Using self-flux method,we have successfully grown the parent phase of the single crystals of CaFeAsF1-x.The X-ray di?raction indicates good crystallinity.In-plane resistivity shows a bad metallic behavior with a sharp drop of resistivity at about T SDW=119K.This anomaly is associated with the possible spin density wave(SDW)order.Interestingly near T SDW,the resistivity exhibits a cusp-like feature,which may be understood as the strong coupling effect between the electrons and the antiferromagnetic(AF)spin fluctuations.A reduction of fluorine or application of a high pressure will suppress the SDW feature and induce superconductivity.Hall effect measurements reveal a positive Hall coefficient below T SDW indicating a dominant role of the hole-like charge carriers in the parent phase.Strong magnetoresistance has been observed below T SDW suggesting multiple conduction channels of the charge carriers.
T3SiC2 bulks have been synthesized by infiltrating Si liquid into porous precursor pellets composed of solid Ti and C powders. Silicon pellets were placed at the bottom of the precursor pellets as the liquid source. The starting compositions can be represented by the formula 3Ti + 2C + xSi, where x = 1.0, 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6, respectively. The phase formation and microstructure of the bulks were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results demonstrated that the Ti/C precursor pellet could only react with Si completely when the x value is 1.6. Large, a purity of above 95wt% Ti3SiC2 bulk of up to 50 mm in diameter was obtained by this method.
Shan Di, Yan Guo, Zhou Lian, Li Chengshan, Wang Qingyang, Xiong Xiaomei Northwest Institute for Nonferrous Metal Research, Xi’an 710016, China
We study a toy square-lattice model under a uniform magnetic field. Using the Landauer-Bttiker formula, we calculate the transport properties of the system on a two-terminal, a four-terminal and a six-terminal device. We find that the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect appears in energy ranges where the spin-up and spin-down subsystems have different filling factors. We also study the robustness of the resulting QSH effect and find that it is robust when the Fermi levels of both spin subsystems are far away from the energy plateaus but is fragile when the Fermi level of any spin subsystem is near the energy plateaus. These results provide an example of the QSH effect with a physical origin other than time-reversal (TR) preserving spin-orbit coupling (SOC).
We review colossal magnetoresistance in single phase manganites, as related to the field sensitive spin-charge interactions and phase separation; the rectifying property and negative/positive magnetoresistance in manganite/Nb:SrTiO3 p-n junctions in relation to the special interface electronic structure; magnetoelectric coupling in manganite/ferroelectric structures that takes advantage of strain, carrier density, and magnetic field sensitivity; tunneling magnetoresistance in tunnel junctions with dielectric, ferroelectric, and organic semiconductor spacers using the fully spin polarized nature of manganites; and the effect of particle size on magnetic properties in manganite nanoparticles.
The quantum spin Hall effect(QSHE) was first realized in HgTe quantum wells(QWs),which remain the only known two-dimensional topological insulator so far.In this paper,we have systematically studied the effect of the thickness fluctuation of HgTe QWs on the QSHE.We start with the case of constant mass with random distributions,and reveal that the disordered system can be well described by a virtual uniform QW with an effective mass when the number of components is small.When the number is infinite and corresponds to the real fluctuation,we find that the QSHE is not only robust,but also can be generated by relatively strong fluctuation.Our results imply that the thickness fluctuation does not cause backscattering,and the QSHE is robust to it.
