A Giant Magneto-Superelasticity of 5% Enabled by Introducing Ordered Dislocations in Ni34Co8Cu8Mn36Ga14 Single Crystal.

Elasticity, featured by a recoverable strain, refers to the ability that materials can return to their original shapes after deformation. Typically, the elastic strains of most metals are well-known 0.2%. In shape memory alloys and high entropy alloys, the elastic strains can be several percent, as called superelasticity, which are all triggered by external stresses. A superelasticity induced by magnetic field, termed as magneto-superelasticity, is extremely important for contactless work of materials and for developing brand-new large stroke actuators and high efficiency energy transducers. In magnetic shape memory alloys, the twin boundary motion driven by magnetic field can output a strain of several percent. However, this strain is unrecoverable when removing the magnetic field and hence it is not magneto-superelasticity. Here, a giant magneto-superelasticity of 5% in a Ni34Co8Cu8Mn36Ga14 single crystal is reported by introducing arrays of ordered dislocations to form preferentially oriented martensitic variants during the magnetically induced reverse martensitic transformation. This work provides an opportunity to achieve high performance in functional materials by defect engineering.

Reducing phase transition temperature of vanadium dioxide by ascorbic acid.

The phase transition of vanadium dioxide brings huge change in its optical property, which is well used in thermochromic window, fixed-temperature heat sensor, laser protection and other fields. Tunable phase transition temperature is one key for its wide applications. In this paper we verified a new simple method to reduce phase transition temperature. A coordination effect of ascorbic acid on VO2powder reduces its phase transition temperature to about 32 °C. This simple method offers a new efficient option to deal with VO2, which may dramatically promote the applications of VO2.

Coherent magnetic and electronic structure symmetry broken in frustrated bilayer Kagome ferromagnet Fe3Sn2.

In this letter, by measuring resistivity and magnetization with magnetic fieldHrotated inabplane and currentIalongcaxis, we studied the magnetic and electronic structure symmetry of frustrated topological bilayer Kagome ferromagnet Fe3Sn2. We observed that the curves of the resistivity and magnetization both showed broken two-fold symmetry from 5 K to 380 K. The further analysis indicates that there is a close causality between the spin arrangement and the electronic states in Fe3Sn2even above room temperature. These phenomena are closely related to the change in spin-orbit coupling (SOC) under the magnetic field. Our experimental results suggest that Fe3Sn2is an ideal platform to study the influence of spin arrangement on electronic state in topological materials and can also be used to design next generation magnetic devices by modulating SOC at external magnetic field.

Optical Fiber Magnetic Field Sensors Based on 3 × 3 Coupler and Iron-Based Amorphous Nanocrystalline Ribbons.

Optical fiber interferometric magnetic field sensors based on magnetostrictive effects have several advantages, e.g., high sensitivity, strong adaptability to harsh environments, long distance transmission, etc. They also have great application prospects in deep wells, oceans, and other extreme environments. In this paper, two optical fiber magnetic field sensors based on iron-based amorphous nanocrystalline ribbons and a passive 3 × 3 coupler demodulation system were proposed and experimentally tested. The sensor structure and the equal-arm Mach-Zehnder fiber interferometer were designed, and the experimental results showed that the magnetic field resolutions of the optical fiber magnetic field sensors with sensing length of 0.25 m and 1 m were 15.4 nT/√Hz @ 10 Hz and 4.2 nT/√Hz @ 10 Hz, respectively. This confirmed the sensitivity multiplication relationship between the two sensors and the feasibility of improving the magnetic field resolution to the pT level by increasing the sensing length.

Magnetoresistance reversals and anomalous Hall effect in Mn3SnC and effects of carbon deficiency.

The transport behavior of Mn3SnC and Mn3SnC0.8compounds was investigated. Positive magnetoresistance (MR) and an anomalous Hall effect (AHE) are observed for each compound near respective Curie temperature,TC. The positive MR is reversed during cooling fromTCbut is reentrant at low temperature. A 20% carbon deficiency of Mn3SnC0.8enlarges the positive MR atTCand shifts the temperatures for MR reversals. Ferromagnetic (FM) resonance measurements reveal that the MR reversals are related to the competition between FM and antiferromagnetic components of Mn atoms in each compound. A sign change of the Hall resistivity is observed during cooling of Mn3SnC but not for Mn3SnC0.8. A scaling analysis suggests that the AHE in each compound is mostly due to an intrinsic contribution and that the intrinsic contribution is decreased by the carbon deficiency in Mn3SnC0.8.

Magnetic anisotropy and critical behavior of the quaternary van der Waals ferromagnetic material Cr0.96Ge0.17Si0.82Te3.

