Since a decade, spintronics and related physics have attracted considerable attention due to the massive research conducted in these areas. The main reason for growing interest in these fields is the expectation to use the electrons spin instead of or in addition to the charge for the applications in spin-based electronics, quantum information, and quantum computation. A prime concern for these spins to be possible candidates for carrying information is the ability to coherently control them on the time scales much faster than the decoherence times. This thesis reports on the spin dynamics in two-dimensional electron gases hosted in artificially grown III-V semiconductor quantum wells. Here we present a series of experiments utilizing the techniques to optically control the spin polarization triggered by either optical or electrical methods i.e. well known pump-probe technique and current-induced spin polarization. We investigated the spin coherence in high mobility dense two-dimensional electron gas confined in GaAs/AlGaAs double and triple quantum wells, and, it\'s dephasing on the experimental parameters like applied magnetic field, optical power, pump-probe delay and excitation wavelength. We have also studied the large spin relaxation anisotropy and the influence of sample temperature on the long-lived spin coherence in triple quantum well structure. The anisotropy was studied as a function sample temperature, pump-probe delay time, and excitation power, where, the coherent spin dynamics was measured in a broad range of temperature from 5 K up to 250 K using time-resolved Kerr rotation and resonant spin amplification. Additionally, the influence of Al concentration on the spin dynamics of AlGaAs/AlAs QWs was studied. Where, the composition engineering in the studied structures allows tuning of the spin dephasing time and electron g-factor. Finally, we studied the macroscopic transverse drift of long current-induced spin coherence using non-local Kerr rotation measurements, based on the optical resonant amplification of the electrically-induced polarization. Significant spatial variation of the electron g-factor and the coherence times in the nanosecond scale transported away half-millimeter distances in a direction transverse to the applied electric field was observed. / Há uma década, a spintrônica e outras áreas relacionadas vêm atraindo considerável atenção, devido a enorme quantidade de pesquisa conduzidas por elas. A principal razão para o crescente interesse neste campo é a expectativa da aplicação do controle do spin do elétron no lugar ou em adição à carga, em dispositivos eletrônicos e informação e computação quânticas. A possibilidade destes spins carregarem informação depende, primeiramente, da habilidade de controlá-los coerentemente, em uma escala de tempo muito mais rápida do que o tempo de decoerência. Esta tese trata da dinâmica de spins em gases de elétrons bidimensionais, em poços quânticos de semicondutores III-V, crescidos artificialmente. Nós apresentamos uma série de experimentos, utilizando técnicas para o controle ótico da polarização de spin, desencadeadas por métodos óticos ou eletrônicos, ou seja, técnicas conhecidas de bombeio e prova e polarização de spin induzida por corrente. Nós investigamos a coerência de spin em gases bidimensionais, confinados em poços quânticos duplos e triplos de GaAs/AlGaAs e a dependência da defasagem com parâmetros experimentais, como campo magnético externo, potência ótica, tempo entre os pulsos de bombeio e prova e comprimento de onda da excitação. Também estudamos a grande anisotropia de relaxação de spin como função da temperatura da amostra, potência de excitação e defasagem entre bombeio e prova, medidos para uma vasta gama de temperatura, entre 5K e 250K, usando Rotação de Kerr com Resolução Temporal (TRKR) e Amplificação Ressonante de Spin (RSA). Além disso estudamos a influência da concentração de Al na dinâmica dos poços de AlGaAs/AlAs, para o qual a engenharia da composição da estrutura permite sintonizar o tempo de defasagem de spin e o fator $ g $ do elétron. Por fim, estudamos a deriva transversal macroscópica da longa coerência de spin induzida por corrente, através de medidas de Rotação de Kerr não-locais, baseadas na amplificação ressonante ótica da polarização eletricamente induzida. Observamos uma variação espacial significante do fator $ g $ e do tempo de vida da coerência, na escala de nanosegundos, deslocada distâncias de meio milímetro na direção transversa ao campo magnético aplicado.

