Study on magnetic correlations in molecule-based magnets by inelastic neutron scattering using a chopper spectrometer

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K05129
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Quantum beam science
• Research Institution: Japan Atomic Energy Agency
• Principal Investigator: Kawamura Seiko 国立研究開発法人日本原子力研究開発機構, 原子力科学研究部門 J－PARCセンター, 研究副主幹 (70360518)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 中性子非弾性散乱 / 分子磁性体 / 圧力効果

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Molecule-based magnets have variety in the material design and then exhibit various non-trivial phenomena. Since they are sensitive to physical pressure, we can study their magnetic properties systematically.
Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) is a powerful tool to study the magnetic properties. However, there are few reports of INS studies on molecule-base materials because of the difficulty to apply it on the molecule-based materials due to some reasons such as contained protons.
In this study, I have prepared high-pressure environment for the INS experiments, and developed a compact radial collimator to extract weak signals from a molecule-based magnet in the pressure cell by eliminating background from the cell. Furthermore, I observed phonon vibration modes of a molecule-based magnet reflecting the crystal structure under pressure. This study will suggest a possibility of the INS measurement for studies of magnetism in molecule-based materials.

Free Research Field

固体電子物性

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

分子磁性体は、新しいデバイスとしての応用を見据えた基礎的な磁性研究が盛んに行われている物質群である。物質の磁性研究において最も強力な実験手法の一つが中性子非弾性散乱であるが、分子性の物質特有のいくつかの困難により、中性子散乱実験がほとんど行われていなかった。
本研究では、中性子非弾性散乱実験を行うためのチョッパー分光器における分子性物質の圧力下測定のデータを改善することに成功した。これにより、分子磁性体の中性子散乱による研究が推進されるようになれば、磁気的性質の解明が進み、ひいては将来の新規デバイス開発に繋がることも期待される。