Recently, two-dimensional ferromagnetism in the family of chromium compounds CrXTe3(X= Si, Ge) has attracted a broad research interest. Despite the structural similarity in CrTe6octahedra, the size effect of inserted Ge or Si dimer contributes to significant differences in magnetism. Here, we report a new family of quaternary van der Waals ferromagnetic material CrGeδSi1-δTe3(δ< 0.2) synthesized by flux method. Ge substitution in Si site results in the lattice expansion, further increasing the Curie temperature and reducing the magnetic anisotropy. The critical behavior of Cr0.96Ge0.17Si0.82Te3has been studied by specific heat as well as magnetization measurements. And the extracted critical exponents are self-consistent and well-obeying the scaling laws, which are closer to the 2D Ising model with interaction decaying asJ(r) ≈r-3.44.

Local Disorder-Induced Elevation of Intrinsic Anomalous Hall Conductance in an Electron-Doped Magnetic Weyl Semimetal.

Topological materials are expected to show distinct transport signatures owing to their unique band-inversion characteristic and band-crossing points. However, the intentional modulation of such topological responses through experimentally feasible means has yet to be explored in depth. Here, an unusual elevation of the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is obtained in electron (Ni)-doped magnetic Weyl semimetals Co_{3-x}Ni_{x}Sn_{2}S_{2}, showing peak values in the anomalous Hall-conductivity, Hall-angle, and Hall-factor at a relatively low doping level of x=0.11. The separation of intrinsic and extrinsic contributions using the TYJ scaling model indicates that such a significant enhancement is dominated by the intrinsic mechanism of the electronic Berry curvature. Theoretical calculations reveal that compared with the Fermi-level shifting from electron filling, a usually overlooked effect of doping, that is, local disorder, imposes a striking effect on broadening of the bands and narrowing of the inverted gap, thus resulting in an elevation of the integrated Berry curvature. Our results not only realize an enhancement of the AHE in a magnetic Weyl semimetal, but also provide a practical design principle for modulating the bands and transport properties in topological materials by exploiting the local disorder effect from doping.

Electric field gradients in 2H-NbSe2:93Nb NMR measurements and first-principles calculations.

Accurate atomic scale structure is of importance for revealing the still mysterious electronic phase transitions in a famous 2D metal, 2H-NbSe2. In this work, the electric field gradients (EFGs) of 2H-NbSe2at Nb sites in the normal state were investigated by93Nb nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in combination with first-principles computations. The previousT3/2and linearTmodels for describing the temperature dependent EFGs were tested and discussed according to our measured and theoretically computed EFG data in this two-dimensional metal.

Observation of Magnetic Skyrmion Bubbles in a van der Waals Ferromagnet Fe3GeTe2.

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials have recently been introduced as a new horizon in materials science, and they enable potential applications for next-generation spintronic devices. Here, in this communication, the observations of stable Bloch-type magnetic skyrmions in single crystals of 2D vdW Fe3GeTe2 (FGT) are reported by using in situ Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We find the ground-state magnetic stripe domains in FGT transform into skyrmion bubbles when an external magnetic field is applied perpendicularly to the (001) thin plate with temperatures below the Curie temperature TC. Most interestingly, a hexagonal lattice of skyrmion bubbles is obtained via field-cooling manipulation with magnetic field applied along the [001] direction. Owing to their topological stability, the skyrmion bubble lattices are stable to large field-cooling tilted angles and further reproduced by utilizing the micromagnetic simulations. These observations directly demonstrate that the 2D vdW FGT possesses a rich variety of topological spin textures, being of great promise for future applications in the field of spintronics.

Electronic behaviors during martensitic transformations in all-d-metal Heusler alloys.

For solid-state phase transitions, the alterations of electronic structure driven by the band Jahn-Teller effect would play an essential role in the structural phase transitions and in switching the resistivity or magnetization states for potential applications. However, this evolution of the electronic structure and electronic transport during the martensitic transformations (MT) still lacks comprehensive investigations, especially in magnetic martensitic materials studied in recent years. In this work, we report a study on the electronic behaviors during the MT in a kind of all-d-metal Ni50-x Fe x Mn35Ti15 Heusler magnetic shape memory alloys, by combining x-ray diffraction, calorimetric, magnetic, transport measurements and calculations. Based on the magnetic MTs, the system shows large magnetocaloric effect and magnetoresistance. In the whole temperature range, the system is dominated by hole carriers in both parent and martensite phases. A sharp increase in carrier concentration is observed across the transformations. Meanwhile, the mobility of holes is depressed due to the lattice distortion. A picture of the characteristics of MTs has been proposed for general understanding and clues of the potential spintronic applications based on the magnetostructural phase transitions.

High-Tc superconducting phases in organic molecular intercalated iron selenides: synthesis and crystal structures.

Hybrid iron-based superconductors were synthesized by sonochemical insertion of organic molecules into FeSe layers. High quality of the samples first enabled reliable phase identifications and three structure types were discovered. Structure determination based on neutron data further facilitated the understanding of their structural stability, doping levels and temperature driven structural transitions.

