Domain-wall motion at an ultrahigh speed driven by spin-orbit torque in synthetic antiferromagnets.

PubMed

Yu, Ziyang; Zhang, Yue; Zhang, Zhenhua; Cheng, Ming; Lu, Zhihong; Yang, Xiaofei; Shi, Jing; Xiong, Rui

2018-04-27

In this article, we present our numerical investigation about the spin-orbit-torque induced domain-wall (DW) motion in a synthetic antiferromagnetic multilayer nanotrack. This nanotrack was composed by two ferromagnetic (FM) layers with a RKKY inter-layer antiferromagnetic (AFM) exchange coupling. The velocity of DW was well manipulated by varying parameters including inter-layer exchange constant, the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) strength, the current density and the magnetic anisotropy. The DW velocity was found to be strictly related to the orientation of the moments in the two FM layers. When the interlayer exchange constant or the DMI constant were larger than a critical value, there was a large angle between the moments in one FM layer and that in the other one under the current, and the DW was driven to move at an ultrahigh speed (around 10 000 m s -1 ). However, when the DMI or the AFM exchange coupling was weaker than the critical value, the moments in one FM layer were parallel to that in the other one under the current, and the velocity was significantly reduced.

Voltage-controlled interlayer coupling in perpendicularly magnetized magnetic tunnel junctions

DOE PAGES

Newhouse-Illige, Ty; Liu, Yaohua; Xu, M.; ...

2017-05-16

Magnetic interlayer coupling is one of the central phenomena in spintronics. It has been predicted that the sign of interlayer coupling can be manipulated by electric fields, instead of electric currents, thereby offering a promising low energy magnetization switching mechanism. Here we present the experimental demonstration of voltage-controlled interlayer coupling in a new perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction system with a GdO x tunnel barrier, where a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and a sizable tunnelling magnetoresistance have been achieved at room temperature. Owing to the interfacial nature of the magnetism, the ability to move oxygen vacancies within the barrier, and amore » large proximity-induced magnetization of GdO x, both the magnitude and the sign of the interlayer coupling in these junctions can be directly controlled by voltage. Lastly, these results pave a new path towards achieving energy-efficient magnetization switching by controlling interlayer coupling.« less

Voltage-controlled interlayer coupling in perpendicularly magnetized magnetic tunnel junctions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Newhouse-Illige, Ty; Liu, Yaohua; Xu, M.

Magnetic interlayer coupling is one of the central phenomena in spintronics. It has been predicted that the sign of interlayer coupling can be manipulated by electric fields, instead of electric currents, thereby offering a promising low energy magnetization switching mechanism. Here we present the experimental demonstration of voltage-controlled interlayer coupling in a new perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction system with a GdO x tunnel barrier, where a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and a sizable tunnelling magnetoresistance have been achieved at room temperature. Owing to the interfacial nature of the magnetism, the ability to move oxygen vacancies within the barrier, and amore » large proximity-induced magnetization of GdO x, both the magnitude and the sign of the interlayer coupling in these junctions can be directly controlled by voltage. Lastly, these results pave a new path towards achieving energy-efficient magnetization switching by controlling interlayer coupling.« less

Magnetotransport properties of spin-valve structures with Mg spacer layers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinez-Boubeta, C., E-mail: cboubeta@gmail.com; Ferrante, Y.; Graduate School of Excellence, Materials Science in Mainz, 55128 Mainz

2015-01-19

A theoretical prediction by Wang et al. [Phys. Rev. B 82, 054405 (2010)] suggests the preferential transmission of majority-spin states with Δ{sub 1} symmetry across a magnesium interlayer in Fe/Mg/MgO/Fe based magnetic tunnel junctions. Here, we report experiments to probe this question in CoFe/Mg/CoFe structures. We find that the strength of the interlayer coupling decays exponentially with increasing the spacer thickness, however, a non-monotonic variation of the magnetoresistance as a function of the Mg layer is observed. These data may help revisit the role of the insertion of a Mg interface layer in MgO-based devices.

FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: Interlayer exchange coupling across a ferroelectric barrier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuravlev, M. Ye; Vedyayev, A. V.; Tsymbal, E. Y.

2010-09-01

A new magnetoelectric effect is predicted originating from the interlayer exchange coupling between two ferromagnetic layers separated by an ultrathin ferroelectric barrier. It is demonstrated that ferroelectric polarization switching driven by an external electric field leads to a sizable change in the interlayer exchange coupling. The effect occurs in asymmetric ferromagnet/ferroelectric/ferromagnet junctions due to a change in the electrostatic potential profile across the junction affecting the interlayer coupling. The predicted phenomenon indicates the possibility of switching the magnetic configuration by reversing the polarization of the ferroelectric barrier layer.

Antiferromagnetic Interlayer Exchange Coupling in All-Semiconducting EuS/PbS/EuS Trilayers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smits, C. J. P.; Filip, A. T.; Swagten, H. J. M.; Koopmans, B.; deJonge, W. J. M.; Chernyshova, M.; Kowalczyk, L.; Grasza, K.; Szczerbakow, A.; Story, T.

2003-01-01

A comprehensive experimental study on the antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling in high quality epitaxial all-semiconducting EuSPbSEuS trilayers is reported. The influence of substrates, the thickness of the non-magnetic PbS spacer layer, and of temperature, was investigated by means of SQUID magnetometry. In trilayers with a PbS thickness between 4 and 12 deg A the low temperature hysteresis loops showed the signature of antiferromagnetic coupling. The value of the interlayer exchange coupling energy was determined by simulating the data with a modified Stoner model, including Zeeman, anisotropy, and exchange coupling energies. An important observation was of a strong dependence of the interlayer exchange coupling energy on temperature, consistent with a power law dependence of the exchange coupling constant on the saturation magnetization of the EuS layers. While no theoretical description is readily available, we conjecture that the observed behavior is due to a dependence of the interlayer exchange coupling energy on the exchange splitting of the EuS conduction band.

Temperature dependence of interlayer coupling in perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with GdOx barriers

DOE PAGES

Newhouse-Illige, T.; Xu, Y. H.; Liu, Y. H.; ...

2018-02-13

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with GdO X tunneling barriers have shown a unique voltage controllable interlayer magnetic coupling effect. Here we investigate the quality of the GdO X barrier and the coupling mechanism in these junctions by examining the temperature dependence of the tunneling magnetoresistance and the interlayer coupling from room temperature down to 11 K. The barrier is shown to be of good quality with the spin independent conductance only contributing a small portion, 14%, to the total room temperature conductance, similar to AlO X and MgO barriers. The interlayer coupling, however, shows an anomalously strong temperature dependence includingmore » sign changes below 80 K. This non-trivial temperature dependence is not described by previous models of interlayer coupling and may be due to the large induced magnetic moment of the Gd ions in the barrier.« less

Temperature dependence of interlayer coupling in perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with GdOx barriers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Newhouse-Illige, T.; Xu, Y. H.; Liu, Y. H.

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with GdO X tunneling barriers have shown a unique voltage controllable interlayer magnetic coupling effect. Here we investigate the quality of the GdO X barrier and the coupling mechanism in these junctions by examining the temperature dependence of the tunneling magnetoresistance and the interlayer coupling from room temperature down to 11 K. The barrier is shown to be of good quality with the spin independent conductance only contributing a small portion, 14%, to the total room temperature conductance, similar to AlO X and MgO barriers. The interlayer coupling, however, shows an anomalously strong temperature dependence includingmore » sign changes below 80 K. This non-trivial temperature dependence is not described by previous models of interlayer coupling and may be due to the large induced magnetic moment of the Gd ions in the barrier.« less

Design of Co/Pd multilayer system with antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiele, Jan-Ulrich

2009-03-01

Among the known magnetic material systems there are only very few examples of materials that undergo a temperature dependent antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transition, and of these only the chemically ordered alloy FeRh exhibits this transition near room temperature [1, 2]. Here we present a perpendicular anisotropy multilayer structure that mimics FeRh. The basic idea is to use two stacks of Co/Pd multilayers with large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and high Curie temperature, TC, separated by a layer providing antiferromagnetic coupling, and a CoNi/Pd multilayer with perpendicular anisotropy with a lower TC, interlayer, in the range of the desired AF-FM transition temperature, TAF-FM. At room temperature this system behaves as two antiferromagnetically coupled layers with a low perpendicular remanent magnetic moment. As the temperature is raised to approach TC, interlayer the magnetization of the interlayer is gradually reduced to zero, and consequently its coupling strength is reduced. Eventually, the effective coupling between the two high-KU, high-TC layers becomes dominated by their dipolar fields, resulting in a parallel alignment of their moments and a net remanent magnetic moment equal to the sum of the moments of the two high-TC layers [2]. [4pt] [1] J. S. Kouvel and C. C. Hartelius, J. Appl. Phys. 33 (1962) p1343 [0pt] [2] J.-U. Thiele, E. E. Fullerton, S. Maat, Appl. Phys. Lett. 82 (2003) p2859 [0pt] [3] J.-U. Thiele. T. Hauet. O. Hellwig, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92 (2008) 242502.

Thermally assisted interlayer magnetic coupling through Ba{sub 0.05}Sr{sub 0.95}TiO{sub 3} barriers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carreira, Santiago J.; Steren, Laura B.; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires C1425FQB

2016-08-08

We report on the interlayer exchange coupling across insulating barriers observed on Ni{sub 80}Fe{sub 20}/Ba{sub 0.05}Sr{sub 0.95}TiO{sub 3}/La{sub 0.66}Sr{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3} (Py/BST{sub 0.05}/LSMO) trilayers. The coupling mechanism has been analyzed in terms of the barrier thickness, samples' substrate, and temperature. We examined the effect of MgO (MGO) and SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) (001) single-crystalline substrates on the magnetic coupling and also on the magnetic anisotropies of the samples in order to get a deeper understanding of the magnetism of the structures. We measured a weak coupling mediated by spin-dependent tunneling phenomena whose sign and strength depend on barrier thickness and substrate.more » An antiferromagnetic (AF) exchange prevails for most of the samples and smoothly increases with the barrier thicknesses as a consequence of the screening effects of the BST{sub 0.05}. The coupling monotonically increases with temperature in all the samples and this behavior is attributed to thermally assisted mechanisms. The magnetic anisotropy of both magnetic components has a cubic symmetry that in the case of permalloy is added to a small uniaxial component.« less

Al/Cu Dissimilar Friction Stir Welding with Ni, Ti, and Zn Foil as the Interlayer for Flow Control, Enhancing Mechanical and Metallurgical Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahu, Prakash Kumar; Pal, Sukhomay; Pal, Surjya K.

2017-07-01

This research investigates the effects of Ni, Ti, and Zn foil as interlayer, inserted between the faying edges of Al and Cu plates, for controlled intermetallic compound (IMC) formation. The weld tensile strength with Ti and Zn as interlayer is superior to Al base metal strength. This is due to controlled flow of IMCs by diffused Ti interlayer and thin, continuous, and uniform IMC formation in the case of Zn interlayer. Improved flexural stress was observed with interlayer. Weld microhardness varied with different interlayers and purely depends on IMCs present at the indentation point, flow of IMCs, and interlayer hardness. Specimens with interlayer failed at the interface of the nugget and thermomechanical-affected zone (TMAZ) with complete and broken three-dimensional (3-D) grains, indicating transgranular fracture. Phase analysis revealed that Al/Cu IMCs are impeded by Ni and Ti interlayer. The minor binary and ternary IMC phases form adjacent to the interlayer due to diffusion of the material with Al/Cu. Line scan and elemental mapping indicate thin, continuous, and uniform IMCs with enhanced weld metallurgical and mechanical properties for the joints with Zn interlayer. Macrostructural analysis revealed IMC flow variations with and without interlayer. Variation in grain size at different zones is also observed for different interlayers.

Domain size and structure in exchange coupled [Co/Pt]/NiO/[Co/Pt] multilayers.

PubMed

Baruth, A; Adenwalla, S

2011-09-21

We investigate the competing effects of interlayer exchange coupling and magnetostatic coupling in the magnetic heterostructure ([Co/Pt]/NiO/[Co/Pt]) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). This particular heterostructure is unique among coupled materials with PMA in directly exhibiting both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic coupling, oscillating between the two as a function of spacer layer thickness. By systematically tuning the coupling interactions via a wedge-shaped NiO spacer layer, we explore the energetics that dictate magnetic domain formation using high resolution magnetic force microscopy coupled with the magneto-optical Kerr effect. This technique probes the microscopic and macroscopic magnetic behavior as a continuous function of thickness and the interlayer exchange coupling, including the regions where interlayer coupling goes through zero. We see significant changes in domain structure based on the sign of coupling, and also show that magnetic domain size is directly related to the magnitude of the interlayer exchange coupling energy, which generally dominates over the magnetostatic interactions. When magnetostatic interactions become comparable to the interlayer exchange coupling, a delicate interplay between the differing energy contributions is apparent and energy scales are extracted. The results are of intense interest to the magnetic recording industry and also illustrate a relatively new avenue of undiscovered physics, primarily dealing with the delicate balance of energies in the formation of magnetic domains for coupled systems with PMA, defining limits on domain size as well as the interplay between roughness, domains and magnetic coupling.

Mechanical characterization and modeling of brazed tungsten and Cu-Cr-Zr alloy using stress relief interlayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qu, Dandan; Zhou, Zhangjian; Yum, Youngjin; Aktaa, Jarir

2014-12-01

A rapidly solidified foil-type Ti-Zr based amorphous filler with a melting temperature of 850 °C was used to braze tungsten to Cu-Cr-Zr alloy for water cooled divertors and plasma facing components application. Brazed joints of dissimilar materials suffer from a mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion. In order to release the residual stress caused by the mismatch, brazed joints of tungsten and Cu-Cr-Zr alloy using different interlayers were studied. The shear strength tests of brazed W/Cu joints show that the average strength of the joint with a W70Cu30 composite plate interlayer reached 119.8 MPa, and the average strength of the joint with oxygen free high conductivity copper (OFHC Cu)/Mo multi-interlayers reached 140.8 MPa, while the joint without interlayer was only 16.6 MPa. Finite element method (FEM) has been performed to investigate the stress distribution and effect of stress relief interlayers. FEM results show that the maximum von Mises stress occurs in the tungsten/filler interface and that the filler suffers the peak residual stresses and becomes the weakest zone. And the use of OFHC Cu/Mo multi-interlayers can reduce the residual stress significantly, which agrees with the mechanical experiment data.

Mechanism of mechanically induced optoelectronic and spintronic phase transitions in 1D graphene spirals: insight into the role of interlayer coupling.

PubMed

Xu, Xiaodong; Liu, Bingyi; Zhao, Wenyu; Jiang, Yongyuan; Liu, Linhua; Li, Weiqi; Zhang, Guiling; Tian, Wei Quan

2017-07-13

Graphene spirals (GSs), an emerging carbonic nano-material with a Riemann surface, demonstrate extraordinary topological electronic signatures: interlayer coupling similar to van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions and intralayer coupling within the spiral conformation. Based on the state-of-the-art first-principles technique, the electronic properties of the periphery-modified GSs with geometry deformation are explored under axial strain. For all GSs, there emerges a remarkable phase transition from metal to semiconductor, due to the attenuation of interlayer "σ-bonds" reducing the interlayer tunneling probability for carriers. Analogous to graphene, GSs consist of bipartite sublattices with carbonic sp 2 hybridization as well. Once the balance of the bipartite sublattices is lost, there will emerge intense edge (corner) states, contributed by the p z orbitals. In contrast to isolated graphene nanoflakes, GSs realize the continuous spin-polarized edge (corner) state coupling with 1D morphology. However, the spin-polarization is blocked by the robust interlayer "σ-bonds" so that the spintronic transition takes place until this interlayer coupling is broken. More intriguingly, an indirect-direct bandgap transition is observed, revealing excellent optical on-off features. Their tunable properties provide great potential for their application in optoelectronics, spintronics and chemical or biological sensors.

Electronic cooling via interlayer Coulomb coupling in multilayer epitaxial graphene

PubMed Central

Mihnev, Momchil T.; Tolsma, John R.; Divin, Charles J.; Sun, Dong; Asgari, Reza; Polini, Marco; Berger, Claire; de Heer, Walt A.; MacDonald, Allan H.; Norris, Theodore B.

2015-01-01

In van der Waals bonded or rotationally disordered multilayer stacks of two-dimensional (2D) materials, the electronic states remain tightly confined within individual 2D layers. As a result, electron–phonon interactions occur primarily within layers and interlayer electrical conductivities are low. In addition, strong covalent in-plane intralayer bonding combined with weak van der Waals interlayer bonding results in weak phonon-mediated thermal coupling between the layers. We demonstrate here, however, that Coulomb interactions between electrons in different layers of multilayer epitaxial graphene provide an important mechanism for interlayer thermal transport, even though all electronic states are strongly confined within individual 2D layers. This effect is manifested in the relaxation dynamics of hot carriers in ultrafast time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. We develop a theory of interlayer Coulomb coupling containing no free parameters that accounts for the experimentally observed trends in hot-carrier dynamics as temperature and the number of layers is varied. PMID:26399955

Polytypism and unexpected strong interlayer coupling in two-dimensional layered ReS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Xiao-Fen; Wu, Jiang-Bin; Zhou, Linwei; Qiao, Jingsi; Shi, Wei; Chen, Tao; Zhang, Xin; Zhang, Jun; Ji, Wei; Tan, Ping-Heng

2016-04-01

Anisotropic two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) layered materials, with both scientific interest and application potential, offer one more dimension than isotropic 2D materials to tune their physical properties. Various physical properties of 2D multi-layer materials are modulated by varying their stacking orders owing to significant interlayer vdW coupling. Multilayer rhenium disulfide (ReS2), a representative anisotropic 2D material, was expected to be randomly stacked and lack interlayer coupling. Here, we demonstrate two stable stacking orders, namely isotropic-like (IS) and anisotropic-like (AI) N layer (NL, N > 1) ReS2 are revealed by ultralow- and high-frequency Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence and first-principles density functional theory calculation. Two interlayer shear modes are observed in AI-NL-ReS2 while only one shear mode appears in IS-NL-ReS2, suggesting anisotropic- and isotropic-like stacking orders in IS- and AI-NL-ReS2, respectively. This explicit difference in the observed frequencies identifies an unexpected strong interlayer coupling in IS- and AI-NL-ReS2. Quantitatively, the force constants of them are found to be around 55-90% of those of multilayer MoS2. The revealed strong interlayer coupling and polytypism in multi-layer ReS2 may stimulate future studies on engineering physical properties of other anisotropic 2D materials by stacking orders.Anisotropic two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) layered materials, with both scientific interest and application potential, offer one more dimension than isotropic 2D materials to tune their physical properties. Various physical properties of 2D multi-layer materials are modulated by varying their stacking orders owing to significant interlayer vdW coupling. Multilayer rhenium disulfide (ReS2), a representative anisotropic 2D material, was expected to be randomly stacked and lack interlayer coupling. Here, we demonstrate two stable stacking orders, namely isotropic-like (IS) and anisotropic-like (AI) N layer (NL, N > 1) ReS2 are revealed by ultralow- and high-frequency Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence and first-principles density functional theory calculation. Two interlayer shear modes are observed in AI-NL-ReS2 while only one shear mode appears in IS-NL-ReS2, suggesting anisotropic- and isotropic-like stacking orders in IS- and AI-NL-ReS2, respectively. This explicit difference in the observed frequencies identifies an unexpected strong interlayer coupling in IS- and AI-NL-ReS2. Quantitatively, the force constants of them are found to be around 55-90% of those of multilayer MoS2. The revealed strong interlayer coupling and polytypism in multi-layer ReS2 may stimulate future studies on engineering physical properties of other anisotropic 2D materials by stacking orders. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr01569g

Enhancement of magnetoresistance with low interlayer coupling by insertion of a nano-oxide layer into a free magnetic layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nam, Chunghee; Lee, Ki-Su; Cho, B. K.

2005-05-01

We studied the interlayer coupling strength (Hin) and GMR ratio of a spin-valve with the top free layer, separated by a nano-oxide layer (NOL). With the total thickness of the top free layer being fixed at 60Å, the physical properties of the NOL spin-valve were studied with the thickness (tf) of the free layer under the inserted NOL and compared with those of the normal spin-valve with the same thickness as tf. It was found that the spin-valve with NOL has a higher GMR ratio than that of the normal spin-valve at the optimal condition (tf=40Å) after thermal annealing at T =250°C. The NOL spin-valve also shows a lower Hin than that of the optimal normal spin-valve with tf=40Å, which is comparable to that of the normal spin-valve with tf=60Å. This indicates that the enhancement of GMR, while keeping the Hin to be low, can be achieved by inserting a NOL into the top free layer.

Effect of interlayer coupling on the coexistence of antiferromagnetism and superconductivity in Fe pnictide superconductors: A study of Ca0.74 (1 )La0.26 (1 )(Fe1 -xCox)As2 single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Shan; Liu, Lian; Schütt, Michael; Hallas, Alannah M.; Shen, Bing; Tian, Wei; Emmanouilidou, Eve; Shi, Aoshuang; Luke, Graeme M.; Uemura, Yasutomo J.; Fernandes, Rafael M.; Ni, Ni

2016-05-01

We report the transport, thermodynamic, muon spin relaxation, and neutron study of the Ca0.74 (1 )La0.26 (1 ) (Fe1 -xCox )As2 single crystals, mapping out the temperature-doping level phase diagram. Upon Co substitution on the Fe site, the structural and magnetic phase transitions in this 112 compound are suppressed and superconductivity up to 20 K occurs. Our measurements of the superconducting and magnetic volume fractions show that these two phases coexist microscopically in the underdoped region, in contrast to the related Ca10(Pt3As8 )((Fe1 -xPtx )2As2 )5 (10-3-8) compound, where coexistence is absent. Supported by model calculations, we discuss the differences in the phase diagrams of the 112 and 10-3-8 compounds in terms of the FeAs interlayer coupling, whose strength is affected by the character of the spacer layer, which is metallic in the 112 compound and insulating in the 10-3-8 compound.

Band engineering in twisted molybdenum disulfide bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yipeng; Liao, Chengwei; Ouyang, Gang

2018-05-01

In order to explore the theoretical relationship between interlayer spacing, interaction and band offset at the atomic level in vertically stacked two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) structures, we propose an analytical model to address the evolution of interlayer vdW coupling with random stacking configurations in MoS2 bilayers based on the atomic-bond-relaxation correlation mechanism. We found that interlayer spacing changes substantially with respect to the orientations, and the bandgap increases from 1.53 eV (AB stacking) to 1.68 eV (AA stacking). Our results reveal that the evolution of interlayer vdW coupling originates from the interlayer interaction, leading to interlayer separations and electronic properties changing with stacking configurations. Our predictions constitute a demonstration of twist engineering the band shift in the emergent class of 2D crystals, transition-metal dichalcogenides.

Layer and doping tunable ferromagnetic order in two-dimensional Cr S2 layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Cong; Zhou, Xieyu; Pan, Yuhao; Qiao, Jingsi; Kong, Xianghua; Kaun, Chao-Cheng; Ji, Wei

2018-06-01

Interlayer coupling is of vital importance for manipulating physical properties, e.g., electronic band gap, in two-dimensional materials. However, tuning magnetic properties in these materials is yet to be addressed. Here, we found the in-plane magnetic orders of Cr S2 mono and few layers are tunable between striped antiferromagnetic (sAFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) orders by manipulating charge transfer between Cr t2 g and eg orbitals. Such charge transfer is realizable through interlayer coupling, direct charge doping, or substituting S with Cl atoms. In particular, the transferred charge effectively reduces a portion of Cr4 + to Cr3 +, which, together with delocalized S p orbitals and their resulting direct S-S interlayer hopping, enhances the double-exchange mechanism favoring the FM rather than sAFM order. An exceptional interlayer spin-exchange parameter was revealed over -10 meV , an order of magnitude stronger than available results of interlayer magnetic coupling. It addition, the charge doping could tune Cr S2 between p - and n -doped magnetic semiconductors. Given these results, several prototype devices were proposed for manipulating magnetic orders using external electric fields or mechanical motion. These results manifest the role of interlayer coupling in modifying magnetic properties of layered materials and shed considerable light on manipulating magnetism in these materials.

Sandblasting induced stress release and enhanced adhesion strength of diamond films deposited on austenite stainless steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiao; Ye, Jiansong; Zhang, Hangcheng; Feng, Tao; Chen, Jianqing; Hu, Xiaojun

2017-08-01

We firstly used sandblasting to treat austenite stainless steel and then deposited a Cr/CrN interlayer by close field unbalanced magnetron sputtering on it. After that, diamond films were prepared on the interlayer. It is found that the sandblasting process induces phase transition from austenite to martensite in the surface region of the stainless steel, which decreases thermal stress in diamond films due to lower thermal expansion coefficient of martensite phase compared with that of austenite phase. The sandblasting also makes stainless steel's surface rough and the Cr/CrN interlayer film inherits the rough surface. This decreases the carburization extent of the interlayer, increases nucleation density and modifies the stress distribution. Due to lower residual stress and small extent of the interlayer's carburization, the diamond film on sandblast treated austenite stainless steel shows enhanced adhesion strength.

Interface mixing and its impact on exchange coupling in exchange biased systems

DOE PAGES

Manna, P. K.; Skoropata, E.; Ting, Y-W; ...

2016-10-05

Exchange bias and interlayer exchange coupling are interface driven phenomena. Since an ideal interface is very challenging to achieve, a clear understanding of the chemical and magnetic natures of interfaces is pivotal to identify their influence on the magnetism. We have chosen Ni 80Fe 20/CoO(t CoO)/Co trilayers as a model system, and identified non-stoichiometric Ni-ferrite and Co-ferrite at the surface and interface, respectively. These ferrites, being ferrimagnets typically, should influence the exchange coupling. But, in our trilayers the interface ferrites were found not to be ferro-or ferri-magnetic; thus having no observable influence on the exchange coupling. Our analysis also revealedmore » that (i) interlayer exchange coupling was present between Ni 80Fe 20 and Co even though the interlayer thickness was significantly larger than expected for this phenomenon to happen, and (ii) the majority of the CoO layer (except some portion near the interface) did not contribute to the observed exchange bias. Here, we also identified that the interlayer exchange coupling and the exchange bias properties were not interdependent.« less

Two-Dimensional Jeff=1 /2 Antiferromagnetic Insulator Unraveled from Interlayer Exchange Coupling in Artificial Perovskite Iridate Superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Lin; Meyers, D.; Frederick, Clayton; Fabbris, Gilberto; Yang, Junyi; Traynor, Nathan; Horak, Lukas; Kriegner, Dominik; Choi, Yongseong; Kim, Jong-Woo; Haskel, Daniel; Ryan, Phil J.; Dean, M. P. M.; Liu, Jian

2017-07-01

We report an experimental investigation of the two-dimensional Jeff=1 /2 antiferromagnetic Mott insulator by varying the interlayer exchange coupling in [(SrIrO3)1 , (SrTiO3)m ] (m =1 , 2 and 3) superlattices. Although all samples exhibited an insulating ground state with long-range magnetic order, temperature-dependent resistivity measurements showed a stronger insulating behavior in the m =2 and m =3 samples than the m =1 sample which displayed a clear kink at the magnetic transition. This difference indicates that the blocking effect of the excessive SrTiO3 layer enhances the effective electron-electron correlation and strengthens the Mott phase. The significant reduction of the Néel temperature from 150 K for m =1 to 40 K for m =2 demonstrates that the long-range order stability in the former is boosted by a substantial interlayer exchange coupling. Resonant x-ray magnetic scattering revealed that the interlayer exchange coupling has a switchable sign, depending on the SrTiO3 layer number m , for maintaining canting-induced weak ferromagnetism. The nearly unaltered transition temperature between the m =2 and the m =3 demonstrated that we have realized a two-dimensional antiferromagnet at finite temperatures with diminishing interlayer exchange coupling.

Low-Frequency Interlayer Raman Modes to Probe Interface of Twisted Bilayer MoS 2

DOE PAGES

Huang, Shengxi; Liang, Liangbo; Ling, Xi; ...

2016-02-21

A variety of van der Waals homo- and hetero- structures assembled by stamping monolayers together present optoelectronic properties suitable for diverse applications. Understanding the details of the interlayer stacking and resulting coupling is crucial for tuning these properties. Twisted bilayer transition metal dichalcogenides offer a great platform for developing a precise understanding of the structure/property relationship. Here, we study the low-frequency interlayer shear and breathing Raman modes (<50 cm-1) in twisted bilayer MoS 2 by Raman spectroscopy and first-principles modeling. Twisting introduces both rotational and translational shifts and significantly alters the interlayer stacking and coupling, leading to notable frequency andmore » intensity changes of low-frequency modes. The frequency variation can be up to 8 cm-1 and the intensity can vary by a factor of ~5 for twisting near 0 and 60 , where the stacking is a mixture of multiple high-symmetry stacking patterns and is thus especially sensitive to twisting. Moreover, for twisting angles between 20 and 40 , the interlayer coupling is nearly constant since the stacking results in mismatched lattices over the entire sample. It follows that the Raman signature is relatively uniform. Interestingly, unlike the breathing mode, the shear mode is extremely sensitive to twisting: it disappears between 20 and 40 as its frequency drops to almost zero due to the stacking-induced mismatch. Note that for some samples, multiple breathing mode peaks appear, indicating non-uniform coupling across the interface. In contrast to the low-frequency interlayer modes, high-frequency intralayer Raman modes are much less sensitive to interlayer stacking and coupling, showing negligible changes upon twisting. Our research demonstrates the effectiveness of low-frequency Raman modes for probing the interfacial coupling and environment of twisted bilayer MoS2, and potentially other two-dimensional materials and heterostructures.« less

Interlayer excitons in MoSe2/WSe2 heterostructures from first principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillen, Roland; Maultzsch, Janina

2018-04-01

Based on ab initio theoretical calculations of the optical spectra of vertical heterostructures of MoSe2 (or MoS2) and WSe2 sheets, we reveal two spin-orbit-split Rydberg series of excitonic states below the A excitons of MoSe2 and WSe2 with a significant binding energy on the order of 250 meV for the first excitons in the series. At the same time, we predict from accurate many-body G0W0 calculations that crystallographically aligned MoSe2/WSe2 heterostructures exhibit an indirect fundamental band gap. Due to the type-II nature of the MoSe2/WSe2 heterostructure, the indirect transition and the exciton Rydberg series corresponding to a direct transition exhibit a distinct interlayer nature with spatial charge separation of the coupled electrons and holes. Our calculations confirm the recent experimental observation of a doublet nature of the long-lived states in photoluminescence spectra of Mo X2/W Y2 heterostructures, and we attribute these two contributions to momentum-direct interlayer excitons at the K point of the hexagonal Brillouin zone and to momentum-indirect excitons at the indirect fundamental band gap. Our calculations further suggest a noticeable effect of stacking order on the electronic band gaps and on the peak energies of the interlayer excitons and their oscillation strengths.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Manna, P. K.; Skoropata, E.; Ting, Y-W

Exchange bias and interlayer exchange coupling are interface driven phenomena. Since an ideal interface is very challenging to achieve, a clear understanding of the chemical and magnetic natures of interfaces is pivotal to identify their influence on the magnetism. We have chosen Ni 80Fe 20/CoO(t CoO)/Co trilayers as a model system, and identified non-stoichiometric Ni-ferrite and Co-ferrite at the surface and interface, respectively. These ferrites, being ferrimagnets typically, should influence the exchange coupling. But, in our trilayers the interface ferrites were found not to be ferro-or ferri-magnetic; thus having no observable influence on the exchange coupling. Our analysis also revealedmore » that (i) interlayer exchange coupling was present between Ni 80Fe 20 and Co even though the interlayer thickness was significantly larger than expected for this phenomenon to happen, and (ii) the majority of the CoO layer (except some portion near the interface) did not contribute to the observed exchange bias. Here, we also identified that the interlayer exchange coupling and the exchange bias properties were not interdependent.« less

Effects of humidity and interlayer cations on the frictional strength of montmorillonite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tetsuka, Hiroshi; Katayama, Ikuo; Sakuma, Hiroshi; Tamura, Kenji

2018-04-01

We developed a humidity control system in a biaxial friction testing machine to investigate the effect of relative humidity and interlayer cations on the frictional strength of montmorillonite. We carried out the frictional experiments on Na- and Ca-montmorillonite under controlled relative humidities (ca. 10, 30, 50, 70, and 90%) and at a constant temperature (95 °C). Our experimental results show that frictional strengths of both Na- and Ca-montmorillonite decrease systematically with increasing relative humidity. The friction coefficients of Na-montmorillonite decrease from 0.33 (at relative humidity of 10%) to 0.06 (at relative humidity of 93%) and those of Ca-montmorillonite decrease from 0.22 (at relative humidity of 11%) to 0.04 (at relative humidity of 91%). Our results also show that the frictional strength of Na-montmorillonite is higher than that of Ca-montmorillonite at a given relative humidity. These results reveal that the frictional strength of montmorillonite is sensitive to hydration state and interlayer cation species, suggesting that the strength of faults containing these clay minerals depends on the physical and chemical environment.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Shear bond strength of veneering porcelain to zirconia: Effect of surface treatment by CNC-milling and composite layer deposition on zirconia.

PubMed

Santos, R L P; Silva, F S; Nascimento, R M; Souza, J C M; Motta, F V; Carvalho, O; Henriques, B

2016-07-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the shear bond strength of veneering feldspathic porcelain to zirconia substrates modified by CNC-milling process or by coating zirconia with a composite interlayer. Four types of zirconia-porcelain interface configurations were tested: RZ - porcelain bonded to rough zirconia substrate (n=16); PZ - porcelain bonded to zirconia substrate with surface holes (n=16); RZI - application of a composite interlayer between the veneering porcelain and the rough zirconia substrate (n=16); PZI - application of a composite interlayer between the porcelain and the zirconia substrate treated by CNC-milling (n=16). The composite interlayer was composed of zirconia particles reinforced porcelain (30%, vol%). The mechanical properties of the ceramic composite have been determined. The shear bond strength test was performed at 0.5mm/min using a universal testing machine. The interfaces of fractured and untested specimens were examined by FEG-SEM/EDS. Data was analyzed with Shapiro-Wilk test to test the assumption of normality. The one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey HSD multiple comparison test was used to compare shear bond strength results (α=0.05). The shear bond strength of PZ (100±15MPa) and RZI (96±11MPa) specimens were higher than that recorded for RZ (control group) specimens (89±15MPa), although not significantly (p>0.05). The highest shear bond strength values were recorded for PZI specimens (138±19MPa), yielding a significant improvement of 55% relative to RZ specimens (p<0.05). This study shows that it is possible to highly enhance the zirconia-porcelain bond strength - even by ~55% - by combining surface holes in zirconia frameworks and the application of a proper ceramic composite interlayer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enrofloxacin sorption on smectite clays: effects of pH, cations, and humic acid.

PubMed

Yan, Wei; Hu, Shan; Jing, Chuanyong

2012-04-15

Enrofloxacin (ENR) occurs widely in natural waters because of its extensive use as a veterinary chemotherapeutic agent. To improve our understanding of the interaction of this emerging contaminant with soils and sediments, sorption of ENR on homoionic smectites and kaolinite was studied as a function of pH, ionic strength, exchangeable cations, and humic acid concentration. Batch experiments and in situ ATR-FTIR analysis suggested multiple sorption mechanisms. Cation exchange was a major contributor to the sorption of cationic ENR species on smectite. The decreased ENR sorption with increasing ionic strength indicated the formation of outer-sphere complexes. Exchangeable cations significantly influenced the sorption capacity, and the observed order was Cs

Two-Dimensional J eff = 1 / 2 Antiferromagnetic Insulator Unraveled from Interlayer Exchange Coupling in Artificial Perovskite Iridate Superlattices

DOE PAGES

Hao, Lin; Meyers, D.; Frederick, Clayton; ...

2017-07-14

We report an experimental investigation of the two-dimensional J eff=1/2 antiferromagnetic Mott insulator by varying the interlayer exchange coupling in [(SrIrO 3) 1, (SrTiO 3) m] (m=1, 2 and 3) superlattices. Although all samples exhibited an insulating ground state with long-range magnetic order, temperature-dependent resistivity measurements showed a stronger insulating behavior in the m = 2 and m = 3 samples than the m = 1 sample which displayed a clear kink at the magnetic transition. This difference indicates that the blocking effect of the excessive SrTiO 3 layer enhances the effective electron-electron correlation and strengthens the Mott phase. Themore » significant reduction of the Néel temperature from 150 K for m = 1 to 40 K for m = 2 demonstrates that the long-range order stability in the former is boosted by a substantial interlayer exchange coupling. Resonant x-ray magnetic scattering revealed that the interlayer exchange coupling has a switchable sign, depending on the SrTiO 3 layer number m, for maintaining canting-induced weak ferromagnetism. In conclusion, the nearly unaltered transition temperature between the m = 2 and the m = 3 demonstrated that we have realized a two-dimensional antiferromagnet at finite temperatures with diminishing interlayer exchange coupling.« less

Two-Dimensional J eff = 1 / 2 Antiferromagnetic Insulator Unraveled from Interlayer Exchange Coupling in Artificial Perovskite Iridate Superlattices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hao, Lin; Meyers, D.; Frederick, Clayton

We report an experimental investigation of the two-dimensional J eff=1/2 antiferromagnetic Mott insulator by varying the interlayer exchange coupling in [(SrIrO 3) 1, (SrTiO 3) m] (m=1, 2 and 3) superlattices. Although all samples exhibited an insulating ground state with long-range magnetic order, temperature-dependent resistivity measurements showed a stronger insulating behavior in the m = 2 and m = 3 samples than the m = 1 sample which displayed a clear kink at the magnetic transition. This difference indicates that the blocking effect of the excessive SrTiO 3 layer enhances the effective electron-electron correlation and strengthens the Mott phase. Themore » significant reduction of the Néel temperature from 150 K for m = 1 to 40 K for m = 2 demonstrates that the long-range order stability in the former is boosted by a substantial interlayer exchange coupling. Resonant x-ray magnetic scattering revealed that the interlayer exchange coupling has a switchable sign, depending on the SrTiO 3 layer number m, for maintaining canting-induced weak ferromagnetism. In conclusion, the nearly unaltered transition temperature between the m = 2 and the m = 3 demonstrated that we have realized a two-dimensional antiferromagnet at finite temperatures with diminishing interlayer exchange coupling.« less

PNR studies of spin-flop and spin-flip processes in magnetic multilayer, NiFeCo/Cu system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambaye, Hailemariam; Sato, Hideo; Mankey, Gary; Lauter, Valeria; Goyette, Richard

2010-03-01

Early GMR devices relied on antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling to work and it was shown that the interlayer coupling is in fact oscillatory, with both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange depending on the thickness of the nonmagnetic layer [1,2]. Different competing interactions such as magnetic anisotropy and interlayer afm coupling occur in multilayer systems. Distinguishing the individual contributions is one of the major challenges in the study of multilayered systems. We used polarized neutron reflectivity with full polarization analysis to understand how the magnetization is distributed through the system and how deep the flipping process of the magnetization goes into the system. The easy axis field dependence of occurrence of spin-flop and spin-flip events in the system will be reported. [4pt] [1] S. S. P. Parkin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 1641 (1993).[0pt] [2] D. Elefant, et al., Phys. Rev. B 77, 014426 (2008).

Observation of van Hove Singularities in Twisted Silicene Multilayers.

