Abstract: We study the structure and phase behavior of fullerene-cubane C60·C8H8 by Monte Carlo simulation. Using a simple potential model capturing the icosahedral and cubic symmetries of its molecular constituents, we reproduce the experimentally observed phase transition from a cubic to an orthorhombic crystal lattice and the accompanying rotational freezing of the C60 molecules. We elaborate a scheme to identify the low-temperature orientations of individual molecules and to detect a pattern of orientational ordering similar to the arrangement of C60 molecules in solid C60. Our configuration of orientations supports a doubled periodicity along one of the crystal axes.

Abstract: A new Tl-doped strontium ferrite Fe2(Sr2-Tl)Sr3Fe4O14.65, with an original structure, has been synthesized and structurally characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The TGA and Mssbauer studies evidence a mixed valence of iron. The structure exhibits a commensurate modulation, with a F-type subcell a ≈ b ≈ 5.4 Å (≈ ap√2), c ≈ 42 Å with a modulation vector q = αa* with α = 0.4. The supercell parameters have been refined as a= 27.1101(8) Å, b= 5.5187(2) Å and c= 42.0513(9) Å, in the space group Fmmm. The electron diffraction and electron microscopy data of this novel ferrite show that it can be described as a FeTl-2234-type structure corresponding to the intergrowth of a quadruple perovskite slice [(SrFeO2.8)4], with a complex rock salt related slice [Fe2(Sr2-Tl)O3.4]∞, built up of one double iron layer [Fe2O2.4] sandwiched between two [SrO] layers. The HRTEM images show that the oxygen atoms and vacancies are randomly distributed in the perovskite layers while the HAADF STEM images evidence the absence of Tl segregation in the matrix. Fe2(Sr2-Tl)Sr3Fe4O14.65 exhibits a very large value of χ (11emu/mol) at 5 K, which remains large at 400 K; the M(H) loop presents a shape characteristic of ferrimagnetism, with a large coercive field of 0.3 T. The value of magnetization saturates at 400 K at 0.68 μB/Fe. At 10 K, the value of magnetization reaches a maximum of 2 μB/Fe. The resistivity presents a semiconducting-like behavior, with ρ 800 Ω·cm at 300 K.

Abstract: We have used differential magneto-optical (MO) imaging to investigate the mixed state of superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ (BSCCO) microdisks fabricated on a single-crystal sample. MO difference images of the stray field distribution over a range of out-of-plane fields allow us to distinguish between flux that is penetrating the disks and that entering the underlying BSCCO platelet. We find that flux preferentially flows along linear defects into the interstitial platelet regions up to a characteristic field Hp, above which flux enters the disks. We identify this as the field of first penetration of pancake vortices over the Bean-Livingston barrier around the disks, where Hp(T) at intermediate temperatures is well described by an exponentially decaying function with a characteristic temperature T0=19 K. At a given temperature, a minority of the disks exhibit a lower penetration field and we correlate the location of these disks with the linear defects in the BSCCO crystal.

Abstract: The morphological evolution in La(0.5)Ca(0.5)MnO(3)/SrTiO(3)(100) ultrathin films has been revealed by atomic force microscopy. It was found that ordered linear defects, which are in 1-2 unit cells high and oriented along the cubic [110] and [100] directions, first appear on the smooth surface of films with a thickness of 10 nm. As the epitaxial growth proceeds, these lines on surface develop into a crosshatch pattern for films with a thickness of 25 nm. Using the results of transmission electron microscopy and electrical measurements, we discuss the interplay between the surface pattern formation, the internal dislocation structure, and the variations in the electrical properties.

Abstract: We model the fluorescence spectra of planar spin oscillators to find conditions that maximize spin resonance fluorescence. Spin oscillators perform Rabi oscillations under the effect of a periodic effective magnetic field caused by the winding motion of an electron in a gradient of magnetic field. We show that, despite the weak coupling of the spin magnetic dipole to the vacuum, spin oscillators excited by a direct current output a few nanowatts of microwave power, which is comparable to the best microwave sources. The large quantum efficiency relies on the combination of two effects. On the one hand, the spontaneous emission rate is enhanced by the synchronization of spin oscillators, which interact through the microwave field that they emit. On the other hand, the huge Rabi frequencies experienced by spin oscillators promote spins into upper levels of Zeeman transitions, from which a radiative cascade is triggered. We demonstrate different regimes of fluorescence which correspond to different values of the Rabi period relative to the spontaneous decay time and to the oscillator dwell time in the gradient of magnetic field. We investigate the device parameters which make these regimes experimentally accessible and find conditions that optimize microwave output. We find that microwave emission is centered around the cutoff frequency of spin oscillators. This has the advantage that the peak emission frequency may be tuned from zero continuously up to a few hundred gigahertz using an electrostatic gate. Quite remarkably for a spintronics effect, electrically induced spin resonance fluorescence does not require the injection of a spin polarized current. In fact, we show that microwave spectra are mostly independent of the incoming spin polarization except for magnetic waveguides which are shorter than a certain critical length, which we will specify.

Abstract: A straightforward application of the theoretical framework presented by Verbeeck et al. [Ultramicroscopy 102 (2005) 239] is presented to explain the energy-filtered electron-diffracted beam holography experiments published by Herring [Ultramicroscopy 104 (2005) 261]. It is shown that the theory is in agreement with all experimental findings, which leads to the interpretation that the experiments are mainly measuring the angular coherence of the source image rather than exposing details on the coherence properties of inelastic scattering. A change in experimental parameters is proposed, which could result in interesting information about the coherence in all inelastic scattering process. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.