Chemical Phase Separation of Superconductive and Ferromagnetic Domains in ZnNNi3−xCox
Various ZnNyNi3−xCox compounds with differing Co content, x, were synthesized, and their magnetic properties were investigated. Uniform solid solutions could not be obtained at low Co content (x<0.75); instead micrometer-scaled ferromagnetic ZnNyNi0.6Co2.4 domains formed embedded within a superco...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2012-01-01
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| Series: | Advances in Condensed Matter Physics |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/902812 |
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| Summary: | Various ZnNyNi3−xCox compounds with differing Co content, x, were synthesized, and their magnetic properties were investigated. Uniform solid solutions could not be obtained at low Co content (x<0.75); instead micrometer-scaled ferromagnetic ZnNyNi0.6Co2.4 domains formed embedded within a superconductive ZnNNi3 bulk, showing chemical phase separation of superconductive ZnNNi3 and ferromagnetic ZnNyNi0.6Co2.4. At intermediate levels of Co concentration (0.75<x<2), this two-phase separation might persist, and the superconductive behavior was strongly suppressed in this composition region. Only at high Co concentration (x>2) the uniform ferromagnetic solid solution ZnNyNi3−xCox (with most likely y=0.5) formed. The phase separation behavior is intrinsic to the system, reflecting the existence of a miscibility gap in ZnNyNi3−xCox for the samples with x<2, and was shown not to be attributable to incomplete synthesis. In the two-phased samples, high-quality granular contact between the superconductor and ferromagnet has been realized, suggesting that the production of useful devices requiring high-quality contacts between superconductors and ferromagnets may be possible by making use of this two-phase situation. |
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| ISSN: | 1687-8108 1687-8124 |