PubMed

Li, Zhi; Zhuang, Jincheng; Chen, Lan; Ni, Zhenyi; Liu, Chen; Wang, Li; Xu, Xun; Wang, Jiaou; Pi, Xiaodong; Wang, Xiaolin; Du, Yi; Wu, Kehui; Dou, Shi Xue

2016-08-24

Interlayer interactions perturb the electronic structure of two-dimensional materials and lead to new physical phenomena, such as van Hove singularities and Hofstadter's butterfly pattern. Silicene, the recently discovered two-dimensional form of silicon, is quite unique, in that silicon atoms adopt competing sp(2) and sp(3) hybridization states leading to a low-buckled structure promising relatively strong interlayer interaction. In multilayer silicene, the stacking order provides an important yet rarely explored degree of freedom for tuning its electronic structures through manipulating interlayer coupling. Here, we report the emergence of van Hove singularities in the multilayer silicene created by an interlayer rotation. We demonstrate that even a large-angle rotation (>20°) between stacked silicene layers can generate a Moiré pattern and van Hove singularities due to the strong interlayer coupling in multilayer silicene. Our study suggests an intriguing method for expanding the tunability of the electronic structure for electronic applications in this two-dimensional material.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Chun-Han; Su, Chia-Ying; Chen, Chung-Hui

Further reduction of the efficiency droop effect and further enhancements of internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and output intensity of a surface plasmon coupled, blue-emitting light-emitting diode (LED) by inserting a dielectric interlayer (DI) of a lower refractive index between p-GaN and surface Ag nanoparticles are demonstrated. The insertion of a DI leads to a blue shift of the localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance spectrum and increases the LSP coupling strength at the quantum well emitting wavelength in the blue range. With SiO{sub 2} as the DI, a thinner DI leads to a stronger LSP coupling effect, when compared with themore » case of a thicker DI. By using GaZnO, which is a dielectric in the optical range and a good conductor under direct-current operation, as the DI, the LSP coupling results in the highest IQE, highest LED output intensity, and weakest droop effect.« less

Spin-wave resonance frequency in ferromagnetic thin film with interlayer exchange coupling and surface anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shuhui; Rong, Jianhong; Wang, Huan; Wang, Dong; Zhang, Lei

2018-01-01

We have investigated the dependence of spin-wave resonance(SWR) frequency on the surface anisotropy, the interlayer exchange coupling, the ferromagnetic layer thickness, the mode number and the external magnetic field in a ferromagnetic superlattice film by means of the linear spin-wave approximation and Green's function technique. The SWR frequency of the ferromagnetic thin film is shifted to higher values corresponding to those of above factors, respectively. It is found that the linear behavior of SWR frequency curves of all modes in the system is observed as the external magnetic field is increasing, however, SWR frequency curves are nonlinear with the lower and the higher modes for different surface anisotropy and interlayer exchange coupling in the system. In addition, the SWR frequency of the lowest (highest) mode is shifted to higher (lower) values when the film thickness is thinner. The interlayer exchange coupling is more important for the energetically higher modes than for the energetically lower modes. The surface anisotropy has a little effect on the SWR frequency of the highest mode, when the surface anisotropy field is further increased.

Rheology, thermography, and interlayer welding in polymer extrusion 3D printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seppala, Jonathan; Davis, Chelsea; Migler, Kalman

In polymer extrusion 3D printing, thermoplastic filament is extruded though a rastering nozzle onto previously deposited layers. The resulting strength of the 3D produced part is limited by the strength of the weld between each layer. During this thermal processing, the temperature of the interface between layers dictates the chain mobility, interdiffusion, entanglement, and thus weld strength. In quiescent welding experiments, it has been found that the weld strength in symmetric linear polymer systems scales with t 0.25, where t is the isothermal annealing time, before plateauing to the bulk strength. However, 3D printing is highly non isothermal and we calculated an equivalent isothermal annealing time using a combination of in situ infrared thermography and horizontal shift factors from offline rheological measurements of the neat polymer. Interlayer adhesion energy was measured directly by mode III fracture using a simplified geometry limiting the measurement to a single interlayer. Since the processing conditions are known a prioi this approach provides the data needed to estimate the final build strength at time of design. The resulting agreement between annealing time and adhesion energy for a range of printing conditions and thermoplastics are discussed.

Microscopic theory of the Coulomb based exchange coupling in magnetic tunnel junctions.

PubMed

Udalov, O G; Beloborodov, I S

2017-05-04

We study interlayer exchange coupling based on the many-body Coulomb interaction between conduction electrons in magnetic tunnel junction. This mechanism complements the known interaction between magnetic layers based on virtual electron hopping (or spin currents). We find that these two mechanisms have different behavior on system parameters. The Coulomb based coupling may exceed the hopping based exchange. We show that the Coulomb based exchange interaction, in contrast to the hopping based coupling, depends strongly on the dielectric constant of the insulating layer. The dependence of the interlayer exchange interaction on the dielectric properties of the insulating layer in magnetic tunnel junction is similar to magneto-electric effect where electric and magnetic degrees of freedom are coupled. We calculate the interlayer coupling as a function of temperature and electric field for magnetic tunnel junction with ferroelectric layer and show that the exchange interaction between magnetic leads has a sharp decrease in the vicinity of the ferroelectric phase transition and varies strongly with external electric field.

Transient liquid phase bonding of titanium-, iron- and nickel-based alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, A. H. M. Esfakur

The operating temperature of land-based gas turbines and jet engines are ever-increasing to increase the efficiency, decrease the emissions and minimize the cost. Within the engines, complex-shaped parts experience extreme temperature, fatigue and corrosion conditions. Ti-based, Ni-based and Fe-based alloys are commonly used in gas turbines and jet engines depending on the temperatures of different sections. Although those alloys have superior mechanical, high temperature and corrosion properties, severe operating conditions cause fast degradation and failure of the components. Repair of these components could reduce lifecycle costs. Unfortunately, conventional fusion welding is not very attractive, because Ti reacts very easily with oxygen and nitrogen at high temperatures, Ni-based superalloys show heat affected zone (HAZ) cracking, and stainless steels show intergranular corrosion and knife-line attack. On the other hand, transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding method has been considered as preferred joining method for those types of alloys. During the initial phase of the current work commercially pure Ti, Fe and Ni were diffusion bonded using commercially available interlayer materials. Commercially pure Ti (Ti-grade 2) has been diffusion bonded using silver and copper interlayers and without any interlayer. With a silver (Ag) interlayer, different intermetallics (AgTi, AgTi2) appeared in the joint centerline microstructure. While with a Cu interlayer eutectic mixtures and Ti-Cu solid solutions appeared in the joint centerline. The maximum tensile strengths achieved were 160 MPa, 502 MPa, and 382 MPa when Ag, Cu and no interlayers were used, respectively. Commercially pure Fe (cp-Fe) was diffusion bonded using Cu (25 m) and Au-12Ge eutectic interlayer (100 microm). Cu diffused predominantly along austenite grain boundaries in all bonding conditions. Residual interlayers appeared at lower bonding temperature and time, however, voids were observed in the joint centerline at higher joining temperature and time. Dispersed Au-rich particles were observed in the base metal near interface. The highest ultimate tensile strengths obtained for the bonded Fe were 291+/-2 MPa using a Cu interlayer at 1030°C for 10 h and 315+/-4 MPa using a Au-12Ge interlayer at 950°C for 15 h. Commercially pure Ni (cp-Ni) was diffusion bonded using a Al, Au-12Ge or Cu interlayer. The formation of intermetallics could not be avoided when Al interlayer was used. Even though no intermetallics were obtained with Au-12Ge or Cu interlayer, appreciable strength of the joint was not found. Next, the simple bonding systems were modeled numerically. It is hoped that the simple models can be extended for higher order alloys. The modeling of TLP joint means to come up with a mathematical model which can predict the concentration profiles of diffusing species. The concentration dependence of diffusivity in a multi-component diffusion system makes it complicated to predict the concentration profiles of diffusing species. The so-called chemical diffusivity can be expressed as a function of thermodynamic and kinetic data. DICTRA software can calculate the concentration profiles using appropriate mobility and thermodynamic data. It can also optimize the diffusivity data using experimental diffusivity data. Then the optimized diffusivity data is stored as mobility data which is a linear function of temperature. In this work, diffusion bonding of commercially pure Ni using Cu interlayers is reported. The mobility parameters of Ni-Cu alloy binary systems were optimized using DICTRA/Thermocalc software from the available self-, tracer and chemical diffusion coefficients. The optimized mobility parameters were used to simulate concentration profiles of Ni-Cu diffusion joints using DICTRA/Thermocalc software. The calculated and experimental concentration profiles agreed well at 1100 °C. This method could not be extended for higher order alloys because of the lack of appropriate thermodynamic and kinetic database. In the third phase industrially important alloys such as SS 321, Inconel 718 and Ti-6Al-4V were diffusion bonded. Diffusion bonded SS 321 with Au-12Ge interlayer provided the best microstructure when bonded in either vacuum or argon at 1050°C for 20 h and cooled in air. The maximum strength obtained of the joint was 387+/-4 MPa bonded in vacuum at 1050°C for 20 h and cooled in air. The microstructure of joint centerline of diffusion bonded Inconel 718 using Au-12Ge interlayer at 1050°C for 15 h and cooled in air consisted of residual interlayer (1.3-2.5 microm). The residual interlayer was disappeared by increasing the bonding time by 5 h, however, pores appeared in the joint centerline. As a result, the strength obtained for bonded Inconel 718 was much lower than that of the base alloy. The joint centerline microstructure of bonded Ti-6Al-4V using Cu interlayer was free of intermetallics and solid solution of Cu and base alloy. The strength of the joint is yet to be determined.

Intrinsic phonon properties of double-walled carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, H. N.; Levshov, D. I.; Nguyen, V. C.; Paillet, M.; Arenal, R.; Than, X. T.; Zahab, A. A.; Yuzyuk, Y. I.; Phan, N. M.; Sauvajol, J.-L.; Michel, T.

2017-03-01

Double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNT) are made of two concentric and weakly van der Waals coupled single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT). DWNTs are the simplest systems for studying the mechanical and electronic interactions between concentric carbon layers. In this paper we review recent results concerning the intrinsic features of phonons of DWNTs obtained from Raman experiments performed on index-identified DWNTs. The effect of the interlayer distance on the strength of the mechanical and electronic coupling between the layers, and thus on the frequencies of the Raman-active modes, namely the radial breathing-like modes (RBLMs) and G-modes, are evidenced and discussed. Invited talk at 8th International Workshop on Advanced Materials Science and Nanotechnology (IWAMSN2016), 8-12 November 2016, Ha Long City, Vietnam.

Brightened spin-triplet interlayer excitons and optical selection rules in van der Waals heterobilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Hongyi; Liu, Gui-Bin; Yao, Wang

2018-07-01

We investigate the optical properties of spin-triplet interlayer excitons in heterobilayer transition metal dichalcogenides in comparison with the spin-singlet ones. Surprisingly, the optical transition dipole of the spin-triplet exciton is found to be in the same order of magnitude to that of the spin-singlet exciton, in sharp contrast to the monolayer excitons where the spin-triplet species is considered as dark compared to the singlet. Unlike the monolayer excitons whose spin-conserved (spin-flip) transition dipole can only couple to light of in-plane (out-of-plane) polarisation, such restriction is removed for the interlayer excitons due to the breaking of the out-of-plane mirror symmetry. We find that as the interlayer atomic registry changes, the optical transition dipole of interlayer exciton crosses between in-plane ones of opposite circular polarizations and the out-of-plane one for both the spin-triplet and spin-singlet species. As a result, excitons of both species have non-negligible coupling into photon modes of both in-plane and out-of-plane propagations, another sharp difference from the monolayers where the exciton couples predominantly into the out-of-plane propagation channel. At given atomic registry, the spin-triplet and spin-singlet excitons have distinct valley polarisation selection rules, allowing the selective optical addressing of both the valley configuration and the spin-singlet/triplet configuration of interlayer excitons.

Tuning Coupling Behavior of Stacked Heterostructures Based on MoS2, WS2, and WSe2

PubMed Central

Wang, Fang; Wang, Junyong; Guo, Shuang; Zhang, Jinzhong; Hu, Zhigao; Chu, Junhao

2017-01-01

The interlayer interaction of vertically stacked heterojunctions is very sensitive to the interlayer spacing, which will affect the coupling between the monolayers and allow band structure modulation. Here, with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, an interesting phenomenon is found that MoS2-WS2, MoS2-WSe2, and WS2-WSe2 heterostructures turn into direct-gap semiconductors from indirect-gap semiconductors with increasing the interlayer space. Moreover, the electronic structure changing process with interlayer spacing of MoS2-WS2, MoS2-WSe2, and WS2-WSe2 is different from each other. With the help of variable-temperature spectral experiment, different electronic transition properties of MoS2-WS2, MoS2-WSe2, and WS2-WSe2 have been demonstrated. The transition transformation from indirect to direct can be only observed in the MoS2-WS2 heterostructure, as the valence band maximum (VBM) at the Γ point in the MoS2-WSe2 and WS2-WSe2 heterostructure is less sensitive to the interlayer spacing than those from the MoS2-WS2 heterostructure. The present work highlights the significance of the temperature tuning in interlayer coupling and advance the research of MoS2-WS2, MoS2-WSe2, and WS2-WSe2 based device applications. PMID:28303932

The Effect of CFRP Surface Treatment on the Splat Morphology and Coating Adhesion Strength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganesan, Amirthan; Yamada, Motohiro; Fukumoto, Masahiro

2014-01-01

Metallization of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites aggrandized their application to aircraft, automobile, and wind power industries. Recently, the metallization of CFRP surface using thermal spray technique, especially the cold spray, a solid state deposition technique, is a topic of research. However, a direct cold spray deposition on the CFRP substrate often imposes severe erosion on the surface owing to the high-impact energy of the sprayed particles. This urges the requirement of an interlayer on the CFRP surface. In the present study, the effect of surface treatment on the interlayer adhesion strength is evaluated. The CFRP samples were initially treated mechanically, chemically, and thermally and then an interlayer was developed by atmospheric plasma spray system. The quality of the coating is highly dependent on the splat taxonomy; therefore the present work also devoted to study the splat formation behavior using the splat-collection experiments, where the molten Cu particles impinged on the treated CFRP substrates. These results were correlated with the coating adhesion strength. The coating adhesion strength was measured by pull-out test. The results showed that the surface treatment, particularly the chemical treatment, was fairly successful in improving the adhesion strength.

Observation of van Hove Singularities in Twisted Silicene Multilayers

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Interlayer interactions perturb the electronic structure of two-dimensional materials and lead to new physical phenomena, such as van Hove singularities and Hofstadter’s butterfly pattern. Silicene, the recently discovered two-dimensional form of silicon, is quite unique, in that silicon atoms adopt competing sp2 and sp3 hybridization states leading to a low-buckled structure promising relatively strong interlayer interaction. In multilayer silicene, the stacking order provides an important yet rarely explored degree of freedom for tuning its electronic structures through manipulating interlayer coupling. Here, we report the emergence of van Hove singularities in the multilayer silicene created by an interlayer rotation. We demonstrate that even a large-angle rotation (>20°) between stacked silicene layers can generate a Moiré pattern and van Hove singularities due to the strong interlayer coupling in multilayer silicene. Our study suggests an intriguing method for expanding the tunability of the electronic structure for electronic applications in this two-dimensional material. PMID:27610412

Interlayer electron-phonon coupling in WSe2/hBN heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Chenhao; Kim, Jonghwan; Suh, Joonki; Shi, Zhiwen; Chen, Bin; Fan, Xi; Kam, Matthew; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Tongay, Sefaattin; Zettl, Alex; Wu, Junqiao; Wang, Feng

2017-02-01

Engineering layer-layer interactions provides a powerful way to realize novel and designable quantum phenomena in van der Waals heterostructures. Interlayer electron-electron interactions, for example, have enabled fascinating physics that is difficult to achieve in a single material, such as the Hofstadter's butterfly in graphene/boron nitride (hBN) heterostructures. In addition to electron-electron interactions, interlayer electron-phonon interactions allow for further control of the physical properties of van der Waals heterostructures. Here we report an interlayer electron-phonon interaction in WSe2/hBN heterostructures, where optically silent hBN phonons emerge in Raman spectra with strong intensities through resonant coupling to WSe2 electronic transitions. Excitation spectroscopy reveals the double-resonance nature of such enhancement, and identifies the two resonant states to be the A exciton transition of monolayer WSe2 and a new hybrid state present only in WSe2/hBN heterostructures. The observation of an interlayer electron-phonon interaction could open up new ways to engineer electrons and phonons for device applications.

Crystallographic controls on the frictional behavior of dry and water-saturated sheet structure minerals

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, Diane E.; Lockner, D.A.

2004-01-01

We compare the frictional strengths of 17 sheet structure mineral powders, measured under dry and water-saturated conditions, to identify the factors that cause many of them to be relatively weak. The dry coefficient of friction ?? ranges upward from 0.2 for graphite, leveling off at 0.8 for margarite, clintonite, gibbsite, kaolinite, and lizardite. The values of ?? (dry) correlate directly with calculated (001) interlayer bond strengths of the minerals. This correlation occurs because shear becomes localized along boundary and Riedel shears and the platy minerals in them rotate into alignment with the shear planes. For those gouges with ?? (dry) < 0.8, shear occurs by breaking the interlayer bonds to form new cleavage surfaces. Where ?? (dry) = 0.8, consistent with Byerlee's law, the interlayer bonds are sufficiently strong that other frictional processes dominate. The transition in dry friction mechanisms corresponds to calculated surface energies of 2-3 J/m2. Adding water causes ?? to decrease for every mineral tested except graphite. If the minerals are separated into groups with similar crystal structures, ?? (wet) increases with increasing interlayer bond strength within each group. This relationship also holds for the swelling clay montmorillonite, whose water-saturated strength is consistent with the strengths of nonswelling clays of similar crystal structure. Water in the saturated gouges forms thin, structured films between the plate surfaces. The polar water molecules are bonded to the plate surfaces in proportion to the mineral's surface energy, and ?? (wet) reflects the stresses required to shear through the water films. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.

Strain-Mediated Interlayer Coupling Effects on the Excitonic Behaviors in an Epitaxially Grown MoS2/WS2 van der Waals Heterobilayer.

PubMed

Pak, Sangyeon; Lee, Juwon; Lee, Young-Woo; Jang, A-Rang; Ahn, Seongjoon; Ma, Kyung Yeol; Cho, Yuljae; Hong, John; Lee, Sanghyo; Jeong, Hu Young; Im, Hyunsik; Shin, Hyeon Suk; Morris, Stephen M; Cha, SeungNam; Sohn, Jung Inn; Kim, Jong Min

2017-09-13

van der Waals heterostructures composed of two different monolayer crystals have recently attracted attention as a powerful and versatile platform for studying fundamental physics, as well as having great potential in future functional devices because of the diversity in the band alignments and the unique interlayer coupling that occurs at the heterojunction interface. However, despite these attractive features, a fundamental understanding of the underlying physics accounting for the effect of interlayer coupling on the interactions between electrons, photons, and phonons in the stacked heterobilayer is still lacking. Here, we demonstrate a detailed analysis of the strain-dependent excitonic behavior of an epitaxially grown MoS 2 /WS 2 vertical heterostructure under uniaxial tensile and compressive strain that enables the interlayer interactions to be modulated along with the electronic band structure. We find that the strain-modulated interlayer coupling directly affects the characteristic combined vibrational and excitonic properties of each monolayer in the heterobilayer. It is further revealed that the relative photoluminescence intensity ratio of WS 2 to MoS 2 in our heterobilayer increases monotonically with tensile strain and decreases with compressive strain. We attribute the strain-dependent emission behavior of the heterobilayer to the modulation of the band structure for each monolayer, which is dictated by the alterations in the band gap transitions. These findings present an important pathway toward designing heterostructures and flexible devices.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Song, Kok Wee; Koshelev, Alexei E.

Electronic nematicity plays an important role in iron-based superconductors. These materials have a layered structure and the theoretical description of their magnetic and nematic transitions has been well established in the two-dimensional approximation, i.e., when the layers can be treated independently. However, the interaction between iron layers mediated by electron tunneling may cause nontrivial three-dimensional behavior. Starting from the simplest model for orbital nematic in a single layer, we investigate the influence of interlayer tunneling on the bulk nematic order and a possible preemptive state where this order is only formed near the surface. In addition, we found that themore » interlayer tunneling suppresses the bulk nematicity, which makes favorable the formation of a surface nematic order above the bulk transition temperature. The purely electronic tunneling Hamiltonian, however, favors a nematic order parameter that alternates from layer to layer. The uniform bulk state typically observed experimentally may be stabilized by the coupling with the elastic lattice deformation. Depending on the strength of this coupling, we found three regimes: (i) surface nematic and alternating bulk order, (ii) surface nematic and uniform bulk order, and (iii) uniform bulk order without the intermediate surface phase. Lastly, the intermediate surface-nematic state may resolve the current controversy about the existence of a weak nematic transition in the compound BaFe 2As 2-xP x .« less

Surface nematic order in iron pnictides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Kok Wee; Koshelev, Alexei E.

2016-09-01

Electronic nematicity plays an important role in iron-based superconductors. These materials have a layered structure and the theoretical description of their magnetic and nematic transitions has been well established in the two-dimensional approximation, i.e., when the layers can be treated independently. However, the interaction between iron layers mediated by electron tunneling may cause nontrivial three-dimensional behavior. Starting from the simplest model for orbital nematic in a single layer, we investigate the influence of interlayer tunneling on the bulk nematic order and a possible preemptive state where this order is only formed near the surface. We found that the interlayer tunneling suppresses the bulk nematicity, which makes favorable the formation of a surface nematic order above the bulk transition temperature. The purely electronic tunneling Hamiltonian, however, favors a nematic order parameter that alternates from layer to layer. The uniform bulk state typically observed experimentally may be stabilized by the coupling with the elastic lattice deformation. Depending on the strength of this coupling, we found three regimes: (i) surface nematic and alternating bulk order, (ii) surface nematic and uniform bulk order, and (iii) uniform bulk order without the intermediate surface phase. The intermediate surface-nematic state may resolve the current controversy about the existence of a weak nematic transition in the compound BaFe2As2 -xPx .

Joining of alumina via copper/niobium/copper interlayers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marks, Robert A.; Chapman, Daniel R.; Danielson, David T.

2000-03-15

Alumina has been joined at 1150 degrees C and 1400 degrees C using multilayer copper/niobium/copper interlayers. Four-point bend strengths are sensitive to processing temperature, bonding pressure, and furnace environment (ambient oxygen partial pressure). Under optimum conditions, joints with reproducibly high room temperature strengths (approximately equal 240 plus/minus 20 MPa) can be produced; most failures occur within the ceramic. Joints made with sapphire show that during bonding an initially continuous copper film undergoes a morphological instability, resulting in the formation of isolated copper-rich droplets/particles at the sapphire/interlayer interface, and extensive regions of direct bonding between sapphire and niobium. For optimized aluminamore » bonds, bend tests at 800 degrees C-1100 degrees C indicate significant strength is retained; even at the highest test temperature, ceramic failure is observed. Post-bonding anneals at 1000 degrees C in vacuum or in gettered argon were used to assess joint stability and to probe the effect of ambient oxygen partial pressure on joint characteristics. Annealing in vacuum for up to 200 h causes no significant decrease in room temperature bend strength or change in fracture path. With increasing anneal time in a lower oxygen partial pressure environment, the fracture strength decreases only slightly, but the fracture path shifts from the ceramic to the interface.« less

Anomalous interlayer vibrations in strongly coupled layered PdSe 2

DOE PAGES

Puretzky, Alexander A.; Oyedele, Akinola D.; Xiao, Kai; ...

2018-05-04

In this work, we show unusual effects of strong interlayer coupling on low-frequency (LF) Raman scattering in exfoliated PdSe 2 crystals with different number of layers. Unlike many other layered materials, it is found that the measured frequencies of the breathing modes cannot be simply described by a conventional linear chain model (LCM) that treats each layer as a single rigid object. By using first-principles calculations, we show that strong deviations from layer rigidity can occur for the LF breathing vibrations of PdSe 2, which accounts for the observed disagreement with the conventional LCM. The layer non-rigidity and strong interlayermore » coupling could also explain the unusual strong intensities of the LF breathing modes that are comparable with those of the high-frequency Raman modes. These strong intensities allowed us to use a set of the measured LF Raman lines as unique fingerprints for a precise assignment of the layer numbers. The assignment of the layer numbers was further confirmed using second harmonic generation that appeared only in the noncentrosymmetric even-layer PdSe 2 crystals. In conclusion, this work thus demonstrates a simple and fast approach for the determination of the number of layers in 2D materials with strong interlayer coupling and non-rigid interlayer vibrations.« less

Anomalous interlayer vibrations in strongly coupled layered PdSe 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Puretzky, Alexander A.; Oyedele, Akinola D.; Xiao, Kai

In this work, we show unusual effects of strong interlayer coupling on low-frequency (LF) Raman scattering in exfoliated PdSe 2 crystals with different number of layers. Unlike many other layered materials, it is found that the measured frequencies of the breathing modes cannot be simply described by a conventional linear chain model (LCM) that treats each layer as a single rigid object. By using first-principles calculations, we show that strong deviations from layer rigidity can occur for the LF breathing vibrations of PdSe 2, which accounts for the observed disagreement with the conventional LCM. The layer non-rigidity and strong interlayermore » coupling could also explain the unusual strong intensities of the LF breathing modes that are comparable with those of the high-frequency Raman modes. These strong intensities allowed us to use a set of the measured LF Raman lines as unique fingerprints for a precise assignment of the layer numbers. The assignment of the layer numbers was further confirmed using second harmonic generation that appeared only in the noncentrosymmetric even-layer PdSe 2 crystals. In conclusion, this work thus demonstrates a simple and fast approach for the determination of the number of layers in 2D materials with strong interlayer coupling and non-rigid interlayer vibrations.« less

Interfacial Microstructure and Mechanical Strength of 93W/Ta Diffusion-Bonded Joints with Ni Interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Guoqiang; Zhang, Jian; Li, Meijuan; Wei, Qinqin; Shen, Qiang; Zhang, Lianmeng

2013-02-01

93W alloy and Ta metal were successfully diffusion bonded using a Ni interlayer. Ni4W was found at the W-Ni interface, and Ni3Ta and Ni2Ta were formed at the Ni-Ta interface. The shear strength of the joints increases with increasing holding time, reaching a value of 202 MPa for a joint prepared using a 90-minute holding time at 1103 K (830 °C) and 20 MPa. The fracture of this joint occurred within the Ni/Ta interface.

Micromagnetic analysis of current-induced domain wall motion in a bilayer nanowire with synthetic antiferromagnetic coupling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Komine, Takashi, E-mail: komine@mx.ibaraki.ac.jp; Aono, Tomosuke

We demonstrate current-induced domain wall motion in bilayer nanowire with synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) coupling by modeling two body problems for motion equations of domain wall. The influence of interlayer exchange coupling and magnetostatic interactions on current-induced domain wall motion in SAF nanowires was also investigated. By assuming the rigid wall model for translational motion, the interlayer exchange coupling and the magnetostatic interaction between walls and domains in SAF nanowires enhances domain wall speed without any spin-orbit-torque. The enhancement of domain wall speed was discussed by energy distribution as a function of wall angle configuration in bilayer nanowires.

Role of the interlayer coupling for the thermoelectric properties of CuSbS2 and CuSbSe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alsaleh, Najebah; Singh, Nirpendra; Schwingenschlogl, Udo

The electronic and transport properties of bulk and monolayer CuSbS2 and CuSbSe2 are determined using density functional theory and semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory, in order to investigate the role of the interlayer coupling for the thermoelectric properties. The calculated band gaps of the bulk compounds are in agreement with experiments and significantly higher than those of the monolayers, which thus show lower Seebeck coefficients. Since also the electrical conductivity is lower, the monolayers are characterised by lower power factors. Therefore, the interlayer coupling is found to be essential for the excellent thermoelectric response of CuSbS2 and CuSbSe2 even though it is of weak van der Waals type. The research reported in this publication was supported by funding from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

Interface reactions between silicon carbide and interlayers in silicon carbide copper metal matrix composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Köck, T.; Brendel, A.; Bolt, H.

2007-05-01

Novel copper matrix composites reinforced with silicon carbide fibres are considered as a new generation of heat sink materials for the divertor of future fusion reactors. The divertor is exposed to intense particle bombardment and heat loads of up to 15 MW m-2. This component consists of the plasma-facing material which is bonded to the actively cooled heat sink. Due to its high thermal conductivity of about 400 W m-1 K-1 copper is a promising material for the heat sink. To increase the mechanical properties of copper at working temperature (823 K), silicon carbide fibres with a diameter of 140 μm are used to reinforce the interface area between the plasma-facing material and the heat sink. Push-out tests show that the adhesion between SiC fibre and Cu matrix without any interlayer is very low. To increase the fibre-matrix bonding the fibres are coated with Cr and W with a thickness of 300-400 nm before Cu deposition by magnetron sputtering. Push-out tests on these modified fibres show a significant increase in adhesion compared to the fibres without interlayer. XRD investigations after a heat treatment at 923 K show a chromium carbide (Cr23C6, Cr3C2) formation and the absence of chromium silicides. In the case of a W interlayer a W2C formation is detected and also no tungsten silicides. Single-fibre tensile tests were performed to investigate the influence of the reaction zone on the ultimate tensile strength of the fibres. The ultimate tensile strength for fibres without interlayer remains constant at about 2200 MPa after annealing at 923 K. The fibres with chromium and tungsten interlayers, respectively, show a decrease of about 30% of the ultimate tensile strength after the heat treatment at 923 K.

A new method for achieving enhanced dielectric response over a wide temperature range

DOE PAGES

Maurya, Deepam; Sun, Fu -Chang; Pamir Alpay, S.; ...

2015-10-19

We report a novel approach for achieving high dielectric response over a wide temperature range. In this approach, multilayer ceramic heterostructures with constituent compositions having strategically tuned Curie points (TC) were designed and integrated with varying electrical connectivity. Interestingly, these multilayer structures exhibited different dielectric behavior in series and parallel configuration due to variations in electrical boundary conditions resulting in the differences in the strength of the electrostatic coupling. The results are explained using nonlinear thermodynamic model taking into account electrostatic interlayer interaction. We believe that present work will have huge significance in design of high performance ceramic capacitors.

A new method for achieving enhanced dielectric response over a wide temperature range

PubMed Central

Maurya, Deepam; Sun, Fu-Chang; Pamir Alpay, S.; Priya, Shashank

2015-01-01

We report a novel approach for achieving high dielectric response over a wide temperature range. In this approach, multilayer ceramic heterostructures with constituent compositions having strategically tuned Curie points (TC) were designed and integrated with varying electrical connectivity. Interestingly, these multilayer structures exhibited different dielectric behavior in series and parallel configuration due to variations in electrical boundary conditions resulting in the differences in the strength of the electrostatic coupling. The results are explained using nonlinear thermodynamic model taking into account electrostatic interlayer interaction. We believe that present work will have huge significance in design of high performance ceramic capacitors. PMID:26477391

Characterization of the mechanical and thermal interface of copper films on carbon substrates modified by boron based interlayers

PubMed Central

Schäfer, D.; Eisenmenger-Sittner, C.; Chirtoc, Mihai; Kijamnajsuk, P.; Kornfeind, N.; Hutter, H.; Neubauer, E.; Kitzmantel, M.

2011-01-01

The manipulation of mechanical and thermal interfaces is essential for the design of modern composites. Amongst these are copper carbon composites which can exhibit excellent heat conductivities if the Cu/C interface is affected by a suitable interlayer to minimize the Thermal Contact Resistance (TCR) and to maximize the adhesion strength between Cu and C. In this paper we report on the effect of boron based interlayers on wetting, mechanical adhesion and on the TCR of Cu coatings deposited on glassy carbon substrates by magnetron sputtering. The interlayers were 5 nm thick and consisted of pure B and B with additions of the carbide forming metals Mo, Ti and Cr in the range of 5 at.% relative to B. The interlayers were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering from either a pure B target or from a composite target. The interlayer composition was checked by Auger Electron Spectroscopy and found to be homogenous within the whole film. The system C-substrate/interlayer/Cu coating was characterized in as deposited samples and samples heat treated for 30 min at 800 °C under High Vacuum (HV), which mimics typical hot pressing parameters during composite formation. Material transport during heat treatment was investigated by Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS). The de-wetting and hole formation in the Cu coating upon heat treatment were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The adhesion of the Cu coating was evaluated by mechanical pull-off testing. The TCR was assessed by infrared photothermal radiometry (PTR). A correlation between the adhesion strength and the value of the TCR which was measured by PTR was determined for as deposited as well as for heat treated samples. PMID:22241938

Interlayer utilization (including metal borides) for subsequent deposition of NSD films via microwave plasma CVD on 316 and 440C stainless steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballinger, Jared

Diamond thin films have promising applications in numerous fields due to the extreme properties of diamonds in conjunction with the surface enhancement of thin films. Biomedical applications are numerous including temporary implants and various dental and surgical instruments. The unique combination of properties offered by nanostructured diamond films that make it such an attractive surface coating include extreme hardness, low obtainable surface roughness, excellent thermal conductivity, and chemical inertness. Regrettably, numerous problems exist when attempting to coat stainless steel with diamond generating a readily delaminated film: outward diffusion of iron to the surface, inward diffusion of carbon limiting necessary surface carbon precursor, and the mismatch between the coefficients of thermal expansion yielding substantial residual stress. While some exotic methods have been attempted to overcome these hindrances, the most common approach is the use of an intermediate layer between the stainless steel substrate and the diamond thin film. In this research, both 316 stainless steel disks and 440C stainless steel ball bearings were tested with interlayers including discrete coatings and graded, diffusion-based surface enhancements. Titanium nitride and thermochemical diffusion boride interlayers were both examined for their effectiveness at allowing for the growth of continuous and adherent diamond films. Titanium nitride interlayers were deposited by cathodic arc vacuum deposition on 440C bearings. Lower temperature diamond processing resulted in improved surface coverage after cooling, but ultimately, both continuity and adhesion of the nanostructured diamond films were unacceptable. The ability to grow quality diamond films on TiN interlayers is in agreement with previous work on iron and low alloy steel substrates, and the similarly seen inadequate adhesion strength is partially a consequence of the lacking establishment of an interfacial carbide phase. Surface boriding was implemented using the novel method of microwave plasma CVD with a mixture of hydrogen and diborane gases. On 440C bearings, dual phase boride layers of Fe2B and FeB were formed which supported adhered nanostructured diamond films. Continuity of the films was not seamless with limited regions remaining uncoated potentially corresponding to delamination of the film as evidenced by the presence of tubular structures presumably composed of sp2 bonded carbon. Surface boriding of 316 stainless steel discs was conducted at various powers and pressures to achieve temperatures ranging from 550-800 °C. The substrate boriding temperature was found to substantially influence the resultant interlayer by altering the metal boride(s) present. The lowest temperatures produced an interlayer where CrB was the single detected phase, higher temperatures yielded the presence of only Fe2B, and a combination of the two phases resulted from an intermediate boriding temperature. Compared with the more common, commercialized boriding methods, this a profound result given the problems posed by the FeB phase in addition to other advantages offered by CVD processes and microwave generated plasmas in general. Indentation testing of the boride layers revealed excellent adhesion strength for all borided interlayers, and above all, no evidence of cracking was observed for a sole Fe2B phase. As with boriding of 440C bearings, subsequent diamond deposition was achieved on these interlayers with substantially improved adhesion strength relative to diamond coated TiN interlayers. Both XRD and Raman spectroscopy confirmed a nanostructured diamond film with interfacial chromium carbides responsible for enhanced adhesion strength. Interlayers consisting solely of Fe2B have displayed an ability to support fully continuous nanostructured diamond films, yet additional study is required for consistent reproduction. This is in good agreement with initial work on pack borided high alloy steels to promote diamond film surface modification. The future direction for continued research of nanostructured diamond coatings on microwave plasma CVD borided stainless steel should further investigate the adhesion of both borided interlayers and subsequent NSD films in addition to short, interrupted diamond depositions to study the interlayer/diamond film interface.

Interfacial exchange coupling and magnetization reversal in perpendicular [Co/Ni]N/TbCo composite structures.

PubMed

Tang, M H; Zhang, Zongzhi; Tian, S Y; Wang, J; Ma, B; Jin, Q Y

2015-06-15

Interfacial exchange coupling and magnetization reversal characteristics in the perpendicular heterostructures consisting of an amorphous ferrimagnetic (FI) TbxCo(100-x) alloy layer exchange-coupled with a ferromagnetic (FM) [Co/Ni]N multilayer have been investigated. As compared with pure TbxCo(100-x) alloy, the magnetization compensation composition of the heterostructures shift to a higher Tb content, implying Co/Ni also serves to compensate the Tb moment in TbCo layer. The net magnetization switching field Hc⊥ and interlayer interfacial coupling field Hex, are not only sensitive to the magnetization and thickness of the switched TbxCo(100-x) or [Co/Ni]N layer, but also to the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy strength of the pinning layer. By tuning the layer structure we achieve simultaneously both large Hc⊥ = 1.31 T and Hex = 2.19 T. These results, in addition to the fundamental interest, are important to understanding of the interfacial coupling interaction in the FM/FI heterostructures, which could offer the guiding of potential applications in heat-assisted magnetic recording or all-optical switching recording technique.

Weld formation during material extrusion additive manufacturing.

PubMed

Seppala, Jonathan E; Hoon Han, Seung; Hillgartner, Kaitlyn E; Davis, Chelsea S; Migler, Kalman B

2017-10-04

Material extrusion (ME) is a layer-by-layer additive manufacturing process that is now used in personal and commercial production where prototyping and customization are required. However, parts produced from ME frequently exhibit poor mechanical performance relative to those from traditional means; moreover, fundamental knowledge of the factors leading to development of inter-layer strength in this highly non-isothermal process is limited. In this work, we seek to understand the development of inter-layer weld strength from the perspective of polymer interdiffusion under conditions of rapidly changing mobility. Our framework centers around three interrelated components: in situ thermal measurements (via infrared imaging), temperature dependent molecular processes (via rheology), and mechanical testing (via mode III fracture). We develop the concept of an equivalent isothermal weld time and test its relationship to fracture energy. For the printing conditions studied the equivalent isothermal weld time for T ref = 230 °C ranged from 0.1 ms to 100 ms. The results of these analysis provide a basis for optimizing inter-layer strength, the limitations of the ME process, and guide development of new materials.

Varying Eu2+ magnetic order by chemical pressure in EuFe2(As1-xPx)2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zapf, S.; Wu, D.; Bogani, L.; Jeevan, H. S.; Gegenwart, P.; Dressel, M.

2011-10-01

Based on low-field magnetization measurements on a series of single crystals, we present a scheme of the Eu2+ spin alignment in EuFe2(As1-xPx)2. We explain observations of the Eu2+ ordering previously reported, reconciling different existing phase diagrams. The magnetic moments of the Eu2+ ions are slightly canted, yielding a ferromagnetic contribution along the c direction that becomes stronger with pressure, until superconductivity sets in. The spin-density wave as well as the superconducting phase coexist with an antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling of the canted spins. Reducing the interlayer distance finally leads to a ferromagnetic Eu2+ interlayer coupling and to the suppression of superconductivity.

Infrared Preheating to Enhance Interlayer Strength of Components Printed on the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kishore, Vidya; Ajinjeru, Christine; Duty, Chad E

The Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system has the capacity to print structures on the order of several meters at a rate exceeding 50 kg/h, thereby having the potential to significantly impact the production of components in automotive, aerospace and energy sectors. However, a primary issue that limits the functional use of such parts is mechanical anisotropy. The strength of printed parts across successive layers in the build direction (z-direction) is significantly lower than the corresponding in-plane strength (x-y directions). This is largely due to poor bonding between the printed layers as the lower layers cool below the glass transitionmore » temperature (Tg) before the next layer is deposited. This work explores the use of infrared heating to increase the surface temperature of the printed layer just prior to deposition of new material to improve the interlayer strength of the components. The material used in this study was acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) reinforced with 20% chopped carbon fiber by weight. Significant improvements in z-strength were observed for the parts whose surface temperature was increased from below Tg to close to or above Tg using infrared heating. Parameters such as print speed, nozzle diameter and extrusion temperature were also found to impact the heat input required to enhance interlayer adhesion without significantly degrading the polymer and compromising on surface finish.« less

Surface nematic order in iron pnictides

DOE PAGES

Song, Kok Wee; Koshelev, Alexei E.

