AgCrSe2 exhibits remarkably high ionic conduction, an inversion symmetry-breaking structural transition, and is host to complex non-colinear magnetic orders. Despite its attractive physical and chemical properties and its potential for technological applications, studies of this compound to date are focused almost exclusively on bulk samples. Here, we report the growth of AgCrSe2 thin films via molecular beam epitaxy. Single-orientated epitaxial growth was confirmed by x-ray diffraction, while resonant photoemission spectroscopy measurements indicate a consistent electronic structure as compared to bulk single crystals. We further demonstrate significant flexibility of the grain morphology and cation stoichiometry of this compound via control of the growth parameters, paving the way for the targeted engineering of the electronic and chemical properties of AgCrSe2 in thin-film form.
This booklet collects the results of my work as a doctoral student of the Ph.D. School in Physics, Astrophysics and Applied Physics at Universit`a degli Studi di Milano, that has been carried out since November 2020 at Istituto Officina dei Materiali of Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IOM-CNR) and within the framework of Nanoscale Foundries and Fine Analysis (NFFA) consortium.
My experimental activity addressed the coupling of magnetic and acoustic degrees of freedom in transition-metal ferromagnetic systems. Within the NFFA-SPRINT laboratory, hosted in the premises of the facility FERMI@Elettra (Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste), I developed a setup to perform optical Transient-Grating spectroscopy, and correlative time-resolved optical spectroscopies (time-resolved reflectivity and polarimetry). Via sub-picosecond optical pulses, acoustic and magnetic transients are impulsively generated: their intertwined evolution and decay are monitored via time-resolved optical probing.
In a first experiment, a Ni thin film was investigated via Transient-Grating spectroscopy. Acoustically-driven magnetization precession was observed at the condition of crossing of phononic and magnonic dispersions, at finite wavevector. With the aid of correlative ferromagnetic resonance measurements the boundary of applicability of the proposed experimental approach was established.
In a second experiment, time-resolved magneto-optical polarimetry was employed to investigate magneto-acoustic waves excited in a ferromagnetic nanostructured array. The details of the magnon-phonon mode crossing allowed to identify experimental features which qualify the degree of coherence in the coupling; a Hamiltonian model was proposed to account for the observations.
Mn3Si2Te6 is a rare example of a layered ferrimagnet. It has recently been shown to host a colossal angular magnetoresistance as the spin orientation is rotated from the in- to out-of-plane direction, proposed to be underpinned by a topological nodal-line degeneracy in its electronic structure. Nonetheless, the origins of its ferrimagnetic structure remain controversial, while its experimental electronic structure, and the role of correlations in shaping this, are little explored to date. Here, we combine x-ray and photoemission-based spectroscopies with first-principles calculations to probe the elemental-selective electronic structure and magnetic order in Mn3Si2Te6. Through these, we identify a marked Mn-Te hybridization, which weakens the electronic correlations and enhances the magnetic anisotropy. We demonstrate how this strengthens the magnetic frustration in Mn3Si2Te6, which is key to stabilizing its ferrimagnetic order, and find a crucial role of both exchange interactions extending beyond nearest-neighbors and antisymmetric exchange in dictating its ordering temperature. Together, our results demonstrate a powerful methodology of using experimental electronic structure probes to constrain the parameter space for first-principles calculations of magnetic materials, and through this approach, reveal a pivotal role played by covalency in stabilizing the ferrimagnetic order in Mn3Si2Te6.
Single crystals of the hexagonal triangular lattice compound AgCrSe2 have been grown by chemical vapor transport. The crystals have been carefully characterized and studied by magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, specific heat, and thermal expansion. In addition, we used Cr-electron spin resonance and neutron diffraction to probe the Cr 3d3 magnetism microscopically. To obtain the electronic density of states, we employed x-ray absorption and resonant photoemission spectroscopy in combination with density functional theory calculations. Our studies evidence an anisotropic magnetic order below TN=32K. Susceptibility data in small fields of about 1 T reveal an antiferromagnetic (AFM) type of order for H⊥c, whereas for H∥c the data are reminiscent of a field-induced ferromagnetic (FM) structure. At low temperatures and for H⊥c, the field-dependent magnetization and AC susceptibility data evidence a metamagnetic transition at H+=5T, which is absent for H∥c. We assign this to a transition from a planar cycloidal spin structure at low fields to a planar fanlike arrangement above H+. A fully ferromagnetically polarized state is obtained above the saturation field of H⊥S=23.7T at 2 K with a magnetization of Ms=2.8μB/Cr. For H∥c, M(H) monotonically increases and saturates at the same Ms value at H∥S=25.1T at 4.2 K. Above TN, the magnetic susceptibility and specific heat indicate signatures of two dimensional (2D) frustration related to the presence of planar ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic exchange interactions. We found a pronounced nearly isotropic maximum in both properties at about T∗=45K, which is a clear fingerprint of short range correlations and emergent spin fluctuations. Calculations based on a planar 2D Heisenberg model support our experimental findings and suggest a predominant FM exchange among nearest and AFM exchange among third-nearest neighbors. Only a minor contribution might be assigned to the antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction possibly related to the noncentrosymmetric polar space group R3m. Due to these competing interactions, the magnetism in AgCrSe2, in contrast to the oxygen-based delafossites, can be tuned by relatively small, experimentally accessible magnetic fields, allowing us to establish the complete anisotropic magnetic H-T phase diagram in detail.
