Transport properties and the large anisotropic magnetoresistance of CuxNbS2 single crystals
The transport properties of CuxNbS2 (x = 0.09, 0.44 and 0.55) single crystals were systematically studied. The in-plane and out-of-plane resistivities decrease with increasing Cu content, and a transition with hysteresis shows up for the crystals with x = 0.44 and 0.55. The thermopower and Hall coefficient of CuxNbS2 show opposite signs, indicating that there are two kinds of carriers in this system. The angular dependences of the in-plane magnetoresistance (MRab = (ρab(H)−ρab(0))/ρab(0) × 100%) at different temperatures were also studied. The single crystals with x = 0.44 and 0.55 show a strong anisotropic MRab. For the x = 0.55 sample, MRab reaches 80% with a magnetic field of 14 T applied along the c-axis, while MRab is less than 5% for the magnetic field applied within the ab-plane. These results can be well understood in the light of the anisotropic Fermi surface in the multiband system.
Growth and superconductivity of 2H-Ni0.02TaSe2 single crystals
Abstract 2H-Ni0.02TaSe2 single crystals were successfully grown via the iodine vapor transport technique. The typical dimension of the crystal is about 3×2×0.5 mm3. Compared with the parent compound 2H-TaSe2 with a superconducting transition temperature T C = 0.14  K, the electronic transport, specific-heat and magnetization results indicate that the superconductivity of the Ni0.02TaSe2 single crystal is obviously enhanced ( T C = 2.79  K). In addition, it is found that the incommensurate charge-density-wave (ICDW) disappears while the commensurate charge-density-wave (CCDW) shifts to about 96.2 K with the intercalation of a little of Ni. It clearly indicates that there is a competition between superconductivity (SC) and charge-density-wave (CDW) order for 2H-TaSe2 system and that between SC and ICDW is more drastic.
Refinement of crystal structure parameters using convergent‐beam electron diffraction: the low‐temperature phase of SrTiO3
The method to refine crystal structure parameters (atom positions and Debye–Waller factors) using convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED), which is applicable to crystal structure analysis of a small specimen area down to a few nm in diameter, is studied. The line profiles of higher-order Laue-zone reflections are recorded using imaging plates. Theoretical intensities are calculated based on the dynamical theory of electron diffraction with the aid of the generalized Bethe approximation to shorten calculation time. The structural parameters are determined by fitting the experimental profiles with the theoretical ones using a nonlinear least-squares method. The present method has been applied to the low-temperature phase of SrTiO3. The structural parameter or the rotation angle of the oxygen octahedron has been determined to be \varphi = 1.12 (4)°, which shows good agreement with that obtained from electron spin resonance experiments.