2016-09-09

Electronic nematicity plays an important role in iron-based superconductors. These materials have a layered structure and the theoretical description of their magnetic and nematic transitions has been well established in the two-dimensional approximation, i.e., when the layers can be treated independently. However, the interaction between iron layers mediated by electron tunneling may cause nontrivial three-dimensional behavior. Starting from the simplest model for orbital nematic in a single layer, we investigate the influence of interlayer tunneling on the bulk nematic order and a possible preemptive state where this order is only formed near the surface. In addition, we found that themore » interlayer tunneling suppresses the bulk nematicity, which makes favorable the formation of a surface nematic order above the bulk transition temperature. The purely electronic tunneling Hamiltonian, however, favors a nematic order parameter that alternates from layer to layer. The uniform bulk state typically observed experimentally may be stabilized by the coupling with the elastic lattice deformation. Depending on the strength of this coupling, we found three regimes: (i) surface nematic and alternating bulk order, (ii) surface nematic and uniform bulk order, and (iii) uniform bulk order without the intermediate surface phase. Lastly, the intermediate surface-nematic state may resolve the current controversy about the existence of a weak nematic transition in the compound BaFe 2As 2-xP x .« less

Mechanical properties of atomically thin boron nitride and the role of interlayer interactions

PubMed Central

Falin, Aleksey; Cai, Qiran; Santos, Elton J. G.; Scullion, Declan; Qian, Dong; Zhang, Rui; Yang, Zhi; Huang, Shaoming; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Barnett, Matthew R.; Chen, Ying; Ruoff, Rodney S.; Li, Lu Hua

2017-01-01

Atomically thin boron nitride (BN) nanosheets are important two-dimensional nanomaterials with many unique properties distinct from those of graphene, but investigation into their mechanical properties remains incomplete. Here we report that high-quality single-crystalline mono- and few-layer BN nanosheets are one of the strongest electrically insulating materials. More intriguingly, few-layer BN shows mechanical behaviours quite different from those of few-layer graphene under indentation. In striking contrast to graphene, whose strength decreases by more than 30% when the number of layers increases from 1 to 8, the mechanical strength of BN nanosheets is not sensitive to increasing thickness. We attribute this difference to the distinct interlayer interactions and hence sliding tendencies in these two materials under indentation. The significantly better interlayer integrity of BN nanosheets makes them a more attractive candidate than graphene for several applications, for example, as mechanical reinforcements. PMID:28639613

Preparation and Bond Properties of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Mg Alloy with Sprayed Al or Diffused Mg-Al Intermetallic Interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Xizhi; Wang, Ying; Zou, Binglin; Gu, Lijian; Huang, Wenzhi; Cao, Xueqiang

2014-02-01

Sprayed Al or diffused Mg-Al layer was designed as interlayer between the thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) and Mg alloy substrate. The effects of the interlayer on the bond properties of the coats were investigated. Al layers were prepared by arc spraying and atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), respectively. Mg-Al diffused layer was obtained after the heat treatment of the sprayed sample (Mg alloy with APS Al coat) at 400 °C. The results show that sprayed Al interlayer does not improve the bond stability of TBCs. The failure of the TBCs on Mg alloy with Al interlayer occurs mainly due to the low strength of Al layer. Mg-Al diffused layer improves corrosion resistance of substrate and the bond interface. The TBCs on Mg alloy with Mg-Al diffused interlayer shows better bond stability than the sample of which the TBCs is directly sprayed on Mg alloy substrate by APS.

Unequal density effect on static structure factor of coupled electron layers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saini, L. K., E-mail: lks@ashd.svnit.ac.in; Nayak, Mukesh G., E-mail: lks@ashd.svnit.ac.in

In order to understand the ordered phase, if any, in a real coupled electron layers (CEL), there is a need to take into account the effect of unequal layer density. Such phase is confirmed by a strong peak in a static structure factor. With the aid of quantum/dynamical version of Singwi, Tosi, Land and Sjölander (so-called qSTLS) approximation, we have calculated the intra- and interlayer static structure factors, S{sub ll}(q) and S{sub 12}(q), over a wide range of density parameter r{sub sl} and interlayer spacing d. In our present study, the sharp peak in S{sub 22}(q) has been found atmore » critical density with sufficiently lower interlayer spacing. Further, to find the resultant effect of unequal density on intra- and interlayer static structure factors, we have compared our results with that of the recent CEL system with equal layer density and isolated single electron layer.« less

On Valence-Band Splitting in Layered MoS2.

PubMed

Zhang, Youwei; Li, Hui; Wang, Haomin; Liu, Ran; Zhang, Shi-Li; Qiu, Zhi-Jun

2015-08-25

As a representative two-dimensional semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD), the electronic structure in layered MoS2 is a collective result of quantum confinement, interlayer interaction, and crystal symmetry. A prominent energy splitting in the valence band gives rise to many intriguing electronic, optical, and magnetic phenomena. Despite numerous studies, an experimental determination of valence-band splitting in few-layer MoS2 is still lacking. Here, we show how the valence-band maximum (VBM) splits for one to five layers of MoS2. Interlayer coupling is found to contribute significantly to phonon energy but weakly to VBM splitting in bilayers, due to a small interlayer hopping energy for holes. Hence, spin-orbit coupling is still predominant in the splitting. A temperature-independent VBM splitting, known for single-layer MoS2, is, thus, observed for bilayers. However, a Bose-Einstein type of temperature dependence of VBM splitting prevails in three to five layers of MoS2. In such few-layer MoS2, interlayer coupling is enhanced with a reduced interlayer distance, but thermal expansion upon temperature increase tends to decouple adjacent layers and therefore decreases the splitting energy. Our findings that shed light on the distinctive behaviors about VBM splitting in layered MoS2 may apply to other hexagonal TMDs as well. They will also be helpful in extending our understanding of the TMD electronic structure for potential applications in electronics and optoelectronics.

Interlayer coupling through a dimensionality-induced magnetic state

PubMed Central

Gibert, M.; Viret, M.; Zubko, P.; Jaouen, N.; Tonnerre, J.-M.; Torres-Pardo, A.; Catalano, S.; Gloter, A.; Stéphan, O.; Triscone, J.-M.

2016-01-01

Dimensionality is known to play an important role in many compounds for which ultrathin layers can behave very differently from the bulk. This is especially true for the paramagnetic metal LaNiO3, which can become insulating and magnetic when only a few monolayers thick. We show here that an induced antiferromagnetic order can be stabilized in the [111] direction by interfacial coupling to the insulating ferromagnet LaMnO3, and used to generate interlayer magnetic coupling of a nature that depends on the exact number of LaNiO3 monolayers. For 7-monolayer-thick LaNiO3/LaMnO3 superlattices, negative and positive exchange bias, as well as antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling are observed in different temperature windows. All three behaviours are explained based on the emergence of a (¼,¼,¼)-wavevector antiferromagnetic structure in LaNiO3 and the presence of interface asymmetry with LaMnO3. This dimensionality-induced magnetic order can be used to tailor a broad range of magnetic properties in well-designed superlattice-based devices. PMID:27079668

Interlayer toughening of fiber composite flywheel rotors

DOEpatents

Groves, Scott E.; Deteresa, Steven J.

1998-01-01

An interlayer toughening mechanism to mitigate the growth of damage in fiber composite flywheel rotors for long application. The interlayer toughening mechanism may comprise one or more tough layers composed of high-elongation fibers, high-strength fibers arranged in a woven pattern at a range from 0.degree. to 90.degree. to the rotor axis and bound by a ductile matrix material which adheres to and is compatible with the materials used for the bulk of the rotor. The number and spacing of the tough interlayers is a function of the design requirements and expected lifetime of the rotor. The mechanism has particular application in uninterruptable power supplies, electrical power grid reservoirs, and compulsators for electric guns, as well as electromechanical batteries for vehicles.

Interlayer toughening of fiber composite flywheel rotors

DOEpatents

Groves, S.E.; Deteresa, S.J.

1998-07-14

An interlayer toughening mechanism is described to mitigate the growth of damage in fiber composite flywheel rotors for long application. The interlayer toughening mechanism may comprise one or more tough layers composed of high-elongation fibers, high-strength fibers arranged in a woven pattern at a range from 0{degree} to 90{degree} to the rotor axis and bound by a ductile matrix material which adheres to and is compatible with the materials used for the bulk of the rotor. The number and spacing of the tough interlayers is a function of the design requirements and expected lifetime of the rotor. The mechanism has particular application in uninterruptable power supplies, electrical power grid reservoirs, and compulsators for electric guns, as well as electromechanical batteries for vehicles. 2 figs.

Maximizing synchronizability of duplex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Xiang; Emenheiser, Jeffrey; Wu, Xiaoqun; Lu, Jun-an; D'Souza, Raissa M.

2018-01-01

We study the synchronizability of duplex networks formed by two randomly generated network layers with different patterns of interlayer node connections. According to the master stability function, we use the smallest nonzero eigenvalue and the eigenratio between the largest and the second smallest eigenvalues of supra-Laplacian matrices to characterize synchronizability on various duplexes. We find that the interlayer linking weight and linking fraction have a profound impact on synchronizability of duplex networks. The increasingly large inter-layer coupling weight is found to cause either decreasing or constant synchronizability for different classes of network dynamics. In addition, negative node degree correlation across interlayer links outperforms positive degree correlation when most interlayer links are present. The reverse is true when a few interlayer links are present. The numerical results and understanding based on these representative duplex networks are illustrative and instructive for building insights into maximizing synchronizability of more realistic multiplex networks.

Restoring interlayer Josephson coupling in La 1.885 Ba 0.115 CuO 4 by charge transfer melting of stripe order

DOE PAGES

Khanna, V.; Mankowsky, R.; Petrich, M.; ...

2016-06-30

Here, we show that disruption of charge-density-wave (stripe) order by charge transfer excitation, enhances the superconducting phase rigidity in La 1.885Ba 0.115CuO 4. Time-resolved resonant soft x-ray diffraction demonstrates that charge order melting is prompt following near-infrared photoexcitation whereas the crystal structure remains intact for moderate fluences. THz time-domain spectroscopy reveals that, for the first 2 ps following photoexcitation, a new Josephson plasma resonance edge, at higher frequency with respect to the equilibrium edge, is induced indicating enhanced superconducting interlayer coupling. Furthermore, the fluence dependence of the charge-order melting and the enhanced superconducting interlayer coupling are correlated with a saturationmore » limit of ~0.5mJ/cm 2. When using a combination of x-ray and optical spectroscopies we establish a hierarchy of timescales between enhanced superconductivity, melting of charge order, and rearrangement of the crystal structure.« less

Interlayer couplings, Moiré patterns, and 2D electronic superlattices in MoS2/WSe2 hetero-bilayers

PubMed Central

Zhang, Chendong; Chuu, Chih-Piao; Ren, Xibiao; Li, Ming-Yang; Li, Lain-Jong; Jin, Chuanhong; Chou, Mei-Yin; Shih, Chih-Kang

2017-01-01

By using direct growth, we create a rotationally aligned MoS2/WSe2 hetero-bilayer as a designer van der Waals heterostructure. With rotational alignment, the lattice mismatch leads to a periodic variation of atomic registry between individual van der Waals layers, exhibiting a Moiré pattern with a well-defined periodicity. By combining scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and first-principles calculations, we investigate interlayer coupling as a function of atomic registry. We quantitatively determine the influence of interlayer coupling on the electronic structure of the hetero-bilayer at different critical points. We show that the direct gap semiconductor concept is retained in the bilayer although the valence and conduction band edges are located at different layers. We further show that the local bandgap is periodically modulated in the X-Y direction with an amplitude of ~0.15 eV, leading to the formation of a two-dimensional electronic superlattice. PMID:28070558

Restoring interlayer Josephson coupling in La 1.885 Ba 0.115 CuO 4 by charge transfer melting of stripe order

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Khanna, V.; Mankowsky, R.; Petrich, M.

Here, we show that disruption of charge-density-wave (stripe) order by charge transfer excitation, enhances the superconducting phase rigidity in La 1.885Ba 0.115CuO 4. Time-resolved resonant soft x-ray diffraction demonstrates that charge order melting is prompt following near-infrared photoexcitation whereas the crystal structure remains intact for moderate fluences. THz time-domain spectroscopy reveals that, for the first 2 ps following photoexcitation, a new Josephson plasma resonance edge, at higher frequency with respect to the equilibrium edge, is induced indicating enhanced superconducting interlayer coupling. Furthermore, the fluence dependence of the charge-order melting and the enhanced superconducting interlayer coupling are correlated with a saturationmore » limit of ~0.5mJ/cm 2. When using a combination of x-ray and optical spectroscopies we establish a hierarchy of timescales between enhanced superconductivity, melting of charge order, and rearrangement of the crystal structure.« less

All-optical measurement of interlayer exchange coupling in Fe/Pt/FePt thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berk, C.; Ganss, F.; Jaris, M.; Albrecht, M.; Schmidt, H.

2018-01-01

Time Resolved Magneto Optic Kerr Effect spectroscopy was used to all-optically study the dynamics in exchange coupled Fe(10 nm)/Pt(x = 0-5 nm)/FePt (10 nm) thin films. As the Pt spacer decreases, the effective magnetization of the layers is seen to evolve towards the strong coupling limit where the two films can be described by a single effective magnetization. The coupling begins at x = 1.5 nm and reaches a maximum exchange coupling constant of 2.89 erg/cm2 at x = 0 nm. The films are ferromagnetically coupled at all Pt thicknesses in the exchange coupled regime (x ≤ 1.5 nm). A procedure for extracting the interlayer exchange constant by measuring the magnetic precession frequencies at multiple applied fields and angles is outlined. The dynamics are well reproduced using micromagnetic simulations.

Molecular dynamics simulation of diffusion and electrical conductivity in montmorillonite interlayers

DOE PAGES

Greathouse, Jeffery A.; Cygan, Randall T.; Fredrich, Joanne T.; ...

2016-01-20

In this study, the diffusion of water and ions in the interlayer region of smectite clay minerals represents a direct probe of the type and strength of clay–fluid interactions. Interlayer diffusion also represents an important link between molecular simulation and macroscopic experiments. Here we use molecular dynamics simulation to investigate trends in cation and water diffusion in montmorillonite interlayers, looking specifically at the effects of layer charge, interlayer cation and cation charge (sodium or calcium), water content, and temperature. For Na-montmorillonite, the largest increase in ion and water diffusion coefficients occurs between the one-layer and two-layer hydrates, corresponding to themore » transition from inner-sphere to outer-sphere surface complexes. Calculated activation energies for ion and water diffusion in Na-montmorillonite are similar to each other and to the water hydrogen bond energy, suggesting the breaking of water–water and water–clay hydrogen bonds as a likely mechanism for interlayer diffusion. A comparison of interlayer diffusion with that of bulk electrolyte solutions reveals a clear trend of decreasing diffusion coefficient with increasing electrolyte concentration, and in most cases the interlayer diffusion results are nearly coincident with the corresponding bulk solutions. Trends in electrical conductivities computed from the ion diffusion coefficients are also compared.« less

Interlayer Exciton Optoelectronics in a 2D Heterostructure p-n Junction.

PubMed

Ross, Jason S; Rivera, Pasqual; Schaibley, John; Lee-Wong, Eric; Yu, Hongyi; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Yan, Jiaqiang; Mandrus, David; Cobden, David; Yao, Wang; Xu, Xiaodong

2017-02-08

Semiconductor heterostructures are backbones for solid-state-based optoelectronic devices. Recent advances in assembly techniques for van der Waals heterostructures have enabled the band engineering of semiconductor heterojunctions for atomically thin optoelectronic devices. In two-dimensional heterostructures with type II band alignment, interlayer excitons, where Coulomb bound electrons and holes are confined to opposite layers, have shown promising properties for novel excitonic devices, including a large binding energy, micron-scale in-plane drift-diffusion, and a long population and valley polarization lifetime. Here, we demonstrate interlayer exciton optoelectronics based on electrostatically defined lateral p-n junctions in a MoSe 2 -WSe 2 heterobilayer. Applying a forward bias enables the first observation of electroluminescence from interlayer excitons. At zero bias, the p-n junction functions as a highly sensitive photodetector, where the wavelength-dependent photocurrent measurement allows the direct observation of resonant optical excitation of the interlayer exciton. The resulting photocurrent amplitude from the interlayer exciton is about 200 times smaller than the resonant excitation of intralayer exciton. This implies that the interlayer exciton oscillator strength is 2 orders of magnitude smaller than that of the intralayer exciton due to the spatial separation of electron and hole to the opposite layers. These results lay the foundation for exploiting the interlayer exciton in future 2D heterostructure optoelectronic devices.

Interlayer Water Regulates the Bio-nano Interface of a β-sheet Protein stacking on Graphene

PubMed Central

Lv, Wenping; Xu, Guiju; Zhang, Hongyan; Li, Xin; Liu, Shengju; Niu, Huan; Xu, Dongsheng; Wu, Ren'an

2015-01-01

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated an integrated bio-nano interface consisting of a β-sheet protein stacked onto graphene. We found that the stacking assembly of the model protein on graphene could be controlled by water molecules. The interlayer water filled within interstices of the bio-nano interface could suppress the molecular vibration of surface groups on protein, and could impair the CH···π interaction driving the attraction of the protein and graphene. The intermolecular coupling of interlayer water would be relaxed by the relative motion of protein upon graphene due to the interaction between water and protein surface. This effect reduced the hindrance of the interlayer water against the assembly of protein on graphene, resulting an appropriate adsorption status of protein on graphene with a deep free energy trap. Thereby, the confinement and the relative sliding between protein and graphene, the coupling of protein and water, and the interaction between graphene and water all have involved in the modulation of behaviors of water molecules within the bio-nano interface, governing the hindrance of interlayer water against the protein assembly on hydrophobic graphene. These results provide a deep insight into the fundamental mechanism of protein adsorption onto graphene surface in water. PMID:25557857

Interlayer water regulates the bio-nano interface of a β-sheet protein stacking on graphene.

PubMed

Lv, Wenping; Xu, Guiju; Zhang, Hongyan; Li, Xin; Liu, Shengju; Niu, Huan; Xu, Dongsheng; Wu, Ren'an

2015-01-05

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated an integrated bio-nano interface consisting of a β-sheet protein stacked onto graphene. We found that the stacking assembly of the model protein on graphene could be controlled by water molecules. The interlayer water filled within interstices of the bio-nano interface could suppress the molecular vibration of surface groups on protein, and could impair the CH···π interaction driving the attraction of the protein and graphene. The intermolecular coupling of interlayer water would be relaxed by the relative motion of protein upon graphene due to the interaction between water and protein surface. This effect reduced the hindrance of the interlayer water against the assembly of protein on graphene, resulting an appropriate adsorption status of protein on graphene with a deep free energy trap. Thereby, the confinement and the relative sliding between protein and graphene, the coupling of protein and water, and the interaction between graphene and water all have involved in the modulation of behaviors of water molecules within the bio-nano interface, governing the hindrance of interlayer water against the protein assembly on hydrophobic graphene. These results provide a deep insight into the fundamental mechanism of protein adsorption onto graphene surface in water.

Interlayer Water Regulates the Bio-nano Interface of a β-sheet Protein stacking on Graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Wenping; Xu, Guiju; Zhang, Hongyan; Li, Xin; Liu, Shengju; Niu, Huan; Xu, Dongsheng; Wu, Ren'an

2015-01-01

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated an integrated bio-nano interface consisting of a β-sheet protein stacked onto graphene. We found that the stacking assembly of the model protein on graphene could be controlled by water molecules. The interlayer water filled within interstices of the bio-nano interface could suppress the molecular vibration of surface groups on protein, and could impair the CH...π interaction driving the attraction of the protein and graphene. The intermolecular coupling of interlayer water would be relaxed by the relative motion of protein upon graphene due to the interaction between water and protein surface. This effect reduced the hindrance of the interlayer water against the assembly of protein on graphene, resulting an appropriate adsorption status of protein on graphene with a deep free energy trap. Thereby, the confinement and the relative sliding between protein and graphene, the coupling of protein and water, and the interaction between graphene and water all have involved in the modulation of behaviors of water molecules within the bio-nano interface, governing the hindrance of interlayer water against the protein assembly on hydrophobic graphene. These results provide a deep insight into the fundamental mechanism of protein adsorption onto graphene surface in water.

Lightning Damage of Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Laminates with Interlayers Modified by Nickel-Coated Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Qi; Wan, Guoshun; Xu, Yongzheng; Guo, Yunli; Du, Tianxiang; Yi, Xiaosu; Jia, Yuxi

2017-12-01

The numerical model of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates with electrically modified interlayers subjected to lightning strike is constructed through finite element simulation, in which both intra-laminar and inter-laminar lightning damages are considered by means of coupled electrical-thermal-pyrolytic analysis method. Then the lightning damage extents including the damage volume and maximum damage depth are investigated. The results reveal that the simulated lightning damages could be qualitatively compared to the experimental counterparts of CFRP laminates with interlayers modified by nickel-coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Ni-MWCNTs). With higher electrical conductivity of modified interlayer and more amount of modified interlayers, both damage volume and maximum damage depth are reduced. This work provides an effective guidance to the anti-lightning optimization of CFRP laminates.

Interlayer excitons in a bulk van der Waals semiconductor.

PubMed

Arora, Ashish; Drüppel, Matthias; Schmidt, Robert; Deilmann, Thorsten; Schneider, Robert; Molas, Maciej R; Marauhn, Philipp; Michaelis de Vasconcellos, Steffen; Potemski, Marek; Rohlfing, Michael; Bratschitsch, Rudolf

2017-09-21

Bound electron-hole pairs called excitons govern the electronic and optical response of many organic and inorganic semiconductors. Excitons with spatially displaced wave functions of electrons and holes (interlayer excitons) are important for Bose-Einstein condensation, superfluidity, dissipationless current flow, and the light-induced exciton spin Hall effect. Here we report on the discovery of interlayer excitons in a bulk van der Waals semiconductor. They form due to strong localization and spin-valley coupling of charge carriers. By combining high-field magneto-reflectance experiments and ab initio calculations for 2H-MoTe 2 , we explain their salient features: the positive sign of the g-factor and the large diamagnetic shift. Our investigations solve the long-standing puzzle of positive g-factors in transition metal dichalcogenides, and pave the way for studying collective phenomena in these materials at elevated temperatures.Excitons, quasi-particles of bound electron-hole pairs, are at the core of the optoelectronic properties of layered transition metal dichalcogenides. Here, the authors unveil the presence of interlayer excitons in bulk van der Waals semiconductors, arising from strong localization and spin-valley coupling of charge carriers.

Phonon-coupled ultrafast interlayer charge oscillation at van der Waals heterostructure interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Qijing; Xie, Yu; Lan, Zhenggang; Prezhdo, Oleg V.; Saidi, Wissam A.; Zhao, Jin

2018-05-01

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures of transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) semiconductors are central not only for fundamental science, but also for electro- and optical-device technologies where the interfacial charge transfer is a key factor. Ultrafast interfacial charge dynamics has been intensively studied, however, the atomic scale insights into the effects of the electron-phonon (e-p) coupling are still lacking. In this paper, using time dependent ab initio nonadiabatic molecular dynamics, we study the ultrafast interfacial charge transfer dynamics of two different TMD heterostructures MoS2/WS2 and MoSe2/WSe2 , which have similar band structures but different phonon frequencies. We found that MoSe2/WSe2 has softer phonon modes compared to MoS2/WS2 , and thus phonon-coupled charge oscillation can be excited with sufficient phonon excitations at room temperature. In contrast, for MoS2/WS2 , phonon-coupled interlayer charge oscillations are not easily excitable. Our study provides an atomic level understanding on how the phonon excitation and e-p coupling affect the interlayer charge transfer dynamics, which is valuable for both the fundamental understanding of ultrafast dynamics at vdW hetero-interfaces and the design of novel quasi-two-dimensional devices for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications.

Control of magnetic direction in multi-layer ferromagnetic devices by bias voltage

DOEpatents

You, Chun-Yeol; Bader, Samuel D.

2001-01-01

A system for controlling the direction of magnetization of materials comprising a ferromagnetic device with first and second ferromagnetic layers. The ferromagnetic layers are disposed such that they combine to form an interlayer with exchange coupling. An insulating layer and a spacer layer are located between the first and second ferromagnetic layers. A direct bias voltage is applied to the interlayer exchange coupling, causing the direction of magnetization of the second ferromagnetic layer to change. This change of magnetization direction occurs in the absence of any applied external magnetic field.

Spectroscopic Signatures for Interlayer Coupling in MoS2-WSe2 van der Waals Stacking

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-07

theory (DFPT) calculations were carried out using the plane wave code CASTEP as implemented in the Materials Studio package .38 A hexagonal unit cell...transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers. The layer-number sensitive Raman out -of-plane mode A2 1g for WSe2 (309 cm1) is found sensitive to the...Raman out -of-plane mode A2 1g for WSe2 (309 cm1) is found sensitive to the coupling between two TMD monolayers. The presence of interlayer excitonic

[Cr-Ti-Al-N complex coating on titanium to strengthen Ti/porcelain bonding].

PubMed

Zhang, Hui; Guo, Tian-wen; Li, Jun-ming; Pan, Jing-guang; Dang, Yong-gang; Tong, Yu

2006-02-01

To study the feasibility of magnetron sputtering Cr-Ti-Al-N complex coating as an interlayer on titanium to enhance the titanium-ceramic binding strength. With a three-point bending test according to ISO 9693, the binding strength of Duceratin (Degussa) to titanium substrate prepared with 4 different surface treatments (polishing, polishing and megnetron sputtering Cr, Ti, Al, and N complex coating, sandblasting, sandblasting and coating) was evaluated. Ti/porcelain interface and fractured Ti surface were examined using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The binding strength of polished and coated titanium/Duceratin was significantly higher than polished titanium group (P<0.05). The binding strength of sandblasted and coated titanium/Duceratin did not differ significantly from that of sandblasted titanium group (P>0.05), and the strength in the two sandblasted titanium groups was significantly higher than that in polished and coated titanium group (P<0.05). Megnetron sputtering Cr-Ti-Al-N complex on polished titanium can increase the titanium/porcelain binding strength. Megnetron sputtering coating is a promising Ti/porcelain interlayer.

Stacking-dependent interlayer coupling in trilayer MoS 2 with broken inversion symmetry

DOE PAGES

Yan, Jiaxu; Wang, Xingli; Tay, Beng Kang; ...

2015-11-13

The stacking configuration in few-layer two-dimensional (2D) materials results in different structural symmetries and layer-to-layer interactions, and hence it provides a very useful parameter for tuning their electronic properties. For example, ABA-stacking trilayer graphene remains semimetallic similar to that of monolayer, while ABC-stacking is predicted to be a tunable band gap semiconductor under an external electric field. Such stacking dependence resulting from many-body interactions has recently been the focus of intense research activities. Here we demonstrate that few-layer MoS 2 samples grown by chemical vapor deposition with different stacking configurations (AA, AB for bilayer; AAB, ABB, ABA, AAA for trilayer)more » exhibit distinct coupling phenomena in both photoluminescence and Raman spectra. By means of ultralow-frequency (ULF) Raman spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the evolution of interlayer interaction with various stacking configurations correlates strongly with layer-breathing mode (LBM) vibrations. Our ab initio calculations reveal that the layer-dependent properties arise from both the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) and interlayer coupling in different structural symmetries. Lastly, such detailed understanding provides useful guidance for future spintronics fabrication using various stacked few-layer MoS 2 blocks.« less

Stacking-dependent interlayer coupling in trilayer MoS 2 with broken inversion symmetry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yan, Jiaxu; Wang, Xingli; Tay, Beng Kang

The stacking configuration in few-layer two-dimensional (2D) materials results in different structural symmetries and layer-to-layer interactions, and hence it provides a very useful parameter for tuning their electronic properties. For example, ABA-stacking trilayer graphene remains semimetallic similar to that of monolayer, while ABC-stacking is predicted to be a tunable band gap semiconductor under an external electric field. Such stacking dependence resulting from many-body interactions has recently been the focus of intense research activities. Here we demonstrate that few-layer MoS 2 samples grown by chemical vapor deposition with different stacking configurations (AA, AB for bilayer; AAB, ABB, ABA, AAA for trilayer)more » exhibit distinct coupling phenomena in both photoluminescence and Raman spectra. By means of ultralow-frequency (ULF) Raman spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the evolution of interlayer interaction with various stacking configurations correlates strongly with layer-breathing mode (LBM) vibrations. Our ab initio calculations reveal that the layer-dependent properties arise from both the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) and interlayer coupling in different structural symmetries. Lastly, such detailed understanding provides useful guidance for future spintronics fabrication using various stacked few-layer MoS 2 blocks.« less

Ferromagnetic resonance in coupled permalloy double films separated by a Cu interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maksymowicz, A. Z.; Whiting, J. S. S.; Watson, M. L.; Chambers, A.

1991-03-01

Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) at 16 GHz was used to study the magnetic coupling between two-layers of permalloy separated by a nonmagnetic Cu layer. Samples with the same thickness (600 Å) of both permalloy layers were deposited from e-gun sources onto glass substrates in UHV. The thickness d of the Cu interlayer was varied from 5 to 37 Å. The exchange coupling energy ( E = - KM1· M2) model was used to describe the interaction between the two magnetic layers. It was found from the ferromagnetic resonance data in the perpendicular configuration that K( d) follows an exponential law, K = K0e - d/ q, where q = 9.3 Å.

Vacuum Brazing of WC-8Co Cemented Carbides to Carbon Steel Using Pure Cu and Ag-28Cu as Filler Metal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, X. Z.; Liu, G. W.; Tao, J. N.; Shao, H. C.; Fu, H.; Pan, T. Z.; Qiao, G. J.

2017-02-01

The wetting and spreading behavior of commercial pure Cu and Ag-28Cu alloy on WC-8Co cemented carbide were investigated by the sessile drop technique. The contact angle of both systems obviously decreases with moderately increasing the wetting temperature. Vacuum brazing of the WC-8Co cemented carbide to SAE1045 steel using the pure Cu or Ag-28Cu as filler metal was further carried out based on the wetting results. The interfacial interactions and joint mechanical behavior involving microhardness, shear strength and fracture were analyzed and discussed. An obvious Fe-Cu-Co transition layer is detected at the WC-8Co/Cu interface, while no obvious reaction layer is observed at the whole WC-8Co/Ag-28Cu/SAE1045 brazing seam. The microhardness values of the two interlayers and the steel substrate near the two interlayers increase more or less, while those of WC-8Co cemented carbide substrates adjacent to the two interlayers decrease. The WC-8Co/SAE1045 joints using pure Cu and Ag-28Cu alloy as filler metals obtain average shear strength values of about 172 and 136 MPa, and both of the joint fractures occur in the interlayers.

Interlayer exciton optoelectronics in a 2D heterostructure p–n junction

DOE PAGES

Ross, Jason S.; Rivera, Pasqual; Schaibley, John; ...

2016-12-22

Semiconductor heterostructures are backbones for solid-state-based optoelectronic devices. Recent advances in assembly techniques for van der Waals heterostructures have enabled the band engineering of semiconductor heterojunctions for atomically thin optoelectronic devices. In two-dimensional heterostructures with type II band alignment, interlayer excitons, where Coulomb bound electrons and holes are confined to opposite layers, have shown promising properties for novel excitonic devices, including a large binding energy, micron-scale in-plane drift-diffusion, and a long population and valley polarization lifetime. Here, we demonstrate interlayer exciton optoelectronics based on electrostatically defined lateral p–n junctions in a MoSe 2–WSe 2 heterobilayer. Applying a forward bias enablesmore » the first observation of electroluminescence from interlayer excitons. At zero bias, the p–n junction functions as a highly sensitive photodetector, where the wavelength-dependent photocurrent measurement allows the direct observation of resonant optical excitation of the interlayer exciton. The resulting photocurrent amplitude from the interlayer exciton is about 200 times smaller than the resonant excitation of intralayer exciton. This implies that the interlayer exciton oscillator strength is 2 orders of magnitude smaller than that of the intralayer exciton due to the spatial separation of electron and hole to the opposite layers. Lastly, these results lay the foundation for exploiting the interlayer exciton in future 2D heterostructure optoelectronic devices.« less

Tunneling Plasmonics in Bilayer Graphene.

PubMed

Fei, Z; Iwinski, E G; Ni, G X; Zhang, L M; Bao, W; Rodin, A S; Lee, Y; Wagner, M; Liu, M K; Dai, S; Goldflam, M D; Thiemens, M; Keilmann, F; Lau, C N; Castro-Neto, A H; Fogler, M M; Basov, D N

2015-08-12

We report experimental signatures of plasmonic effects due to electron tunneling between adjacent graphene layers. At subnanometer separation, such layers can form either a strongly coupled bilayer graphene with a Bernal stacking or a weakly coupled double-layer graphene with a random stacking order. Effects due to interlayer tunneling dominate in the former case but are negligible in the latter. We found through infrared nanoimaging that bilayer graphene supports plasmons with a higher degree of confinement compared to single- and double-layer graphene, a direct consequence of interlayer tunneling. Moreover, we were able to shut off plasmons in bilayer graphene through gating within a wide voltage range. Theoretical modeling indicates that such a plasmon-off region is directly linked to a gapped insulating state of bilayer graphene, yet another implication of interlayer tunneling. Our work uncovers essential plasmonic properties in bilayer graphene and suggests a possibility to achieve novel plasmonic functionalities in graphene few-layers.

Study of interlayer coupling between FePt and FeCoB thin films through MgO spacer layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Sadhana; Kumar, Dileep; Gupta, Mukul; Reddy, V. Raghvendra

2017-05-01

Interlayer exchange coupling between hard-FePt and soft-FeCoB magnetic layers has been studied with increasing thickness of insulator MgO spacer layer in FePt/MgO/FeCoB sandwiched structure. A series of the samples were prepared in identical condition using ion beam sputtering method and characterized for their magnetic and structural properties using magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and X-ray reflectivity measurements. The nature of coupling between FePt and FeCoB was found to be ferromagnetic which decreases exponentially with increasing thickness of MgO layer. At very low thickness of MgO layer, both layers were found strongly coupled thus exhibiting coherent magnetization reversal. At higher thickness, both layers were found decoupled and magnetization reversal occurred at different switching fields. Strong coupling at very low thickness is attributed to pin holes in MgO layer which lead to direct coupling whereas on increasing thickness, coupling may arise due to magneto-static interactions.

Infrared preheating to improve interlayer strength of big area additive manufacturing (BAAM) components

DOE PAGES

Kishore, Vidya; Ajinjeru, Christine; Nycz, Andrzej; ...

2017-03-01

The Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system can print structures on the order of several meters at high extrusion rates, thereby having the potential to significantly impact automotive, aerospace and energy sectors. The functional use of such parts, however, may be limited by mechanical anisotropy in which the strength of printed parts across successive layers in the build direction (z-direction) is significantly lower than the corresponding in-plane strength (x-y directions). This has been primarily attributed to poor bonding between printed layers as the lower layers cool below the glass transition temperature (Tg) before the next layer is deposited. Therefore, themore » potential of using infrared heating is considered for increasing the surface temperature of the printed layer just prior to deposition of new material to improve the interlayer strength of the components. This study found significant improvements in bond strength for the deposition of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) reinforced with 20% chopped carbon fiber when the surface temperature of the substrate material was increased from below Tg to close to or above Tg using infrared heating.« less

Infrared preheating to improve interlayer strength of big area additive manufacturing (BAAM) components

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kishore, Vidya; Ajinjeru, Christine; Nycz, Andrzej

The Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system can print structures on the order of several meters at high extrusion rates, thereby having the potential to significantly impact automotive, aerospace and energy sectors. The functional use of such parts, however, may be limited by mechanical anisotropy in which the strength of printed parts across successive layers in the build direction (z-direction) is significantly lower than the corresponding in-plane strength (x-y directions). This has been primarily attributed to poor bonding between printed layers as the lower layers cool below the glass transition temperature (Tg) before the next layer is deposited. Therefore, themore » potential of using infrared heating is considered for increasing the surface temperature of the printed layer just prior to deposition of new material to improve the interlayer strength of the components. This study found significant improvements in bond strength for the deposition of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) reinforced with 20% chopped carbon fiber when the surface temperature of the substrate material was increased from below Tg to close to or above Tg using infrared heating.« less

Nickel hydroxide electrode. 3: Thermogravimetric investigations of nickel (II) hydroxides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dennstedt, W.; Loeser, W.

1982-01-01

Water contained in Ni hydroxide influences its electrochemical reactivity. The water content of alpha and beta Ni hydroxides is different with respect to the amount and bond strength. Thermogravimetric experiments show that the water of the beta Ni hydroxides exceeding the stoichiometric composition is completely removed at 160 deg. The water contained in the interlayers of the beta hydroxide, however, is removed only at higher temperatures, together with the water originating from the decomposition of the hydroxide. These differences are attributed to the formation of II bonds within the interlayers and between interlayers and adjacent main layers. An attempt is made to explain the relations between water content and the oxidizability of the Ni hydroxides.

Twisted MoSe 2 bilayers with variable local stacking and interlayer coupling revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Puretzky, Alexander A.; Liang, Liangbo; Li, Xufan; ...

2016-01-14

Unique twisted bilayers of MoSe 2 with multiple stacking orientations and interlayer couplings in the narrow range of twist angles, 60 ± 3°, are revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy and theoretical analysis. The slight deviation from 60 allows the concomitant presence of patches featuring all three high-symmetry stacking configurations (2H or AA', AB', A'B) in one unique bilayer system. In this case, the periodic arrangement of the patches and their size strongly depend on the twist angle. Ab initio modeling predicts significant changes in frequencies and intensities of low-frequency modes versus stacking and twist angle. Experimentally, the variable stacking andmore » coupling across the interface is revealed by the appearance of two breathing modes corresponding to the mixture of the high-symmetry stacking configurations and unaligned regions of monolayers. Only one breathing mode is observed outside the narrow range of twist angles. This indicates a stacking transition to unaligned monolayers with mismatched atom registry without the in-plane restoring force required to generate a shear mode. As a result, the variable interlayer coupling and spacing in transition metal dichalcogenide bilayers revealed in this study may provide a new platform for optoelectronic applications of these materials.« less

Twisted MoSe 2 bilayers with variable local stacking and interlayer coupling revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Puretzky, Alexander A.; Liang, Liangbo; Li, Xufan

Unique twisted bilayers of MoSe 2 with multiple stacking orientations and interlayer couplings in the narrow range of twist angles, 60 ± 3°, are revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy and theoretical analysis. The slight deviation from 60 allows the concomitant presence of patches featuring all three high-symmetry stacking configurations (2H or AA', AB', A'B) in one unique bilayer system. In this case, the periodic arrangement of the patches and their size strongly depend on the twist angle. Ab initio modeling predicts significant changes in frequencies and intensities of low-frequency modes versus stacking and twist angle. Experimentally, the variable stacking andmore » coupling across the interface is revealed by the appearance of two breathing modes corresponding to the mixture of the high-symmetry stacking configurations and unaligned regions of monolayers. Only one breathing mode is observed outside the narrow range of twist angles. This indicates a stacking transition to unaligned monolayers with mismatched atom registry without the in-plane restoring force required to generate a shear mode. As a result, the variable interlayer coupling and spacing in transition metal dichalcogenide bilayers revealed in this study may provide a new platform for optoelectronic applications of these materials.« less

Evidence for Interlayer Collapse of Nontronite on Mars from Laboratory Visible and Near-IR Reflective Spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Richard V.; Ming, D. W.; Golden, D. C.; Graff, T. G.; Achilles, C. N.