Neste trabalho, nossa principal motivação foi o entendimento da dinâmica de pacotes de onda em isolantes topológicos 2D. Como excitações de carga se movem nesses materiais? De que maneira essas trajetórias dependem das condições iniciais, e de que forma as condições de contorno influenciam nessa dinâmica? Essas foram algumas das perguntas que guiaram nosso trabalho. Através de simulações computacionais, estudamos o movimento de pacotes de onda gaussianos em poços quânticos de HgTe/CdTe. O comportamento de isolante topológico para essa heteroestrutura foi prevista teoricamente no importante trabalho de Bernevig et al. (Science, vol. 314, no. 5806, 2006) e confirmada experimentalmente por König et al. (Science, vol. 318, no. 5851, 2007). Estudando-se a evolução temporal desse sistema, foi possível observar trajetórias que dependem de forma evidente, não apenas da orientação de spin, mas também da orientação de um pseudo-spin proveniente do modelo BHZ. Em sistemas com condições de contorno periódicas em ambas as dimensões e sem a aplicação de campos externos, foram observadas trajetórias com formato de espiral, acompanhadas por um \"side-jump\" dependente da direção do spin e do pseudo-spin. Em especial, para o caso em que o pseudo-spin está inicialmente orientado na direção-z, as trajetórias espiraladas foram subtituidas por um padrão do tipo \"zitterbewegung\" dependente de um potencial de \"bias\". Para sistemas confinados com bordas impenetráveis, observou-se a formação de estados de borda helicais característicos de isolantes topológicos. / In this work, our main motivation was the understanding about the dynamics of wave packets in 2D topological insulators. How charge excitations move throughout theses materials? In what way their trajectories depend on the initial conditions, and how boundary conditions change this dynamics? These were some of the questions that have guided us in our work. Using numerical simulations, we have studied the movement of gaussian wave packets in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells. The topological insulator behavior for this heterostructure was theoretically predicted on the important work conducted in 2006 by Bernevig et al. (Science, vol. 314, n. 5806, 2006), and experimentally confirmed by König et al. (Science, vol. 318, no. 5851, 2007) a year later. Studing the time evolution of this system, was possible to observe trajectories that depend evidently, not only from the spin projection, but also from the pseudospin orientation coming from the BHZ model. From simulations with periodic boundary conditions in both of the two dimensions, and without the application of any external fields, we observed spiral trajectories accompanied by a spin and pseudospin dependent side-jump. Especially, for the case in which the pseudospin was iniatially oriented in \"z\" direction, the spiral trajectories were replaced by a pattern of the type \"zitterbewegung\" dependent of a bias potential. For the confined systems with barriers of hardwall type, was observed the formation of helical edge states, that is the fingerprint of topological insulators.

A interação spin-órbita tem desempenhado um papel crucial no desenvolvimento de dispositivos semicondutores de baixa dimensionalidade. Em resultados recentes abordando o modelo de Kane para sistemas cúbicos, particularmente redes zincblende, hamiltonianos efetivos são calculados por meio da técnica algébrica conhecida como folding down seguida de um processo de linearização até segunda ordem no inverso do gap de energia com a devida correção na normalização do espinor da banda de condução [PRL 99, 076603 (2007); PRB 78, 155313 (2008)]. Motivados por estes estudos, este trabalho se concentra no estudo algébrico da estrutura eletrônica de semicondutores de rede wurtzita. Usando as simetrias da rede hexagonal, o modelo de Kane 8 × 8 é formulado levando em conta todos os acoplamentos mediados pelos operadores momentum linear e angular de spin. Mostramos que a base de oito estados vinda da diagonalização exata da matriz associada à interação spin-órbita fornece um tratamento unificado entre os sistemas hexagonal e cúbico, o que pode ser muito útil no estudo de politipismos. Através de um modelo efetivo baseado na expansão em ordens do inverso do gap de energia, determinamos a equação que descreve o comportamento de um elétron de condução em poços quânticos e em estruturas semicondutoras na fase bulk. Em particular, destacamos a presença de massas efetivas e a emergência de uma interação dependente em spin na forma do operador helicidade no plano já em primeira ordem de aproximação, algo não observado em sistemas cúbicos. A heteroestrutura é investigada no âmbito do modelo de uma e duas subbandas dos poços quânticos das junções semicondutoras. Incluindo o campo de radiação, encontramos a equação efetiva que descreve a interação elétron-fóton analisando ainda as taxas de transição óptica do sistema. Observa-se que as transições ópticas são diretamente mediadas por spin e dependem da direção de incidência do fóton seja no poço