Nanoscale ordering phenomena in transition metal oxides
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Most electronic equipment in use today, such as computers and mobile phones, is based on silicon chip technology, and contains simple metals and magnetic materials that have been available for many years. The performance of these components is reaching its limit, and interest is turning to newer materials as a way towards the next generation of electronic devices, such as high speed processors and high density information staorage. A very promising class of materials for this purpose is the transition metal oxide compounds. It has recently been found that some of these compounds exhibit unusual ordering behaviour on a nanometre length scale. The electrons, instead of being uniformly distributed, are often found to organise themselves into regular patterns which involve not only the positions of the electrons, but also the direction of their spin and the shape of the electron orbitals. When these ordered states form there are often abrupt changes in the measureable properties of the material, such as the resistance, and furthermore, the ordering is often sensitive to external stimuli, such as magnetic field and temperature. It is the small scale of the phenomena (nanometres) and the controllability that make these materials very promising for new technologies.Until recently it has been very difficult to determine the nature of these novel types of order. This is now becoming possible thanks to new developments in X-ray and neutron techniques. Our research will exploit these developments to unravel the various components of these complex ordered states, and to determine what drives the electrons to form them. Our ultimate goal is to understand why these states form and how it affects the properties of the material. This understanding will be essential for the development of new electronic applications.We will study a number of specific problems which fall into two categories: (1) the relationship between charge order and unconventional superconductivity, and (2) phenomena associated with ordering of the electronic orbitals. The work will involve the preparation and investigation of very high quality crystals of a large number of transition metal compounds, especially copper, nickel, manganese and cobalt. We will perform X-ray and neutron scattering experiments to gain a window on the microscopic behaviour of these systems, and we will also perform electrical, magnetic and thermodynamic measurements to study how the ordering affects the practical properties of the material.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Peter Hatton (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Forrest T
(2008)
Ordering of localized electronic states in multiferroic TbMnO 3 : a soft x-ray resonant scattering study
in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
Johnson R
(2008)
Determination of magnetic order of the rare-earth ions in multiferroic TbMn 2 O 5
in Physical Review B
Beale T
(2009)
Determining Crystal Field Distortions of YVO<sub>3</sub> through X-Ray Scattering
in Solid State Phenomena
Wilkins S
(2009)
Critical reexamination of resonant soft x-ray Bragg forbidden reflections in magnetite
in Physical Review B
Wilkins SB
(2009)
Nature of the magnetic order and origin of induced ferroelectricity in TbMnO3.
in Physical review letters
Bland SR
(2009)
Full polarization analysis of resonant superlattice and forbidden x-ray reflections in magnetite.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Hatton P
(2009)
Magnetic structure determination using polarised resonant X-ray scattering
in Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials
Beale T
(2009)
Thermally induced rotation of 3 d orbital stripes in Pr ( Sr 0.1 Ca 0.9 ) 2 Mn 2 O 7
in Physical Review B
Johnson R
(2010)
Magnetic structures of the anisotropic intermetallic compounds Er 2 CoGa 8 and Tm 2 CoGa 8
in Physical Review B
Beale T
(2010)
Resonant x-ray scattering from the 4 p quadrupole moment in YVO 3
in Physical Review B
Description | We have detailed all of the nanoscale quantum ordering phenomena found in many transition metal oxides. Transition metal oxides are widely used in sensors and devices that exploit changes in material properties under temperature, electric and magnetic fields. Our research has uncovered the atomistic and quantum origins of these effects. |
Exploitation Route | i am acting as a consultant for an american company that is growing crystals for use in lasers that exploit our research techniques. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Electronics Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology |
Description | Our publications detailed many of the important nanoscale quantum orderings found in transition metal oxides. These include lattice, spin, charge and orbital ordering. We developed new synchrotron radiation x-ray scattering techniques that have been widely used by the academic community. |
First Year Of Impact | 2009 |
Sector | Education |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | Durham, University of |
Amount | £352,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 030079 910590 |
Organisation | Durham University |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2011 |
End | 06/2013 |
Description | Equipment Infrastructure Fund |
Amount | £352,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 030079 910590 |
Organisation | Durham University |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2012 |
End | 12/2013 |
Description | National Synchrotron Radiation Research |
Amount | £104,597 (GBP) |
Funding ID | TPS/Dur001 |
Organisation | National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center |
Sector | Public |
Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
Start | 05/2011 |
End | 06/2014 |
Description | National Synchrotron Radiation Research |
Amount | £104,597 (GBP) |
Funding ID | TPS/Dur001 |
Organisation | National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center |
Sector | Public |
Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
Start |
Description | Royal Society of London |
Amount | £12,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | JP100375 |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2011 |
End | 12/2012 |
Description | Royal Society of London Travel award |
Amount | £12,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | JP100375 |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2011 |
End | 12/2012 |