2010-01-01

Dioctahedral smectites (e.g., nontronite and montmorillionite) are interpreted to occupy the optical surface of Mars at a number of locations on the basis of spectral features derived from interlayer H2O and MOH (M=Fe(3+)2, Fe(3+)Al, Al2, etc.) as observed by orbiting MRO-CRISM and MEx-OMEGA hyperspectral imaging spectrometers. At wavelengths shorter than approximately 2.7 micrometers, the strongest bands from interlayer H2O occur at approximately 1.4 and 1.9 micrometers from 2v1 and v1+v2, respectively, where v1 and v2 are the fundamental stretching and bending vibrations of the H2O molecule. Smectite MOH vibrations occur near 1.4 micrometers (stretching overtone) and in the region between 2.1 and 2.7 micrometers (stretching + bending combination). Because interlayer H2O can exchange with the martian environment, a number of studies have examined the strength of the interlayer H2O spectral features under Mars-like environmental conditions. The relationship between spectral properties and the underlying crystal structure of the smectites was not determined, and the extent of interlayer H2O removal was not established. We report combined visible and near-IR (VNIR), Mossbauer (MB), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) data for samples of the Fe-bearing smectite nontronite where the interlayer was collapsed by complete removal of interlayer H2O.

Molecular Dynamics Study of Crystalline Swelling of Montmorillonite as Affected by Interlayer Cation Hydration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hongliang; Song, Shaoxian; Dong, Xianshu; Min, Fanfei; Zhao, Yunliang; Peng, Chenliang; Nahmad, Yuri

2018-04-01

Swelling of montmorillonite (Mt) is an important factor for many industrial applications. In this study, crystalline swelling of alkali-metal- and alkaline-earth-metal-Mt has been studied through energy optimization and molecular dynamics simulations using the clay force field by Materials Studio 8.0. The delamination and exfoliation of Mt are primarily realized by crystalline swelling caused by the enhanced interlayer cation hydration. The initial position of the interlayer cations and water molecules is the dominated factor for the accuracy of the Mt simulations. Crystalline swelling can be carried out in alkali-metal-Mt and Mg-Mt but with difficulty in Ca-Mt, Sr-Mt and Ba-Mt. The crystalline swelling capacity values are in the order Na-Mt > K-Mt > Cs-Mt > Mg-Mt. This order of crystalline swelling of Mt in the same group can be attributed to the differences between the interlayer cation hydration strengths. In addition, the differences in the crystalline swelling between the alkali-metal-Mt and alkaline-earth-metal-Mt can be primarily attributed to the valence of the interlayer cations.

Hysteresis-free spin valves with a noncollinear configuration of magnetic anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naumova, L. I.; Milyaev, M. A.; Chernyshova, T. A.; Proglyado, V. V.; Kamenskii, I. Yu.; Ustinov, V. V.

2014-06-01

A noncollinear configuration of magnetic anisotropy in spin valves with strong and weak interlayer couplings has been formed by annealing and cooling in a magnetic field. The dependence of the low-field magnetoresistance hysteresis loop width on the angle between the applied magnetic field and the principal axes of the magnetic anisotropy in a spin valve has been investigated. It has been found that, only in the case of a strong ferromagnetic interlayer coupling, the formation of a noncollinear configuration of the magnetic anisotropy provides a hysteresis-free character of the magnetization reversal of the free layer with retaining the maximum magnetoresistance and magnetoresistive sensitivity.

Nonoscillatory behavior in the magnetoresistance of Cu/Ni superlattice (abstract)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdul-Razzaq, W.

1994-05-01

It was reported that in many magnetic/nonmagnetic metallic multilayered systems, the interlayer-coupling oscillates between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic upon increasing the thickness of the nonmagnetic layer. This was evident by the oscillation of the magnetoresistance (MR) in these materials. Recently however, Harp, Parkin et al.1 found that the MR and coupling strength change monotonically with increasing Cu thickness in Co/Cu multilayers deposited by MBE, contradicting results on similar samples made by sputtering in which the MR was oscillatory. In this study, we show that in the Cu/Ni superlattice made by sputtering, the MR varies monotonically with increasing Cu thickness. This nonoscillatory behavior was observed at room temperature and at 77 K and, regardless of the direction of the magnetic field in relation to the direction of the current. The resistivity at zero magnetic field as a function of temperature also changes systematically with reducing the Cu layer thickness. The nature of the magnetic state in Cu/Ni superlattice is discussed in light of the transport property measurements.

Influence of Ni Interlayer on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Mg/Al Bimetallic Castings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ning; Liu, Canchun; Liang, Chunyong; Zhang, Yongguang

2018-05-01

Dissimilar joining of magnesium and aluminum using a compound casting process was investigated in the present work. For the first time, a Ni interlayer prepared by plasma spraying was inserted between the two base metals to improve the interfacial characteristics. Examination of the interfacial regions using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electron probe microanalysis, and X-ray diffraction revealed the formation of a three-layered interface between Mg and Al without the interlayer. The thickness of the interface was approximately 600 μm when the casting was performed at 700 °C and increased with increasing casting temperature. However, with the addition of the Ni interlayer, the Al-Mg reaction was successfully prevented, and metallurgical bonding between the Ni interlayer and two base metals was achieved at a casting temperature of 700 °C. Upon increasing this temperature, Mg-Ni and Al-Ni intermetallics were generated at the separate interfaces. The shear strength of the Mg/Al bimetallic castings with the Ni interlayer was substantially improved compared with that of the direct Mg/Al joint, with a maximum value of 25.4 MPa achieved at 700 °C. Fracture occurred mainly along the Mg/Ni interface for the Mg/Ni/Al multilayer structure castings.

Interlayer coupling effects on Schottky barrier in the arsenene-graphene van der Waals heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xia, Congxin, E-mail: xiacongxin@htu.edu.cn; Xue, Bin; Wang, Tianxing

The electronic characteristics of arsenene-graphene van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures are studied by using first-principles methods. The results show that a linear Dirac-like dispersion relation around the Fermi level can be quite well preserved in the vdW heterostructures. Moreover, the p-type Schottky barrier (0.18 eV) to n-type Schottky barrier (0.31 eV) transition occurs when the interlayer distance increases from 2.8 to 4.5 Å, which indicates that the Schottky barrier can be tuned effectively by the interlayer distance in the vdW heterostructures.

Wideband tunable wavelength-selective coupling in asymmetric side-polished fiber coupler with dispersive interlayer.

PubMed

Chen, Nan-Kuang; Lee, Cheng-Ling; Chi, Sien

2007-12-24

We demonstrate tunable highly wavelength-selective filter based on a 2 x 2 asymmetric side-polished fiber coupler with dispersive interlayer in one of the coupling arms. The asymmetric fiber coupler is made of two side-polished fibers using identical single-mode fibers and one of the polished fibers is further chemically etched at the central evanescent coupling region to gain closer to the core. An optical liquid with different dispersion characteristics than that of silica fiber is used to fill up the etched hollow and therefore the propagation constant for the polished fiber with dispersive liquid becomes more dispersive and crosses with that of another untreated polished fiber. The location of the cross point and the cross angle between two propagation constant curves determine the coupling wavelength and coupling bandwidth as well as channel wavelength separation, respectively. The coupling wavelength can be tuned at least wider than 84 nm (1.326-1.410 microm) under index variation of 0.004 and with coupling ratios of higher than 30 dB.

Probing the role of interlayer coupling and coulomb interactions on electronic structure in few-layer MoSe₂ nanostructures.

PubMed

Bradley, Aaron J; Ugeda, Miguel M; da Jornada, Felipe H; Qiu, Diana Y; Ruan, Wei; Zhang, Yi; Wickenburg, Sebastian; Riss, Alexander; Lu, Jiong; Mo, Sung-Kwan; Hussain, Zahid; Shen, Zhi-Xun; Louie, Steven G; Crommie, Michael F

2015-04-08

Despite the weak nature of interlayer forces in transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) materials, their properties are highly dependent on the number of layers in the few-layer two-dimensional (2D) limit. Here, we present a combined scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and GW theoretical study of the electronic structure of high quality single- and few-layer MoSe2 grown on bilayer graphene. We find that the electronic (quasiparticle) bandgap, a fundamental parameter for transport and optical phenomena, decreases by nearly one electronvolt when going from one layer to three due to interlayer coupling and screening effects. Our results paint a clear picture of the evolution of the electronic wave function hybridization in the valleys of both the valence and conduction bands as the number of layers is changed. This demonstrates the importance of layer number and electron-electron interactions on van der Waals heterostructures and helps to clarify how their electronic properties might be tuned in future 2D nanodevices.

Stacking orders induced direct band gap in bilayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures.

PubMed

Hu, Xiaohui; Kou, Liangzhi; Sun, Litao

2016-08-16

The direct band gap of monolayer semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides (STMDs) enables a host of new optical and electrical properties. However, bilayer STMDs are indirect band gap semiconductors, which limits its applicability for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. Here, we report that the direct band gap can be achieved in bilayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures by alternating stacking orders. Specifically, when Se atoms from opposite layers are stacked directly on top of each other, AA and A'B stacked heterostructures show weaker interlayer coupling, larger interlayer distance and direct band gap. Whereas, when Se atoms from opposite layers are staggered, AA', AB and AB' stacked heterostructures exhibit stronger interlayer coupling, shorter interlayer distance and indirect band gap. Thus, the direct/indirect band gap can be controllable in bilayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures. In addition, the calculated sliding barriers indicate that the stacking orders of bilayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures can be easily formed by sliding one layer with respect to the other. The novel direct band gap in bilayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures provides possible application for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. The results also show that the stacking order is an effective strategy to induce and tune the band gap of layered STMDs.

Estimation of adhesive bond strength in laminated safety glass using guided mechanical waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huo, Shihong

Laminated safety glass is used in the automobile industry and in architectural applications. Laminated safety glass consists of a plastic interlayer, such as a layer of poly vinyl butyral (PVB) or Butacite, surrounded by two adjacent glass plates. The glass can be float glass, plate glass, tempered glass, or sheet glass, and the plastic interlayer is made of a viscoelastic material with relatively high damping. The level of adhesive bond strength between the plastic interlayer and the two adjacent glass plates has a significant role in the penetration resistance against flying objects and is a critical parameter towards ensuring the proper performance of safety glass. Therefore, estimation and control of adhesive bond levels in laminated safety glass is a critical issue. There are several destructive testing procedures used to quantify the adhesion level in laminated safety glass. These tests include the tension test, the peel test, the impact test, and the pummel test. All these tests have drawbacks including the pummel test method, which has been the most widely used in industry for over 80 years. The primary drawbacks of the pummel test method are that it is destructive and subjective (i.e., involves individual human judgment), which precludes this method for use as an on-line test method for quality control. Consequently, a quantitative nondestructive testing method to evaluate adhesion levels would be an asset to the laminated safety glass industry. In this study, adhesion levels in laminated safety glass samples, i.e., windshields, have been assessed using the guided mechanical wave method. To study the adhesive bond strength analytically, the imperfect interfaces between the plastic interlayer and the two adjacent glass plates in laminated safety glass are modeled using a bed of longitudinal and shear springs, and their stiffness characteristics are estimated using fracture mechanics and atomic force microscopy (AFM) surface measurements. The atomic force microscopy measurements are used to estimate the contact area at the imperfect interfaces between the plastic interlayer and the two adjacent glass plates for each of the laminates. The spring layers are then embedded in the global matrix method, which is used to predict the guided wave dispersion behavior of the laminated system. Based upon the guided wave energy velocity predictions for each of the laminates with different levels of adhesion, the S0 mode was selected as the most promising for use in nondestructively estimating adhesion levels in laminated safety glass. The predicted energy velocities (obtained using this multilayered model) were validated using guided wave energy velocity experimental measurements. The experimentally obtained velocity measurements are in good agreement with the predicted values. Guided wave attenuation in laminated safety glass is primarily due to the viscoelastic material properties of the PVB plastic interlayer. The attenuation properties of S1 mode were also explored to estimate the adhesive bond strength between the plastic interlayer and the two adjacent glass plates. Results show that the combination of both the energy velocity and attenuation methods has promise towards replacing the pummel test method to estimate the adhesion level in laminated safety glass.

Anisotropic Josephson-vortex dynamics in layered organic superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasuzuka, S.; Uji, S.; Satsukawa, H.; Kimata, M.; Terashima, T.; Koga, H.; Yamamura, Y.; Saito, K.; Akutsu, H.; Yamada, J.

2010-06-01

To study the anisotropic Josephson-vortex dynamics in the d-wave superconductors, the interplane resistance has been measured on layered organic superconductors κ-(ET)2Cu(NCS)2 and β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6 under magnetic fields precisely parallel to the conducting planes. For κ-(ET)2Cu(NCS)2, in-plane angular dependence of the Josephson-vortex flow resistance is mainly described by the fourfold symmetry and dip structures appear when the magnetic field is applied parallel to the b- and c-axes. The obtained results have a relation to the d-wave superconducting gap symmetry. However, the absence of in-plane fourfold anisotropy was found for β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6. The different anisotropic behavior is discussed in terms of the interlayer coupling strength.

Vectorial magnetometry with the magneto-optic Kerr effect applied to Co/Cu/Co trilayer structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daboo, C.; Bland, J. A. C.; Hicken, R. J.; Ives, A. J. R.; Baird, M. J.; Walker, M. J.

1993-05-01

We describe an arrangement in which the magnetization components parallel and perpendicular to the applied field are both determined from longitudinal magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements. This arrangement differs from the usual procedures in that the same optical geometry is used but the magnet geometry altered. This leads to two magneto-optic signals which are directly comparable in magnitude thereby giving the in-plane magnetization vector directly. We show that it is of great value to study both in-plane magnetization vector components when studying coupled structures where significant anisotropies are also present. We discuss simulations which show that it is possible to accurately determine the coupling strength in such structures by examining the behavior of the component of magnetization perpendicular to the applied field in the vicinity of the hard in-plane anisotropy axis. We illustrate this technique by examining the magnetization and magnetic anisotropy behavior of ultrathin Co/Cu(111)/Co (dCu=20 Å and 27 Å) trilayer structures prepared by molecular beam epitaxy, in which coherent rotation of the magnetization vector is observed when the magnetic field B is applied along the hard in-plane anisotropy axis, with the magnitude of the magnetization vector constant and close to its bulk value. Results of micromagnetic calculations closely reproduce the observed parallel and perpendicular magnetization loops, and yield strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropies in both layers, while the interlayer coupling appears to be absent or negligible in comparison with the anisotropy strengths.

A β-Ta system for current induced magnetic switching in the absence of external magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wenzhe; Qian, Lijuan; Xiao, Gang

2018-05-01

Magnetic switching via Giant Spin Hall Effect (GSHE) has received great interest for its role in developing future spintronics logic or memory devices. In this work, a new material system (i.e. a transition metal sandwiched between two ferromagnetic layers) with interlayer exchange coupling is introduced to realize the deterministic field-free perpendicular magnetic switching. This system uses β-Ta, as the GSHE agent to generate a spin current and as the interlayer exchange coupling medium to generate an internal field. The critical switching current density at zero field is on the order of 106 A/cm2 due to the large spin Hall angle of β-Ta. The internal field, along with switching efficiency, depends strongly on the orthogonal magnetization states of two ferromagnetic coupling layers in this system.

Influence of nano-oxide layers on IrMn pinned bottom spin-valves at different positions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, J. J.; Li, K. B.; Luo, P.; Zheng, Y. K.; Wu, Y. H.

2004-05-01

The influence of nano-oxide layer (NOL) inserted at different positions on interlayer coupling (Hin), coercivity of free layer (Hcf), exchange bias (Hex) and MR ratio of IrMn pinned bottom type spin-valves (SV) were studied. Weak antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling was observed in NOL-added SV. The NOL inside pinned layer and after free layer can enhance the MR ratio remarkably. MR of SV with a structure Ta3/NiFe2/IrMn6/CoFe1/NOL/CoFe2.3/Cu2.2/CoFe2.3/AlO reached 18.2%. This is one of the best values ever reported for all-metal single spin-valves.

Large D-2 theory of superconducting fluctuations in a magnetic field and its application to iron pnictides.

PubMed

Murray, James M; Tesanović, Zlatko

2010-07-16

A Ginzburg-Landau approach to fluctuations of a layered superconductor in a magnetic field is used to show that the interlayer coupling can be incorporated within an interacting self-consistent theory of a single layer, in the limit of a large number of neighboring layers. The theory exhibits two phase transitions-a vortex liquid-to-solid transition is followed by a Bose-Einstein condensation into the Abrikosov lattice-illustrating the essential role of interlayer coupling. By using this theory, explicit expressions for magnetization, specific heat, and fluctuation conductivity are derived. We compare our results with recent experimental data on the iron-pnictide superconductors.

Interlayer tunneling in a strongly correlated electron-phonon system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mierzejewski, M.; Zieliński, J.

1996-10-01

We discuss the role of interlayer tunneling for superconducting properties of strongly correlated (U-->∞ limit) two-layer Hubbard model coupled to phonons. Strong correlations are taken into account within the mean-field approximation for auxiliary boson fields. To consider phonon-mediated and interlayer tunneling contribution to superconductivity on equal footing we incorporate the tunneling term into the generalized Eliashberg equations. This leads to the modification of the phonon-induced pairing kernel and implies a pronounced enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature in the d-wave channel for moderate doping. In numerical calculations the two-dimensional band structure has been explicitly taken into account. The relevance of our results for high-temperature superconductors is briefly discussed.

Ionic strength-induced formation of smectite quasicrystals enhances nitroaromatic compound sorption.

PubMed

Li, Hui; Pereira, Tanya R; Teppen, Brian J; Laird, David A; Johnston, Cliff T; Boyd, Stephen A

2007-02-15

Sorption of organic contaminants by soils is a determinant controlling their transport and fate in the environment. The influence of ionic strength on nitroaromatic compound sorption by K+- and Ca2+ -saturated smectite was examined. Sorption of 1,3-dinitrobenzene by K-smectite increased as KCl ionic strength increased from 0.01 to 0.30 M. In contrast, sorption by Ca-smectite at CaCl2 ionic strengths of 0.015 and 0.15 M remained essentially the same. The "salting-out" effect on the decrease of 1,3-dinitrobenzene aqueous solubility within this ionic strength range was <1.5% relative to the solubility in pure water. This decrease of solubility is insufficient to account for the observed increase of sorption by K-smectite with increasing KCl ionic strength. X-ray diffraction patterns and light absorbance of K-clay suspensions indicated the aggregation of clay particles and the formation of quasicrystal structures as KCI ionic strength increased. Sorption enhancement is attributed to the formation of better-ordered K-clay quasicrystals with reduced interlayer distances rather than to the salting-out effect. Dehydration of 1,3-dinitrobenzene is apparently a significant driving force for sorption, and we show for the first time that sorption of small, planar, neutral organic molecules, namely, 1,3-dinitrobenzene, causes previously expanded clay interlayers to dehydrate and collapse in aqueous suspension.

Competition of simple and complex adoption on interdependent networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czaplicka, Agnieszka; Toral, Raul; San Miguel, Maxi

2016-12-01

We consider the competition of two mechanisms for adoption processes: a so-called complex threshold dynamics and a simple susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) model. Separately, these mechanisms lead, respectively, to first-order and continuous transitions between nonadoption and adoption phases. We consider two interconnected layers. While all nodes on the first layer follow the complex adoption process, all nodes on the second layer follow the simple adoption process. Coupling between the two adoption processes occurs as a result of the inclusion of some additional interconnections between layers. We find that the transition points and also the nature of the transitions are modified in the coupled dynamics. In the complex adoption layer, the critical threshold required for extension of adoption increases with interlayer connectivity whereas in the case of an isolated single network it would decrease with average connectivity. In addition, the transition can become continuous depending on the detailed interlayer and intralayer connectivities. In the SIS layer, any interlayer connectivity leads to the extension of the adopter phase. Besides, a new transition appears as a sudden drop of the fraction of adopters in the SIS layer. The main numerical findings are described by a mean-field type analytical approach appropriately developed for the threshold-SIS coupled system.

Interlayer exchange coupling in complex magnetic multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang-dong, Zhang; Lie-ming, Li; Bo-zang, Li; Fu-cho, Pu

1998-07-01

We extend the hole confinement model of Edwards et al. to the problem of two kinds of complex magnetic sandwich structures. One is the magnetic sandwich covered on both sides by nonmagnetic films (case 1) and the other is that covered by magnetic films (case 2). The interlayer exchange coupling and the angular dependence of coupling energy in the two cases are investigated systematically. For case 1, our results show that the magnetic and outer nonmagnetic films influence significantly the oscillation behavior of exchange coupling and the appearance of noncollinear exchange coupling is very sensitive to the thickness of magnetic and outer nonmagnetic layers. Our results also show that the nonoscillatory component of the coupling generally varies with the thickness of magnetic (outer nonmagnetic) films and the results in the case where the thickness of both magnetic (outer nonmagnetic) films vary simultaneously are significantly different from that in the case where the thickness of one of the two magnetic (outer nonmagnetic) films is fixed while the other is varied, which is qualitatively in agreement with the experimental measurements. For case 2, the exponential dependence of exchange coupling on the thickness of the intermagnetic layer has been obtained, similar to the Parkin's experimental results for giant magnetoresistance.

Interlayer-coupled spin vortex pairs and their response to external magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wintz, Sebastian; Bunce, Christopher; Banholzer, Anja; Körner, Michael; Strache, Thomas; Mattheis, Roland; McCord, Jeffrey; Raabe, Jörg; Quitmann, Christoph; Erbe, Artur; Fassbender, Jürgen

2012-06-01

We report on the response of multilayer spin textures to static magnetic fields. Coupled magnetic vortex pairs in trilayer elements (ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic/ferromagnetic) are imaged directly by means of layer-selective magnetic x-ray microscopy. We observe two different circulation configurations with parallel and opposing senses of magnetization rotation at remanence. Upon application of a field, all of the vortex pairs investigated react with a displacement of their cores. For purely dipolar coupled pairs, the individual core displacements are similar to those of an isolated single-layer vortex, but also a noticeable effect of the mutual stray fields is detected. Vortex pairs that are linked by an additional interlayer exchange coupling (IEC), which is either ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic, mainly exhibit a layer-congruent response. We find that, apart from a possible decoupling at higher fields, these strict IEC vortex pairs can be described by a single-layer model with effective material parameters. This result implies the possibility to design multilayer spin structures with arbitrary effective magnetization.

Revealing the preferred interlayer orientations and stackings of two-dimensional bilayer gallium selenide crystals

DOE PAGES

Li, Xufan; Basile Carrasco, Leonardo A.; Yoon, Mina; ...

2015-01-21

Characterizing and controlling the interlayer orientations and stacking order of bilayer two-dimensional (2D) crystals and van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure is crucial to optimize their electrical and optoelectronic properties. The four polymorphs of layered gallium selenide (GaSe) that result from different layer stacking provide an ideal platform to study the stacking configurations in bilayer 2D crystals. Here, through a controllable vapor-phase deposition method we selectively grow bilayer GaSe crystals and investigate their two preferred 0° or 60° interlayer rotations. The commensurate stacking configurations (AA' and AB-stacking) in as-grown 2D bilayer GaSe crystals are clearly observed at the atomic scale andmore » the Ga-terminated edge structure are identified for the first time by using atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Theoretical analysis of the interlayer coupling energetics vs. interlayer rotation angle reveals that the experimentally-observed orientations are energetically preferred among the bilayer GaSe crystal polytypes. Here, the combined experimental and theoretical characterization of the GaSe bilayers afforded by these growth studies provide a pathway to reveal the atomistic relationships in interlayer orientations responsible for the electronic and optical properties of bilayer 2D crystals and vdW heterostructures.« less

Plasmon dispersion in strongly correlated superlattices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu, D.; Golden, K.I.; Kalman, G.

The dielectric response function of a strongly correlated superlattice is calculated in the quasilocalized charge (QLC) approximation. The resulting QLC static local-field correction, which contains both intralayer and interlayer pair-correlational effects, is identical to the correlational part of the third-frequency-moment sum-rule coefficient. This approximation treats the interlayer and intralayer couplings on an equal footing. The resulting dispersion relation is first analyzed to determine the effect of intralayer coupling on the out-of-phase acoustic-mode dispersion; in this approximation the interlayer coupling is suppressed and the mutual interaction of the layers is taken into account only through the average random-phase approximation (RPA) field.more » In the resulting mode dispersion, the onset of a finite-{ital k} ({ital k} being the in-plane wave number) reentrant low-frequency excitation developing (with decreasing {ital d}/{ital a}) into a dynamical instability is indicated ({ital a} being the in-plane Wigner-Seitz radius and {ital d} the distance between adjacent lattice planes). This dynamical instability parallels a static structural instability reported earlier both for a bilayer electron system and a superlattice and presumably indicates a structural change in the electron liquid. If one takes account of interlayer correlations beyond the RPA, the acoustic excitation spectrum is dramatically modified by the appearance of an energy gap which also has a stabilizing effect on the instability. We extend a previous energy gap study at {ital k}=0 [G. Kalman, Y. Ren, and K. I. Golden, Phys Rev. B {bold 50}, 2031 (1994)] to a calculation of the dispersion of the gapped acoustic excitation spectrum in the long-wavelength domain. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}« less

Localized surface plasmon enhanced deep UV-emitting of AlGaN based multi-quantum wells by Al nanoparticles on SiO2 dielectric interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Ju; Wang, Shuai; Chen, Jingwen; Wu, Feng; Dai, Jiangnan; Long, Hanling; Zhang, Yi; Zhang, Wei; Feng, Zhe Chuan; Zhang, Jun; Du, Shida; Ye, Lei; Chen, Changqing

2018-05-01

In this paper, we report a 2.6-fold deep ultraviolet emission enhancement of integrated photoluminescence (PL) intensity in AlGaN-based multi-quantum wells (MQWs) by introducing the coupling of local surface plasmons from Al nanoparticles (NPs) on a SiO2 dielectric interlayer with excitons and photons in MQWs at room temperature. In comparison to bare AlGaN MQWs, a significant 2.3-fold enhancement of the internal quantum efficiency, from 16% to 37%, as well as a 13% enhancement of photon extraction efficiency have been observed in the MQWs decorated with Al NPs on SiO2 dielectric interlayer. Polarization-dependent PL measurement showed that both the transverse electric and transverse magnetic mode were stronger than the original intensity in bare AlGaN MQWs, indicating a strong LSPs coupling process and vigorous scattering ability of the Al/SiO2 composite structure. These results were confirmed by the activation energy of non-radiative recombination from temperature-dependent PL measurement and the theoretical three dimensional finite difference time domain calculations.

Dual-gated MoS2/WSe2 van der Waals tunnel diodes and transistors.

PubMed

Roy, Tania; Tosun, Mahmut; Cao, Xi; Fang, Hui; Lien, Der-Hsien; Zhao, Peida; Chen, Yu-Ze; Chueh, Yu-Lun; Guo, Jing; Javey, Ali

2015-02-24

Two-dimensional layered semiconductors present a promising material platform for band-to-band-tunneling devices given their homogeneous band edge steepness due to their atomically flat thickness. Here, we experimentally demonstrate interlayer band-to-band tunneling in vertical MoS2/WSe2 van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures using a dual-gate device architecture. The electric potential and carrier concentration of MoS2 and WSe2 layers are independently controlled by the two symmetric gates. The same device can be gate modulated to behave as either an Esaki diode with negative differential resistance, a backward diode with large reverse bias tunneling current, or a forward rectifying diode with low reverse bias current. Notably, a high gate coupling efficiency of ∼80% is obtained for tuning the interlayer band alignments, arising from weak electrostatic screening by the atomically thin layers. This work presents an advance in the fundamental understanding of the interlayer coupling and electron tunneling in semiconductor vdW heterostructures with important implications toward the design of atomically thin tunnel transistors.

Localized surface plasmon enhanced deep UV-emitting of AlGaN based multi-quantum wells by Al nanoparticles on SiO2 dielectric interlayer.

PubMed

He, Ju; Wang, Shuai; Chen, Jingwen; Wu, Feng; Dai, Jiangnan; Long, Hanling; Zhang, Yi; Zhang, Wei; Feng, Zhe Chuan; Zhang, Jun; Du, Shida; Ye, Lei; Chen, Changqing

2018-05-11

In this paper, we report a 2.6-fold deep ultraviolet emission enhancement of integrated photoluminescence (PL) intensity in AlGaN-based multi-quantum wells (MQWs) by introducing the coupling of local surface plasmons from Al nanoparticles (NPs) on a SiO 2 dielectric interlayer with excitons and photons in MQWs at room temperature. In comparison to bare AlGaN MQWs, a significant 2.3-fold enhancement of the internal quantum efficiency, from 16% to 37%, as well as a 13% enhancement of photon extraction efficiency have been observed in the MQWs decorated with Al NPs on SiO 2 dielectric interlayer. Polarization-dependent PL measurement showed that both the transverse electric and transverse magnetic mode were stronger than the original intensity in bare AlGaN MQWs, indicating a strong LSPs coupling process and vigorous scattering ability of the Al/SiO 2 composite structure. These results were confirmed by the activation energy of non-radiative recombination from temperature-dependent PL measurement and the theoretical three dimensional finite difference time domain calculations.

Probing interlayer interactions in WS2 -graphene van der Waals heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Ting Fung; Yuan, Long; Huang, Libai; Chen, Yong P.

Two-dimensional crystals based van der Waals coupled heterostructures are of interest owing to their potential applications for flexible and transparent electronics and optoelectronics. The interaction between the 2D layered crystals at the interfaces of these heterostructures is crucial in determining the overall performance and is strongly affected by contamination and interfacial strain. We have fabricated heterostructures consisting of atomically thin exfoliated WS2 and chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) graphene, and studied the interaction and coupling between the WS2 and graphene using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and femtosecond transient absorption measurement (TAM). Information from Raman-active phonon modes allows us to estimate charge doping in graphene and interfacial strain on the crystals. Spatial imaging probed by TAM can be correlated to the heterostructure surface morphology measured by AFM and Raman maps of graphene and WS2, showing how the interlayer coupling alters exciton decay dynamics quantitatively.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samavatian, Majid, E-mail: m.samavatian@srbiau.ac.ir; Halvaee, Ayoub; Amadeh, Ahmad Ali

Joining mechanism of Ti/Al dissimilar alloys was studied during liquid state diffusion bonding process using Cu/Sn/Cu interlayer at 510 °C under vacuum of 7.5 × 10{sup −5} Torr for various bonding times. The microstructure and compositional changes in the joint zone were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Microhardness and shear strength tests were also applied to study the mechanical properties of the joints. It was found that with an increase in bonding time, the elements of interlayer diffused into the parent metals and formed various intermetallic compounds at the interface. Diffusion processmore » led to the isothermal solidification and the bonding evolution in the joint zone. The results from mechanical tests showed that microhardness and shear strength values have a straight relation with bonding time so that the maximum shear strength of joint was obtained for a bond made with 60 min bonding time. - Highlights: • Liquid state diffusion bonding of Al2024 to Ti–6Al–4V was performed successfully. • Diffusion of the elements caused the formation of various intermetallics at the interface. • Microhardness and shear strength values have a straight relation with bonding time. • The maximum shear strength reached to 36 MPa in 60 min bonding time.« less

Braze Process Optimization Involving Conventional Metal/Ceramic Brazing with 50Au-50Cu Alloy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

MALIZIA JR.,LOUIS A.; MEREDITH,KEITH W.; APPEL,DANIEL B.

1999-12-15

Numerous process variables can influence the robustness of conventional metal/ceramic brazing processes. Experience with brazing of hermetic vacuum components has identified the following parameters as influencing the outcome of hydrogen furnace brazed Kovar{trademark} to metallized alumina braze joints: (a) Mo-Mn metallization thickness, sinter fire temperature and porosity (b) Nil plate purity, thickness, and sinter firing conditions (c) peak process temperature, time above liquidus and (d) braze alloy washer thickness. ASTM F19 tensile buttons are being used to investigate the above parameters. The F19 geometry permits determination of both joint hermeticity and tensile strength. This presentation will focus on important lessonsmore » learned from the tensile button study: (A) the position of the Kovar{trademark} interlayer can influence the joint tensile strength achieved--namely, off-center interlayers can lead to residual stress development in the ceramic and degrade tensile strength values. Finite element analysis has been used to demonstrate the expected magnitude in strength degradation as a function of misalignment. (B) Time above liquidus (TAL) and peak temperature can influence the strength and alloying level of the resulting braze joint. Excessive TAL or peak temperatures can lead to overbraze conditions where all of the Ni plate is dissolved. (C) Metallize sinter fire processes can influence the morphology and strength obtained from the braze joints.« less

Quasi-particle spectrum in trilayer graphene: Role of onsite coulomb interaction and interlayer coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Sanjay; Ajay

2015-01-01

Stacking dependent quasi-particle spectrum and density of states (DOS) in trilayer (ABC-, ABA- and AAA-stacked) graphene are analyzed using mean-field Green's function equations of motion method. Interlayer coupling (t1) is found to be responsible for the splitting of quasi-particle peaks in each stacking order. Coulomb interaction suppresses the trilayer splitting and generates a finite gap at Fermi level in ABC- while a tiny gap in ABA-stacked trilayer graphene. Influence of t⊥ is prominent for AAA-stacking as compared to ABC- and ABA-stacking orders. The theoretically obtained quasi-particle energies and DOS has been viewed in terms of recent angle resolved photoemission spectroscopic (ARPES) and scanning tunneling microscopic (STM) data available on these systems.

Experimental and computational investigation of lateral gauge response in polycarbonate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliot, Jim; Harris, Ernst; Hazell, Paul; Appleby-Thomas, Gareth; Winter, Ronald; Wood, David; Owen, Gareth

2011-06-01

Polycarbonate's use in personal armour systems means its high strain-rate response has been extensively studied. Interestingly, embedded lateral manganin stress gauges in polycarbonate have shown gradients behind incident shocks, suggestive of increasing shear strength. However, such gauges need to be embedded in a central (typically) epoxy interlayer - an inherently invasive approach. Recently, research has suggested that in such metal systems interlayer/target impedance may contribute to observed gradients in lateral stress. Here, experimental T-gauge (Vishay Micro-Measurements® type J2M-SS-580SF-025) traces from polycarbonate targets are compared to computational simulations. This work extends previous efforts such that similar impedance exists between the interlayer and matrix (target) interface. Further, experiments and simulations are presented investigating the effects of a ``dry joint'' in polycarbonate, in which no encapsulating medium is employed.

Control of interlayer physics in 2H transition metal dichalcogenides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kuang-Chung; Stanev, Teodor K.; Valencia, Daniel; Charles, James; Henning, Alex; Sangwan, Vinod K.; Lahiri, Aritra; Mejia, Daniel; Sarangapani, Prasad; Povolotskyi, Michael; Afzalian, Aryan; Maassen, Jesse; Klimeck, Gerhard; Hersam, Mark C.; Lauhon, Lincoln J.; Stern, Nathaniel P.; Kubis, Tillmann

2017-12-01

It is assessed in detail both experimentally and theoretically how the interlayer coupling of transition metal dichalcogenides controls the electronic properties of the respective devices. Gated transition metal dichalcogenide structures show electrons and holes to either localize in individual monolayers, or delocalize beyond multiple layers—depending on the balance between spin-orbit interaction and interlayer hopping. This balance depends on the layer thickness, momentum space symmetry points, and applied gate fields. The design range of this balance, the effective Fermi levels, and all relevant effective masses is analyzed in great detail. A good quantitative agreement of predictions and measurements of the quantum confined Stark effect in gated MoS2 systems unveils intralayer excitons as the major source for the observed photoluminescence.

Weathering of phlogopite by Bacillus cereus and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans.

PubMed

Styriaková, Iveta; Bhatti, Tariq M; Bigham, Jerry M; Styriak, Igor; Vuorinen, Antti; Tuovinen, Olli H

2004-03-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the weathering of finely ground phlogopite, a trioctahedral mica, by placing it in contact with heterotrophic (Bacillus cereus) and acidophilic (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans) cultures. X-ray diffraction analyses of the phlogopite sample before and after 24 weeks of contact in B. cereus cultures revealed a decrease in the characteristic peak intensities of phlogopite, indicating destruction of individual structural planes of the mica. No new solid phase products or interlayer structures were detected in B. cereus cultures. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans cultures enhanced the chemical dissolution of the mineral and formed partially weathered interlayer structures, where interlayer K was expelled and coupled with the precipitation of K-jarosite [KFe3(SO4)2(OH)6].

Micromagnetic simulations with periodic boundary conditions: Hard-soft nanocomposites

DOE PAGES

Wysocki, Aleksander L.; Antropov, Vladimir P.

2016-12-01

Here, we developed a micromagnetic method for modeling magnetic systems with periodic boundary conditions along an arbitrary number of dimensions. The main feature is an adaptation of the Ewald summation technique for evaluation of long-range dipolar interactions. The method was applied to investigate the hysteresis process in hard-soft magnetic nanocomposites with various geometries. The dependence of the results on different micromagnetic parameters was studied. We found that for layered structures with an out-of-plane hard phase easy axis the hysteretic properties are very sensitive to the strength of the interlayer exchange coupling, as long as the spontaneous magnetization for the hardmore » phase is significantly smaller than for the soft phase. The origin of this behavior was discussed. Additionally, we investigated the soft phase size optimizing the energy product of hard-soft nanocomposites.« less

Rapid ultrasound-induced transient-liquid-phase bonding of Al-50Si alloys with Zn interlayer in air for electrical packaging application.

PubMed

Wang, Qian; Chen, Xiaoguang; Zhu, Lin; Yan, Jiuchun; Lai, Zhiwei; Zhao, Pizhi; Bao, Juncheng; Lv, Guicai; You, Chen; Zhou, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Jian; Li, Yuntao

2017-01-01

Al-50Si alloys were joined by rapid ultrasound-induced transient-liquid-phase bonding method using Zn foil as interlayer at 390°C in air, below the melt point of interlayer. The fracture of oxide films along the edge of Si particles led to contact and inter-diffusion between aluminum substrate and Zn interlayer, and liquefied Zn-Al alloys were developed. The width of Zn-Al alloys gradually decreased with increasing the ultrasonic vibration time due to liquid squeezing out and accelerated diffusion. A stage of isothermal solidification existed, and the completion time was significantly shortened. In the liquid metal, the acoustic streaming and ultrasonic cavitations were induced. As the process developed, much more Si particles, which were particulate-reinforced phases of Al-50Si, gradually migrated to the center of soldering seam. The highest average shear strength of joints reached to 94.2MPa, and the fracture mainly occurred at the base metal. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New Development in Selective Laser Melting of Ti-6Al-4V: A Wider Processing Window for the Achievement of Fully Lamellar α + β Microstructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lui, E. W.; Xu, W.; Pateras, A.; Qian, M.; Brandt, M.

2017-12-01

Recent progress has shown that Ti-6Al-4V fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) can achieve a fully lamellar α + β microstructure using 60 µm layer thickness in the as-built state via in situ martensite decomposition by manipulating the processing parameters. The potential to broaden the processing window was explored in this study by increasing the layer thickness to the less commonly used 90 µm. Fully lamellar α + β microstructures were produced in the as-built state using inter-layer times in the range of 1-12 s. Microstructural features such as the α-lath thickness and morphology were sensitive to both build height and inter-layer time. The α-laths produced using the inter-layer time of 1 s were much coarser than those produced with the inter-layer time of 12 s. The fine fully lamellar α + β structure resulted in tensile ductility of 11% and yield strength of 980 MPa. The tensile properties can be further improved by minimizing the presence of process-induced defects.

Mechanisms of siderophore sorption to smectite and siderophore-enhanced release of structural Fe 3+

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haack, Elizabeth A.; Johnston, Cliff T.; Maurice, Patricia A.

