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Thermal transport in spin ladder compound Sr<sub>14</sub>Cu<sub>24</sub>O<sub>41</sub> microstructures

ORAL

Abstract

Recently, large magnetic contribution to thermal conductivity has been observed in some cuprates with strong antiferromagnetic coupling. One prominent example is the spin ladder compound Sr14Cu24O41 with an incommensurate layered structure. Steady-state thermal transport measurements of single crystals revealed a large anisotropic ratio of thermal conductivity due to the magnons propagating along spin ladders. Previous studies have been devoted to understand the coupling of magnons with phonons and electrons in Sr14Cu24O41 single crystals; however, the effects of boundaries and defects on anisotropic magnon transport have been under-examined. Here, we investigate the thermal transport in Sr14Cu24O41 microrods, which are prepared by co-precipitation synthesis. TEM studies indicate that these microrods are single crystals grown preferentially along the spin ladder axis. The thermal conductivity of Sr14Cu24O41 microrods prepared at different temperatures is measured using a four-probe thermal transport measurement method. The thermal conductivity contribution and mean free paths of magnons are evaluated using a kinetic model of 1D magnon transport. Our results show pronounced effects of defects and boundaries on anisotropic magnon thermal transport in the magnetic microstructures.

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Presenters

  • Xi Chen

    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Riverside

Authors

  • Xi Chen

    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Riverside

  • Jaehyun Kim

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

  • Sean E Sullivan

    Materials Science and Engineering Program, Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin

  • Karalee Jarvis

    Materials Science and Engineering Program, Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin

  • Jianshi Zhou

    Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas, Materials Science and Engineering program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

  • Li Shi

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin