A magnetically focused molecular beam source for deposition of spin-polarised molecular surface layers.

Separating molecular spin isomers is a challenging task, with potential applications in various fields ranging from astrochemistry to magnetic resonance imaging. A new promising method for spin-isomer separation is magnetic focusing, a method which was shown to be capable of producing a molecular beam of ortho-water. Here, we present results from a modified magnetic focusing apparatus and show that it can be used to separate the spin isomers of acetylene and methane. From the measured focused profiles of the molecular beams and a numerical simulation analysis, we provide estimations for the spin purity and the significantly improved molecular flux obtained with the new setup. Finally, we discuss the spin-relaxation conditions which will be needed to apply this new source for measuring nuclear magnetic resonance signals of a single surface layer.

Study of crystal-field excitations and infrared active phonons in the multiferroic hexagonal DyMnO3.

In hexagonal DyMnO3, Dy(3+) crystal-field excitations are studied as a function of temperature and applied magnetic field. They are complemented with the measurements of infrared active phonon frequency shifts under applied magnetic field at T = 4.2 K. Between TN = 68 K and T = 10 K, the absence of Dy(3+) Kramers doublet splittings at either the C3 or the C3v site symmetries indicates that the Mn(3+) magnetic order effective exchange field has no component parallel to the c-axis at either site. Below T = 10 K, the ground state Kramers doublet splits under the Dy(3+) internal effective field as well as the applied magnetic field. Also, relatively strong infrared active phonon energy shifts are observed in magneto-infrared reflectance measurements at T = 4.2 K, allowing the calculation of the induced electric polarization changes as a function of the applied magnetic field. Such changes are associated with a large magnetoelectric effect in DyMnO3, arising from a charge transfer between Dy(3+) and apical oxygen ions.

Raman study of the antiferromagnetic phase transitions in hexagonal YMnO3 and LuMnO3.

The A(1), E(1) and E(2) Raman active modes in hexagonal YMnO(3) and LuMnO(3) single crystals are studied as a function of temperature and compared with previous measurements. In addition to anharmonicity, some phonon frequencies show below T(N) anomalous temperature dependences that reflect the atomic displacements while some other phonon frequencies are more sensitive to the spin-phonon coupling.