2008-07-01

Sorption of the trihydroxamate siderophores desferrioxamine-B and -D (DFOB and DFOD, respectively) and of the monohydroxamate ligand acetohydroxamic acid (aHA) to smectite were examined in batch sorption studies (pH 5.5, 0.1 M ionic strength) coupled with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Both DFOB and DFOD, which have similar molecular structures but different charge properties (cationic versus neutral, respectively) showed a high affinity for smectite. In contrast, the smaller aHA molecule did not sorb appreciably. XRD analysis indicated that DFOB and DFOD each absorbed in the interlamellar region of the clay to give d-spacings of 13.4-13.7 Å at equilibrium solution concentrations <250 μM. FTIR spectra of sorbed DFOB and DFOD indicated that the conformation of each species was distinct from its conformation in the crystalline or dissolved states. At elevated initial solution concentrations of 500-1500 μM, DFOB formed a bilayer in the clay interlayer. Changes in the FTIR spectra of the DFOB-loaded clay samples at these higher surface loadings were consistent with the presence of a metal-siderophore complex in the interlayer. DFOB and DFOD both enhanced Fe and Al release from smectite, but aHA did not. Possible dissolution mechanisms are discussed in light of the FTIR and batch dissolution results.

Revealing the preferred interlayer orientations and stackings of two-dimensional bilayer gallium selenide crystals.

PubMed

Li, Xufan; Basile, Leonardo; Yoon, Mina; Ma, Cheng; Puretzky, Alexander A; Lee, Jaekwang; Idrobo, Juan C; Chi, Miaofang; Rouleau, Christopher M; Geohegan, David B; Xiao, Kai

2015-02-23

Characterizing and controlling the interlayer orientations and stacking orders of two-dimensional (2D) bilayer crystals and van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures is crucial to optimize their electrical and optoelectronic properties. The four polymorphs of layered gallium selenide (GaSe) crystals that result from different layer stackings provide an ideal platform to study the stacking configurations in 2D bilayer crystals. Through a controllable vapor-phase deposition method, bilayer GaSe crystals were selectively grown and their two preferred 0° or 60° interlayer rotations were investigated. The commensurate stacking configurations (AA' and AB stacking) in as-grown bilayer GaSe crystals are clearly observed at the atomic scale, and the Ga-terminated edge structure was identified using scanning transmission electron microscopy. Theoretical analysis reveals that the energies of the interlayer coupling are responsible for the preferred orientations among the bilayer GaSe crystals. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Theory of optical absorption by interlayer excitons in transition metal dichalcogenide heterobilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Fengcheng; Lovorn, Timothy; MacDonald, A. H.

2018-01-01

We present a theory of optical absorption by interlayer excitons in a heterobilayer formed from transition metal dichalcogenides. The theory accounts for the presence of small relative rotations that produce a momentum shift between electron and hole bands located in different layers, and a moiré pattern in real space. Because of the momentum shift, the optically active interlayer excitons are located at the moiré Brillouin zone's corners, instead of at its center, and would have elliptical optical selection rules if the individual layers were translationally invariant. We show that the exciton moiré potential energy restores circular optical selection rules by coupling excitons with different center of mass momenta. A variety of interlayer excitons with both senses of circular optical activity, and energies that are tunable by twist angle, are present at each valley. The lowest energy exciton states are generally localized near the exciton potential energy minima. We discuss the possibility of using the moiré pattern to achieve scalable two-dimensional arrays of nearly identical quantum dots.

Moiré-pattern interlayer potentials in van der Waals materials in the random-phase approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leconte, Nicolas; Jung, Jeil; Lebègue, Sébastien; Gould, Tim

2017-11-01

Stacking-dependent interlayer interactions are important for understanding the structural and electronic properties in incommensurable two-dimensional material assemblies where long-range moiré patterns arise due to small lattice constant mismatch or twist angles. Here we study the stacking-dependent interlayer coupling energies between graphene (G) and hexagonal boron nitride (BN) homo- and heterostructures using high-level random-phase approximation (RPA) ab initio calculations. Our results show that although total binding energies within LDA and RPA differ substantially by a factor of 200%-400%, the energy differences as a function of stacking configuration yield nearly constant values with variations smaller than 20%, meaning that LDA estimates are quite reliable. We produce phenomenological fits to these energy differences, which allows us to calculate various properties of interest including interlayer spacing, sliding energetics, pressure gradients, and elastic coefficients to high accuracy. The importance of long-range interactions (captured by RPA but not LDA) on various properties is also discussed. Parametrizations for all fits are provided.

Fusion welding studies using laser on Ti-SS dissimilar combination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shanmugarajan, B.; Padmanabham, G.

2012-11-01

Laser welding investigations were carried out on dissimilar Ti-SS combination. The study is aimed to improve the weld strength and ductility by minimizing harmful intermetallics and taking advantage of high cooling rates in laser welding. Results of continuous wave 3.5 kW CO2 laser welding of totally dissimilar combination of Titanium and stainless steel (304) have been discussed. Bead on plate welding experiments were conducted to identify the laser welding parameters using depth of penetration as criteria. The welding of dissimilar combination has been attempted both autogenously and with interlayers such as Vanadium (V) and Tantalum (Ta) in the form of laser cladding as well as strip. Autogenous welds were carried out by varying the laser power, welding speed and position of the laser beam with respect to the joint centre. The resultant welds are characterized by macrostructure analysis, SEM/EDAX and XRD and as welded tensile test in UTM. The autogenous welds have exhibited extensive cracking even when welded at high speeds or by manipulating the beam position with respect to the joint. Similarly Vandaium as interlayer could not achieve crack free joint. A joint with 40 MPa strength could be made with Ta as interlayer. Results and analysis of these variants of laser welded joints are reported and discussed.

Interaction of chimera states in a multilayered network of nonlocally coupled oscillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goremyko, M. V.; Maksimenko, V. A.; Makarov, V. V.; Ghosh, D.; Bera, B.; Dana, S. K.; Hramov, A. E.

2017-08-01

The processes of formation and evolution of chimera states in the model of a multilayered network of nonlinear elements with complex coupling topology are studied. A two-layered network of nonlocally intralayer-coupled Kuramoto-Sakaguchi phase oscillators is taken as the object of investigation. Different modes implemented in this system upon variation of the degree of interlayer interaction are demonstrated.

Joining of Silicon Carbide: Diffusion Bond Optimization and Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halbig, Michael C.; Singh, Mrityunjay

2008-01-01

Joining and integration methods are critically needed as enabling technologies for the full utilization of advanced ceramic components in aerospace and aeronautics applications. One such application is a lean direct injector for a turbine engine to achieve low NOx emissions. In the application, several SiC substrates with different hole patterns to form fuel and combustion air channels are bonded to form the injector. Diffusion bonding is a joining approach that offers uniform bonds with high temperature capability, chemical stability, and high strength. Diffusion bonding was investigated with the aid of titanium foils and coatings as the interlayer between SiC substrates to aid bonding. The influence of such variables as interlayer type, interlayer thickness, substrate finish, and processing time were investigated. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron microprobe analysis were used to characterize the bonds and to identify the reaction formed phases.

Interlayer coupling and electronic structure of misfit-layered bismuth-based cobaltites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takakura, Sho-ichi; Yamamoto, Isamu; Tanaka, Eishi; Azuma, Junpei; Maki, Makoto

2017-05-01

The [Bi2M2O4] pCoO2 materials (M =Ca , Sr, and Ba) were studied to clarify the effect of the lattice incommensurability on electronic properties using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results show that the insulating behavior is characterized by a spectral weight for binding energies higher than 2.0 eV. Moreover, the spectral shape is modified as a function of the incident photon energy, demonstrating a close relationship between the electrical properties and interlayer coupling. TEM results show that the effect of the lattice mismatch differs for different misfit parameters p . We therefore conclude that the carrier concentration and the chemical environment at the misfit interface, which depend on the degree of incommensurability, mutually determine the electronic properties of the system.

Reflectance and Mossbauer spectroscopy of ferrihydrite-montmorillonite assemblages as Mars soil analog materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bishop, J. L.; Pieters, C. M.; Burns, R. G.; Chang, S. (Principal Investigator)

1993-01-01

Spectroscopic analyses show that Fe(3+)-doped smectites prepared in the laboratory exhibit important similarities to the soils on Mars. Ferrihydrite has been identified as the interlayer ferric component in Fe(3+)-doped smectites by a low quadrupole splitting and magnetic field strength of approximately 48 tesla in Mossbauer spectra measured at 4.2 K, as well as a crystal field transition at 0.92 micrometer. Ferrihydrite in these smectites explains features in the visible-near infrared region that resemble the energies and band strengths of features in reflectance spectra observed for several bright regions on Mars. Clay silicates have met resistance in the past as Mars soil analogs because terrestrial clay silicates exhibit prominent hydrous spectral features at 1.4, 1.9, and 2.2 micrometers; and these are observed weakly, if at all, in reflectance spectra of Mars. However, several mechanisms can weaken or compress these features, including desiccation under low-humidity conditions. The hydration properties of the interlayer cations also effect band strengths, such that a ferrihydrite-bearing smectite in the Martian environment would exhibit a 1.9 micrometers H2O absorption that is even weaker than the 2.2 micrometers structural OH absorption. Mixing experiments demonstrate that infrared spectral features of clays can be significantly suppressed and that the reflectance can be significantly darkened by mixing with only a few percent of a strongly absorbing opaque material. Therefore, the absolute reflectance of a soil on Mars may be disproportionately sensitive to a minor component. For this reason, the shape and position of spectral features and the chemical composition of potential analogs are of utmost importance in assessing the composition of the soil on Mars. Given the remarkable similarity between visible-infrared reflectance spectra of soils in bright regions on Mars and Fe(3+)-doped montmorillonites, coupled with recent observations of smectites in SNC meteorites and a weak 2.2 micrometers absorption in some Mars soils, ferrihydrite-bearing smectites warrant serious consideration as a Mars soil analog.

The impact of heterogeneous response on coupled spreading dynamics in multiplex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nie, Xiaoyu; Tang, Ming; Zou, Yong; Guan, Shuguang; Zhou, Jie

2017-10-01

Many recent studies have demonstrated that individual awareness of disease may significantly affect the spreading process of infectious disease. In the majority of these studies, the response of the awareness is generally treated homogeneously. Considering of diversity and heterogeneity in the human behavior which widely exist under different circumstances, in this paper we study heterogeneous response when people are aware of the prevalence of infectious diseases. Specifically, we consider that an individual with more neighbors may take more preventive measures as a reaction when he is aware of the disease. A suppression strength is introduced to describe such heterogeneity, and we find that a more evident heterogeneity may cause a more effective suppressing effect to the spreading of epidemics. A mean-field theory is developed to support the results which are verified on the multiplex networks with different interlayer degree correlation.

Strong interlayer coupling in phosphorene/graphene van der Waals heterostructure: A first-principles investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xue-Rong; Zheng, Ji-Ming; Ren, Zhao-Yu

2018-04-01

Based on first-principles calculations within the framework of density functional theory, we study the electronic properties of phosphorene/graphene heterostructures. Band gaps with different sizes are observed in the heterostructure, and charges transfer from graphene to phosphorene, causing the Fermi level of the heterostructure to shift downward with respect to the Dirac point of graphene. Significantly, strong coupling between two layers is discovered in the band spectrum even though it has a van der Waals heterostructure. A tight-binding Hamiltonian model is used to reveal that the resonance of the Bloch states between the phosphorene and graphene layers in certain K points combines with the symmetry matching between band states, which explains the reason for the strong coupling in such heterostructures. This work may enhance the understanding of interlayer interaction and composition mechanisms in van der Waals heterostructures consisting of two-dimensional layered nanomaterials, and may indicate potential reference information for nanoelectronic and optoelectronic applications.

Coupling between graphene and intersubband collective excitations in quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez de la Cruz, G.

2017-08-01

Recently, strong light-matter coupling between the electromagnetic modes in plasmonic metasurfaces with quantum-engineering electronic intersubband transitions in quantum wells has been demonstrated experimentally (Benz et al., [14], Lee et al., [15]). These novel materials combining different two-dimensional electronic systems offer new opportunities for tunable optical devices and fundamental studies of collective excitations driven by interlayer Coulomb interactions. In this work, our aim is to study the plasmon spectra of a hybrid structure consisting of conventional two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a semiconductor quantum well and a graphene sheet with an interlayer separation of a. This electronic bilayer structure is immersed in a nonhomgeneous dielectric background of the system. We use a simple model in which the graphene surface plasmons and both; the intrasubband and intersubband collective electron excitations in the quantum well are coupled via screened Coulomb interaction. Here we calculate the dispersion of these relativistic/nonrelativistic new plasmon modes taking into account the thickness of the quantum well providing analytical expressions in the long-wavelength limit.

Frustration and correlations in stacked triangular-lattice Ising antiferromagnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burnell, F. J.; Chalker, J. T.

2015-12-01

We study multilayer triangular-lattice Ising antiferromagnets with interlayer interactions that are weak and frustrated in an abc stacking. By analyzing a coupled height model description of these systems, we show that they exhibit a classical spin liquid regime at low temperature, in which both intralayer and interlayer correlations are strong but there is no long-range order. Diffuse scattering in this regime is concentrated on a helix in reciprocal space, as observed for charge ordering in the materials LuFe2O4 and YbFe2O4 .

Diffusion Bonding Beryllium to Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic Steel: Development of Processes and Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunt, Ryan Matthew

Only a few materials are suitable to act as armor layers against the thermal and particle loads produced by magnetically confined fusion. These candidates include beryllium, tungsten, and carbon fiber composites. The armor layers must be joined to the plasma facing components with high strength bonds that can withstand the thermal stresses resulting from differential thermal expansion. While specific joints have been developed for use in ITER (an experimental reactor in France), including beryllium to CuCrZr as well as tungsten to stainless steel interfaces, joints specific to commercially relevant fusion reactors are not as well established. Commercial first wall components will likely be constructed front Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic (RAFM) steel, which will need to be coating with one of the three candidate materials. Of the candidates, beryllium is particularly difficult to bond, because it reacts during bonding with most elements to form brittle intermetallic compounds. This brittleness is unacceptable, as it can lead to interface crack propagation and delamination of the armor layer. I have attempted to overcome the brittle behavior of beryllium bonds by developing a diffusion bonding process of beryllium to RAFM steel that achieves a higher degree of ductility. This process utilized two bonding aids to achieve a robust bond: a. copper interlayer to add ductility to the joint, and a titanium interlayer to prevent beryllium from forming unwanted Be-Cu intermetallics. In addition, I conducted a series of numerical simulations to predict the effect of these bonding aids on the residual stress in the interface. Lastly, I fabricated and characterized beryllium to ferritic steel diffusion bonds using various bonding parameters and bonding aids. Through the above research, I developed a process to diffusion bond beryllium to ferritic steel with a 150 M Pa tensile strength and 168 M Pa shear strength. This strength was achieved using a Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) process (at a temperature between 700 °C and 750 °C for 2 hours at 103 M Pa) with 10 mu m of titanium and 20 mum of copper deposited between substrates. Without the copper and titanium interlayers, the bond formed an intermetallic that lead to fracture from internal residual stresses. Also, slowing the rate of cooling and adding an intermediate hold temperature during cool-down significantly increased bond strength. These beneficial effects were confirmed by the numerical simulations, which showed reduced residual stress resulting from all bonding techniques. Both metals interlayers, as well as the reduced cooling rate were critical in overcoming the otherwise brittle quality of the beryllium to ferritic steel joint. However, the introduced interlayers are not an ideal solution to the problem. They introduced both Be-Ti and Cu-Ti compounds, which proved to be the eventual failure location in the bond. Further optimization of this joint is necessary, and can potentially be achieved with variation of cooling rates. To make the joint ready for implementation will require larger scale fabrication to verify reliability and to test the joint under operational loads.

Interlayer Exchange Coupling: A General Scheme Turning Chiral Magnets into Magnetic Multilayers Carrying Atomic-Scale Skyrmions.

PubMed

Nandy, Ashis Kumar; Kiselev, Nikolai S; Blügel, Stefan

2016-04-29

We report on a general principle using interlayer exchange coupling to extend the regime of chiral magnetic films in which stable or metastable magnetic Skyrmions can appear at a zero magnetic field. We verify this concept on the basis of a first-principles model for a Mn monolayer on a W(001) substrate, a prototype chiral magnet for which the atomic-scale magnetic texture is determined by the frustration of exchange interactions, impossible to unwind by laboratory magnetic fields. By means of ab initio calculations for the Mn/W_{m}/Co_{n}/Pt/W(001) multilayer system we show that for certain thicknesses m of the W spacer and n of the Co reference layer, the effective field of the reference layer fully substitutes the required magnetic field for Skyrmion formation.

Electric-field and strain-tunable electronic properties of MoS2/h-BN/graphene vertical heterostructures.

PubMed

Zan, Wenyan; Geng, Wei; Liu, Huanxiang; Yao, Xiaojun

2016-01-28

Vertical heterostructures of MoS2/h-BN/graphene have been successfully fabricated in recent experiments. Using first-principles analysis, we show that the structural and electronic properties of such vertical heterostructures are sensitive to applied vertical electric fields and strain. The applied electric field not only enhances the interlayer coupling but also linearly controls the charge transfer between graphene and MoS2 layers, leading to a tunable doping in graphene and controllable Schottky barrier height. Applied biaxial strain could weaken the interlayer coupling and results in a slight shift of graphene's Dirac point with respect to the Fermi level. It is of practical importance that the tunable electronic properties by strain and electric fields are immune to the presence of sulfur vacancies, the most common defect in MoS2.

Carbon nanoscroll-silk crystallite hybrid structures with controllable hydration and mechanical properties.

PubMed

Cheng, Yuan; Koh, Leng-Duei; Wang, Fan; Li, Dechang; Ji, Baohua; Yeo, Jingjie; Guan, Guijian; Han, Ming-Yong; Zhang, Yong-Wei

2017-07-06

Hybrid structures of nanomaterials (e.g. tubes, scrolls, threads, cages) and biomaterials (e.g. proteins) hold tremendous potential for applications as drug carriers, biosensors, tissue scaffolds, cancer therapeutic agents, etc. However, in many cases, the interacting forces at the nano-bio interfaces and their roles in controlling the structures and dynamics of nano-bio-hybrid systems are very complicated but poorly understood. In this study, we investigate the structure and mechanical behavior of a protein-based hybrid structure, i.e., a carbon nanoscroll (CNS)-silk crystallite with a hydration level controllable by an interlayer interaction in CNS. Our findings demonstrate that CNS with a reduced core size not only shields the crystallite from a weakening effect of water, but also markedly strengthens the crystallite. Besides water shielding, the enhanced strength arises from an enhanced interaction between the crystallite and CNS due to the enhanced interlayer interaction in CNS. In addition, the interfacial strength for pulling the crystallite out of the CNS-silk structure is found to be dependent on both the interlayer interaction energy in CNS as well as the sequence of protein at the CNS-silk interface. The present study is of significant value in designing drugs or protein delivery vehicles for biomedical applications, and serves as a general guide in designing novel devices based on rolled-up configurations of two-dimensional (2D) materials.

Diffusion bonding between W and EUROFER97 using V interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basuki, Widodo Widjaja; Aktaa, Jarir

2012-10-01

Diffusion bonding is selected to join W to EUROFER97 for the manufacturing of some components in the fusion technology. A direct bonding does not seem feasible due to the high interfacial residual stress induced by the large mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansions of both materials to be bonded. To reduce the residual stress, a V plate with a thickness of 1 mm was introduced as an interlayer. The diffusion bonding was conducted at 1050 °C for 1 h. The uniaxial applied compression stress was calculated considering the 5% allowable creep deformation on the EUROFER97's side. Investigations on bonded specimens showed defect free interfaces. Microstructure alterations were detected just at the EUROFER97/V interface. A very hard layer assumed to be a σ phase with a thickness of about 4 μm was found on the EUROFER97's side along the bond interface. A 6 μm carbide layer containing V2C with also a high hardness value was identified on the V interlayer's side. The impact toughness of the bonded specimens was low, however comparable to that of tungsten especially if the specimens were tested at RT. Tensile test at 550 °C showed a relatively high tensile strength of bonded specimens, which achieved about 50% of the tensile strength of EUROFER97.

Synchronization and Inter-Layer Interactions of Noise-Driven Neural Networks

PubMed Central

Yuniati, Anis; Mai, Te-Lun; Chen, Chi-Ming

2017-01-01

In this study, we used the Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) model of neurons to investigate the phase diagram of a developing single-layer neural network and that of a network consisting of two weakly coupled neural layers. These networks are noise driven and learn through the spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) or the inverse STDP rules. We described how these networks transited from a non-synchronous background activity state (BAS) to a synchronous firing state (SFS) by varying the network connectivity and the learning efficacy. In particular, we studied the interaction between a SFS layer and a BAS layer, and investigated how synchronous firing dynamics was induced in the BAS layer. We further investigated the effect of the inter-layer interaction on a BAS to SFS repair mechanism by considering three types of neuron positioning (random, grid, and lognormal distributions) and two types of inter-layer connections (random and preferential connections). Among these scenarios, we concluded that the repair mechanism has the largest effect for a network with the lognormal neuron positioning and the preferential inter-layer connections. PMID:28197088

Theory of optical absorption by interlayer excitons in transition metal dichalcogenide heterobilayers

DOE PAGES

Wu, Fengcheng; Lovorn, Timothy; MacDonald, A. H.

2018-01-22

In this paper, we present a theory of optical absorption by interlayer excitons in a heterobilayer formed from transition metal dichalcogenides. The theory accounts for the presence of small relative rotations that produce a momentum shift between electron and hole bands located in different layers, and a moire pattern in real space. Because of the momentum shift, the optically active interlayer excitons are located at the moire Brillouin zone's corners, instead of at its center, and would have elliptical optical selection rules if the individual layers were translationally invariant. We show that the exciton moire potential energy restores circular opticalmore » selection rules by coupling excitons with different center of mass momenta. A variety of interlayer excitons with both senses of circular optical activity, and energies that are tunable by twist angle, are present at each valley. The lowest energy exciton states are generally localized near the exciton potential energy minima. Finally, we discuss the possibility of using the moire pattern to achieve scalable two-dimensional arrays of nearly identical quantum dots.« less

Synchronization and Inter-Layer Interactions of Noise-Driven Neural Networks.

PubMed

Yuniati, Anis; Mai, Te-Lun; Chen, Chi-Ming

2017-01-01

In this study, we used the Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) model of neurons to investigate the phase diagram of a developing single-layer neural network and that of a network consisting of two weakly coupled neural layers. These networks are noise driven and learn through the spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) or the inverse STDP rules. We described how these networks transited from a non-synchronous background activity state (BAS) to a synchronous firing state (SFS) by varying the network connectivity and the learning efficacy. In particular, we studied the interaction between a SFS layer and a BAS layer, and investigated how synchronous firing dynamics was induced in the BAS layer. We further investigated the effect of the inter-layer interaction on a BAS to SFS repair mechanism by considering three types of neuron positioning (random, grid, and lognormal distributions) and two types of inter-layer connections (random and preferential connections). Among these scenarios, we concluded that the repair mechanism has the largest effect for a network with the lognormal neuron positioning and the preferential inter-layer connections.

Theory of optical absorption by interlayer excitons in transition metal dichalcogenide heterobilayers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Fengcheng; Lovorn, Timothy; MacDonald, A. H.

In this paper, we present a theory of optical absorption by interlayer excitons in a heterobilayer formed from transition metal dichalcogenides. The theory accounts for the presence of small relative rotations that produce a momentum shift between electron and hole bands located in different layers, and a moire pattern in real space. Because of the momentum shift, the optically active interlayer excitons are located at the moire Brillouin zone's corners, instead of at its center, and would have elliptical optical selection rules if the individual layers were translationally invariant. We show that the exciton moire potential energy restores circular opticalmore » selection rules by coupling excitons with different center of mass momenta. A variety of interlayer excitons with both senses of circular optical activity, and energies that are tunable by twist angle, are present at each valley. The lowest energy exciton states are generally localized near the exciton potential energy minima. Finally, we discuss the possibility of using the moire pattern to achieve scalable two-dimensional arrays of nearly identical quantum dots.« less

Ultrasonic guided wave monitoring of composite wing skin-to-spar bonded joints in aerospace structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matt, Howard; Bartoli, Ivan; Lanza di Scalea, Francesco

2005-10-01

The monitoring of adhesively bonded joints by ultrasonic guided waves is the general topic of this paper. Specifically, composite-to-composite joints representative of the wing skin-to-spar bonds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are examined. This research is the first step towards the development of an on-board structural health monitoring system for UAV wings based on integrated ultrasonic sensors. The study investigates two different lay-ups for the wing skin and two different types of bond defects, namely poorly cured adhesive and disbonded interfaces. The assessment of bond state is based on monitoring the strength of transmission through the joints of selected guided modes. The wave propagation problem is studied numerically by a semi-analytical finite element method that accounts for viscoelastic damping, and experimentally by ultrasonic testing that uses small PZT disks preferably exciting and detecting the single-plate s0 mode. Both the models and the experiments confirm that the ultrasonic energy transmission through the joint is highly dependent on the bond conditions, with defected bonds resulting in increased transmission strength. Large sensitivity to the bond conditions is found at mode coupling points, as a result of the large interlayer energy transfer.

Sugar-influenced water diffusion, interaction, and retention in clay interlayer nanopores probed by theoretical simulations and experimental spectroscopies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aristilde, Ludmilla; Galdi, Stephen M.; Kelch, Sabrina E.; Aoki, Thalia G.

2017-08-01

Understanding the hydrodynamics in clay nanopores is important for gaining insights into the trapping of water, nutrients, and contaminants in natural and engineered soils. Previous investigations have focused on the interlayer organization and molecular diffusion coefficients (D) of cations and water molecules in cation-saturated interlayer nanopores of smectite clays. Little is known, however, about how these interlayer dynamic properties are influenced by the ubiquitous presence of small organic compounds such as sugars in the soil environment. Here we probed the effects of glucose molecules on montmorillonite interlayer properties. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed re-structuring of the interlayer organization of the adsorptive species. Water-water interactions were disrupted by glucose-water H-bonding interactions. ;Dehydration; of the glucose-populated nanopore led to depletion in the Na solvation shell, which resulted in the accumulation of both Na ions (as inner-sphere complexes) and remaining hydrated water molecules at the mineral surface. This accumulation led to a decrease in both DNa and Dwater. In addition, the reduction in Dglucose as a function of increasing glucose content can be explained by the aggregation of glucose molecules into organic clusters H-bonded to the mineral surface on both walls of the nanopore. Experimental nuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray diffraction data were consistent with the theoretical predictions. Compared to clay interlayers devoid of glucose, increased intensities and new peaks in the 23Na nuclear magnetic resonance spectra confirmed increasing immobilization of Na as a function of increasing glucose content. And, the X-ray diffraction data indicated a reduced collapse of glucose-populated interlayers exposed to decreasing moisture conditions, which led to the maintenance of hydrated clay nanopores. The coupling of theoretical and experimental findings sheds light on the molecular to nanoscale mechanisms that control the enhanced trapping of water molecules and solutes within sugar-enriched clay nanopores.

Topological Quantum Phase Transitions in Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Lattice Bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhai, Xuechao; Jin, Guojun

2013-09-01

Since the successful fabrication of graphene, two-dimensional hexagonal lattice structures have become a research hotspot in condensed matter physics. In this short review, we theoretically focus on discussing the possible realization of a topological insulator (TI) phase in systems of graphene bilayer (GBL) and boron nitride bilayer (BNBL), whose band structures can be experimentally modulated by an interlayer bias voltage. Under the bias, a band gap can be opened in AB-stacked GBL but is still closed in AA-stacked GBL and significantly reduced in AA- or AB-stacked BNBL. In the presence of spin-orbit couplings (SOCs), further demonstrations indicate whether the topological quantum phase transition can be realized strongly depends on the stacking orders and symmetries of structures. It is observed that a bulk band gap can be first closed and then reopened when the Rashba SOC increases for gated AB-stacked GBL or when the intrinsic SOC increases for gated AA-stacked BNBL. This gives a distinct signal for a topological quantum phase transition, which is further characterized by a jump of the ℤ2 topological invariant. At fixed SOCs, the TI phase can be well switched by the interlayer bias and the phase boundaries are precisely determined. For AA-stacked GBL and AB-stacked BNBL, no strong TI phase exists, regardless of the strength of the intrinsic or Rashba SOCs. At last, a brief overview is given on other two-dimensional hexagonal materials including silicene and molybdenum disulfide bilayers.

Fabrication and Characterization of Diffusion Bonds for Silicon Carbide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halbig, Michael; Singh, Mrityunjay; Martin, Richard E.; Cosgriff, Laura M.

2007-01-01

Diffusion bonds of silicon carbide (SiC) were fabricated using several different types of titanium (Ti) based interlayers between the SiC substrates. The interlayers were an alloyed Ti foil, a pure Ti foil, and a physically vapor deposited (PVD) Ti coating. Microscopy was conducted to evaluate the cross-sections of the resulting bonds. Microprobe analysis identified reaction formed phases in the diffusion bonded region. Uniform and well adhered bonds were formed between the SiC substrates. In the case where the alloyed Ti foil or a thick Ti coating (i.e. 20 micron) was used as the interlayer, microcracks and several phases were present in the diffusion bonds. When a thinner interlayer was used (i.e. 10 micron PVD Ti), no microcracks were observed and only two reaction formed phases were present. The two phases were preferred and fully reacted phases that did not introduce thermal stresses or microcracks during the cool-down stage after processing. Diffusion bonded samples were evaluated with the non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methods of pulsed thermography and immersion ultrasonic testing. Joined SiC substrates that were fully bonded and that had simulated bond flaws in the interlayer were also evaluated using immersion ultrasound. Pull testing was conducted on the bonds to determine the tensile strength. To demonstrate the joining approach for a complex multilayered component for a low NOx injector application, the diffusion bonding approach was used to join three 4" diameter SiC discs that contained complex fuel and air flow channels.

The effect of interlayer adhesion on the mechanical behaviors of macroscopic graphene oxide papers.

PubMed

Gao, Yun; Liu, Lu-Qi; Zu, Sheng-Zhen; Peng, Ke; Zhou, Ding; Han, Bao-Hang; Zhang, Zhong

2011-03-22

High mechanical performances of macroscopic graphene oxide (GO) papers are attracting great interest owing to their merits of lightweight and multiple functionalities. However, the loading role of individual nanosheets and its effect on the mechanical properties of the macroscopic GO papers are not yet well understood. Herein, we effectively tailored the interlayer adhesions of the GO papers by introducing small molecules, that is, glutaraldehyde (GA) and water molecules, into the gallery regions. With the help of in situ Raman spectroscopy, we compared the varied load-reinforcing roles of nanosheets, and further predicted the Young's moduli of the GO papers. Systematic mechanical tests have proven that the enhancement of the tensile modulus and strength of the GA-treated GO paper arose from the improved load-bearing capability of the nanosheets. On the basis of Raman and macroscopic mechanical tests, the influences of interlayer adhesions on the fracture mechanisms of the strained GO papers were inferred.

Low-Frequency Interlayer Breathing Modes in Few-Layer Black Phosphorus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ling, Xi; Liang, Liangbo; Huang, Shengxi

2015-05-08

As a new two-dimensional layered material, black phosphorus (BP) is a very promising material for nanoelectronics and nano-optoelectronics. We use Raman spectroscopy and first-principles theory to characterize and understand low-frequency (LF) interlayer breathing modes (<100 cm-1) in few-layer BP for the first time. Using laser polarization dependence study and group theory analysis the breathing modes are assigned to Ag symmetry. Compared to the high-frequency (HF) Raman modes, the LF breathing modes are considerably more sensitive to interlayer coupling and thus their frequencies show stronger dependence on the number of layers. Hence, they constitute an effective means to probe both themore » crystalline orientation and thickness of few-layer BP. Furthermore, the temperature dependence shows that the breathing modes have a harmonic behavior, in contrast to HF Raman modes which exhibit anharmonicity.« less

Rescue of endemic states in interconnected networks with adaptive coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vazquez, F.; Serrano, M. Ángeles; Miguel, M. San

2016-07-01

We study the Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible model of epidemic spreading on two layers of networks interconnected by adaptive links, which are rewired at random to avoid contacts between infected and susceptible nodes at the interlayer. We find that the rewiring reduces the effective connectivity for the transmission of the disease between layers, and may even totally decouple the networks. Weak endemic states, in which the epidemics spreads when the two layers are interconnected but not in each layer separately, show a transition from the endemic to the healthy phase when the rewiring overcomes a threshold value that depends on the infection rate, the strength of the coupling and the mean connectivity of the networks. In the strong endemic scenario, in which the epidemics is able to spread on each separate network -and therefore on the interconnected system- the prevalence in each layer decreases when increasing the rewiring, arriving to single network values only in the limit of infinitely fast rewiring. We also find that rewiring amplifies finite-size effects, preventing the disease transmission between finite networks, as there is a non zero probability that the epidemics stays confined in only one network during its lifetime.

Rescue of endemic states in interconnected networks with adaptive coupling

PubMed Central

Vazquez, F.; Serrano, M. Ángeles; Miguel, M. San

2016-01-01

We study the Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible model of epidemic spreading on two layers of networks interconnected by adaptive links, which are rewired at random to avoid contacts between infected and susceptible nodes at the interlayer. We find that the rewiring reduces the effective connectivity for the transmission of the disease between layers, and may even totally decouple the networks. Weak endemic states, in which the epidemics spreads when the two layers are interconnected but not in each layer separately, show a transition from the endemic to the healthy phase when the rewiring overcomes a threshold value that depends on the infection rate, the strength of the coupling and the mean connectivity of the networks. In the strong endemic scenario, in which the epidemics is able to spread on each separate network –and therefore on the interconnected system– the prevalence in each layer decreases when increasing the rewiring, arriving to single network values only in the limit of infinitely fast rewiring. We also find that rewiring amplifies finite-size effects, preventing the disease transmission between finite networks, as there is a non zero probability that the epidemics stays confined in only one network during its lifetime. PMID:27380771

Wavelength-dependent optical enhancement of superconducting interlayer coupling in La 1.885Ba 0.115CuO 4

DOE PAGES

Casandruc, E.; Nicoletti, D.; Rajasekaran, S.; ...

2015-05-05

We analyze the pump wavelength dependence for the photo-induced enhancement of interlayer coupling in La 1.885Ba 0.115CuO 4, which is promoted by optical melting of the stripe order. In the equilibrium superconducting state (T < TC = 13 K), in which stripes and superconductivity coexist, time-domain THz spectroscopy reveals a photo-induced blue-shift of the Josephson Plasma Resonance after excitation with optical pulses polarized perpendicular to the CuO2 planes. In the striped, non-superconducting state (TC < T < TSO ≃ 40 K) a transient plasma resonance similar to that seen below TC appears from a featureless equilibrium reflectivity. Most strikingly, bothmore » these effects become stronger upon tuning of the pump wavelength from the mid-infrared to the visible, underscoring an unconventional competition between stripe order and superconductivity, which occurs on energy scales far above the ordering temperature.« less

Ultralow-frequency collective compression mode and strong interlayer coupling in multilayer black phosphorus

DOE PAGES

Dong, Shan; Zhang, Anmin; Liu, Kai; ...

2016-02-26

The recent renaissance of black phosphorus (BP) as a two-dimensional (2D) layered material has generated tremendous interest, but its unique structural characters underlying many of its outstanding properties still need elucidation. Here we report Raman measurements that reveal an ultralow-frequency collective compression mode (CCM) in BP, which is unprecedented among similar 2D layered materials. This novel CCM indicates an unusually strong interlayer coupling, and this result is quantitatively supported by a phonon frequency analysis and first-principles calculations. Moreover, the CCM and another branch of low-frequency Raman modes shift sensitively with changing number of layers, allowing an accurate determination of themore » thickness up to tens of atomic layers, which is considerably higher than previously achieved by using high-frequency Raman modes. Lastly, these findings offer fundamental insights and practical tools for further exploration of BP as a highly promising new 2D semiconductor.« less

Giant magnetoresistance in perpendicularly magnetized synthetic antiferromagnetic coupling with Ir spacer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukushima, A.; Taniguchi, T.; Sugihara, A.; Yakushiji, K.; Kubota, H.; Yuasa, S.

2018-05-01

Perpendicularly magnetized magnetic tunnel junction (p-MTJ) is a key element for developing high-density spin-transfer torque switching magnetoresistive random access memory. Recently, a large exchange coupling (IEC) in the synthetic antiferromagnetic reference layer with Ir interlayer was observed in p-MTJs. The evaluation of the IEC is, however, difficult due to the electrostatic breakdown of MTJs. This study demonstrates the evaluation of the IEC with Ir interlayer in giant magnetoresistive (GMR) nanopillar. We fabricated three kinds of perpendicularly magnetized GMR elements; bottom-free structures with Cu or Ir spacer, and top-free structure with Ir spacer. The magnetoresistance (RH) loops of all samples show sharp changes of the magnetoresistance at the magnetic fields over ±10 kOe, indicating the existence of the large IECs. In particular, a sharp change of the magnetoresistance at the field over ±20 kOe was found for the element with Cu of 2 nm thickness.

Synchronous Chaos and Broad Band Gamma Rhythm in a Minimal Multi-Layer Model of Primary Visual Cortex

PubMed Central

Battaglia, Demian; Hansel, David

2011-01-01

Visually induced neuronal activity in V1 displays a marked gamma-band component which is modulated by stimulus properties. It has been argued that synchronized oscillations contribute to these gamma-band activity. However, analysis of Local Field Potentials (LFPs) across different experiments reveals considerable diversity in the degree of oscillatory behavior of this induced activity. Contrast-dependent power enhancements can indeed occur over a broad band in the gamma frequency range and spectral peaks may not arise at all. Furthermore, even when oscillations are observed, they undergo temporal decorrelation over very few cycles. This is not easily accounted for in previous network modeling of gamma oscillations. We argue here that interactions between cortical layers can be responsible for this fast decorrelation. We study a model of a V1 hypercolumn, embedding a simplified description of the multi-layered structure of the cortex. When the stimulus contrast is low, the induced activity is only weakly synchronous and the network resonates transiently without developing collective oscillations. When the contrast is high, on the other hand, the induced activity undergoes synchronous oscillations with an irregular spatiotemporal structure expressing a synchronous chaotic state. As a consequence the population activity undergoes fast temporal decorrelation, with concomitant rapid damping of the oscillations in LFPs autocorrelograms and peak broadening in LFPs power spectra. We show that the strength of the inter-layer coupling crucially affects this spatiotemporal structure. We predict that layer VI inactivation should induce global changes in the spectral properties of induced LFPs, reflecting their slower temporal decorrelation in the absence of inter-layer feedback. Finally, we argue that the mechanism underlying the emergence of synchronous chaos in our model is in fact very general. It stems from the fact that gamma oscillations induced by local delayed inhibition tend to develop chaos when coupled by sufficiently strong excitation. PMID:21998568

Interplanar coupling-dependent magnetoresistivity in high-purity layered metals

DOE PAGES

Kikugawa, N.; Goswami, P.; Kiswandhi, A.; ...

2016-03-29

The magnetic field-induced changes in the conductivity of metals are the subject of intense interest, both for revealing new phenomena and as a valuable tool for determining their Fermi surface. Here we report a hitherto unobserved magnetoresistive effect in ultra-clean layered metals, namely a negative longitudinal magnetoresistance that is capable of overcoming their very pronounced orbital one. This effect is correlated with the interlayer coupling disappearing for fields applied along the so-called Yamaji angles where the interlayer coupling vanishes. Therefore, it is intrinsically associated with the Fermi points in the field-induced quasi-one-dimensional electronic dispersion, implying that it results from themore » axial anomaly among these Fermi points. In its original formulation, the anomaly is predicted to violate separate number conservation laws for left- and right-handed chiral (for example, Weyl) fermions. Furthermore, its observation in PdCoO 2, PtCoO 2 and Sr 2RuO 4 suggests that the anomaly affects the transport of clean conductors, in particular near the quantum limit.« less

Microstructure and mechanical properties of diffusion bonded W/steel joint using V/Ni composite interlayer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, W.S.; Cai, Q.S., E-mail: cai2009pm@163.com; Ma, Y.Z.

