Synthesis and study of nanostructured magnetic materials and spintronics materials using Mössbauer spectroscopy and vibration sample magnetometer
The hyperfine interaction group is the oldest research group in the department, established by Prof. J. Varma in the year 1965. Initially, the research activities of the group were mainly focused on investigation of minerals using Mössbauer spectroscopy. Later, Prof. D. R. S. Somayajulu added the TDPAC technique for the investigation of electric field gradients and magnetic fields in alloys and compounds. Currently, the group is headed by Prof. Kanippoth Venugopalan. The main interest of the research group now is the preparation and studies of nanostructured and spintronics materials. Major material preparation methods used by the group include chemical methods for magnetic oxides, conventional argon arc melting and annealing for spintronics materials, mechanical alloying and high energy ball milling for nanostructuring of bulk materials, ion beam sputtering and pulsed laser deposition for preparation of films. Transmission and conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopic techniques are used for the microscopic investigation of internal magnetic fields. Bulk magnetic properties are measured using vibration sample magnetometer (VSM)