Angle-dependent magnetoresistance and quantum oscillations in high-mobility semimetal LuPtBi.

The recent discovery of ultrahigh mobility and large positive magnetoresistance in the topologically non-trivial half-Heusler semimetal LuPtBi provides a unique playground for studying exotic physics and significant perspective for device applications. As an fcc-structured electron-hole-compensated semimetal, LuPtBi theoretically exhibits six symmetrically arranged anisotropic electron Fermi pockets and two nearly-spherical hole pockets, offering the opportunity to explore the physics of Fermi surfaces with simple angle-related magnetotransport properties. In this work, through angle-dependent transverse magnetoresistance measurements, in combination with high-field SdH quantum oscillations, we aimed to map out a Fermi surface with six anisotropic pockets in the high-temperature and low-field regime, and furthermore, identify a possible magnetic field driven Fermi surface change at lower temperatures. Reasons account for the Fermi surface change in LuPtBi are discussed in terms of the field-induced electron evacuation due to Landau quantization.

A method of measuring dynamic strain under electromagnetic forming conditions.

Dynamic strain measurement is rather important for the characterization of mechanical behaviors in electromagnetic forming process, but it has been hindered by high strain rate and serious electromagnetic interference for years. In this work, a simple and effective strain measuring technique for physical and mechanical behavior studies in the electromagnetic forming process has been developed. High resolution (∼5 ppm) of strain curves of a budging aluminum tube in pulsed electromagnetic field has been successfully measured using this technique. The measured strain rate is about 10(5) s(-1), which depends on the discharging conditions, nearly one order of magnitude of higher than that under conventional split Hopkins pressure bar loading conditions (∼10(4) s(-1)). It has been found that the dynamic fracture toughness of an aluminum alloy is significantly enhanced during the electromagnetic forming, which explains why the formability is much larger under electromagnetic forging conditions in comparison with conventional forging processes.

Large and Anisotropic Linear Magnetoresistance in Single Crystals of Black Phosphorus Arising From Mobility Fluctuations.

Black Phosphorus (BP) is presently attracting immense research interest on the global level due to its high mobility and suitable band gap for potential application in optoelectronics and flexible devices. It was theoretically predicted that BP has a large direction-dependent electrical and magnetotransport anisotropy. Investigations on magnetotransport of BP may therefore provide a new platform for studying the nature of electron transport in layered materials. However, to the best of our knowledge, magnetotransport studies, especially the anisotropic magnetoresistance (MR) effect in layered BP, are rarely reported. Here, we report a large linear MR up to 510% at a magnetic field of 7 Tesla in single crystals of BP. Analysis of the temperature and angle dependence of MR revealed that the large linear MR in our sample originates from mobility fluctuations. Furthermore, we reveal that the large linear MR of layered BP in fact follows a three-dimensional behavior rather than a two-dimensional one. Our results have implications to both the fundamental understanding and magnetoresistive device applications of BP.

NMR Evidence for the Topologically Nontrivial Nature in a Family of Half-Heusler Compounds.

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is expected to partly determine the topologically nontrivial electronic structure of heavy half-Heusler ternary compounds. However, to date, attempts to experimentally observe either the strength of SOC or how it modifies the bulk band structure have been unsuccessful. By using bulk-sensitive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy combined with first-principles calculations, we reveal that (209)Bi NMR isotropic shifts scale with relativity in terms of the strength of SOC and average atomic numbers, indicating strong relativistic effects on NMR parameters. According to first-principles calculations, we further claim that nuclear magnetic shieldings from relativistic p1/2 states and paramagnetic contributions from low-lying unoccupied p3/2 states are both sensitive to the details of band structures tuned by relativity, which explains why the hidden relativistic effects on band structure can be revealed by (209)Bi NMR isotropic shifts in topologically nontrivial half-Heusler compounds. Used in complement to surface-sensitive methods, such as angle resolved photon electron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling spectroscopy, NMR can provide valuable information on bulk electronic states.

Temperature-induced hydrophobic-hydrophilic transition observed by water adsorption.

The properties of nanoconfined and interfacial water in the proximity of hydrophobic surfaces play a pivotal role in a variety of important phenomena such as protein folding. Water inside single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can provide an ideal system for investigating such nanoconfined interfacial water on hydrophobic surfaces, provided that the nanotubes can be opened without introducing excess defects. Here, we report a hydrophobic-hydrophilic transition upon cooling from 22 degrees C to 8 degrees C via the observation of water adsorption isotherms in SWNTs measured by nuclear magnetic resonance. A considerable slowdown in molecular reorientation of such adsorbed water was also detected. The observed transition demonstrates that the structure of interfacial water could depend sensitively on temperature, which could lead to intriguing temperature dependences involving interfacial water on hydrophobic surfaces.