2013-12-15

Diffusion bonding between W and steel using V/Ni composite interlayer was carried out in vacuum at 1050 °C and 10 MPa for 1 h. The microstructural examination and mechanical property evaluation of the joints show that the bonding of W to steel was successful. No intermetallic compound was observed at the steel/Ni and V/W interfaces for the joints bonded. The electron probe microanalysis and X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that Ni{sub 3}V, Ni{sub 2}V, Ni{sub 2}V{sub 3} and NiV{sub 3} were formed at the Ni/V interface. The tensile strength of about 362 MPa was obtained for as-bonded W/steel joint and themore » failure occurred at W near the V/W interface. The nano-indentation test across the joining interfaces demonstrated the effect of solid solution strengthening and intermetallic compound formation in the diffusion zone. - Highlights: • Diffusion bonding of W to steel was realized using V/Ni composite interlayer. • The interfacial microstructure of the joint was clarified. • Several V–Ni intermetallic compounds were formed in the interface region. • The application of V/Ni composite interlayer improved the joining quality.« less

Magnetoresistance enhancement in Gd- Y bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freitas, P. P.; From, M.; Melo, L. V.; Plaskett, T. S.

1991-02-01

Gd-Y-Gd bilayers were prepared that show a magnetoresistance enhancement when the non-magnetic Y layer separations is 11 or 32 Å. This oscillatory behavior of the magnetoresistance versus Y thickness is tentatively related to oscillations in the interlayer coupling.

Temperature-driven evolution of critical points, interlayer coupling, and layer polarization in bilayer Mo S2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Luojun; Zhang, Tingting; Liao, Mengzhou; Liu, Guibin; Wang, Shuopei; He, Rui; Ye, Zhipeng; Yu, Hua; Yang, Rong; Shi, Dongxia; Yao, Yugui; Zhang, Guangyu

2018-04-01

The recently emerging two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have been a fertile ground for exploring abundant exotic physical properties. Critical points, the extrema or saddle points of electronic bands, are the cornerstone of condensed-matter physics and fundamentally determine the optical and transport phenomena of the TMDCs. However, for bilayer Mo S2 , a typical TMDC and the unprecedented electrically tunable venue for valleytronics, there has been a considerable controversy on its intrinsic electronic structure, especially for the conduction band-edge locations. Moreover, interlayer hopping and layer polarization in bilayer Mo S2 which play vital roles in valley-spintronic applications have remained experimentally elusive. Here, we report the experimental observation of intrinsic critical points locations, interlayer hopping, layer-spin polarization, and their evolution with temperature in bilayer Mo S2 by performing temperature-dependent photoluminescence. Our measurements confirm that the conduction-band minimum locates at the Kc instead of Qc, and the energy splitting between Qc and Kc redshifts with a descent of temperature. Furthermore, the interlayer hopping energy for holes and temperature-dependent layer polarization are quantitatively determined. Our observations are in good harmony with density-functional theory calculations.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shi, Z.P.; Fishman, R.S.

Many experiments have verified the presence of a spin-density wave (SDW) within the Cr spacer of Fe/Cr multilayers and wedges. The authors review the recently-proposed interlayer magnetic coupling mediated by a SDW. Unlike previously proposed mechanisms, this magnetic coupling is strongly temperature-dependent. Depending on the temperature and the number N of Cr monolayers (ML), the SDW may be either commensurate (C) or incommensurate (I) with the bcc Cr lattice.

Controllable Interfacial Coupling Effects on the Magnetic Dynamic Properties of Perpendicular [Co/Ni]5/Cu/TbCo Composite Thin Films.

PubMed

Tang, Minghong; Zhao, Bingcheng; Zhu, Weihua; Zhu, Zhendong; Jin, Q Y; Zhang, Zongzhi

2018-02-07

Dynamic magnetic properties in perpendicularly exchange-coupled [Co/Ni] 5 /Cu (t Cu = 0-2 nm)/TbCo structures show strong dependences on the interfacial antiferromagnetic strength J ex , which is controlled by the Cu interlayer thickness. The precession frequency f and effective damping constant α eff of a [Co/Ni] 5 multilayer differ distinctly for parallel (P) and antiparallel (AP) magnetization orientation states. For samples with a thin t Cu , f of the AP state is apparently higher, whereas α eff is lower than that in the P state, owing to the unidirectional exchange bias effect (H EB ) from the TbCo layer. The differences in f and α eff between the two states gradually decrease with increasing t Cu . By using a uniform precession model including an additional H EB term, the field-dependent frequency curves can be well-fitted, and the fitted H EB value is in good agreement with the experimental data. Moreover, the saturation damping constant α 0 displays a nearly linear correlation with J ex . It decreases significantly with J ex and eventually approaches a constant value of 0.027 at t Cu = 2 nm where J ex vanishes. These results provide a better understanding and effective control of magnetization dynamics in exchange-coupled composite structures for spintronic applications.

Oxygen inhibition layer of composite resins: effects of layer thickness and surface layer treatment on the interlayer bond strength.

PubMed

Bijelic-Donova, Jasmina; Garoushi, Sufyan; Lassila, Lippo V J; Vallittu, Pekka K

2015-02-01

An oxygen inhibition layer develops on surfaces exposed to air during polymerization of particulate filling composite. This study assessed the thickness of the oxygen inhibition layer of short-fiber-reinforced composite in comparison with conventional particulate filling composites. The effect of an oxygen inhibition layer on the shear bond strength of incrementally placed particulate filling composite layers was also evaluated. Four different restorative composites were selected: everX Posterior (a short-fiber-reinforced composite), Z250, SupremeXT, and Silorane. All composites were evaluated regarding the thickness of the oxygen inhibition layer and for shear bond strength. An equal amount of each composite was polymerized in air between two glass plates and the thickness of the oxygen inhibition layer was measured using a stereomicroscope. Cylindrical-shaped specimens were prepared for measurement of shear bond strength by placing incrementally two layers of the same composite material. Before applying the second composite layer, the first increment's bonding site was treated as follows: grinding with 1,000-grit silicon-carbide (SiC) abrasive paper, or treatment with ethanol or with water-spray. The inhibition depth was lowest (11.6 μm) for water-sprayed Silorane and greatest (22.9 μm) for the water-sprayed short-fiber-reinforced composite. The shear bond strength ranged from 5.8 MPa (ground Silorane) to 36.4 MPa (water-sprayed SupremeXT). The presence of an oxygen inhibition layer enhanced the interlayer shear bond strength of all investigated materials, but its absence resulted in cohesive and mixed failures only with the short-fiber-reinforced composite. Thus, more durable adhesion with short-fiber-reinforced composite is expected. © 2014 Eur J Oral Sci.

Functionally graded alumina-based thin film systems

DOEpatents

Moore, John J.; Zhong, Dalong

2006-08-29

The present invention provides coating systems that minimize thermal and residual stresses to create a fatigue- and soldering-resistant coating for aluminum die casting dies. The coating systems include at least three layers. The outer layer is an alumina- or boro-carbide-based outer layer that has superior non-wettability characteristics with molten aluminum coupled with oxidation and wear resistance. A functionally-graded intermediate layer or "interlayer" enhances the erosive wear, toughness, and corrosion resistance of the die. A thin adhesion layer of reactive metal is used between the die substrate and the interlayer to increase adhesion of the coating system to the die surface.

The role of the (111) texture on the exchange bias and interlayer coupling effects observed in sputtered NiFe/IrMn/Co trilayers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Castro, I. L.; Nascimento, V. P.; Passamani, E. C.

2013-05-28

Magnetic properties of sputtered NiFe/IrMn/Co trilayers grown on different seed layers (Cu or Ta) deposited on Si (100) substrates were investigated by magnetometry and ferromagnetic resonance measurements. Exchange bias effect and magnetic spring behavior have been studied by changing the IrMn thickness. As shown by X-ray diffraction, Ta and Cu seed layers provoke different degrees of (111) fcc-texture that directly affect the exchange bias and indirectly modify the exchange spring coupling behavior. Increasing the IrMn thickness, it was observed that the coupling angle between the Co and NiFe ferromagnetic layers increases for the Cu seed system, but it reduces formore » the Ta case. The results were explained considering (i) different anisotropies of the Co and IrMn layers induced by the different degree of the (111) texture and (ii) the distinct exchange bias set at the NiFe/IrMn and IrMn/Co interfaces in both systems. The NiFe and Co interlayer coupling angle is strongly correlated with both exchange bias and exchange magnetic spring phenomena. It was also shown that the highest exchange bias field occurs when an unstressed L1{sub 2} IrMn structure is stabilized.« less

Ultrasonic-assisted soldering of fine-grained 7034 aluminum alloy using Sn-Zn solders below 300°C.

PubMed

Guo, Weibing; Luan, Tianmin; He, Jingshan; Yan, Jiuchun

2018-01-01

The fine-grained Al alloys prefer to be soldered at as low as temperature to keep their mechanical properties. Solders of Sn-4Zn, Sn-9Zn, and Sn-20Zn alloys were used to solder fine-grained 7034 Al alloy pieces by ultrasonic-assisted soldering below 300°C in air. The joint using Sn-4Zn solder had the highest tensile strength of 201MPa and the fractures occurred in both β-Sn and Sn-Zn eutectic phases. Such joint was much stronger than the 1060 Al joint using Sn-4Zn solder, and its strength had approached the strength of 7034 Al joint using Zn-5Al solder. The strength of the joints using Sn-9Zn and Sn-20Zn solders dropped to∼160MPa due to the appearance of weak interfaces between η-Zn and eutectic phases in the bond layers. All the joints using Sn-Zn solders had very strong interfacial bonding, and alumina interlayers were identified at all the interfaces. Al dissolved in the bond layer reacted with the O rapidly to form alumina interlayers at the interfaces under the ultrasonic action. Zn segregated at the interface and formed strong bonds with both the Al terminated surface of alumina and the bond layer, resulting in strong interfacial bonding between Sn-Zn solders and Al alloys. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Two-dimensional n -InSe/p -GeSe(SnS) van der Waals heterojunctions: High carrier mobility and broadband performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Cong-xin; Du, Juan; Huang, Xiao-wei; Xiao, Wen-bo; Xiong, Wen-qi; Wang, Tian-xing; Wei, Zhong-ming; Jia, Yu; Shi, Jun-jie; Li, Jing-bo

2018-03-01

Recently, constructing van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions by stacking different two-dimensional (2D) materials has been considered to be effective strategy to obtain the desired properties. Here, through first-principles calculations, we find theoretically that the 2D n -InSe/p -GeSe(SnS) vdW heterojunctions are the direct-band-gap semiconductor with typical type-II band alignment, facilitating the effective separation of photogenerated electron and hole pairs. Moreover, they possess the high optical absorption strength (˜105 ), broad spectrum width, and excellent carrier mobility (˜103c m2V-1s-1 ). Interestingly, under the influences of the interlayer coupling and external electric field, the characteristics of type-II band alignment is robust, while the band-gap values and band offset are tunable. These results indicate that 2D n -InSe/p -GeSe(SnS) heterojunctions possess excellent optoelectronic and transport properties, and thus can become good candidates for next-generation optoelectronic nanodevices.

Effect of molecular intercalation on the local structure of superconducting Nax(NH3)yMoSe2 system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simonelli, L.; Paris, E.; Wakita, T.; Marini, C.; Terashima, K.; Miao, X.; Olszewski, W.; Ramanan, N.; Heinis, D.; Kubozono, Y.; Yokoya, T.; Saini, N. L.

2017-12-01

We have studied the local structure of layered Nax(NH3)yMoSe2 system by Mo K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements performed as a function of temperature. We find that molecular intercalation in MoSe2 largely affects the Mo-Se network while Mo-Mo seems to sustain small changes. The Einstein temperature (ΘE) of Mo-Mo distance hardly changes (∼264 K) indicating that bond strength of this distance remains unaffected by intercalation. On the other hand, Mo-Se distance suffers a softening, revealed by the decrease of ΘE from ∼364 K to ∼350 K. The results indicate that Na+ ion transported by NH3 molecules may enter between the two MoSe-layers resulting reduced Se-Se coupling. Therefore, increased hybridization between Se 4p and Mo 4d orbitals due to inter-layer disorder is the likely reason of metallicity in intercalated MoSe2 and superconductivity at low temperature.

Group-based strategy diffusion in multiplex networks with weighted values

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jianyong; Jiang, J. C.; Xiang, Leijun

2017-03-01

The information diffusion of multiplex social networks has received increasing interests in recent years. Actually, the multiplex networks are made of many communities, and it should be gotten more attention for the influences of community level diffusion, besides of individual level interactions. In view of this, this work explores strategy interactions and diffusion processes in multiplex networks with weighted values from a new perspective. Two different groups consisting of some agents with different influential strength are firstly built in each layer network, the authority and non-authority groups. The strategy interactions between different groups in intralayer and interlayer networks are performed to explore community level diffusion, by playing two classical strategy games, Prisoner's Dilemma and Snowdrift Game. The impact forces from the different groups and the reactive forces from individual agents are simultaneously taken into account in intralayer and interlayer interactions. This paper reveals and explains the evolutions of cooperation diffusion and the influences of interlayer interaction tight degrees in multiplex networks with weighted values. Some thresholds of critical parameters of interaction degrees and games parameters settings are also discussed in group-based strategy diffusion.

Origin of the OH vibrational blue shift in the LiOH crystal.

PubMed

Hermansson, Kersti; Gajewski, Grzegorz; Mitev, Pavlin D

2008-12-25

The O-H vibrational frequency in crystalline hydroxides is either upshifted or downshifted by its crystalline surroundings. In the LiOH crystal, the experimental gas-to-solid O-H frequency upshift ("blue shift") is approximately +115 cm(-1). Here plane-wave DFT calculations for the isotope-isolated LiOH crystal have been performed and we discuss the origin of the OH frequency upshift, and the nature of the OH group and the interlayer interactions. We find that (1) the vibrational frequency upshift originates from interactions within the LiOH layer; this OH upshift is slightly lessened by the interlayer interactions; (2) the interlayer O-H - - - H-O interaction is largely electrostatic in character (but there is no hydrogen bonding); (3) the gas-to-solid vibrational shift for OH in LiOH(s) and its subsystems qualitatively adheres to a parabola-like "frequency vs electric field strength" correlation curve, which has a maximum for a positive electric field, akin to the correlation curve earlier found in the literature for an isolated OH(-) ion in an electric field.

Density functional studies of the defect-induced electronic structure modifications in bilayer boronitrene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ukpong, A. M.; Chetty, N.

2012-05-01

The van der Waals interaction-corrected density functional theory is used in this study to investigate the formation, energetic stability, and inter-layer cohesion in bilayer hexagonal boronitrene. The effect of inter-layer separation on the electronic structure is systematically investigated. The formation and energetic stability of intrinsic defects are also investigated at the equilibrium inter-layer separation. It is found that nonstoichiometric defects, and their complexes, that induce excess nitrogen or excess boron, in each case, are relatively more stable in the atmosphere that corresponds to the excess atomic species. The modifications of the electronic structure due to formation of complexes are also investigated. It is shown that van der Waals density functional theory gives an improved description of the cohesive properties but not the electronic structure in bilayer boronitrene compared to other functionals. We identify energetically favourable topological defects that retain the energy gap in the electronic structure, and discuss their implications for band gap engineering in low-n layer boronitrene insulators. The relative strengths and weaknesses of the functionals in predicting the properties of bilayer boronitrene are also discussed.

Effect of Brass Interlayer Sheet on Microstructure and Joint Performance of Ultrasonic Spot-Welded Copper-Steel Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satpathy, Mantra Prasad; Kumar, Abhishek; Sahoo, Susanta Kumar

2017-07-01

Solid-state ultrasonic spot welding (USW) inevitably offers a potential solution for joining dissimilar metal combination like copper (Cu) and steel (SS). In this study, the USW has been performed on Cu (UNS C10100) and SS (AISI 304) with brass interlayer by varying various welding parameters, aiming to identify the interfacial reaction, changes in microstructure and weld strength. The highest tensile shear and T-peel failure loads of 1277 and 174 N are achieved at the optimum conditions like 68 µm of vibration amplitude, 0.42 MPa of weld pressure and 1 s of weld time. The fractured surface analysis of brass interlayer and AISI 304 stainless steel samples reveals the features like swirls, voids and intermetallic compounds (IMCs). These IMCs are composed of CuZn and FeZn composite-like structures with 1.0 μm thickness. This confirms that the weld quality is specifically sensitive to the levels of input parameter combinations as well as the type of material present on the sonotrode side.

Through thickness mechanical properties of chemical vapor infiltration and nano-infiltration and transient eutectic-phase processed SiC/SiC composites

DOE PAGES

Shih, Chunghao Phillip; Katoh, Yutai; Ozawa, Kazumi; ...

2014-04-08

The through thickness (interlaminar) shear strength and trans-thickness tensile strength of three different nuclear-grade SiC/SiC composites were evaluated at room temperature by the double-notched shear and diametral compression tests, respectively. With increasing densification of the interlaminar matrix region, a transition in failure locations from interlayer to intrafiber bundle was observed, along with significant increases in the value of the interlaminar shear strength. Under trans-thickness tensile loading, cracks were found to propagate easily in the unidirectional composite. Furthermore, the 2D woven composite had a higher trans-thickness tensile strength (38 MPa) because the failure mode involved debonding, fiber pull-out and fiber failure.

Through thickness mechanical properties of chemical vapor infiltration and nano-infiltration and transient eutectic-phase processed SiC/SiC composites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shih, Chunghao Phillip; Katoh, Yutai; Ozawa, Kazumi

The through thickness (interlaminar) shear strength and trans-thickness tensile strength of three different nuclear-grade SiC/SiC composites were evaluated at room temperature by the double-notched shear and diametral compression tests, respectively. With increasing densification of the interlaminar matrix region, a transition in failure locations from interlayer to intrafiber bundle was observed, along with significant increases in the value of the interlaminar shear strength. Under trans-thickness tensile loading, cracks were found to propagate easily in the unidirectional composite. Furthermore, the 2D woven composite had a higher trans-thickness tensile strength (38 MPa) because the failure mode involved debonding, fiber pull-out and fiber failure.

Spectral properties of excitons in the bilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apinyan, V.; Kopeć, T. K.

2018-01-01

In this paper, we consider the spectral properties of the bilayer graphene with the local excitonic pairing interaction between the electrons and holes. We consider the generalized Hubbard model, which includes both intralayer and interlayer Coulomb interaction parameters. The solution of the excitonic gap parameter is used to calculate the electronic band structure, single-particle spectral functions, the hybridization gap, and the excitonic coherence length in the bilayer graphene. We show that the local interlayer Coulomb interaction is responsible for the semimetal-semiconductor transition in the double layer system, and we calculate the hybridization gap in the band structure above the critical interaction value. The formation of the excitonic band gap is reported as the threshold process and the momentum distribution functions have been calculated numerically. We show that in the weak coupling limit the system is governed by the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)-like pairing state. Contrary, in the strong coupling limit the excitonic condensate states appear in the semiconducting phase, by forming the Dirac's pockets in the reciprocal space.

First-principles investigation of the interlayer coupling in chromium-trichloride-a layered magnetic insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kc, Santosh; McGuire, Michael A.; Cooper, Valentino R.

The crystallographic, electronic and magnetic properties of layered CrCl3were investigated using density functional theory. We use the newly developed spin van der Waals density functional (svdW-DF) in order to explore the atomic, electronic and magnetic structure. Our results indicate that treatment of the long-range interlayer forces with the svdW-DF improves the accuracy of crystal structure predictions. The cleavage energy was estimated to be 0.29 J/m2 suggesting that CrCl3 should be cleavable using standard mechanical exfoliation techniques. The inclusion of spin in the non-local vdW-DF allows us to directly probe the coupling between the magnetic structure and lattice degrees of freedom. An understanding of the link between electronic, magnetic and structural properties can be useful for novel device applications such as magnetoelectric devices, spin transistors, and 2D magnet. Research was sponsored by the US DOE, Office of Science, BES, MSED and Early Career Research Programs and used resources at NERSC.

Spin valves with spin-engineered domain-biasing scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Z. Q.; Pan, G.

2003-06-01

Synthetic spin-filter spin valves with spin-engineered biasing scheme "sub/Ta/NiFe/IrMn/NiFe/NOL/Cu1/CoFe/Cu2/CoFe/Ru/CoFe/IrMn/Ta" were developed. In the structure, the orthogonal magnetic configuration for biasing and pinning field was obtained by one-step magnetic annealing process by means of spin flop, which eliminated the need for two antiferromagnetic materials with distinctively different blocking temperatures and two-step magnetic annealing as in conventional exchange biasing scheme. The longitudinal domain biasing of spin valves was achieved by using interlayer coupling field through Cu1 spacer. By adjusting the thickness of the Cu1 layer, the interlayer coupling biasing field can provide domain stabilization and was sufficiently strong to constrain the magnetization in coherent rotation. This can prevent Barkhausen noises associated with magnetization reversal. We report here a proof of concept study of such a domain-biasing scheme, which has its important technological applications in nanoscale spin valve and magnetic tunneling junction read heads and other spintronic devices.

Study of perpendicular anisotropy L1{sub 0}-FePt pseudo spin valves using a micromagnetic trilayer model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ho, Pin, E-mail: hopin@mit.edu; Data Storage Institute, Agency of Science, Technology and Research - A*STAR, 117608 Singapore; Evans, Richard F. L.

2015-06-07

A trilayer micromagnetic model based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Bloch equation of motion is utilized to study the properties of L1{sub 0}-FePt/TiN/L1{sub 0}-FePt pseudo spin valves (PSVs) in direct comparison with experiment. Theoretical studies give an insight on the crystallographic texture, magnetic properties, reversal behavior, interlayer coupling effects, and magneto-transport properties of the PSVs, in particular, with varying thickness of the top L1{sub 0}-FePt and TiN spacer. We show that morphological changes in the FePt layers, induced by varying the FePt layer thickness, lead to different hysteresis behaviors of the samples, caused by changes in the interlayer and intralayer exchange couplings. Suchmore » effects are important for the optimization of the PSVs due to the relationship between the magnetic properties, domain structures, and the magnetoresistance of the device.« less

Out-of-plane strain and electric field tunable electronic properties and Schottky contact of graphene/antimonene heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phuc, Huynh V.; Hieu, Nguyen N.; Hoi, Bui D.; Phuong, Le T. T.; Hieu, Nguyen V.; Nguyen, Chuong V.

2017-12-01

In this paper, the electronic properties of graphene/monolayer antimonene (G/m-Sb) heterostructure have been studied using the density functional theory (DFT). The effects of out-of-plane strain (interlayer coupling) and electric field on the electronic properties and Schottky contact of the G/m-Sb heterostructure are also investigated. The results show that graphene is bound to m-Sb layer by a weak van-der-Waals interaction with the interlayer distance of 3.50 Å and the binding energy per carbon atom of -39.62 meV. We find that the n-type Schottky contact is formed at the G/m-Sb heterostructure with the Schottky barrier height (SBH) of 0.60 eV. By varying the interlayer distance between graphene and the m-Sb layer we can change the n-type and p-type SBH at the G/m-Sb heterostructure. Especially, we find the transformation from n-type to p-type Schottky contact with decreasing the interlayer distance. Furthermore, the SBH and the Schottky contact could be controlled by applying the perpendicular electric field. With the positive electric field, electrons can easily transfer from m-Sb to graphene layer, leading to the transition from n-type to p-type Schottky contact.

Multiplexing topologies and time scales: The gains and losses of synchrony

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makovkin, Sergey; Kumar, Anil; Zaikin, Alexey; Jalan, Sarika; Ivanchenko, Mikhail

2017-11-01

Inspired by the recent interest in collective dynamics of biological neural networks immersed in the glial cell medium, we investigate the frequency and phase order, i.e., Kuramoto type of synchronization in a multiplex two-layer network of phase oscillators of different time scales and topologies. One of them has a long-range connectivity, exemplified by the Erdős-Rényi random network, and supports both kinds of synchrony. The other is a locally coupled two-dimensional lattice that can reach frequency synchronization but lacks phase order. Drastically different layer frequencies disentangle intra- and interlayer synchronization. We find that an indirect but sufficiently strong coupling through the regular layer can induce both phase order in the originally nonsynchronized random layer and global order, even when an isolated regular layer does not manifest it in principle. At the same time, the route to global synchronization is complex: an initial onset of (partial) synchrony in the regular layer, when its intra- and interlayer coupling is increased, provokes the loss of synchrony even in the originally synchronized random layer. Ultimately, a developed asynchronous dynamics in both layers is abruptly taken over by the global synchrony of both kinds.

Noise Reduction Based on an Fe -Rh Interlayer in Exchange-Coupled Heat-Assisted Recording Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogler, Christoph; Abert, Claas; Bruckner, Florian; Suess, Dieter

2017-11-01

High storage density and high data rate are two of the most desired properties of modern hard disk drives. Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) is believed to achieve both. Recording media, consisting of exchange-coupled grains with a high and a low TC part, were shown to have low dc noise—but increased ac noise—compared to hard magnetic single-phase grains like FePt. We extensively investigate the influence of an Fe -Rh interlayer on the magnetic noise in exchange-coupled grains. We find an optimal grain design that reduces the jitter in the down-track direction by up to 30% and in the off-track direction by up to 50%, depending on the head velocity, compared to the same structures without FeRh. Furthermore, the mechanisms causing this jitter reduction are demonstrated. Additionally, we show that, for short heat pulses and low write temperatures, the switching-time distribution of the analyzed grain structure is reduced by a factor of 4 compared to the same structure without an Fe -Rh layer. This feature could be interesting for HAMR use with a pulsed laser spot and could encourage discussion of this HAMR technique.

The effect of underlayers on the reversal of perpendicularly magnetized multilayer thin films for magnetic micro- and nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vemulkar, T.; Mansell, R.; Petit, D. C. M. C.; Cowburn, R. P.; Lesniak, M. S.

2017-01-01

Perpendicularly magnetized microparticles offer the ability to locally apply high torques on soft matter under an applied magnetic field. These particles are engineered to have a zero remanence magnetic configuration via synthetic antiferromagnetic coupling using a Ru coupling interlayer. The flexibility offered by the top down thin film fabrication process in a CoFeB/Pt perpendicular thin film is demonstrated by using the Pt interlayer thicknesses in a Pt/Ru/Pt antiferromagnetic coupling multilayer to tune the applied magnetic field value of the easy axis spin-flip transition to saturation and hence the field value at which the magnetic particles are magnetically activated via a distinct transition to saturation. The importance of a Ta buffer layer on the magnetic behavior of the stack is shown. While Au capping layers are desirable for biotechnology applications, we demonstrate that they can drastically change the nucleation and propagation of domains in the film, thereby altering the reversal behavior of the thin film. The effect of Au underlayers on a multilayer thin film composed of repeated motifs of a synthetic antiferromagnetic building block is also investigated.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zohar, S.; Choi, Y.; Love, D. M.

We use X-ray Excited Luminescence Microscopy to investigate the elemental and layer resolved magnetic reversal in an interlayer exchange coupled (IEC) epitaxial Fe/Cr wedge/Co heterostructure. The transition from strongly coupled parallel Co-Fe reversal for Cr thickness t(Cr) < 0.34 nm to weakly coupled layer independent reversal for t(Cr) > 1.5 nm is punctuated at 0.34 < t(Cr) < 1.5 nm by a combination of IEC guided domain wall motion and stationary zig zag domain walls. Domain walls nucleated at switching field minima are guided by IEC spatial gradients and collapse at switching field maxima.

Impact of Interlayer Dwell Time on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nickel and Titanium Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, B. K.; Beese, A. M.; Keist, J. S.; McHale, E. T.; Palmer, T. A.

2017-09-01

Path planning in additive manufacturing (AM) processes has an impact on the thermal histories experienced at discrete locations in simple and complex AM structures. One component of path planning in directed energy deposition is the time required for the laser or heat source to return to a given location to add another layer of material. As structures become larger and more complex, the length of this interlayer dwell time can significantly impact the resulting thermal histories. The impact of varying dwell times between 0 and 40 seconds on the microstructural and mechanical properties of Inconel® 625 and Ti-6Al-4V builds has been characterized. Even though these materials display different microstructures and solid-state phase transformations, the addition of an interlayer dwell generally led to a finer microstructure in both materials that impacted the resulting mechanical properties. With the addition of interlayer dwell times up to 40 seconds in the Inconel® 625 builds, finer secondary dendrite arm spacing values, produced by changes in the thermal history, correspond to increased yield and tensile strengths. These mechanical properties did not appear to change significantly, however, for dwell times greater than 20 seconds in the Inconel® 625 builds, indicating that longer dwell times have a minimal impact. The addition of interlayer dwell times in Ti-6Al-4V builds resulted in a slight decrease in the measured alpha lath widths and a much more noticeable decrease in the width of prior beta grains. In addition, the yield and tensile values continued to increase, nearly reaching the values observed in the rolled plate substrate material with dwell times up to 40 seconds.

Comparative study on the deposition of silicon oxide permeation barrier coatings for polymers using hexamethyldisilazane (HMDSN) and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitschker, F.; Schücke, L.; Hoppe, Ch; Jaritz, M.; Dahlmann, R.; de los Arcos, T.; Hopmann, Ch; Grundmeier, G.; Awakowicz, P.

2018-06-01

The effect of the selection of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) and hexamethyldisilazane (HMDSN) as a precursor in a microwave driven low pressure plasma on the deposition of silicon oxide barrier coatings and silicon based organic interlayers on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) substrates is investigated. Mass spectrometry is used to quantify the absolute gas density and the degree of depletion of neutral precursor molecules under variation of oxygen admixture. On average, HMDSN shows a smaller density, a higher depletion and the production of smaller fragments. Subsequently, this is correlated with barrier performance and chemical structure as a function of barrier layer thickness and oxygen admixture on PET. For this purpose, the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) is measured and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as well as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is performed. HMDSN based coatings exhibit significantly higher barrier performances for high admixtures of oxygen (200 sccm). In comparison to HMDSO based processes, however, a higher supply of oxygen is necessary to achieve a sufficient degree of oxidation, cross-linking and, therefore, barrier performance. FTIR and XPS reveal a distinct carbon content for low oxygen admixtures (10 and 20 sccm) in case of HMDSN based coatings. The variation of interlayer thickness also reveals significantly higher OTR for HMDSO based coatings on PET and PP. Barrier performance of HMDSO based coatings improves with increasing interlayer thickness up to 10 nm for PET and PP. HMDSN based coatings exhibit a minimum of OTR without interlayer on PP and for 2 nm interlayer thickness on PET. Furthermore, HMDSN based coatings show distinctly higher bond strengths to the PP substrate.

Electrostatic and magnetic fields in bilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jellal, Ahmed; Redouani, Ilham; Bahlouli, Hocine

2015-08-01

We compute the transmission probability through rectangular potential barriers and p-n junctions in the presence of a magnetic and electric fields in bilayer graphene taking into account contributions from the full four bands of the energy spectrum. For energy E higher than the interlayer coupling γ1 (E >γ1) two propagation modes are available for transport giving rise to four possible ways for transmission and reflection coefficients. However, when the energy is less than the height of the barrier the Dirac fermions exhibit transmission resonances and only one mode of propagation is available for transport. We study the effect of the interlayer electrostatic potential denoted by δ and variations of different barrier geometry parameters on the transmission probability.

Comparison of interfacial properties of electrodeposited single carbon fiber/epoxy composites using tensile and compressive fragmentation tests and acoustic emission.

PubMed

Park, Joung-Man; Kim, Jin-Won; Yoon, Dong-Jin

2002-03-01

Interfacial and microfailure properties of carbon fiber/epoxy composites were evaluated using both tensile fragmentation and compressive Broutman tests with an aid of acoustic emission (AE). A monomeric and two polymeric coupling agents were applied via the electrodeposition (ED) and the dipping applications. A monomeric and a polymeric coupling agent showed significant and comparable improvements in interfacial shear strength (IFSS) compared to the untreated case under both tensile and compressive tests. Typical microfailure modes including cone-shaped fiber break, matrix cracking, and partial interlayer failure were observed under tension, whereas the diagonal slipped failure at both ends of the fractured fiber exhibited under compression. Adsorption and shear displacement mechanisms at the interface were described in terms of electrical attraction and primary and secondary bonding forces. For both the untreated and the treated cases AE distributions were separated well in tension, whereas AE distributions were rather closely overlapped in compression. It might be because of the difference in molecular failure energies and failure mechanisms between tension and compression. The maximum AE voltage for the waveform of either carbon or large-diameter basalt fiber breakages in tension exhibited much larger than that in compression. AE could provide more likely the quantitative information on the interfacial adhesion and microfailure.

A magneto-optic technique for studying magnetization reversal processes and anisotropies applied to Co/Cu/Co trilayer structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daboo, C.; Bland, J. A. C.; Hicken, R. J.; Ives, A. J. R.; Baird, M. J.; Walker, M. J.

1993-05-01

We report the magnetization reversal and magnetic anisotropy behavior of ultrathin Co/Cu(111)/Co (dCu=20 and 27 Å) trilayer structures prepared by MBE on a 500-Å Ge/GaAs(110) epilayer. We describe an arrangement in which the magnetization components parallel and perpendicular to the applied field are both determined from longitudinal MOKE measurements. For the samples examined, coherent rotation of the magnetization vector is observed when the magnetic field is applied along the hard in-plane anisotropy axis, with the magnitude of the magnetization vector constant and close to its bulk value. Results of micromagnetic calculations closely reproduce the observed parallel and perpendicular magnetization loops, and yield strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropies in both layers while the interlayer coupling appears to be absent or negligible in comparison with the anisotropy strengths. An absence of antiferromagnetic (AF) coupling has been observed previously [W. F. Egelhoff, Jr. and M. T. Kief, Phys. Rev. B 45, 7795 (1992)] in contrast to recent results, indicating that AF coupling [M. T. Johnson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 969 (1992)] and GMR [D. Grieg et al., J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 110, L239 (1992)] can occur in Co/Cu(111)/Co structures grown by MBE, but these properties are sensitively dependent on growth conditions. The absence of coupling in our samples is attributed to the presence of a significant interface roughness induced by the Ge epilayer. The uniaxial anisotropies are assumed to arise from strain or defects induced in the film.

Experimental and computational investigation of lateral gauge response in polycarbonate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliot, Jim; Harris, Ernest Joseph; Hazell, Paul; Appleby-Thomas, Gareth James; Winter, Ron; Wood, David Christopher

2012-03-01

The shock behaviour of polycarbonate is of interest due to its extensive use in defence applications. Interestingly, embedded lateral manganin stress gauges in polycarbonate have shown gradients behind incident shocks, suggestive of increasing shear strength. However, such gauges are commonly embedded in a central epoxy interlayer. This is an inherently invasive approach. Recently, research has suggested that in such systems interlayer/target impedance may contribute to observed gradients in lateral stress. Here, experimental T-gauge (Vishay Micro-Measurements® type J2M-SS-580SF-025) traces from polycarbonate targets are compared to computational simulations. The effects of gauge environment are investigated by looking at the response of lateral gauges with both standard "glued-joint" and a "dry joint" encapsulation, where no encapsulating medium is employed.

Fabrication of mesoporous silica for ultra-low-k interlayer dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujii, Nobutoshi; Kohmura, Kazuo; Nakayama, Takahiro; Tanaka, Hirofumi; Hata, Nobuhiro; Seino, Yutaka; Kikkawa, Takamaro

2005-11-01

We have developed sol-gel self-assembly techniques to control the pore structure and diameter of ultra-low-k interlayer dielectric (ILD) films. Porous silica films have been fabricated using cationic and nonionic surfactants as templates, resulting in 2D-hexagonal and disordered pore structures, respectively. The disordered mesoporous silica film has a worm-hole like network of pore channels having a uniform diameter. Precursors of the mesoporous silica films were synthesized by use of tetraethyl-orthosilicate (TEOS), inorganic acid, water, ethanol and various surfactants. The surfactants used were cationic alkyltrimethyl-ammonium (ATMA) chloride surfactants for 2D-hexagonal pores and nonionic tri-block copolymer for disordered structures. Dimethyldiethoxysilane (DMDEOS) was added for forming the disordered mesoporous silica. The disordered cylindrical pore structure with a uniform pore size was fabricated by controlling the static electrical interaction between the surfactant and the silica oligomer with methyl group of DMDEOS. Tetramethylcycrotetrasiloxane (TMCTS) vapor treatment was developed, which improved the mechanical strength of mesoporous silica films. The TMCTS polymer covered the pore wall surface and cross-linked to passivate the mechanical defects in the silica wall. Significant enhancement of mechanical strength was demonstrated by TMCTS vapor treatment. The porous silica film modified with a catalyst and a plasma treatment achieved higher mechanical strength and lower dielectric constant than conventional porous silica films because the TMCTS vapor treatment was more effective for mechanical reinforcement and hydrophobicity.

Multi-mechanism efficiency enhancement in growing Ga-doped ZnO as the transparent conductor on a light-emitting diode.

PubMed

Yao, Yu-Feng; Lin, Chun-Han; Hsieh, Chieh; Su, Chia-Ying; Zhu, Erwin; Yang, Shaobo; Weng, Chi-Ming; Su, Ming-Yen; Tsai, Meng-Che; Wu, Shang-Syuan; Chen, Sheng-Hung; Tu, Charng-Gan; Chen, Hao-Tsung; Kiang, Yean-Woei; Yang, C C

2015-12-14

The combined effects of a few mechanisms for emission efficiency enhancement produced in the overgrowth of the transparent conductor layer of Ga-doped ZnO (GaZnO) on a surface Ag-nanoparticle (NP) coated light-emitting diode (LED), including surface plasmon (SP) coupling, current spreading, light extraction, and contact resistivity reduction, are demonstrated. With a relatively higher GaZnO growth temperature (350 °C), melted Ag NPs can be used as catalyst for forming GaZnO nanoneedles (NNs) through the vapor-liquid-solid growth mode such that light extraction efficiency can be increased. Meanwhile, residual Ag NPs are buried in a simultaneously grown GaZnO layer for inducing SP coupling. With a relatively lower GaZnO growth temperature (250 °C), all the Ag NPs are preserved for generating a stronger SP coupling effect. By using a thin annealed GaZnO interlayer on p-GaN before Ag NP fabrication, the contact resistivity at the GaZnO/p-GaN interface and hence the overall device resistance can be reduced. Although the use of this interlayer blue-shifts the localized surface plasmon resonance peak of the fabricated Ag NPs from the quantum well emission wavelength of the current study (535 nm) such that the SP coupling effect becomes weaker, it is useful for enhancing the SP coupling effect in an LED with a shorter emission wavelength.

Influence of Zn Interlayer on Interfacial Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TIG Lap-Welded Mg/Al Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Qiong; Wang, Kehong

2016-03-01

This study explored 6061 Al alloy and AZ31B Mg alloy joined by TIG lap welding with Zn foils of varying thicknesses, with the additional Zn element being imported into the fusion zone to alloy the weld seam. The microstructures and chemical composition in the fusion zone near the Mg substrate were examined by SEM and EDS, and tensile shear strength tests were conducted to investigate the mechanical properties of the Al/Mg joints, as well as the fracture surfaces, and phase compositions. The results revealed that the introduction of an appropriate amount of Zn transition layer improves the microstructure of Mg/Al joints and effectively reduces the formation of Mg-Al intermetallic compounds (IMCs). The most common IMCs in the fusion zone near the Mg substrate were Mg-Zn and Mg-Al-Zn IMCs. The type and distribution of IMCs generated in the weld zone differed according to Zn additions; Zn interlayer thickness of 0.4 mm improved the sample's mechanical properties considerably compared to thicknesses of less than 0.4 mm; however, any further increase in Zn interlayer thickness of above 0.4 mm caused mechanical properties to deteriorate.

Theoretical studies of structure-property relations in graphene-based carbon nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maroudas, Dimitrios

2014-03-01

This presentation focuses on establishing relations between atomic structure, electronic structure, and properties in graphene-based carbon nanostructures through first-principles density functional theory calculations and molecular-dynamics simulations. We have analyzed carbon nanostructure formation from twisted bilayer graphene, upon creation of interlayer covalent C-C bonds due to patterned hydrogenation or fluorination. For small twist angles and twist angles near 30 degrees, interlayer covalent bonding generates superlattices of diamond-like nanocrystals and of fullerene-like configurations, respectively, embedded within the graphene layers. The electronic band gaps of these superlattices can be tuned through selective chemical functionalization and creation of interlayer bonds, and range from a few meV to over 1.2 eV. The mechanical properties of these superstructures also can be precisely tuned by controlling the extent of chemical functionalization. Importantly, the shear modulus is shown to increase monotonically with the fraction of sp3-hybridized C-C bonds. We have also studied collective interactions of multiple defects such as random distributions of vacancies in single-layer graphene (SLG). We find that a crystalline-to-amorphous structural transition occurs at vacancy concentrations of 5-10% over a broad temperature range. The structure of our defect-induced amorphized graphene is in excellent agreement with experimental observations of SLG exposed to a high electron irradiation dose. Simulations of tensile tests on these irradiated graphene sheets identify trends for the ultimate tensile strength, failure strain, and toughness as a function of vacancy concentration. The vacancy-induced amorphization transition is accompanied by a brittle-to-ductile transition in the failure response of irradiated graphene sheets and even heavily damaged samples exhibit tensile strengths near 30 GPa, in significant excess of those typical of engineering materials.

Orthogonal interfacial exchange coupling in GaMnAsP/GaMnAs bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiang; Bac, Seul-Ki; Dong, Sining; Liu, Xinyu; Lee, Sanghoon; Rouvimov, Sergei; Dobrowolska, Margaret; Furdyna, Jacek K.

2018-05-01

We carried out a systematic study of magnetic ordering and magnetic interlayer coupling in Ga1-xMnxAs1-yPy/Ga1-xMnxAs bilayers using superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry and ferromagnetic resonance. Such bilayers are interesting, because the easy axis of the constituent materials are orthogonal. Our results show that the bilayers are strongly exchange-coupled at the interface, that manifests itself in the form of horizontal exchange-bias-like shifts of the hysteresis loops of the Ga1-xMnxAs layer, as observed in field-cooled magnetic measurements.

Optimal resource diffusion for suppressing disease spreading in multiplex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiaolong; Wang, Wei; Cai, Shimin; Stanley, H. Eugene; Braunstein, Lidia A.

2018-05-01

Resource diffusion is a ubiquitous phenomenon, but how it impacts epidemic spreading has received little study. We propose a model that couples epidemic spreading and resource diffusion in multiplex networks. The spread of disease in a physical contact layer and the recovery of the infected nodes are both strongly dependent upon resources supplied by their counterparts in the social layer. The generation and diffusion of resources in the social layer are in turn strongly dependent upon the state of the nodes in the physical contact layer. Resources diffuse preferentially or randomly in this model. To quantify the degree of preferential diffusion, a bias parameter that controls the resource diffusion is proposed. We conduct extensive simulations and find that the preferential resource diffusion can change phase transition type of the fraction of infected nodes. When the degree of interlayer correlation is below a critical value, increasing the bias parameter changes the phase transition from double continuous to single continuous. When the degree of interlayer correlation is above a critical value, the phase transition changes from multiple continuous to first discontinuous and then to hybrid. We find hysteresis loops in the phase transition. We also find that there is an optimal resource strategy at each fixed degree of interlayer correlation under which the threshold reaches a maximum and the disease can be maximally suppressed. In addition, the optimal controlling parameter increases as the degree of inter-layer correlation increases.

Efficient Interlayer Relaxation and Transition of Excitons in Epitaxial and Non-epitaxial MoS2/WS2 Heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Yu, Yifei; Hu, Shi; Su, Liqin; ...

2014-12-03

Semiconductor heterostructurs provide a powerful platform for the engineering of excitons. Here we report on the excitonic properties of two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures that consist of monolayer MoS2 and WS2 stacked epitaxially or non-epitaxially in the vertical direction. We find similarly efficient interlayer relaxation and transition of excitons in both the epitaxial and non-epitaxial heterostructures. This is manifested by a two orders of magnitude decrease in the photoluminescence and an extra absorption peak at low energy region of both heterostructures. The MoS2/WS2 heterostructures show weak interlayer coupling and essentially act as an atomic-scale heterojunction with the intrinsic band structures of themore » two monolayers largely preserved. They are particularly promising for the applications that request efficient dissociation of excitons and strong light absorption, including photovoltaics, solar fuels, photodetectors, and optical modulators. Our results also indicate that 2D heterostructures promise to provide capabilities to engineer excitons from the atomic level without concerns of interfacial imperfection.« less

Optical absorption by indirect excitons in a transition metal dichalcogenide/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunetti, Matthew N.; Berman, Oleg L.; Kezerashvili, Roman Ya

2018-06-01

We study optical transitions in spatially indirect excitons in transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) heterostructures separated by an integer number of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayers. By solving the Schrödinger equation with the Keldysh potential for a spatially indirect exciton, we obtain eigenfunctions and eigenenergies for the ground and excited states and study their dependence on the interlayer separation, controlled by varying the number of h-BN monolayers. The oscillator strength, optical absorption coefficient, and optical absorption factor, the fraction of incoming photons absorbed in the TMDC/h-BN/TMDC heterostructure, are evaluated and studied as a function of the interlayer separation. Using input parameters from the existing literature which give the largest and the smallest spatially indirect exciton binding energy, we provide upper and lower bounds on all quantities presented.

TEM Analysis of Diffusion-Bonded Silicon Carbide Ceramics Joined Using Metallic Interlayers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ozaki, T.; Hasegawa, Y.; Tsuda, H.; Mori, S.; Halbig, M. C.; Asthana, R.; Singh, M.

2017-01-01

SiC fiber-bonded ceramics (SA-Tyrannohex: SA-THX) diffusion-bonded with TiCu metallic interlayers were investigated. Thin samples of the ceramics were prepared with a focused ion beam (FIB) and the interfacial microstructure of the prepared samples was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning TEM (STEM). In addition to conventional microstructure observation, for detailed analysis of reaction compounds in diffusion-bonded area, we performed STEM-EDS measurements and selected area electron diffraction (SAD) experiments. The TEM and STEM experiments revealed the diffusion-bonded area was composed of only one reaction layer, which was characterized by TiC precipitates in Cu-Si compound matrix. This reaction layer was in good contact with the SA-THX substrates, and it is concluded that the joint structure led to the excellent bonding strength.

All-Silicon Switchable Magnetoelectric Effect through Interlayer Exchange Coupling.

PubMed

Liu, Hang; Sun, Jia-Tao; Fu, Hui-Xia; Sun, Pei-Jie; Feng, Y P; Meng, Sheng

2017-07-19

The magnetoelectric (ME) effect originating from the effective coupling between electric field and magnetism is an exciting frontier in nanoscale science such as magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ), ferroelectric/piezoelectric heterojunctions etc. The realization of switchable ME effect under external electric field in d0 semiconducting materials of single composition is needed especially for all-silicon spintronics applications because of its natural compatibility with current industry. We employ density functional theory (DFT) to reveal that the pristine Si(111)-3×3 R30° (Si3 hereafter) reconstructed surfaces of thin films with a thickness smaller than eleven bilayers support a sizeable linear ME effect with switchable direction of magnetic moment under external electric field. This is achieved through the interlayer exchange coupling effect in the antiferromagnetic regime, where the spin-up and spin-down magnetized density is located on opposite surfaces of Si3 thin films. The obtained coefficient for the linear ME effect can be four times larger than that of ferromagnetic Fe films, which fail to have the reversal switching capabilities. The larger ME effect originates from the spin-dependent screening of the spin-polarized Dirac fermion. The prediction will promote the realization of well-controlled and switchable data storage in all-silicon electronics. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Spin-valve giant magneto-resistance film with magnetostrictive FeSiB amorphous layer and its application to strain sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashimoto, Y.; Yamamoto, N.; Kato, T.; Oshima, D.; Iwata, S.

2018-03-01

Giant magneto-resistance (GMR) spin-valve films with an FeSiB/CoFeB free layer were fabricated to detect applied strain in a GMR device. The magnetostriction constant of FeSiB was experimentally determined to have 32 ppm, which was one order of magnitude larger than that of CoFeB. In order to detect the strain sensitively and robustly against magnetic field fluctuation, the magnetic field modulation technique was applied to the GMR device. It was confirmed that the output voltage of the GMR device depends on the strain, and the gauge factor K = 46 was obtained by adjusting the applied DC field intensity and direction. We carried out the simulation based on a macro-spin model assuming uniaxial anisotropy, interlayer coupling between the free and pin layers, strain-induced anisotropy, and Zeeman energy, and succeeded in reproducing the experimental results. The simulation predicts that improving the magnetic properties of GMR films, especially reducing interlayer coupling, will be effective for increasing the output, i.e., the gauge factor, of the GMR strain sensors.

Highly Anisotropic Magnon Dispersion in Ca_{2}RuO_{4}: Evidence for Strong Spin Orbit Coupling.

PubMed

Kunkemöller, S; Khomskii, D; Steffens, P; Piovano, A; Nugroho, A A; Braden, M

2015-12-11

The magnon dispersion in Ca_{2}RuO_{4} has been determined by inelastic neutron scattering on single crytals containing 1% of Ti. The dispersion is well described by a conventional Heisenberg model suggesting a local moment model with nearest neighbor interaction of J=8  meV. Nearest and next-nearest neighbor interaction as well as interlayer coupling parameters are required to properly describe the entire dispersion. Spin-orbit coupling induces a very large anisotropy gap in the magnetic excitations in apparent contrast with a simple planar magnetic model. Orbital ordering breaking tetragonal symmetry, and strong spin-orbit coupling can thus be identified as important factors in this system.

Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of thermally activated magnetization reversal in dual-layer Exchange Coupled Composite recording media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plumer, M. L.; Almudallal, A. M.; Mercer, J. I.; Whitehead, J. P.; Fal, T. J.

The kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) method developed for thermally activated magnetic reversal processes in single-layer recording media has been extended to study dual-layer Exchange Coupled Composition (ECC) media used in current and next generations of disc drives. The attempt frequency is derived from the Langer formalism with the saddle point determined using a variant of Bellman Ford algorithm. Complication (such as stagnation) arising from coupled grains having metastable states are addressed. MH-hysteresis loops are calculated over a wide range of anisotropy ratios, sweep rates and inter-layer coupling parameter. Results are compared with standard micromagnetics at fast sweep rates and experimental results at slow sweep rates.

Spin pumping and inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect in NiFe/Ag/Bi and NiFe/Ag/Sb

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Wei, E-mail: zwei@anl.gov; Jungfleisch, Matthias B.; Jiang, Wanjun

2015-05-07

The Rashba effect is an interaction between the spin and the momentum of electrons induced by the spin-orbit coupling in surface or interface states. We measured the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect via spin pumping in Ag/Bi and Ag/Sb interfaces. The spin current is injected from the ferromagnetic resonance of a NiFe layer towards the Rashba interfaces, where it is further converted into a charge current. Using spin pumping theory, we quantify the conversion parameter of spin to charge current to be 0.11 ± 0.02 nm for Ag/Bi and a factor of ten smaller for Ag/Sb. The relative strength of the effect is in agreementmore » with spectroscopic measurements and first principles calculations. We also vary the interlayer materials to study the voltage output in relation to the change of the effective spin mixing conductance. The spin pumping experiment offers a straight-forward approach of using spin current as an efficient probe for detecting interface Rashba splitting.« less

Forced phase-locked states and information retrieval in a two-layer network of oscillatory neurons with directional connectivity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kazantsev, Victor; Pimashkin, Alexey; Department of Neurodynamics and Neurobiology, Nizhny Novgorod State University, 23 Gagarin Ave., 603950 Nizhny Novgorod

We propose two-layer architecture of associative memory oscillatory network with directional interlayer connectivity. The network is capable to store information in the form of phase-locked (in-phase and antiphase) oscillatory patterns. The first (input) layer takes an input pattern to be recognized and their units are unidirectionally connected with all units of the second (control) layer. The connection strengths are weighted using the Hebbian rule. The output (retrieved) patterns appear as forced-phase locked states of the control layer. The conditions are found and analytically expressed for pattern retrieval in response on incoming stimulus. It is shown that the system is capablemore » to recover patterns with a certain level of distortions or noises in their profiles. The architecture is implemented with the Kuramoto phase model and using synaptically coupled neural oscillators with spikes. It is found that the spiking model is capable to retrieve patterns using the spiking phase that translates memorized patterns into the spiking phase shifts at different time scales.« less

Isotropic and anisotropic regimes of the field-dependent spin dynamics in Sr 2 IrO 4 : Raman scattering studies

DOE PAGES

Gim, Y.; Sethi, A.; Zhao, Q.; ...

2016-01-11

A major focus of experimental interest in Sr 2IrO 4 has been to clarify how the magnetic excitations of this strongly spin-orbit coupled system differ from the predictions of an isotropic 2D spin-1/2 Heisenberg model and to explore the extent to which strong spin-orbit coupling affects the magnetic properties of iridates. Here, we present a high-resolution inelastic light (Raman) scattering study of the low energy magnetic excitation spectrum of Sr 2IrO 4 and doped Eu-doped Sr 2IrO 4 as functions of both temperature and applied magnetic field. We show that the high-field (H > 1.5 T) in-plane spin dynamics ofmore » Sr 2IrO 4 are isotropic and governed by the interplay between the applied field and the small in-plane ferromagnetic spin components induced by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. However, the spin dynamics of Sr 2IrO 4 at lower fields (H < 1.5 T) exhibit important effects associated with interlayer coupling and in-plane anisotropy, including a spin-flop transition at Hc in Sr 2IrO 4 that occurs either discontinuously or via a continuous rotation of the spins, depending upon the in-plane orientation of the applied field. Furthermore, these results show that in-plane anisotropy and interlayer coupling effects play important roles in the low-field magnetic and dynamical properties of Sr 2IrO 4.« less

Plasmons in Dimensionally Mismatched Coulomb Coupled Graphene Systems.

PubMed

Badalyan, S M; Shylau, A A; Jauho, A P

2017-09-22

We calculate the plasmon dispersion relation for Coulomb coupled metallic armchair graphene nanoribbons and doped monolayer graphene. The crossing of the plasmon curves, which occurs for uncoupled 1D and 2D systems, is split by the interlayer Coulomb coupling into a lower and an upper plasmon branch. The upper branch exhibits an unusual behavior with end points at finite q. Accordingly, the structure factor shows either a single or a double peak behavior, depending on the plasmon wavelength. The new plasmon structure is relevant to recent experiments, its properties can be controlled by varying the system parameters and be used in plasmonic applications.

Mechanical properties of hydrogenated bilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrew, R. C.; Mapasha, R. E.; Chetty, N.

2013-06-01

Using first principle methods, we study the mechanical properties of monolayer and bilayer graphene with 50% and 100% coverage of hydrogen. We employ the vdW-DF, vdW-DF-C09x, and vdW-DF2-C09x van der Waals functionals for the exchange correlation interactions that give significantly improved interlayer spacings and energies. We also use the PBE form for the generalized gradient corrected exchange correlation functional for comparison. We present a consistent theoretical framework for the in-plane layer modulus and the out-of-plane interlayer modulus and we calculate, for the first time, these properties for these systems. This gives a measure of the change of the strength properties when monolayer and bilayer graphene are hydrogenated. Moreover, comparing the relative performance of these functionals in describing hydrogenated bilayered graphenes, we also benchmark these functionals in how they calculate the properties of graphite.

Joining of Silicon Carbide Through the Diffusion Bonding Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halbig, Michael .; Singh, Mrityunjay

2009-01-01

In order for ceramics to be fully utilized as components for high-temperature and structural applications, joining and integration methods are needed. Such methods will allow for the fabrication the complex shapes and also allow for insertion of the ceramic component into a system that may have different adjacent materials. Monolithic silicon carbide (SiC) is a ceramic material of focus due to its high temperature strength and stability. Titanium foils were used as an interlayer to form diffusion bonds between chemical vapor deposited (CVD) SiC ceramics with the aid of hot pressing. The influence of such variables as interlayer thickness and processing time were investigated to see which conditions contributed to bonds that were well adhered and crack free. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron microprobe analysis were used to characterize the bonds and to identify the reaction formed phases.

Novel exciton systems in 2D TMD monolayers and heterobilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Hongyi

In this talk, two exciton systems in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) monolayer and heterobilayer will be discussed. In TMD monolayers, the strong e-h Coulomb exchange interaction splits the exciton and trion dispersions into two branches with zero and finite gap, respectively. Each branch is a center-of-mass wave vector dependent coherent superposition of the two valleys, which leads to a valley-orbit coupling and possibly a trion valley Hall effect. The exchange interaction also eliminates the linear polarization of the negative trion PL emission. In TMD heterobilayers with a type-II band alignment, the low energy exciton has an interlayer configuration with the e and h localized in opposite layers. Because of the inevitable twist or/and lattice mismatch between the two layers, the bright interlayer excitons are located at finite center-of-mass velocities with a six-fold degeneracy. The corresponding photon emission is elliptically polarized, with the major axis locked to the direction of exciton velocity, and helicity determined by the valley indices of the e and h. Some experimental results on the interlayer excitons in the WSe2-MoSe2 heterobilayers will also be presented. The interlayer exciton exhibits a long lifetime as well as a long depolarization time, which facilitate the observation of a PL polarization ring pattern due to the valley dependent exciton-exciton interaction induced expansion. The works were supported by the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong (HKU17305914P, HKU705513P), the Croucher Foundation, and the HKU OYRA and ROP.

Cooperative inter- and intra-layer lattice dynamics of photoexcited multi-walled carbon nanotubes studied by ultrafast electron diffraction.

PubMed

Sun, Shuaishuai; Li, Zhongwen; Li, Zi-An; Xiao, Ruijuan; Zhang, Ming; Tian, Huanfang; Yang, Huaixin; Li, Jianqi

2018-04-26

Optical tuning and probing ultrafast structural response of nanomaterials driven by electronic excitation constitute a challenging but promising approach for understanding microscopic mechanisms and applications in microelectromechanical systems and optoelectrical devices. Here we use pulsed electron diffraction in a transmission electron microscope to investigate laser-induced tubular lattice dynamics of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with varying laser fluence and initial specimen temperature. Our photoexcitation experiments demonstrate cooperative and inverse collective atomic motions in intralayer and interlayer directions, whose strengths and rates depend on pump fluence. The electron-driven and thermally driven structural responses with opposite amplitudes cause a crossover between intralayer and interlayer directions. Our ab initio calculations support these findings and reveal that electrons excited from π to π* orbitals in a carbon tube weaken the intralayer bonds while strengthening the interlayer bonds along the radial direction. Moreover, by probing the structural dynamics of MWCNTs at initial temperatures of 300 and 100 K, we uncover the concomitance of thermal and nonthermal dynamical processes and their mutual influence in MWCNTs. Our results illustrate the nature of electron-driven nonthermal process and electron-phonon thermalization in the MWCNTs, and bear implications for the intricate energy conversion and transfer in materials at the nanoscale.

Vertical coupling and transition energies in multilayer InAs/GaAs quantum-dot structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taddei, S.; Colocci, M.; Vinattieri, A.; Bogani, F.; Franchi, S.; Frigeri, P.; Lazzarini, L.; Salviati, G.

2000-10-01

Vertically ordered quantum dots in multilayer InAs/GaAs structures have attracted large interest in recent years for device application as light emitters. Contradictory claims on the dependence of the fundamental transition energy on the interlayer separation and number of dot layers have been reported in the literature. We show that either a blueshift or a redshift of the fundamental transition energy can be observed in different coupling conditions and straightforwardly explained by including strain, indium segregation, and electron-hole Coulomb interaction, in good agreement with experimental results.

Analyzing the application of silicon-silver-2D nanomaterial-Al2O3 heterojunction in plasmonic sensor and its performance evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Anuj K.

2018-03-01

A semiconductor-metal-dielectric heterojunction system, generally useful in enhancing the efficiency of solar cells, is explored to design a high performance optical sensor based on surface plasmon resonance in near infrared (NIR). Silicon is considered as light coupling material and different 2D nanomaterials such as graphene, MoS2, and MoSe2 are explored to enhance the sensor's performance in terms of its figure of merit (FOM). An Al2O3 interlayer with a few nanometers of thickness is introduced, which acts as a critical component to significantly enhance the sensor's FOM. It is observed that an Al2O3 interlayer of around 9 nm thickness is able to many-fold upturn the sensor's FOM. As another important finding, silver layer thickness of around 60 nm is found to be highly useful to achieve high values of FOM. It is established through results that operating at longer NIR wavelength leads to greater FOM for any choice of 2D nanomaterial and any thickness of Al2O3 interlayer. Proposed sensor provides significantly greater FOM than previous works on SPR sensors.

Pillared Structure Design of MXene with Ultralarge Interlayer Spacing for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Capacitors.

PubMed

Luo, Jianmin; Zhang, Wenkui; Yuan, Huadong; Jin, Chengbin; Zhang, Liyuan; Huang, Hui; Liang, Chu; Xia, Yang; Zhang, Jun; Gan, Yongping; Tao, Xinyong

2017-03-28

Two-dimensional transition-metal carbide materials (termed MXene) have attracted huge attention in the field of electrochemical energy storage due to their excellent electrical conductivity, high volumetric capacity, etc. Herein, with inspiration from the interesting structure of pillared interlayered clays, we attempt to fabricate pillared Ti 3 C 2 MXene (CTAB-Sn(IV)@Ti 3 C 2 ) via a facile liquid-phase cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) prepillaring and Sn 4+ pillaring method. The interlayer spacing of Ti 3 C 2 MXene can be controlled according to the size of the intercalated prepillaring agent (cationic surfactant) and can reach 2.708 nm with 177% increase compared with the original spacing of 0.977 nm, which is currently the maximum value according to our knowledge. Because of the pillar effect, the assembled LIC exhibits a superior energy density of 239.50 Wh kg -1 based on the weight of CTAB-Sn(IV)@Ti 3 C 2 even under higher power density of 10.8 kW kg -1 . When CTAB-Sn(IV)@Ti 3 C 2 anode couples with commercial AC cathode, LIC reveals higher energy density and power density compared with conventional MXene materials.

Magnetotransport in Layered Dirac Fermion System Coupled with Magnetic Moments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwasaki, Yoshiki; Morinari, Takao

2018-03-01

We theoretically investigate the magnetotransport of Dirac fermions coupled with localized moments to understand the physical properties of the Dirac material EuMnBi2. Using an interlayer hopping form, which simplifies the complicated interaction between the layers of Dirac fermions and the layers of magnetic moments in EuMnBi2, the theory reproduces most of the features observed in this system. The hysteresis observed in EuMnBi2 can be caused by the valley splitting that is induced by the spin-orbit coupling and the external magnetic field with the molecular field created by localized moments. Our theory suggests that the magnetotransport in EuMnBi2 is due to the interplay among Dirac fermions, localized moments, and spin-orbit coupling.

Viscoelastic Waves Simulation in a Blocky Medium with Fluid-Saturated Interlayers Using High-Performance Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadovskii, Vladimir; Sadovskaya, Oxana

2017-04-01

A thermodynamically consistent approach to the description of linear and nonlinear wave processes in a blocky medium, which consists of a large number of elastic blocks interacting with each other via pliant interlayers, is proposed. The mechanical properties of interlayers are defined by means of the rheological schemes of different levels of complexity. Elastic interaction between the blocks is considered in the framework of the linear elasticity theory [1]. The effects of viscoelastic shear in the interblock interlayers are taken into consideration using the Pointing-Thomson rheological scheme. The model of an elastic porous material is used in the interlayers, where the pores collapse if an abrupt compressive stress is applied. On the basis of the Biot equations for a fluid-saturated porous medium, a new mathematical model of a blocky medium is worked out, in which the interlayers provide a convective fluid motion due to the external perturbations. The collapse of pores is modeled within the generalized rheological approach, wherein the mechanical properties of a material are simulated using four rheological elements. Three of them are the traditional elastic, viscous and plastic elements, the fourth element is the so-called rigid contact [2], which is used to describe the behavior of materials with different resistance to tension and compression. Thermodynamic consistency of the equations in interlayers with the equations in blocks guarantees fulfillment of the energy conservation law for a blocky medium in a whole, i.e. kinetic and potential energy of the system is the sum of kinetic and potential energies of the blocks and interlayers. As a result of discretization of the equations of the model, robust computational algorithm is constructed, that is stable because of the thermodynamic consistency of the finite difference equations at a discrete level. The splitting method by the spatial variables and the Godunov gap decay scheme are used in the blocks, the dissipationless finite difference Ivanov scheme is applied in the interlayers. The parallel program is designed, using the MPI technology. By means of this software, nonlinear wave processes in the case of initial rotation of the central block in a rock mass as well as in the case of concentrated couple stress load, applied at the boundary of a rock mass, are analyzed. Results of computations on the multiprocessor computer systems demonstrate the strong anisotropy of a blocky medium. This work was supported by the Complex Fundamental Research Program no. II.2P "Integration and Development" of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. References 1. Sadovskii V.M., Sadovskaya O.V. Modeling of Elastic Waves in a Blocky Medium Based on Equations of the Cosserat Continuum // Wave Motion. 2015. V. 52. P. 138-150. 2. Sadovskaya O., Sadovskii V. Mathematical Modeling in Mechanics of Granular Materials. Ser.: Advanced Structured Materials, V. 21. Heidelberg - New York - Dordrecht - London, Springer, 2012. 390 p.

Coupling of Crystal Structure and Magnetism in the Layered, Ferromagnetic Insulator CrI 3

DOE PAGES

McGuire, Michael A.; Dixit, Hemant; Cooper, Valentino R.; ...

2014-12-23

Here, we examine the crystallographic and magnetic properties of single crystals of CrI 3, an easily cleavable, layered and insulating ferromagnet with a Curie temperature of 61 K. Our X-ray diffraction studies reveal a first-order crystallographic phase transition occurring near 210–220 K upon warming, with significant thermal hysteresis. The low-temperature structure is rhombohedral (Rmore » $$\\bar{3}$$, BiI 3-type) and the high-temperature structure is monoclinic (C2/m, AlCl 3-type). Evidence for coupling between the crystallographic and magnetic degrees of freedom in CrI 3 was found; we observed an anomaly in the interlayer spacing at the Curie temperature and an anomaly in the magnetic susceptibility at the structural transition. First-principles calculations reveal the importance of proper treatment of the long-ranged interlayer forces, and van der Waals density functional theory does an excellent job of predicting the crystal structures and their relative stability. Our calculations suggest that the ferromagnetic order found in the bulk material may persist into monolayer form, suggesting that CrI 3 and other chromium trihalides may be promising materials for spintronic and magnetoelectronic research.« less

Electrical spin injection into GaAs based light emitting diodes using perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction-type spin injector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tao, B. S.; Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190; Barate, P.

Remanent electrical spin injection into an InGaAs/GaAs based quantum well light emitting diode is realized by using a perpendicularly magnetized MgO/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/MgO spin injector. We demonstrate that the Ta interlayer plays an important role to establish the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and the thickness of Ta interlayer determines the type of exchange coupling between the two adjacent CoFeB layers. They are ferromagnetically or antiferromagnetically coupled for a Ta thickness of 0.5 nm or 0.75 nm, respectively. A circular polarized electroluminescence (P{sub c}) of about 10% is obtained at low temperature and at zero magnetic field. The direction of the electrically injected spins is determinedmore » only by the orientation of the magnetization of the bottom CoFeB layer which is adjacent to the MgO/GaAs interface. This work proves the critical role of the bottom CoFeB/MgO interface on the spin-injection and paves the way for the electrical control of spin injection via magnetic tunnel junction-type spin injector.« less

Low-loss compact multilayer silicon nitride platform for 3D photonic integrated circuits.

PubMed

Shang, Kuanping; Pathak, Shibnath; Guan, Binbin; Liu, Guangyao; Yoo, S J B

2015-08-10

We design, fabricate, and demonstrate a silicon nitride (Si(3)N(4)) multilayer platform optimized for low-loss and compact multilayer photonic integrated circuits. The designed platform, with 200 nm thick waveguide core and 700 nm interlayer gap, is compatible for active thermal tuning and applicable to realizing compact photonic devices such as arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs). We achieve ultra-low loss vertical couplers with 0.01 dB coupling loss, multilayer crossing loss of 0.167 dB at 90° crossing angle, 50 μm bending radius, 100 × 2 μm(2) footprint, lateral misalignment tolerance up to 400 nm, and less than -52 dB interlayer crosstalk at 1550 nm wavelength. Based on the designed platform, we demonstrate a 27 × 32 × 2 multilayer star coupler.

Controllably Designed "Vice-Electrode" Interlayers Harvesting High Performance Lithium Sulfur Batteries.

PubMed

Hao, Youchen; Xiong, Dongbin; Liu, Wen; Fan, Linlin; Li, Dejun; Li, Xifei

2017-11-22

An interlayer has been regarded as a promising mediator to prolong the life span of lithium sulfur batteries because its excellent absorbability to soluble polysulfide efficiently hinders the shuttle effect. Herein, we designed various interlayers and understand the working mechanism of an interlayer for lithium sulfur batteries in detail. It was found that the electrochemical performance of a S electrode for an interlayer located in cathode side is superior to the pristine one without interlayers. Surprisingly, the performance of the S electrode for an interlayer located in anode side is poorer than that of pristine one. For comparison, glass fibers were also studied as a nonconductive interlayer for lithium sulfur batteries. Unlike the two interlayers above, these nonconductive interlayer did displays significant capacity fading because polysulfides were adsorbed onto insulated interlayer. Thus, the nonconductive interlayer function as a "dead zone" upon cycling. Based on our findings, it was for the first time proposed that a controllably optimized interlayer, with electrical conductivity as well as the absorbability of polysulfides, may function as a "vice-electrode" of the anode or cathode upon cycling. Therefore, the cathodic conductive interlayer can enhance lithium sulfur battery performance, and the anodic conductive interlayer may be helpful for the rational design of 3D networks for the protection of lithium metal.

Optimization of chemical vapor deposition diamond films growth on steel: correlation between mechanical properties, structure, and composition.

PubMed

Laikhtman, A; Rapoport, L; Perfilyev, V; Moshkovich, A; Akhvlediani, R; Hoffman, A

2011-09-01

In the present work we perform optimization of mechanical and crystalline properties of CVD microcrystalline diamond films grown on steel substrates. A chromium-nitride (Cr-N) interlayer had been previously proposed to serve as a buffer for carbon and iron inter-diffusion and as a matching layer for the widely differing expansion coefficients of diamond and steel. However, adhesion and wear as well as crystalline perfection of diamond films are strongly affected by conditions of both Cr-N interlayer preparation and CVD diamond deposition. In this work we assess the effects of two parameters. The first one is the temperature of the Cr-N interlayer preparation: temperatures in the range of 500 degrees C-800 degrees C were used. The second one is diamond film thickness in the 0.5 microm-2 microm range monitored through variation of the deposition time from approximately 30 min to 2 hours. The mechanical properties of so deposited diamond films were investigated. For this purpose, scratch tests were performed at different indentation loads. The friction coefficient and wear loss were assessed. The mechanical and tribological properties were related to structure, composition, and crystalline perfection of diamond films which were extensively analyzed using different microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. It was found that relatively thick diamond film deposited on the Cr-N interlayer prepared at the temperature similar to that of the CVD process has the best mechanical and adhesion strength. This film was stable without visible cracks around the wear track during all scratch tests with different indentation loads. In other cases, cracking and delamination of the films took place at low to moderate indentation loads.

Development and Characterization of the Bonding and Integration Technologies Needed for Fabricating Silicon Carbide Based Injector Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halbig,Michael C.; Singh, Mrityunjay

2008-01-01

Advanced ceramic bonding and integration technologies play a critical role in the fabrication and application of silicon carbide based components for a number of aerospace and ground based applications. One such application is a lean direct injector for a turbine engine to achieve low NOx emissions. Ceramic to ceramic diffusion bonding and ceramic to metal brazing technologies are being developed for this injector application. For the diffusion bonding technology, titanium interlayers (coatings and foils) were used to aid in the joining of silicon carbide (SiC) substrates. The influence of such variables as surface finish, interlayer thickness, and processing time were investigated. Electron microprobe analysis was used to identify the reaction formed phases. In the diffusion bonds, an intermediate phase, Ti5Si3Cx, formed that is thermally incompatible in its thermal expansion and caused thermal stresses and cracking during the processing cool-down. Thinner interlayers of pure titanium and/or longer processing times resulted in an optimized microstructure. Tensile tests on the joined materials resulted in strengths of 13-28 MPa depending on the SiC substrate material. Nondestructive evaluation using ultrasonic immersion showed well formed bonds. For the joining technology of brazing Kovar fuel tubes to silicon carbide, preliminary development of the joining approach has begun. Various technical issues and requirements for the injector application are addressed.

A particle swarm-based algorithm for optimization of multi-layered and graded dental ceramics.

PubMed

Askari, Ehsan; Flores, Paulo; Silva, Filipe

2018-01-01

The thermal residual stresses (TRSs) generated owing to the cooling down from the processing temperature in layered ceramic systems can lead to crack formation as well as influence the bending stress distribution and the strength of the structure. The purpose of this study is to minimize the thermal residual and bending stresses in dental ceramics to enhance their strength as well as to prevent the structure failure. Analytical parametric models are developed to evaluate thermal residual stresses in zirconia-porcelain multi-layered and graded discs and to simulate the piston-on-ring test. To identify optimal designs of zirconia-based dental restorations, a particle swarm optimizer is also developed. The thickness of each interlayer and compositional distribution are referred to as design variables. The effect of layers number constituting the interlayer between two based materials on the performance of graded prosthetic systems is also investigated. The developed methodology is validated against results available in literature and a finite element model constructed in the present study. Three different cases are considered to determine the optimal design of graded prosthesis based on minimizing (a) TRSs; (b) bending stresses; and (c) both TRS and bending stresses. It is demonstrated that each layer thickness and composition profile have important contributions into the resulting stress field and magnitude. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of various thickness metallic interlayers on opto-electric and mechanical properties of AZO thin films on PET substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, R. C.; Li, T. C.; Lin, C. W.

2012-02-01

Various thickness metallic interlayers to improve the opto-electric and mechanical properties of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films deposited on flexible polyethylene terephtalate (PET) substrates are studied. The effects of the interlayers on the resistance and transmittance of the AZO thin films are discussed. The result shows that the metallic interlayers effectively improve the electric resistance but reduce the optical transmittance of the AZO thin films. These phenomena become more obvious as the interlayer thickness increases. However, the AZO with an aluminum interlayer still behaves an acceptable transmittance. Moreover, mechanical tests indicate that the aluminum interlayer increases the hardness and modulus, and reduce the residual stress of the AZO thin films. In contrast, the silver and copper interlayers decrease the AZO's mechanical properties. Comparing to those without any interlayer, the results show that the best interlayer is the 6 nm thick aluminum film.

Complexes of dipolar excitons in layered quasi-two-dimensional nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bondarev, Igor V.; Vladimirova, Maria R.

2018-04-01

We discuss neutral and charged complexes (biexcitons and trions) formed by indirect excitons in layered quasi-two-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures. Indirect excitons—long-lived neutral Coulomb-bound pairs of electrons and holes of different layers—have been known for semiconductor coupled quantum wells and have recently been reported for van der Waals heterostructures such as double bilayer graphene and transition-metal dichalcogenides. Using the configuration space approach, we derive the analytical expressions for the trion and biexciton binding energies as a function of interlayer distance. The method captures essential kinematics of complex formation to reveal significant binding energies, up to a few tens of meV for typical interlayer distances ˜3 -5 Å , with the trion binding energy always being greater than that of the biexciton. Our results can contribute to the understanding of more complex many-body phenomena such as exciton Bose-Einstein condensation and Wigner-like electron-hole crystallization in layered semiconductor heterostructures.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Keyshar, Kunttal; Berg, Morgann; Zhang, Xiang

Here, the values of the ionization energies of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are needed to assess their potential usefulness in semiconductor heterojunctions for high-performance optoelectronics. Here, we report on the systematic determination of ionization energies for three prototypical TMD monolayers (MoSe 2, WS 2, and MoS 2) on SiO 2 using photoemission electron microscopy with deep ultraviolet illumination. The ionization energy displays a progressive decrease from MoS 2, to WS 2, to MoSe 2, in agreement with predictions of density functional theory calculations. Combined with the measured energy positions of the valence band edge at the Brillouin zone center, wemore » deduce that, in the absence of interlayer coupling, a vertical heterojunction comprising any of the three TMD monolayers would form a staggered (type-II) band alignment. This band alignment could give rise to long-lived interlayer excitons that are potentially useful for valleytronics or efficient electron–hole separation in photovoltaics.« less

Giant magnetic splitting inducing near-unity valley polarization in van der Waals heterostructures.

PubMed

Nagler, Philipp; Ballottin, Mariana V; Mitioglu, Anatolie A; Mooshammer, Fabian; Paradiso, Nicola; Strunk, Christoph; Huber, Rupert; Chernikov, Alexey; Christianen, Peter C M; Schüller, Christian; Korn, Tobias

2017-11-16

Monolayers of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides exhibit intriguing fundamental physics of strongly coupled spin and valley degrees of freedom for charge carriers. While the possibility of exploiting these properties for information processing stimulated concerted research activities towards the concept of valleytronics, maintaining control over spin-valley polarization proved challenging in individual monolayers. A promising alternative route explores type II band alignment in artificial van der Waals heterostructures. The resulting formation of interlayer excitons combines the advantages of long carrier lifetimes and spin-valley locking. Here, we demonstrate artificial design of a two-dimensional heterostructure enabling intervalley transitions that are not accessible in monolayer systems. The resulting giant effective g factor of -15 for interlayer excitons induces near-unity valley polarization via valley-selective energetic splitting in high magnetic fields, even after nonselective excitation. Our results highlight the potential to deterministically engineer novel valley properties in van der Waals heterostructures using crystallographic alignment.

Anticorrelation between polar lattice instability and superconductivity in the Weyl semimetal candidate MoTe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, H.; Akiba, T.; Imura, K.; Shiino, T.; Deguchi, K.; Sato, N. K.; Sakai, H.; Bahramy, M. S.; Ishiwata, S.

2017-03-01

The relation between the polar structural instability and superconductivity in a Weyl semimetal candidate MoTe2 has been clarified by finely controlled physical and chemical pressure. The physical pressure as well as the chemical pressure, i.e., the Se substitution for Te, enhances the superconducting transition temperature Tc at around the critical pressure where the polar structure transition disappears. From the heat capacity and thermopower measurements, we ascribe the significant enhancement of Tc at the critical pressure to a subtle modification of the phonon dispersion or the semimetallic band structure upon the polar-to-nonpolar transition. On the other hand, the physical pressure, which strongly reduces the interlayer distance, is more effective on the suppression of the polar structural transition and the enhancement of Tc as compared with the chemical pressure, which emphasizes the importance of the interlayer coupling on the structural and superconducting instability in MoTe2.

Experimental Investigation of the Electronic Properties of Twisted Bilayer Graphene by STM and STS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Longjing; Qiao, Jiabin; Wang, Wenxiao; Zuo, Weijie; He, Lin

The electronic properties of graphene multilayers depend sensitively on their stacking order. A twisted angle is treated as a unique degree of freedom to tune the electronic properties of graphene system. Here we study electronic structures of the twisted bilayers by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). We demonstrate that the interlayer coupling strength affects both the Van Hove singularities and the Fermi velocity of twisted bilayers dramatically. This removes the discrepancy about the Fermi velocity renormalization in the twisted bilayers and provides a consistent interpretation of all current data. Moreover, we report the experimental evidence for non-Abelian gauge potentials in twisted graphene bilayers by STM and STS. At a magic twisted angle, about 1.11°, a pronounced sharp peak is observed in the tunnelling spectra due to the action of the non-Abelian gauge fields. Because of the effective non-Abelian gauge fields, the rotation angle could transfer the charge carriers in the twisted bilayers from massless Dirac fermions into well localized electrons, or vice versa, efficiently. This provides a new route to tune the electronic properties of graphene systems, which will be essential in future graphene nanoelectronics.