Hybridization of electronic states and orbital symmetry in transition metal oxides are generally considered key ingredients in the description of both their electronic and magnetic properties. In the prototypical case of La0.65Sr0.35MnO3 (LSMO), a landmark system for spintronics applications, a description based solely on Mn 3d and O 2p electronic states is reductive. We thus analyzed elemental and orbital distributions in the LSMO valence band through a comparison between density functional theory calculations and experimental photoelectron spectra in a photon energy range from soft to hard x rays. We reveal a number of hidden contributions, arising specifically from La 5p, Mn 4s, and O 2s orbitals, considered negligible in previous analyses; our results demonstrate that all these contributions are significant for a correct description of the valence band of LSMO and of transition metal oxides in general.
The femtosecond evolution of the electronic temperature of laser-excited gold nanoparticles is measured, by means of ultrafast time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy induced by extreme-ultraviolet radiation pulses. The temperature of the electron gas is deduced by recording and fitting high-resolution photo emission spectra around the Fermi edge of gold nanoparticles providing a direct, unambiguous picture of the ultrafast electron-gas dynamics. These results will be instrumental to the refinement of existing models of femtosecond processes in laterally-confined and bulk condensed-matter systems, and for understanding more deeply the role of hot electrons in technological applications.
We explored the properties of the quasi-binary Bi2Se3-Bi2S3 system over a wide compositional range. X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrates that rhombohedral crystals can be synthesized within the solid solution interval 0-22 mol% Bi2S3, while at 33 mol% Bi2S3 only orthorhombic crystals are obtained. Core level photoemission spectroscopy reveals the presence of Bi3+, Se2- and S2- species and the absence of metallic species, thus indicating that S incorporation into Bi2Se3 proceeds prevalently through the substitution of Se with S. Spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy shows that topological surface states develop on the surfaces of the Bi2Se3-ySy (y <= 0.66) rhombohedral crystals, in close analogy with the prototypical case of Bi2Se3, while the orthorhombic crystals with higher S content turn out to be trivial semiconductors. Our results connect unambiguously the phase diagram and electronic properties of the Bi2Se3-Bi2S3 system.
We investigate the temperature-dependent electronic structure of the van der Waals ferromagnet, CrGeTe3. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we identify atomic- and orbital-specific band shifts upon cooling through TC. From these, together with x-ray absorption spectroscopy and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements, we identify the states created by a covalent bond between the Te 5p and the Cr eg orbitals as the primary driver of the ferromagnetic ordering in this system, while it is the Cr t2g states that carry the majority of the spin moment. The t2g states furthermore exhibit a marked bandwidth increase and a remarkable lifetime enhancement upon entering the ordered phase, pointing to a delicate interplay between localized and itinerant states in this family of layered ferromagnets.
The present thesis work has been performed within a new-born laboratory called Spin Polar-ization Research Instrument in the Nanoscale and Time domain (SPRINT laboratory), as apart of the research infrastructures circuit NFFA-Trieste (Nano Foundries and Fine Analysis -belonging to the wider NFFA-Europe circuit) and hosted in the experimental hall of the freeelectron laser FERMI@Elettra.The SPRINT laboratory rises as an answer to the urgent request of the scientific communityof extension of photoemission spectroscopies (PES), not only energy-, but possibly also angle-and spin-resolved, to the time domain in the sub-picosecond regime. The integration of a PESapparatus within a setup for stroboscopic measurements (that is in a pump-probe scheme) pavesthe way to time resolved study of the relaxation of optically populated electronic states, thusenabling the study the ultrafast dynamics of the excitations inside the materials, with greatbenefit from both the fundamental and the technological point of view.