quântico ou na monoestrutura semicondutora. Uma vez que estas transições ópticas induzem a mudança na orientação do spin eletrônico, estes resultados podem ser úteis na construção de novos dispositivos optoeletrônicos tendo a wurtzita como cenário. Considerando o hamiltoniano em primeira ordem no inverso do gap de energia relativo ao modelo de uma subbanda, verificamos que a evolução temporal do operador posição do elétron de condução varia linearmente no tempo e não exibe o efeito Zitterbewegung. Associado a evolução temporal dos operadores de spin que oscilam no tempo, o movimento linear garante a formação de um campo harmônico onde os spins precessam. Como apontado no caso cúbico, a precessão do spin de elétrons injetados no poço quântico sob polarização de 45° pode levar à formação spin gratings devido ao espaçamento da ordem de alguns nanômetros destas entidades. Calculamos ainda o shift no vetor de onda de elétrons injetados no canal semicondutor do transitor Datta-Das formado por redes wurtzita. / The spin-orbit interaction has played a crucial role in the development of low-dimensional semiconductor devices. In recent results addressing the 8 × 8 Kane model for cubic systems, particularly zincblende lattices, effective hamiltonians for the conduction band are calculated in a semi-analytical way. By folding down the Kane hamiltonian, the spinor components in the conduction band are isolated, resulting in an equation having the energy in denominators. Through a linearization process, controlled by a power expansion in the inverse of the energy gap, the energy is removed from the denominators and an effective hamiltonian is obtained. In a zincblende system, terms dependent on spin only appear in the effective hamiltonian of second order in the inverse of the energy gap of a heterostructure [PRL 99, 076603 (2007); PRB 78, 155313 (2008)]. In this masters thesis we apply this semi-analytical procedure to generate effective hamiltonians for the conduction band of wurtzite systems. Using the symmetries of the hexagonal lattice, the 8 × 8 Kane model is reviewed by taking into account all couplings mediated by the linear momentum and spin angular momentum. We show that exists an unified treatment for the Kane model of zincblende and wurtzite systems, which can be very useful in studies with nanowhiskers. We have found a first-order effective Hamiltonian having terms dependent on spin even in the bulk case. One of these spin-dependent terms is the helicity operator. The spin-orbit interaction only appears in the second order expansion. Considering the first order hamiltonian, we have calculated the Zitterbewegung effect and discussed the Datta-Das transistor. We have found that only the spin operators exhibit the Zitterbewegung effect. The linear dependence with time shown by the position operators make of the spin operators harmonic fields, which form spin grattings similar to those found in zincblende heterostructures (persistent spin helix). We have also included a radiation field and calculated the (direct) optical transitions assisted by spin. We have found that the transition rates are harmonic functions of the incidence angle.

Orientador: Maria José Santos Pompeu Brasil / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Física "Gleb Wataghin" / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T05:37:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GonzalezBalanta_MiguelAngel_M.pdf: 3522641 bytes, checksum: 4f38baba120bb574a54a03d7c1ebc335 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Nesta dissertação investigamos os efeitos dos íons de Mn na dinâmica do spin de elétron em poços quânticos de InGaAs/GaAs. Os poços têm um gás de buracos gerado por dopagens em suas barreiras, sendo uma dopagem tipo delta de Mn numa das barreiras e uma dopagem tipo delta de C, na outra. A densidade de buracos foi determinada mediante medidas de transporte e são consistentes com as densidades obtidas das energias de Stokeshift. Utilizamos diversas técnicas ópticas, como a fotoluminescência no modo contínuo (PL-CW) e resolvida no tempo (PL-RT), a fotoluminescência de excitação (PLE-CW), e o efeito Hanle óptico, sempre usando luz circularmente polarizada para excitação e analisando a polarização circular da luz emitida. Comparamos os tempos de vida ( ? ) e de relaxação do spin ( ? s) dos elétrons obtidos através destas técnicas e discutimos as diferenças intrínsecas destes métodos e o significado físico dos parâmetros fornecidos por eles. Analisamos também o efeito da presença dos íons de Mn, que são íons magnéticos, sobre os tempos vida e de spin dos elétrons em uma série de amostras com diferentes quantidades de Mn incluindo a amostra de referencia sem Mn. Os resultados encontrados revelam um limite para a concentração de Mn, para a qual ambos, ? e ? s, apresentam uma queda abruta. Surpreendentemente, esta queda não afeita o grau de polarização CW, pois a razão ?