Crystal growth of the non-magnetic Zn$^{2+}$ and magnetic Co$^{2+}$ doped quasi one-dimensional spin chain compound SrCuO$_{2}$ using the travelling solvent floating zone method

TL;DR

This study successfully grew high-quality SrCuO$_{2}$ crystals doped with magnetic Co$^{2+}$ and non-magnetic Zn$^{2+}$ impurities using the travelling solvent floating zone method, and characterized their structural and magnetic properties.

Contribution

It demonstrates the crystal growth process for doped SrCuO$_{2}$ using TSFZ and analyzes how doping affects magnetic anisotropy and susceptibility.

Findings

Co-doping induces magnetic anisotropy.

Magnetic susceptibility peak scales linearly with Co concentration.

Crystals characterized by multiple techniques confirm doping effects.

Abstract

We report on the crystal growth of the quasi one-dimensional quantum spin chain compound SrCuO$_{2}$ and its doped variants containing magnetic cobalt (0.25%, 0.5%, 1% and 2.5%) and non-magnetic zinc (0.5\% and 1\%) impurities. Crystals are grown using the travelling solvent floating zone (TSFZ) method in a four-mirror optical furnace. Some crucial factors, key to the stability of a TSFZ process, including the choice of solvent composition and its associated melting behavior, are discussed in detail. The grown crystals were characterized using x-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, neutron single crystal diffraction and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Co-doping induces magnetic anisotropy and a corresponding change of magnetic behavior characterized by the presence of a sharp peak in the magnetic susceptibility at low-temperatures (T = 5 K), which is not seen for the pristine compound. The peak position is shown to scale linearly with Co-concentration for low doping levels upto 2.5%.