"The worked performed in the frame of “KISS-ME” can be organised as follows:
1) Career development and attracted funding.
In terms of career development, Angel M. Arevalo-Lopez has become a Chargé de Recherche at the CNRS in the same Institution where the project was held.
This project has also helped to attract more funding. For instance, the “STaRS - pour Soutien à l’accueil de talents de la recherche scientifique"" from the Region Hauts-de-France.
Taking KISS-ME as starting point, an ANR-JCJC project has also been approved by the French National Research Agency (ANR).
2) Equipment installation and development.
Along this project, a magneto-dielectric probe has been built. This consists of an inset for the Physical Properties Measurement System (PPMS from Quantum Design) that can incorporate an LCR meter along with the software to integrate both equipment. The advantage of this probe is that it can measure the dielectric properties of the desired material at low temperatures and high magnetic fields.
3) Research results:
Following the idea of “low-dimensional” structures for enhanced magnetism, we have discovered new phases, e.g. the novel KFe3Ge4O10(OH)2 mica related type, with FeO layers forming a triangular lattice and develop a ferrimagnetic structure below Tn = 56 K.
Another important development is on the BaCoAs2O7. This phase shows a very complex structure, with a P-1 structure and a structural modulation with q = (0.29 0.075 0.47). Neutron diffraction studies under magnetic field show the evolution from a well ordered antiferromagnetic structure with k = [1/2 0 0] into a spin density wave at 5.5 T that follows the same structural modulation i.e. q = k. At magnetic fields higher than 7 T, a transformation to a FM structure is observed. This phase has also shown multiferroic properties being in a centrosymmetric structure, which opens a new paradigm in multiferroicity: where a structurally modulated structure shows a commensurate spin structure in comparison with the well-known inverse Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya mechanism where a well ordered crystal structure shows a modulated spin structure.
We have also applied soft-chemistry techniques to study the BaNiO3 – BaNiO2 system. We have observed a series of modulated structures in between, with coexistence of Ni4+ octahedral and Ni2+ trigonal bi-prisms without any presence of Ni3+, these materials show NiO exsolution.
Four directly related scientific articles have been published within the frame of KISS-ME. Results related have also been presented at national and international level."