/? s que determina este parâmetro permanece basicamente constante para todas as amostras / Abstract: We have studied the effect of Mn ions on the spin-relaxation of electrons in a InGaAs/GaAs quantum well (QW). The QW has a two-dimensional hole-gas generated by doping the barriers, whereas one of the barriers has a Mn-planar layer and the other one, a C planarlayer. The hole densities were determined by Shubnikov-de-Haas oscillations and are consistent with the Stokes-shift energies obtained by optical measurements. We have performed continuouswave photoluminescence measurements (CW-PL), excitation photoluminescence (CW-PLE), timeresolved (TR-PL), and Hanle effect with circularly polarized excitation and detection. We compare the lifetime ( ? ) and the spin relaxation time ( ? s) obtained using those techniques and we discuss the differences between the various techniques and the physical meaning of those parameters. We also analyze the effect of Mn ions on ? s and ? for the series of samples with different Mn concentrations, including a reference sample with no Mn doping. The results revealed a threshold of Mn concentration at which both, and ? s, show a strong and abrupt fall. Surprisingly, this fall does not affect the CW effective polarization degree, since the ratio s that determines this parameter remains basically constant for all samples / Mestrado / Física da Matéria Condensada / Mestre em Física

Orientadores: Carlos Manuel Giles Antunez de Mayolo, Fernando Iikawa / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-04T20:37:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Adriano_Cris_M.pdf: 2377701 bytes, checksum: 09034068780831dd7a4b137752559fc2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004 / Resumo: Neste trabalho foram estudados filmes finos de MoAs crescidos por epitaxia de feixe molecular em substratos de GaAs (001). As propriedades magnéticas destas hetero-estruturas (filme magnético sobre um substrato semicondutor) são fortemente dependentes das propriedades estruturais do filme de MoAs que foram estudadas detalhadamente utilizando técnicas de difração de raios-x no Laboratório Nacional de Luz Síncrotron. Dentre os principais resultados estão a identificação de uma temperatura de ordenamento magnético maior do que os valores para o MnAs massivo, em filmes com acomodações cristalinas onde o eixo-c está inclinado em relação ao plano (001) do substrato. Também foi realizado um estudo detalhado da variação do parâmetro de rede com a temperatura em torno da transição de fase magnética. Este estudo permitiu determinar a evolução das tensões elásticas presentes no filme de MoAs durante a transição onde em um intervalo em torno de 30°C acontece uma coexistência de fases cristalinas pela formação de faixas periódicas com regiões alternadas de a -MnAs (hexagonal) e ,b -MnAs (ortorrômbico). Também se encontrou que os parâmetros de rede contidos no plano do filme se comportam de forma bem diferente. Enquanto que o parâmetro que corresponde ao eixo-c hexagonal não varia muito durante a transição o outro parâmetro de rede contido no filme aumenta fortemente com a temperatura. Estes estudos complementaram medidas magnéticas com efeito Kerr magnéto-óptico simultâneas às medidas estruturais, assim como às medidas por difração de raios-x com aplicação de campo magnéticos de até 3 kOe / Abstract: Thin films ofMnAs grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) were studied by X-ray diffraction. The magnetic properties of a thin film of MnAs are strongly affected by the elastic tensions ofthe film accomodation over the semiconductor substrate and were studied by X-ray diffraction techniques at the Brazilian National Synchrotron Laboratory .It was found that the Curie temperature for the MnAs film is dependent on the type of crystal accomodation over the substrate. In particular for a MnAs accomodation with a tilted hexagonal c-axis with respect to the GaAs (00 1) plane, the transition temperature becomes higher than the value for MnAs bulk. A detailed analysis ofthe evolution ofthe lattice parameters through the transition temperature was performed. These results contribute to the understanding of the phase coexistence in the film through more than 30°C where periodic stripes of a -MnAs (hexagonal) and b-MnAs (orthorhombic) are formed to reduce the elastic tension of the film during this first order magnetic transition. It was found that while the hexagonal c-axis lattice parameter almost does not change during the phase transition, the in-plane lattice parameter perpendicular to the c-axis strongly increases with increasing temperature. These structural results complement magnetization measurements using an in situ magneto-optical Kerr effect setup and also structural measurements under applied magnetic fields up to 3 kOe / Mestrado / Física da Matéria Condensada / Mestre em Física

Orientador: Maria Jose Santos Pompeu Brasil / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T10:58:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carvalho_HugoBonettede_D.pdf: 6207231 bytes, checksum: fb1d0ba37fa200cd50478aef5caced45 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho consiste no estudo das propriedades de transporte através de estruturas semicondutoras não-magnéticas: diodos de dupla barreira de potencial ¿ DBD (Double Barrier Diode). Nossa atenção é focada na polarização de spin da corrente de portadores através do dispositivo. Discutimos primeiramente a fenomenologia associada ao transporte e como os DBD podem atuar como filtros de spin. Na sequência apresentamos os procedimentos experimentais utilizados. Combinamos técnicas ópticas e de transporte para caracterizar completamente o transporte através do DBD. Apresentamos os resultados experimentais obtidos na investigação de DBD com poço de GaAs e barreiras simétricas de AlAs com dopagens p-i-p e p-i-n sob ação de campos magnéticos. Para ambos os diodos, demonstramos que os processos de tunelamento através do DBD associados ao efeito Zeeman resultam na seleção da natureza de spin dos portadores. Ainda para o diodo p-i-p, reportamos uma modulação da energia de separação para diferentes spins pela voltagem externa aplicada ao DBD. Esta modulação é uma evidência experimental do acoplamento entre o campo elétrico efetivo e o grau de liberdade de spin dos portadores. Por fim, concluímos que DBD não-magnéticos podem ser utilizados como filtros de spin controlados por voltagem no desenvolvimento de dispositivos spintrônicos / Abstract: The aim of this work was to study the transport properties of nonmagnetic semiconductor heterostructures: double barrier diodes ¿ DBD. Our attention was focused on the carrier spin polarization through the structure. First we present the phenomenology behind the carrier transport and how the DBD can act as a spin filter. In the sequence, we present the experimental procedures. We combine optical and transport measurements to completely characterize the transport through the DBD. We present the results of the investigation of a p-i-p and a p-i-n symmetric GaAs/AlAs DBD under a magnetic field. For both diodes, we show that the tunneling processes through the DBD associated to Zeeman effect can result in the selection of the carriers spin. For the p-i-p sample, we also report a modulation of the spin-splitting energy by an external bias which is an experimental evidence of coupling between the electric field and the spin degree of freedom of carriers. These results demonstrate that a nonmagnetic DBD can be used as a voltage-controlled spin filter for the development of spintronic devices / Doutorado / Física da Matéria Condensada / Doutor em Ciências

Dans les dernières années, la miniaturisation progressive des dispositifs de stockage magnétique a rendu nécessaire de comprendre comment les propriétés physiques sont modifiées par rapport à l'état massif lorsque les dimensions sont réduites à l'échelle nanométrique. Pour cette raison, une méthode précise de préparation et caractérisation de nanostructures est extrêmement importante. Ce travail se concentre sur les propriétés magnétiques et de transport de nanoparticules de cobalt incorporées dans des matrices de cuivre. Notre dispositif expérimental nous permet de contrôler indépendamment la taille moyenne des agrégats, la concentration et la composition chimique. La production des agrégats de cobalt est basée sur la pulvérisation cathodique et l'agrégation dans la phase gazeuse. Cette source permet de produire des agrégats dans une large gamme de taille, de un à plusieurs milliers d'atomes. Dans un premier temps, nous avons étudié le rôle des interactions entre particules dans les propriétés de transport et magnétiques, en augmentant la concentration des nanoparticules de cobalt (à partir de 0.5 % à 2.5 % et 5 %). Nos résultats démontrent les précautions nécessaires et constituent une base solide pour de futures études sur les propriétés spintroniques des systèmes granulaires. Dans le but de décrire les propriétés magnétiques intrinsèques d'agrégats, nous avons préparé des échantillons fortement dilués (_0.5%) pour différents diamètres d'agrégats de 1.9 nm à 5.5 nm. Nous avons constaté que les propriétés magnétiques sont dépendantes de la taille. L'utilisation d'une caractérisation magnétique complète, sensible à la variation de l'anisotropie magnétique efficace, nous montre que l'anisotropie magnétique est dominée par les contributions de la surface ou de la forme des nanoparticules / In the last years, the progressive miniaturization of magnetic storage devices has imposed the necessity to understand how the physical properties are modified with respect to the bulk when the dimensions are reduced at the nanometric scale. For this reason an accurate method of preparation and characterization of nanostructures is extremely important. This work focuses on the magnetic and transport properties of cluster-assembled nanostructures, namely cobalt nanoparticles embedded in copper matrices. Our setup allows us to independently control the mean cluster size, the concentration and the chemical composition. The cobalt cluster production is based on magnetron sputtering and gas phase aggregation. The performance of the source permits a wide range of cluster masses, from one to several thousand