AI Article Synopsis
- The study presents a novel radio-frequency induction-heated furnace designed for creating polycrystalline ingots of intermetallic compounds in ultra-high vacuum conditions.
- The system features a specialized water-cooled Hukin crucible that can produce rods with diameters between 6 mm and 10 mm and lengths up to 90 mm, allowing for single-crystal growth.
- The successfully produced single crystals include two half-Heusler compounds: CuMnSb, an itinerant antiferromagnet, and NiMnSb, a half-metallic ferromagnet, indicating the furnace's effectiveness.
Article Abstract
We report the design of a radio-frequency induction-heated rod casting furnace that permits the preparation of polycrystalline ingots of intermetallic compounds under ultra-high vacuum compatible conditions. The central part of the system is a bespoke water-cooled Hukin crucible supporting a casting mold. Depending on the choice of the mold, typical rods have a diameter between 6 mm and 10 mm and a length up to 90 mm, suitable for single-crystal growth by means of float-zoning. The setup is all-metal sealed and may be baked out. We find that the resulting ultra-high vacuum represents an important precondition for processing compounds with high vapor pressures under a high-purity argon atmosphere up to 3 bars. Using the rod casting furnace, we succeeded to prepare large high-quality single crystals of two half-Heusler compounds, namely, the itinerant antiferromagnet CuMnSb and the half-metallic ferromagnet NiMnSb.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4954926 | DOI Listing |
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