Implementation of in-situ and operando experimental set-ups for bridging the pressure gap in characterization techniques based on monitoring of photoelectron emission has made significant achievements at several beamlines at Elettra synchrotron facility. These set-ups are now operational and have been successfully used to address unsolved issues exploring events occurring at solid–gas, solid–liquid and solid-solid interfaces of functional materials. The sections in the article communicate the research opportunities offered by the current set-ups at APE, BACH, ESCAmicroscopy and Nanospectroscopy beamlines and outline the next steps to overcome the present limits.
This thesis contains a selection of the results on the shallow electron states of quantum materials that I obtained as doctoral student of the Scuola di Dottorato in Fisica, Astrofisica e Fisica Applicata at the Università degli Studi di Milano. I carried out my doctoral research activity mostly at the TASC-IOM CNR laboratory, in the framework of the NFFA and APE-beamline facilities (Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste), as well in dedicated sessions at the I2; beamline of the Diamond light source, Harwell Campus, UK. To access the electronic properties of materials I specialised myself in photoemission spectroscopy techniques. High quality samples are a prerequisite for any attempt to study quantum materials so that a major effort in my PhD project has been to master the growth of novel quantum materials by means of Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). Given that the PLD is integrated in the suite of UHV facilities attached in-situ to the APE beamline, I directly characterised the electronic properties of the PLD grown samples exploiting both the spectroscopic techniques available at the beamline (ARPES, X-ray photoemission and absorption spectroscopies: XPS and XAS), either ex-situ structural characterisation tools (X-ray diffraction –XRD– and X-ray reflectivity, XRR).
The design and characterization of a HHG source conceived for Time and Angle Resolved PhotoElectron Spectroscopy (TR-ARPES) experiments are presented. The harmonics are selected through a grating monochromator with an innovative design able to provide XUV radiation for two distinct TR-ARPES setups.
The knowledge of the picosecond dynamics of the energy level alignment between donor and acceptor materials in organic photovoltaic devices under working conditions is a challenge for fundamental material research. We measured by means of time-resolved Resonant X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (RPES) the energy level alignment in ZnPc/C60 films. We employed 800 nm femtosecond laser pulses to pump the system simulating sunlight excitation and X-rays from the synchrotron as a probe. We measured changes in the valence bands due to pump induced modifications of the interface dipole. Our measurements prove the feasibility of time-resolved RPES with high repetition rate sources.
This thesis completes my work as doctoral student of the Scuola di Dottorato in Fisica, Astrofisica e Fisica Applicata at the Università degli Studi di Milano that has been carried out, starting in November 4236, mostly at the Laboratorio TASC of IOM-CNR3 in the premises of the Elettra - Sincrotrone Trieste and FERMI@Elettra infrastructures4, in the framework of the NFFA and APE-beamline facilites5, as well as by accessing international large scale infrastructures and laboratories. The activity has addressed the development of experimental methodologies and novel instrumentation oriented to the study of the dynamical properties of highly correlated materials after high energy excitation. The science programme has been carried out by exploiting ultrafast femtosecond probes from the optical regime (Ti-Sa lasers, fibre laser oscillators) to the extreme UV-soft X rays at FERMI, to the picosecond hard X-rays from the SPring-: and Diamond synchrotron radiation source. The sample synthesis of correlated oxides and its characterization has been performed within the NFFA facility and APE-group collaboration in Trieste as well as the design and construction of the all new laser High Harmonic Generation beam line NFFA-SPRINT and its end station for time resolved vectorial electron spin polarimetry.
This thesis reports on the construction and commissioning tests of the novel experimental set-up needed for a long term research project, named ULTRASPIN, aiming at establishing time resolved spin-resolved photoemission measurements with ultra-short (10−14 s) photon pulses from Free Electron Laser beamlines or from table-top UV/Soft-X beamlines.
The ULTRASPIN project started in the summer 2013, building on competences and instrumentation in part available from the APE-beamline group of IOM-CNR at Elettra, and with the partial support of an European contract (EXSTASY-EXperimental STation for the Analysis of the Spin Dynamics, Grant agreement N.PIIF-GA-2012-326641) and related fellowship of a world-expert of Mott scattering.
I have been involved from the beginning in the final design, in the construction and commissioning of a novel stray-field free UHV apparatus for preparing and hosting atomically clean surfaces and for measuring the spin-polarization of the photo-emitted electrons with “single pulse” sensitivity down to the 10−14 s time scale, as well as in the standard high frequency spectroscopy mode. In the commissioning phase I have participated to test experiments on ULTRASPIN as well as to relevant experiments conducted in other apparatuses.