atoms. As a first step we studied the role of inter-particle interactions in the transport and magnetic properties, increasing the cobalt nanoparticle concentration (from 0.5% to 2.5% and 5%). Our results demonstrate the necessary precautions and constitute a solid basis for further studies of the spintronic properties of granular systems. Finally, in order to describe the intrinsic magnetic properties of cluster-assembled nanostructures, we prepared strongly diluted samples (_0.5%) for different cluster sizes from 1.9 nm to 5.5 nm. We found that the magnetic properties are size-dependent. Using a complete magnetic characterization, sensitive to the change in the effective magnetic anisotropy, we show that the magnetic anisotropy is dominated by the contributions of the surface or of the shape of the nanoparticles

Cette thèse est porté sur l'étude du transport électronique dans différents matériaux organiques semi-conducteurs, considérés comme candidats potentiels pour des applications en Electronique de Spin Organique. Pour rendre possible la diffusion d'un courant polarisée en spin à l'intérieur d'un semi-conducteur (injection-transport-détection), le mécanisme de transport et la mobilité des porteurs de charge, ainsi que la nature et la valeur de la résistance de contact de l'interface séparant matériau organique et électrodes métalliques ferromagnétiques, doivent répondre à des critères très stricts. Tous les dispositifs sont en géométrie latérale. Nous étudions trois matériaux organiques différents: des fibres supramoléculaires auto-assemblées, une encre de nana-flocons de graphene exfolié en phase liquide et un polymère semi-conducteur fortement dopé en forme de couche mince. Nos résultats montrent que les conditions sont partiellement respectées, mais que des défis demeurent. / In this thesis, we study the electronic charge transport properties in different high mobility organic semiconductors considered as possible candidates for applications in Organic Spintronics. Stringent conditions are needed to make possible the diffusive transport of a spin-polarized current through an organic spacer (injection-transport-detection): the mechanism of charge transport and the carriers mobility, as well as the interface between the organic semiconductor and the ferromagnetic metallic electrodes, should meet special criteria. Our devices are in lateral geometry. We investigate three organic materials, all compatible with wet processing of organic electronics: supramolecular fibers self-assembled by light irradiation, an ink of liquid-phase exfoliated graphene nano-sheets and a conjugated polymer semiconductor thin film exposed to strong electrochemical doping. We observe that the criteria are partially matched, but some challenges are still present.

La combinaison de la spintronique et de I' électronique organique est censée conduire à une nouvelle gamme d'applications en la domaine de spintronique organique. Ce travail se concentre sur la physique des molécules organiques adsorbées sur des surfaces métalliques, en mettant I' accent sur les changements de leurs structures électroniques en raison de I' effet important du substrat métallique. Nous avons étudié le complexe Ni2 adsorbé sur le Cu qui montre un effet Kondo à basses températures. Nous avons ensuite étudié des chaînes d'oligoacènes (anneaux de benzène fusionnè) qui présentent une propriété prédite: une oscillation de la bande interdite d' énergies en fonction de la longueur de la molécule. Cette propriété peut survivre même lorsque la molécule est adsorbée sur une surface, comme I' Au ou le Si02. Pour terminer, nous avons étudié des petites molécules, telles que l'éthane ou I'éthylène, adsorbées sur un subtrat de Cu et de Co. La différence d' énergie entre I' orbitale vide la plus basse (LUMO) et I' orbitale moléculaire occupée la plus élevée (HOMO) est étudiée dans les approximations de la théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité (DFT) et la méthode GW. / The combination of spintronics and organic electronics, is believed to lead to a new generation of spin based devices, which would likely open a new broad range of applications in the field of organic spintronics. ln this context, this work focuses on organic molecules adsorbed on metallic surfaces and their electronic structure changes due to the important screening of the metallic environment. We have studied different systems, starting with a Ni2 complex adsorbed on Cu (001), where Kondo effect sets in. This study is followed by oligoacene chains (fused benzene rings) where an extraordinary property is seen: an oscillation of the energy band gap with respect to the molecular length. This property is proved to survive under the screening of surfaces such as Au(111) and Si02. We finally focused on small molecules, like ethane and ethylene, adsorbed on Cu and Co. The difference of energy between the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) is studied using density functional theory (DFT)and GW methodologies.

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.