-
Optimization of magneto-electric properties in Lead-free (x)Co1.2Ti0.2Fe1.6O4 - (100-x)BaTiO3 based composites
Authors:
Rajeev Dwivedi,
Samanway Mohanta,
Ashutosh Anand,
Abhinash Tripathy,
Najnin Bano,
Dharmendra Kumar,
Hemant Singh,
R. Venkatesh,
Sachin Gupta,
Dinesh Kumar Shukla
Abstract:
This work presents a systematic study of lead-free multiferroic composites of (x)Co1.2Ti0.2Fe1.6O4 - (100-x)BaTiO3 (x = 10, 20, 30), which were synthesized by a solid-state reaction method to investigate the effects of composition and sintering temperature on their structural , electrical, magnetic, and magnetoelectric (ME) properties. X-ray diffraction along with Rietveld refinement confirms the…
▽ More
This work presents a systematic study of lead-free multiferroic composites of (x)Co1.2Ti0.2Fe1.6O4 - (100-x)BaTiO3 (x = 10, 20, 30), which were synthesized by a solid-state reaction method to investigate the effects of composition and sintering temperature on their structural , electrical, magnetic, and magnetoelectric (ME) properties. X-ray diffraction along with Rietveld refinement confirms the coexistence of tetragonal BaTiO3 (BTO) and cubic spinel Co1.2Ti0.2Fe1.6O4 (CTFO) phases. Microstructural analysis shows that densification and grain growth are better at higher sintering temperatures, leading to better coupling between the two phases. Dielectric and ferroelectric studies indicate lossy polarization-electric field (P-E) behaviour due to leakage from the conductive phase, while magnetic properties show increased magnetization with increasing ferrite content. All composites exhibit ME coefficients, which depend on the composition and sintering conditions; the highest ME coefficient (~1.28 mV/cm.Oe) was observed for the 30CTFO - 70BTO composite sintered at 1200 °C. This improvement is due to the optimal balance between magnetostrictive and piezoelectric responses and improved interfacial strain transfer. These results demonstrate that simultaneous optimization of dopant-modified composition and sintering conditions is essential for achieving improved magnetoelectric coupling in bulk multiferroic composites. Moreover, the results demonstrate the potential of lead-free composites for multifunctional device applications in next-generation, low-power technologies, including high-density non-volatile memory (e.g. FeRAM/MRAM), magnetic field sensors, spintronic devices, and actuators.
△ Less
Submitted 30 July, 2026;
originally announced July 2026.
-
Stranski-Krastanov Growth of Disordered ScNx Thin Films on MgO(100): Influence of Defect Densities on Electronic Structure and Transport Properties
Authors:
Susmita Chowdhury,
Rachana Gupta,
Najnin Bano,
Yogesh Kumar,
Shashi Prakash,
Dinesh Kumar Shukla,
Vasant G. Sathe,
Mukul Gupta
Abstract:
We report a nascent real time Stranski-Krastanov growth of reactively sputtered ScNx thin films on MgO(100). The epitaxial growth was limited to 5 nm at a substrate temperature (Ts) of 25 C while the self-sustaining epitaxial nature along the [100] azimuth was retained up to 25 nm in Ts = 250 and 500 C samples due to enhanced adatom mobility. At Ts = 700 C, the film showed half order in-situ RHEED…
▽ More
We report a nascent real time Stranski-Krastanov growth of reactively sputtered ScNx thin films on MgO(100). The epitaxial growth was limited to 5 nm at a substrate temperature (Ts) of 25 C while the self-sustaining epitaxial nature along the [100] azimuth was retained up to 25 nm in Ts = 250 and 500 C samples due to enhanced adatom mobility. At Ts = 700 C, the film showed half order in-situ RHEED pattern, with forbidden (hkl) planes indicating N deficient hcp Sc-N phase. Presence of defect densities i.e., N vacancies and O interstitials leads to a disorder in ScNx system with weak localization effect and appearance of Raman relaxed first order transverse and longitudinal optical phonon modes and further leads to metal like Seebeck coefficient. Higher grain boundaries at Ts = 25 C and higher N out-diffusion at Ts = 700 C paves way for incorporation of higher oxygen interstitial in these samples.
△ Less
Submitted 7 August, 2025;
originally announced August 2025.
-
Multiple exciton generation in VO2
Authors:
S. R. Sahu,
S. Khan,
A. Tripathy,
K. Dey,
N. Bano,
S. Raj Mohan,
M. P. Joshi,
S. Verma,
B. T. Rao,
V. G. Sathe,
D. K. Shukla
Abstract:
Multiple exciton generation (MEG) is a widely studied phenomenon in semiconductor nanocrystals and quantum dots, aimed at improving the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells. MEG is the process wherein incident photon energy is significantly larger than the band gap, and the resulting photoexcited carriers relax by generating additional electron-hole pairs, rather than decaying by heat dissi…
▽ More
Multiple exciton generation (MEG) is a widely studied phenomenon in semiconductor nanocrystals and quantum dots, aimed at improving the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells. MEG is the process wherein incident photon energy is significantly larger than the band gap, and the resulting photoexcited carriers relax by generating additional electron-hole pairs, rather than decaying by heat dissipation. Here, we present an experimental demonstration of MEG in a prototype strongly correlated material, VO2, through photocurrent spectroscopy and ultrafast transient reflectivity measurements, both of which are considered the most prominent ways for detecting MEG in working devices. The key result of this paper is the observation of MEG at room temperature (in a correlated insulating phase of VO2), and the estimated threshold for MEG is 3Eg. We demonstrate an escalated photocurrent due to MEG in VO2, and quantum efficiency is found to exceed 100%. Our studies suggest that this phenomenon is a manifestation of expeditious impact ionization due to stronger electron correlations and could be exploited in a large number of strongly correlated materials.
△ Less
Submitted 23 October, 2023;
originally announced October 2023.