Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2025

Optimizing Magnetic Force Microscopy Resolution and Sensitivity to Visualize Nanoscale Magnetic Domains
Published on: July 20, 2022
A pyroxene-based quantum magnet with multiple magnetization plateaus
Lun Jin1, Shiyu Peng2, Aya Nakano Rutherford3
1Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Abstract:
Pyroxenes (AMX2O6) consisting of infinite one-dimensional edge-sharing MO6 chains and bridging XO4 tetrahedra are fertile ground for finding quantum materials. Thus, here, we have studied calcium cobalt germanate (CaCoGe2O6) and calcium cobalt silicate (CaCoSi2O6) crystals in depth. Heat capacity data show that the spins in both compounds are dominantly Ising-like, even after being manipulated by high magnetic fields. On cooling below the Néel temperatures, a sharp field-induced transition in magnetization is observed for CaCoGe2O6, while multiple magnetization plateaus beneath the full saturation moment are spotted for CaCoSi2O6. Our analysis shows that these contrasting behaviors potentially arise from the different electron configurations of germanium and silicon, in which the 3d orbitals are filled in the former but empty in the latter, enabling electron hopping. Thus, silicate tetrahedra can aid the interchain superexchange pathway between cobalt(II) ion centers, while germanate ones tend to block it during magnetization.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Paramagnetism
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
Ferromagnetism
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
Atomic Nuclei: Magnetic Resonance
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview

