge3 is always parallel to the sample surface. Mn5Ge3 films exhibit ferromagnetism which is demonstrated by the anomalous Hall effect up to the TC = 283±5 K. The films exhibit their in-plane magnetic easy axis along the hexagonal c-axis independent of the Mn5Ge3 film thickness. This provides a new avenue for the fabrication of Ge-based spin-injectors fully compatible with industrial CMOS technology. The deeper understanding of the magnetic, structural and electrical properties of (100) epitaxial Mn5Ge3 grown on Ge (001) are presented by utilizing DFT calculation (by our collaborator M. Birowska) and various experimental methods. The Mn atoms in Mn5Ge3 occupy two distinct Wyckoff positions with fourfold (Mn1) and sixfold (Mn2) multiplicity. During cooling down to 100 K the Mn5Ge3 unit-cell shows remarkable structural deformation. The nearest distance d3 between Mn2-Mn2 atoms in the hexagonal a-b plane is shortened much faster than the nearest distance d1 between Mn1-Mn1 atoms along hexagonal c axis. The DFT calculations show that below critical distance d3 < 3.002 Å, the Mn2 atoms are AFM coupled while for d3 > 3.002 Å the coupling is FM. The FM coupling between Mn1 atoms weakly depends on the atomic distance d1. Moreover, there is a transition from collinear to noncollinear spin configuration at about 70±5 K. Simultaneously, at low temperature, the angular dependent magnetoresistance shows a switching from multi-fold component to twofold symmetry. The combination of different experimental techniques with theoretical calculations enabled us to conclude that the switching between non-collinear and collinear spin configurations and the variation of anisotropic magnetoresistance in Mn5Ge3 is due to the strain induced change of the magnetic coupling between Mn2-Mn2 atoms. Finally, the effects of strain on the structural and magnetic properties of epitaxial Mn5Ge3 on Ge (111) substrate by applying ms-range FLA are investigated. The X-ray diffraction results demonstrate that during FLA process the formation of nonmagnetic secondary phases of MnxGey is fully suppressed and the in-plane tensile strain is enhanced. The temperature dependent magnetization indicates that after FLA the Curie temperature of Mn5Ge3 increases from 283±5 K to above 400 K. Further Monte Carlo simulations manifest that the change of the strain in Mn5Ge3 during ms-range FLA modifies the distance between adjacent Mn atoms in the hexagonal basal plane, which provokes the different ferromagnetic interaction between them. Consequently, the significant increase of Curie temperature is observed. This provides a good way to improve the Curie temperature of Mn5Ge3 which is promising to realize room-temperature operated Ge based spin-injectors.

Heusler compounds are cubic intermetallics with a wide range of interesting properties, which are closely related to the structure of the material. In addition, several exotic physical phenomena have been predicted for different compositions in the family, but have not been experimentally realized. By and large, the lack of success in realization of various properties are due to the issues with intrinsic material attributes, which have been difficult to resolve as the relationship between them is not well understood. The aim of this work has been to unravel the entanglement between the intrinsic material attributes of cobalt-based quaternary Heusler compounds such as the structure, defects (disorder), chemical inhomogeneities etc., and the resulting physical properties.

Les systèmes hybrides supraconducteur-ferromagnétique présentent souvent de nouveaux phénomènes physiques, et pourraient également être utiles pour concevoir de nouvelles mémoires non-volatiles et haute densité pour les circuits supraconducteurs. Cette thèse étudie deux types différents d'hybrides SF, chacun suivant une approche possible de dispositif mémoire, en se focalisant sur les aspects fondamentaux. L'un porte sur l'effet de proximité dans des hétérostructures d'oxydes. Dans celles-ci, des corrélations triplet apparaissent, qui sont à la fois supraconductrices et polarisées en spin. Elles permettraient d'utiliser des effets de la spintronique comme la GMR, mais sont également très sensibles aux propriétés d'interface. Nous les avons étudiées dans des tricouches SFS d'oxydes, par des mesures de conductance. Celles-ci montrent des oscillations, en partie liées à ces états triplets. Nous observons également que les effets d'interface affectent les propriétés électroniques du ferromagnetique, en particulier lorsque cette couche est mince. Un autre genre d'interaction se produit par les champs de fuite provenant des structures de domaines. Des propositions théoriques récentes ont suggéré que de petites structures en tourbillon appelées skyrmion peuvent interagir avec la supraconductivité par ce mécanisme. Nous avons étudié ce couplage dans des bicouches, dans lesquelles les propriétés de transport sont dominées par la dynamique des vortex supraconducteurs. Nous avons vu une augmentation du courant critique en présence de skyrmions comme de domaines. Celles-ci créent également un effet Hall inhabituel dans l'état supraconducteur. La plupart de ces propriétés peuvent être expliquées qualitativement par la dynamique et le mouvement guidé des vortex. / Superconductor-ferromagnet hybrid systems often bring about new physics and may as well be useful to design new non-volatile, high-density memory devices for superconducting electronics.In this thesis, we study two different types of SF hybrids, each following a possible approach to memory devices, but focusing on fundamental aspects. One is about the proximity effect in oxide heterostructures. In these, triplet correlations appear, that are both superconducting and spin-polarized. These enable using effects from spintronics like GMR, but are also very dependent on interface properties. We investigated these in SFS oxide trilayers by conductance measurements. These showed oscillations which may, in part, be related to these triplet states. We also observed that interface effects affect the electronic properties of the ferromagnet, especially when that layer is thin. Another type of interaction occurs through stray magnetic fields from the domain structures. Recent theoretical proposals suggested that small swirling spin textures called skyrmions could similarly interact with superconductivity through this mechanism. We investigated such coupling in bilayers, in which the superconducting vortex dynamics dominate the transport properties. We found that the presence of skyrmions and domains alike enhances the critical current. It also leads to an unusual Hall effect in the superconducting state. Most of these properties can be explained qualitatively in terms of vortex pinning and guided motion.

<p> The magnetic properties of MnP2O7, CuP2O7, Co2P2O7 and Ni2P2O7 were studied. They were investigated using magnetic susceptibility and magnetic resonance techniques. They were all found to become magnetically ordered between 10°K and 30°K. In all the predominant exchange interaction was antiferromagnetic. Ni2P2O7 however did show a resultant moment at low temperatures which was attributed to weak ferrornagnetism. The experimental results were analysed in the molecular field approxmation which accounted for their behaviour except in the case of Cu2P2O7 where the High Temperature Series Expansion method was necessary to explain the temperature dependence of its paramagnetic susceptibility. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)