Low-Temperature Bonding of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 Thermoelectric Material with Cu Electrodes Using a Thin-Film In Interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Yan-Cheng; Yang, Chung-Lin; Huang, Jing-Yi; Jain, Chao-Chi; Hwang, Jen-Dong; Chu, Hsu-Shen; Chen, Sheng-Chi; Chuang, Tung-Han

2016-09-01

A Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 thermoelectric material electroplated with a Ni barrier layer and a Ag reaction layer was bonded with a Ag-coated Cu electrode at low temperatures of 448 K (175 °C) to 523 K (250 °C) using a 4- μm-thick In interlayer under an external pressure of 3 MPa. During the bonding process, the In thin film reacted with the Ag layer to form a double layer of Ag3In and Ag2In intermetallic compounds. No reaction occurred at the Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3/Ni interface, which resulted in low bonding strengths of about 3.2 MPa. The adhesion of the Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3/Ni interface was improved by precoating a 1- μm Sn film on the surface of the thermoelectric element and preheating it at 523 K (250 °C) for 3 minutes. In this case, the bonding strengths increased to a range of 9.1 to 11.5 MPa after bonding at 473 K (200 °C) for 5 to 60 minutes, and the shear-tested specimens fractured with cleavage characteristics in the interior of the thermoelectric material. The bonding at 448 K (175 °C) led to shear strengths ranging from 7.1 to 8.5 MPa for various bonding times between 5 and 60 minutes, which were further increased to the values of 10.4 to 11.7 MPa by increasing the bonding pressure to 9.8 MPa. The shear strengths of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3/Cu joints bonded with the optimized conditions of the modified solid-liquid interdiffusion bonding process changed only slightly after long-term exposure at 473 K (200 °C) for 1000 hours.

Single-crystal growth of C u4(OH) 6BrF and universal behavior in quantum spin liquid candidates synthetic barlowite and herbertsmithite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasco, C. M.; Trump, B. A.; Tran, Thao T.; Kelly, Z. A.; Hoffmann, C.; Heinmaa, I.; Stern, R.; McQueen, T. M.

2018-04-01

Synthetic barlowite, C u4(OH) 6BrF , has emerged as a new quantum spin liquid (QSL) host, containing kagomé layers of S =1 /2 C u2 + ions separated by interlayer C u2 + ions. Similar to synthetic herbertsmithite, ZnC u3(OH) 6C l2 , it has been reported that Z n2 + substitution for the interlayer C u2 + induces a QSL ground state. Here we report a scalable synthesis of single crystals of C u4(OH) 6BrF . Through x-ray, neutron, and electron diffraction measurements coupled with magic angle spinning 19F and 1H NMR spectroscopy, we resolve the previously reported positional disorder of the interlayer C u2 + ions and find that the structure is best described in the orthorhombic space group, Cmcm, with lattice parameters a =6.665 (13 )Å ,b =11.521 (2 )Å ,c =9.256 (18 )Å , and an ordered arrangement of interlayer C u2 + ions. Infrared spectroscopy measurements of the O—H and F—H stretching frequencies demonstrate that the orthorhombic symmetry persists upon substitution of Z n2 + for C u2 + . Specific heat and magnetic susceptibility measurements of Zn-substituted barlowite, Z nxC u4 -x(OH) 6BrF , reveal striking similarities with the behavior of Z nxC u4 -x(OH) 6C l2 . These parallels imply universal behavior of copper kagomé lattices even in the presence of small symmetry-breaking distortions. Thus, synthetic barlowite demonstrates universality of the physics of synthetic C u2 + kagomé minerals and furthers the development of real QSL states.

Terahertz transmission resonances in complementary multilayered metamaterial with deep subwavelength interlayer spacing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Muhan; Kang, Byungsoo; Yi, Yoonsik; Lee, Seung Hoon; Kim, Inbo; Han, Jae-Hyung; Yi, Minwoo; Ahn, Jaewook; Choi, Choon-Gi

2016-05-01

We introduce a flexible multilayered THz metamaterial designed by using the Babinet's principle with the functionality of narrow band-pass filter. The metamaterial gives us systematic way to design frequency selective surfaces working on intended frequencies and bandwidths. It shows highly enhanced transmission of 80% for the normal incident THz waves due to the strong coupling of the two layers of metamaterial complementary to each other.

Perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cell with inverted nanopyramids: realizing high efficiency by controllable light trapping

PubMed Central

Shi, Dai; Zeng, Yang; Shen, Wenzhong

2015-01-01

Perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cells (TSCs) have become a promising candidate in recent years for achieving efficiency over 30%. Although general analysis has shown very high upper limits for such TSCs, it remains largely unclear what specific optical structures could best approach these limits. Here we propose the combination of perovskite/c-Si tandem structure with inverted nanopyramid morphology as a practical way of achieving efficiency above 31% based on realistic solar cell parameters. By full-field simulation, we have shown that an ultra-low surface reflectance can be achieved by tuning the pyramid geometry within the range of experimental feasibility. More importantly, we have demonstrated that the index-guided modes can be excited within the top cell layer by introducing a TCO interlayer that prevents coupling of guided light energy into the bottom cell. This light trapping scheme has shown superior performance over the Bragg stack intermediate reflector utilized in previous micropyramid-based TSCs. Finally, by controlling the coupling between the top and bottom cell through the thickness of the interlayer, current generation within the tandem can be optimized for both two- and four-terminal configurations, yielding efficiencies of 31.9% and 32.0%, respectively. These results have provided useful guidelines for the fabrication of perovskite/c-Si TSCs. PMID:26566176

Perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cell with inverted nanopyramids: realizing high efficiency by controllable light trapping.

PubMed

Shi, Dai; Zeng, Yang; Shen, Wenzhong

2015-11-13

Perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cells (TSCs) have become a promising candidate in recent years for achieving efficiency over 30%. Although general analysis has shown very high upper limits for such TSCs, it remains largely unclear what specific optical structures could best approach these limits. Here we propose the combination of perovskite/c-Si tandem structure with inverted nanopyramid morphology as a practical way of achieving efficiency above 31% based on realistic solar cell parameters. By full-field simulation, we have shown that an ultra-low surface reflectance can be achieved by tuning the pyramid geometry within the range of experimental feasibility. More importantly, we have demonstrated that the index-guided modes can be excited within the top cell layer by introducing a TCO interlayer that prevents coupling of guided light energy into the bottom cell. This light trapping scheme has shown superior performance over the Bragg stack intermediate reflector utilized in previous micropyramid-based TSCs. Finally, by controlling the coupling between the top and bottom cell through the thickness of the interlayer, current generation within the tandem can be optimized for both two- and four-terminal configurations, yielding efficiencies of 31.9% and 32.0%, respectively. These results have provided useful guidelines for the fabrication of perovskite/c-Si TSCs.

Band alignment of 2D WS2/HfO2 interfaces from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and first-principles calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, H. L.; Zhou, C. J.; Tang, B. S.; Yang, W. F.; Chai, J. W.; Tay, W. L.; Gong, H.; Pan, J. S.; Zou, W. D.; Wang, S. J.; Chi, D. Z.

2018-04-01

We report on the growth of two-dimensional (2D) WS2 on high-k HfO2/Si substrates by reactive sputtering deposition. Raman, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy characterizations indicate that the 2D WS2 layers exhibit high-quality crystallinity and exact stoichiometry. Through high-resolution XPS valence spectra, we find a type I alignment at the interface of monolayer WS2/HfO2 with a valence band offset (VBO) of 1.95 eV and a conduction band offset (CBO) of 1.57 eV. The VBO and CBO are also found to increase up to 2.24 eV and 2.09 eV, respectively, with increasing WS2 layers. This is consistent with the results obtained from our first-principles calculations. Our theoretical calculations reveal that the remarkable splitting and shift of the W 5 d z 2 orbital originating from interlayer orbital coupling in thicker WS2 films induce a reduction of its bandgap, leading to an increase in both the VBO and CBO. This observation can be attributed to the asymmetric splitting at different high symmetric k-points caused by the interlayer orbital coupling.

Opening a band gap without breaking lattice symmetry: a new route toward robust graphene-based nanoelectronics.

PubMed

Kou, Liangzhi; Hu, Feiming; Yan, Binghai; Frauenheim, Thomas; Chen, Changfeng

2014-07-07

Developing graphene-based nanoelectronics hinges on opening a band gap in the electronic structure of graphene, which is commonly achieved by breaking the inversion symmetry of the graphene lattice via an electric field (gate bias) or asymmetric doping of graphene layers. Here we introduce a new design strategy that places a bilayer graphene sheet sandwiched between two cladding layers of materials that possess strong spin-orbit coupling (e.g., Bi2Te3). Our ab initio and tight-binding calculations show that a proximity enhanced spin-orbit coupling effect opens a large (44 meV) band gap in bilayer graphene without breaking its lattice symmetry, and the band gap can be effectively tuned by an interlayer stacking pattern and significantly enhanced by interlayer compression. The feasibility of this quantum-well structure is demonstrated by recent experimental realization of high-quality heterojunctions between graphene and Bi2Te3, and this design also conforms to existing fabrication techniques in the semiconductor industry. The proposed quantum-well structure is expected to be especially robust since it does not require an external power supply to open and maintain a band gap, and the cladding layers provide protection against environmental degradation of the graphene layer in its device applications.

Macroscopic assembled, ultrastrong and H2SO4-resistant fibres of polymer-grafted graphene oxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xiaoli; Xu, Zhen; Zheng, Bingna; Gao, Chao

2013-11-01

Nacre realizes strength and toughness through hierarchical designs with primary ``brick and mortar'' structures of alternative arrangement of nanoplatelets and biomacromolecules, and these have inspired the fabrication of nanocomposites for decades. However, to simultaneously solve the three critical problems of phase separation, low interfacial strength and random orientation of nanofillers for nanocomposites is a great challenge yet. Here we demonstrate that polymer-grafted graphene oxide sheets are exceptional building blocks for nanocomposites. Their liquid crystalline dispersions can be wet-spun into continuous fibres. Because of well-ordering and efficient load transfer, the composites show remarkable tensile strength (500 MPa), three to four times higher than nacre. The uniform layered microstructures and strong interlayer interactions also endow the fibres good resistance to chemicals including 98% sulfuric acid. We studied the enhancing effect of nanofillers with fraction in a whole range (0-100%), and proposed an equation to depict the relationship.

Metallurgical Aspects of Layered Cracks in Hot-Rolled Plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farber, V. M.; Arabey, A. B.; Khotinov, V. A.; Morozova, A. N.; Karabanalov, M. S.

2018-03-01

The nature of separations arising in hot-rolled plates from high-toughness steels of the new generation like 05G2B and of cleavages arising in traditional building steels of type 09G2S is studied. Like and unlike features of separations and cleavages are determined. The concept of "critical stress σb^{cr} " describing the strength of the interlayer boundaries responsible for formation of layered cracks is used to analyze various factors responsible for the susceptibility of rolled plates to layered fracture.

Weld geometry strength effect in 2219-T87 aluminum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nunes, A. C., Jr.; Novak, H. L.; Mcilwain, M. C.

1981-01-01

A theory of the effect of geometry on the mechanical properties of a butt weld joint is worked out based upon the soft interlayer weld model. Tensile tests of 45 TIG butt welds and 6 EB beads-on-plate in 1/4-in. 2219-T87 aluminum plate made under a wide range of heat sink and power input conditions are analyzed using this theory. The analysis indicates that purely geometrical effects dominate in determining variations in weld joint strength with heat sink and power input. Variations in weld dimensions with cooling rate are significant as well as with power input. Weld size is suggested as a better indicator of the condition of a weld joint than energy input.

Effect of nano oxide layer on exchange bias and GMR in Mn-Ir-Pt based spin valve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeon, D. M.; Lee, J. P.; Lee, D. H.; Yoon, S. Y.; Kim, Y. S.; Suh, S. J.

2004-05-01

We have investigated the effect of nano oxide layers (NOLs), which were fabricated by a plasma oxidation of CoFe layer on the magnetic properties and magneto-resistance (MR) in a Mn-Ir-Pt based spin valve. The adjusted NOL could result in the high MR and the strong exchange coupling field ( Hex). From a high resolution electron microscopy analysis the oxide was about 1 nm. The strong reflectivity at the interface of a free and oxide capping layer should lead to the decrease of an interlayer coupling field, which could possibly improve the Hex.

Tuning Ising superconductivity with layer and spin-orbit coupling in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides.

PubMed

de la Barrera, Sergio C; Sinko, Michael R; Gopalan, Devashish P; Sivadas, Nikhil; Seyler, Kyle L; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Tsen, Adam W; Xu, Xiaodong; Xiao, Di; Hunt, Benjamin M

2018-04-12

Systems simultaneously exhibiting superconductivity and spin-orbit coupling are predicted to provide a route toward topological superconductivity and unconventional electron pairing, driving significant contemporary interest in these materials. Monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) superconductors in particular lack inversion symmetry, yielding an antisymmetric form of spin-orbit coupling that admits both spin-singlet and spin-triplet components of the superconducting wavefunction. Here, we present an experimental and theoretical study of two intrinsic TMD superconductors with large spin-orbit coupling in the atomic layer limit, metallic 2H-TaS 2 and 2H-NbSe 2 . We investigate the superconducting properties as the material is reduced to monolayer thickness and show that high-field measurements point to the largest upper critical field thus reported for an intrinsic TMD superconductor. In few-layer samples, we find the enhancement of the upper critical field is sustained by the dominance of spin-orbit coupling over weak interlayer coupling, providing additional candidate systems for supporting unconventional superconducting states in two dimensions.

Low-Frequency Shear and Layer-Breathing Modes in Raman Scattering of Two-Dimensional Materials.

PubMed

Liang, Liangbo; Zhang, Jun; Sumpter, Bobby G; Tan, Qing-Hai; Tan, Ping-Heng; Meunier, Vincent

2017-12-26

Ever since the isolation of single-layer graphene in 2004, two-dimensional layered structures have been among the most extensively studied classes of materials. To date, the pool of two-dimensional materials (2DMs) continues to grow at an accelerated pace and already covers an extensive range of fascinating and technologically relevant properties. An array of experimental techniques have been developed and used to characterize and understand these properties. In particular, Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a key experimental technique, thanks to its capability to identify minute structural and electronic effects in nondestructive measurements. While high-frequency (HF) intralayer Raman modes have been extensively employed for 2DMs, recent experimental and theoretical progress has demonstrated that low-frequency (LF) interlayer Raman modes are more effective at determining layer numbers and stacking configurations and provide a unique opportunity to study interlayer coupling. These advantages are due to 2DMs' unique interlayer vibration patterns where each layer behaves as an almost rigidly moving object with restoring forces corresponding to weak interlayer interactions. Compared to HF Raman modes, the relatively small attention originally devoted to LF Raman modes is largely due to their weaker signal and their proximity to the strong Rayleigh line background, which previously made their detection challenging. Recent progress in Raman spectroscopy with technical and hardware upgrades now makes it possible to probe LF modes with a standard single-stage Raman system and has proven crucial to characterize and understand properties of 2DMs. Here, we present a comprehensive and forward-looking review on the current status of exploiting LF Raman modes of 2DMs from both experimental and theoretical perspectives, revealing the fundamental physics and technological significance of LF Raman modes in advancing the field of 2DMs. We review a broad array of materials, with varying thickness and stacking configurations, discuss the effect of in-plane anisotropy, and present a generalized linear chain model and interlayer bond polarizability model to rationalize the experimental findings. We also discuss the instrumental improvements of Raman spectroscopy to enhance and separate LF Raman signals from the Rayleigh line. Finally, we highlight the opportunities and challenges ahead in this fast-developing field.

Bonding and Integration Technologies for Silicon Carbide Based Injector Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halbig, Michael C.; Singh, Mrityunjay

2008-01-01

Advanced ceramic bonding and integration technologies play a critical role in the fabrication and application of silicon carbide based components for a number of aerospace and ground based applications. One such application is a lean direct injector for a turbine engine to achieve low NOx emissions. Ceramic to ceramic diffusion bonding and ceramic to metal brazing technologies are being developed for this injector application. For the diffusion bonding, titanium interlayers (PVD and foils) were used to aid in the joining of silicon carbide (SiC) substrates. The influence of such variables as surface finish, interlayer thickness (10, 20, and 50 microns), processing time and temperature, and cooling rates were investigated. Microprobe analysis was used to identify the phases in the bonded region. For bonds that were not fully reacted an intermediate phase, Ti5Si3Cx, formed that is thermally incompatible in its thermal expansion and caused thermal stresses and cracking during the processing cool-down. Thinner titanium interlayers and/or longer processing times resulted in stable and compatible phases that did not contribute to microcracking and resulted in an optimized microstructure. Tensile tests on the joined materials resulted in strengths of 13-28 MPa depending on the SiC substrate material. Non-destructive evaluation using ultrasonic immersion showed well formed bonds. For the joining technology of brazing Kovar fuel tubes to silicon carbide, preliminary development of the joining approach has begun. Various technical issues and requirements for the injector application are addressed.

Process optimization for diffusion bonding of tungsten with EUROFER97 using a vanadium interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basuki, Widodo Widjaja; Aktaa, Jarir

2015-04-01

Solid-state diffusion bonding is a selected joining technology to bond divertor components consisting of tungsten and EUROFER97 for application in fusion power plants. Due to the large mismatch in their coefficient of thermal expansions, which leads to serious thermally induced residual stresses after bonding, a thin vanadium plate is introduced as an interlayer. However, the diffusion of carbon originated from EUROFER97 in the vanadium interlayer during the bonding process can form a vanadium carbide layer, which has detrimental influences on the mechanical properties of the joint. For optimal bonding results, the thickness of this layer and the residual stresses has to be decreased sufficiently without a significant reduction of material transport especially at the vanadium/tungsten interface, which can be achieved by varying the diffusion bonding temperature and duration. The investigation results show that at a sufficiently low bonding temperature of 700 °C and a bonding duration of 4 h, the joint reaches a reasonable high ductility and toughness especially at elevated test temperature of 550 °C with elongation to fracture of 20% and mean absorbed Charpy impact energy of 2 J (using miniaturized Charpy impact specimens). The strength of the bonded materials is about 332 MPa at RT and 291 MPa at 550 °C. Furthermore, a low bonding temperature of 700 °C can also help to avoid the grain coarsening and the alteration of the grain structure especially of the EUROFER97 close to the bond interface.

Charge Versus Energy Transfer in Atomically Thin Graphene-Transition Metal Dichalcogenide van der Waals Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Froehlicher, Guillaume; Lorchat, Etienne; Berciaud, Stéphane

2018-01-01

Made from stacks of two-dimensional materials, van der Waals heterostructures exhibit unique light-matter interactions and are promising for novel optoelectronic devices. The performance of such devices is governed by near-field coupling through, e.g., interlayer charge and/or energy transfer. New concepts and experimental methodologies are needed to properly describe two-dimensional heterointerfaces. Here, we report an original study of interlayer charge and energy transfer in atomically thin metal-semiconductor [i.e., graphene-transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD, here molybdenum diselenide, MoSe2 )] heterostructures using a combination of microphotoluminescence and Raman scattering spectroscopies. The photoluminescence intensity in graphene /MoSe2 is quenched by more than 2 orders of magnitude and rises linearly with the incident photon flux, demonstrating a drastically shortened (about 1 ps) room-temperature MoSe2 exciton lifetime. Key complementary insights are provided from a comprehensive analysis of the graphene and MoSe2 Raman modes, which reveals net photoinduced electron transfer from MoSe2 to graphene and hole accumulation in MoSe2 . Remarkably, the steady-state Fermi energy of graphene saturates at 290 ±15 meV above the Dirac point. This reproducible behavior is observed both in ambient air and in vacuum and is discussed in terms of intrinsic factors (i.e., band offsets) and environmental effects. In this saturation regime, balanced photoinduced flows of electrons and holes may transfer to graphene, a mechanism that effectively leads to energy transfer. Using a broad range of incident photon fluxes and diverse environmental conditions, we find that the presence of net photoinduced charge transfer has no measurable impact on the near-unity photoluminescence quenching efficiency in graphene /MoSe2 . This absence of correlation strongly suggests that energy transfer to graphene (either in the form of electron exchange or dipole-dipole interaction) is the dominant interlayer coupling mechanism between atomically thin TMDs and graphene.

Precise control of coupling strength in photonic molecules over a wide range using nanoelectromechanical systems

PubMed Central

Du, Han; Zhang, Xingwang; Chen, Guoqiang; Deng, Jie; Chau, Fook Siong; Zhou, Guangya

2016-01-01

Photonic molecules have a range of promising applications including quantum information processing, where precise control of coupling strength is critical. Here, by laterally shifting the center-to-center offset of coupled photonic crystal nanobeam cavities, we demonstrate a method to precisely and dynamically control the coupling strength of photonic molecules through integrated nanoelectromechanical systems with a precision of a few GHz over a range of several THz without modifying the nature of their constituent resonators. Furthermore, the coupling strength can be tuned continuously from negative (strong coupling regime) to zero (weak coupling regime) and further to positive (strong coupling regime) and vice versa. Our work opens a door to the optimization of the coupling strength of photonic molecules in situ for the study of cavity quantum electrodynamics and the development of efficient quantum information devices. PMID:27097883

Resting-state EEG coupling analysis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment with type 2 diabetes mellitus by using permutation conditional mutual information.

PubMed

Wen, Dong; Bian, Zhijie; Li, Qiuli; Wang, Lei; Lu, Chengbiao; Li, Xiaoli

2016-01-01

This study was meant to explore whether the coupling strength and direction of resting-state electroencephalogram (rsEEG) could be used as an indicator to distinguish the patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with or without amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Permutation conditional mutual information (PCMI) was used to calculate the coupling strength and direction of rsEEG signals between different brain areas of 19 aMCI and 20 normal control (NC) with T2DM on 7 frequency bands: Delta, Theta, Alpha1, Alpha2, Beta1, Beta2 and Gamma. The difference in coupling strength or direction of rsEEG between two groups was calculated. The correlation between coupling strength or direction of rsEEG and score of different neuropsychology scales were also calculated. We have demonstrated that PCMI can calculate effectively the coupling strength and directionality of EEG signals between different brain regions. The significant difference in coupling strength and directionality of EEG signals was found between the patients of aMCI and NC with T2DM on different brain regions. There also existed significant correlation between sex or age and coupling strength or coupling directionality of EEG signals between a few different brain regions from all subjects. The coupling strength or directionality of EEG signals calculated by PCMI are significantly different between aMCI and NC with T2DM. These results showed that the coupling strength or directionality of EEG signals calculated by PCMI might be used as a biomarker in distinguishing the aMCI from NC with T2DM. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

UV-active plasmons in alkali and alkaline-earth intercalated graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Despoja, V.; Marušić, L.

2018-05-01

The interband π and π +σ plasmons in pristine graphene and the Dirac plasmon in doped graphene are not applicable, since they are broad or weak, and weakly couple to an external longitudinal or electromagnetic probe. Therefore, the ab initio density functional theory is used to demonstrate that the chemical doping of the graphene by the alkali or alkaline-earth atoms dramatically changes the poor graphene excitation spectrum in the ultraviolet frequency range (4-10 eV). Four prominent modes are detected. Two of them are the intralayer plasmons with square-root dispersion, characteristic of the two-dimensional modes. The remaining two are the interlayer plasmons, very strong in the long-wavelength limit but damped for larger wave vectors. The optical absorption calculations show that the interlayer plasmons are both optically active, which makes these materials suitable for small-organic-molecule sensing. This is particularly intriguing because the optically active two-dimensional plasmons have not been detected in other materials.

Magnetic properties of Ruddlesden-Popper phases Sr3 -xYx(Fe1.25Ni0.75) O7 -δ : A combined experimental and theoretical investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keshavarz, Samara; Kontos, Sofia; Wardecki, Dariusz; Kvashnin, Yaroslav O.; Pereiro, Manuel; Panda, Swarup K.; Sanyal, Biplab; Eriksson, Olle; Grins, Jekabs; Svensson, Gunnar; Gunnarsson, Klas; Svedlindh, Peter

2018-04-01

We present a comprehensive study of the magnetic properties of Sr3 -xYx(Fe1.25Ni0.75) O7 -δ (0 ≤x ≤0.75 ). Experimentally, the magnetic properties are investigated using superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry and neutron powder diffraction (NPD). This is complemented by a theoretical study based on density functional theory as well as the Heisenberg exchange parameters. Experimental results show an increase in the Néel temperature (TN) with an increase of Y concentrations and O occupancy. The NPD data reveal that all samples are antiferromagnetically ordered at low temperatures, which has been confirmed by our theoretical simulations for the selected samples. Our first-principles calculations suggest that the three-dimensional magnetic order is stabilized due to finite interlayer exchange couplings. The latter give rise to finite interlayer spin-spin correlations, which disappear above TN.

Visualizing heavy fermion confinement and Pauli-limited superconductivity in layered CeCoIn 5

DOE PAGES

Gyenis, András; Feldman, Benjamin E.; Randeria, Mallika T.; ...

2018-02-07

Layered material structures play a key role in enhancing electron–electron interactions to create correlated metallic phases that can transform into unconventional superconducting states. The quasi-two-dimensional electronic properties of such compounds are often inferred indirectly through examination of bulk properties. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy to directly probe in cross-section the quasi-two-dimensional electronic states of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn 5. Our measurements reveal the strong confined nature of quasiparticles, anisotropy of tunneling characteristics, and layer-by-layer modulated behavior of the precursor pseudogap gap phase. In the interlayer coupled superconducting state, the orientation of line defects relative to the d-wave ordermore » parameter determines whether in-gap states form due to scattering. Spectroscopic imaging of the anisotropic magnetic vortex cores directly characterizes the short interlayer superconducting coherence length and shows an electronic phase separation near the upper critical in-plane magnetic field, consistent with a Pauli-limited first-order phase transition into a pseudogap phase.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gyenis, András; Feldman, Benjamin E.; Randeria, Mallika T.

Layered material structures play a key role in enhancing electron–electron interactions to create correlated metallic phases that can transform into unconventional superconducting states. The quasi-two-dimensional electronic properties of such compounds are often inferred indirectly through examination of bulk properties. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy to directly probe in cross-section the quasi-two-dimensional electronic states of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn 5. Our measurements reveal the strong confined nature of quasiparticles, anisotropy of tunneling characteristics, and layer-by-layer modulated behavior of the precursor pseudogap gap phase. In the interlayer coupled superconducting state, the orientation of line defects relative to the d-wave ordermore » parameter determines whether in-gap states form due to scattering. Spectroscopic imaging of the anisotropic magnetic vortex cores directly characterizes the short interlayer superconducting coherence length and shows an electronic phase separation near the upper critical in-plane magnetic field, consistent with a Pauli-limited first-order phase transition into a pseudogap phase.« less

Ionic Gel Modulation of RKKY Interactions in Synthetic Anti-Ferromagnetic Nanostructures for Low Power Wearable Spintronic Devices.

PubMed

Yang, Qu; Zhou, Ziyao; Wang, Liqian; Zhang, Hongjia; Cheng, Yuxin; Hu, Zhongqiang; Peng, Bin; Liu, Ming

2018-05-01

To meet the demand of developing compatible and energy-efficient flexible spintronics, voltage manipulation of magnetism on soft substrates is in demand. Here, a voltage tunable flexible field-effect transistor structure by ionic gel (IG) gating in perpendicular synthetic anti-ferromagnetic nanostructure is demonstrated. As a result, the interlayer Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction can be tuned electrically at room temperature. With a circuit gating voltage, anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) ordering is enhanced or converted into an AFM-ferromagnetic (FM) intermediate state, accompanying with the dynamic domain switching. This IG gating process can be repeated stably at different curvatures, confirming an excellent mechanical property. The IG-induced modification of interlayer exchange coupling is related to the change of Fermi level aroused by the disturbance of itinerant electrons. The voltage modulation of RKKY interaction with excellent flexibility proposes an application potential for wearable spintronic devices with energy efficiency and ultralow operation voltage. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Double Barriers and Magnetic Field in Bilayer Graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redouani, Ilham; Jellal, Ahmed; Bahlouli, Hocine

2015-12-01

We study the transmission probability in an AB-stacked bilayer graphene of Dirac fermions scattered by a double-barrier structure in the presence of a magnetic field. We take into account the full four bands structure of the energy spectrum and use the suitable boundary conditions to determine the transmission probability. Our numerical results show that for energies higher than the interlayer coupling, four ways for transmission are possible while for energies less than the height of the barrier, Dirac fermions exhibit transmission resonances and only one transmission channel is available. We show that, for AB-stacked bilayer graphene, there is no Klein tunneling at normal incidence. We find that the transmission displays sharp peaks inside the transmission gap around the Dirac point within the barrier regions while they are absent around the Dirac point in the well region. The effect of the magnetic field, interlayer electrostatic potential, and various barrier geometry parameters on the transmission probabilities is also discussed.

Vector magnetometry of Fe/Cr/Fe trilayers with biquadratic coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansell, R.; Petit, D.; Fernández-Pacheco, A.; Lee, J. H.; Chin, S.-L.; Lavrijsen, R.; Cowburn, R. P.

2017-05-01

The magnetic reversal of epitaxial Fe/Cr/Fe trilayer samples grown on GaAs is studied. In wedged samples both long and short period coupling oscillations associated with Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) coupling in Cr are seen in the easy axis saturation fields. By using vector vibrating sample magnetometry and both longitudinal and transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect magnetometry we are able to determine the exact reversal path of both the magnetic layers. Changes in the reversal behavior are seen with sub-monolayer changes of the thickness of the Cr interlayer. The two main reversal paths are described in terms of whether the reversal is dominated by bilinear RKKY coupling, which leads to an antiparallel state at remanence or by biquadratic coupling which leads to a 90 degree alignment of layers at remanence. The changing reversal behaviour is discussed with respect to the possibility of using such systems for multilayer memory applications and, in particular, the limits on the required accuracy of the sample growth.

Emergence of Multiplex Communities in Collaboration Networks.

PubMed

Battiston, Federico; Iacovacci, Jacopo; Nicosia, Vincenzo; Bianconi, Ginestra; Latora, Vito

2016-01-01

Community structures in collaboration networks reflect the natural tendency of individuals to organize their work in groups in order to better achieve common goals. In most of the cases, individuals exploit their connections to introduce themselves to new areas of interests, giving rise to multifaceted collaborations which span different fields. In this paper, we analyse collaborations in science and among movie actors as multiplex networks, where the layers represent respectively research topics and movie genres, and we show that communities indeed coexist and overlap at the different layers of such systems. We then propose a model to grow multiplex networks based on two mechanisms of intra and inter-layer triadic closure which mimic the real processes by which collaborations evolve. We show that our model is able to explain the multiplex community structure observed empirically, and we infer the strength of the two underlying social mechanisms from real-world systems. Being also able to correctly reproduce the values of intra-layer and inter-layer assortativity correlations, the model contributes to a better understanding of the principles driving the evolution of social networks.

Plasma sprayed ceria-containing interlayer

DOEpatents

Schmidt, Douglas S.; Folser, George R.

2006-01-10

A plasma sprayed ceria-containing interlayer is provided. The interlayer has particular application in connection with a solid oxide fuel cell used within a power generation system. The fuel cell advantageously comprises an air electrode, a plasma sprayed interlayer disposed on at least a portion of the air electrode, a plasma sprayed electrolyte disposed on at least a portion of the interlayer, and a fuel electrode applied on at least a portion of the electrolyte.

Electronic spectrum of trilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, S.; Ajay

2014-08-01

Present work deals with the analysis of the single particle electronic spectral function in trilayer (ABC-, ABA- and AAA-stacked) graphene. Tight binding Hamiltonian containing intralayer nearest-neighbor and next-nearest neighbor hopping along-with the interlayer coupling parameter within two triangular sub-lattice approach for trilayer graphene has been employed. The expression of single particle spectral functions A(kw) is obtained within mean-field Green's function equations of motion approach. Spectral function at Γ, M and K points of the Brillouin zone has been numerically computed. It is pointed out that the nature of electronic states at different points of Brillouin zone is found to be influenced by stacking order and Coulomb interactions. At Γ and M points, a trilayer splitting is predicted while at K point a bilayer splitting effect is observed due to crossing of two bands (at K point). Interlayer coupling ( t_{ bot } ) is found to be responsible for the splitting of quasi-particle peaks at each point of Brillouin zone. The influence of t_{ bot } in trilayer graphene is prominent for AAA-stacking compared to ABC- and ABA-stacking. On the other hand, onsite Coulomb interaction reduces the trilayer splitting effect into bilayer splitting at Γ and M points of Brillouin zone and bilayer splitting into single peak spectral function at K point with a shifting of the peak away from Fermi level.

Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations of high mobility holes in monolayer and bilayer WSe2: spin-valley locking, effective mass, and inter-layer coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fallahazad, Babak; Movva, Hema Chandra Prakash; Kim, Kyounghwan; Larentis, Stefano; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Banerjee, Sanjay K.; Tutuc, Emanuel

We study the magnetotransport properties of high mobility holes in monolayer and bilayer WSe2, measured in dual-gated samples with top and bottom hexagonal boron-nitride dielectrics, and using platinum bottom contacts. Thanks to the Pt high work-function combined with the a high hole density induced electrostatically by an applied top gate bias, the contacts remain ohmic down to low (1.5 K) temperatures. The samples display well defined Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations, and quantum Hall states (QHS) in high magnetic fields. In both mono and bilayer WSe2, the SdH oscillations and the QHSs occur predominantly at even filling factors, evincing a two-fold Landau level degeneracy consistent with spin-valley locking. The Fourier transform analysis of the SdH oscillations in dual-gated bilayer WSe2 reveal the presence of two subbands, each localized in the top or the bottom layer, as well as negative compressibility. From the temperature dependence of the SdH oscillation amplitude we determine a hole effective mass of 0.45me for both mono and bilayer WSe2. The top and bottom layer densities can be independently tuned using the top and bottom gates, respectively, evincing a weak interlayer coupling. This work has been supported by NRI-SWAN and Intel corporation.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Hakjoon; Bac, Seul-Ki; Lee, Sangyeop

We report direct experimental determination of next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) interlayer exchange coupling (IEC) in antiferromagnetically coupled GaMnAs/GaAs:Be multilayers. Magnetoresistance in such multilayers shows step-like transitions as a function of applied magnetic field that corresponds to abrupt changes of spin configuration. By adjusting the field range, one obtains minor hysteresis loops that allow one to determine spin configurations occurring in the multilayer, which in turn can be used to obtain the ratio of NNN IEC to NN IEC. By using this method on a series of GaMnAs/GaAs:Be with different numbers of GaMnAs layers, we obtain this ratio to be 0.23, in goodmore » agreement with theoretical predictions.« less

Quantum oscillation evidence for a topological semimetal phase in ZrSnTe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Jin; Zhu, Yanglin; Gui, Xin; Graf, David; Tang, Zhijie; Xie, Weiwei; Mao, Zhiqiang

2018-04-01

The layered WHM-type (W =Zr /Hf /La , H =Si /Ge /Sn /Sb , M =S /Se /Te ) materials represent a large family of topological semimetals, which provides an excellent platform to study the evolution of topological semimetal state with the fine tuning of spin-orbit coupling and structural dimensionality for various combinations of W , H , and M elements. In this work, through high field de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) quantum oscillation studies, we have found evidence for the predicted topological nontrivial bands in ZrSnTe. Furthermore, from the angular dependence of quantum oscillation frequency, we have revealed the three-dimensional Fermi surface topologies of this layered material owing to strong interlayer coupling.

Mechanism of interlayer exchange in magnetic multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slonczewski, J. C.

1993-09-01

The spin-current method is used to calculate the oscillatory exchange energy that couples two semi-infinite ferromagnets with exchange-split parabolic bands which are joined by a nonmagnetic metallic spacer. A closed asymptotic formula extends the previous RKKY-type formula to the case in which the ferromagnets and spacer have different Fermi vectors. The predicted amplitude of oscillatory coupling increases steeply with Fermi vector or electron density in the spacer, as do the experimental trends reported by Parkin. Numerical computations relevant to iron support this closed formula and show that the amplitude of the biquadratic ( J2 cos 2θ) and higher-order corrections to the conventional - J1 cos θ form of energy is less than 2%.

Interfacial Shear Strength and Adhesive Behavior of Silk Ionomer Surfaces.

PubMed

Kim, Sunghan; Geryak, Ren D; Zhang, Shuaidi; Ma, Ruilong; Calabrese, Rossella; Kaplan, David L; Tsukruk, Vladimir V

2017-09-11

The interfacial shear strength between different layers in multilayered structures of layer-by-layer (LbL) microcapsules is a crucial mechanical property to ensure their robustness. In this work, we investigated the interfacial shear strength of modified silk fibroin ionomers utilized in LbL shells, an ionic-cationic pair with complementary ionic pairing, (SF)-poly-l-glutamic acid (Glu) and SF-poly-l-lysine (Lys), and a complementary pair with partially screened Coulombic interactions due to the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segments and SF-Glu/SF-Lys[PEG] pair. Shearing and adhesive behavior between these silk ionomer surfaces in the swollen state were probed at different spatial scales and pressure ranges by using functionalized atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips as well as functionalized colloidal probes. The results show that both approaches were consistent in analyzing the interfacial shear strength of LbL silk ionomers at different spatial scales from a nanoscale to a fraction of a micron. Surprisingly, the interfacial shear strength between SF-Glu and SF-Lys[PEG] pair with partially screened ionic pairing was greater than the interfacial shear strength of the SF-Glu and SF-Lys pair with a high density of complementary ionic groups. The difference in interfacial shear strength and adhesive strength is suggested to be predominantly facilitated by the interlayer hydrogen bonding of complementary amino acids and overlap of highly swollen PEG segments.

Macroscopic assembled, ultrastrong and H2SO4-resistant fibres of polymer-grafted graphene oxide

PubMed Central

Zhao, Xiaoli; Xu, Zhen; Zheng, Bingna; Gao, Chao

2013-01-01

Nacre realizes strength and toughness through hierarchical designs with primary “brick and mortar” structures of alternative arrangement of nanoplatelets and biomacromolecules, and these have inspired the fabrication of nanocomposites for decades. However, to simultaneously solve the three critical problems of phase separation, low interfacial strength and random orientation of nanofillers for nanocomposites is a great challenge yet. Here we demonstrate that polymer-grafted graphene oxide sheets are exceptional building blocks for nanocomposites. Their liquid crystalline dispersions can be wet-spun into continuous fibres. Because of well-ordering and efficient load transfer, the composites show remarkable tensile strength (500 MPa), three to four times higher than nacre. The uniform layered microstructures and strong interlayer interactions also endow the fibres good resistance to chemicals including 98% sulfuric acid. We studied the enhancing effect of nanofillers with fraction in a whole range (0–100%), and proposed an equation to depict the relationship. PMID:24196491

Thermally stable diamond brazing

DOEpatents

Radtke, Robert P [Kingwood, TX

2009-02-10

A cutting element and a method for forming a cutting element is described and shown. The cutting element includes a substrate, a TSP diamond layer, a metal interlayer between the substrate and the diamond layer, and a braze joint securing the diamond layer to the substrate. The thickness of the metal interlayer is determined according to a formula. The formula takes into account the thickness and modulus of elasticity of the metal interlayer and the thickness of the TSP diamond. This prevents the use of a too thin or too thick metal interlayer. A metal interlayer that is too thin is not capable of absorbing enough energy to prevent the TSP diamond from fracturing. A metal interlayer that is too thick may allow the TSP diamond to fracture by reason of bending stress. A coating may be provided between the TSP diamond layer and the metal interlayer. This coating serves as a thermal barrier and to control residual thermal stress.

Effects of a Ta interlayer on the phase transition of TiSi2 on Si(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeon, Hyeongtag; Jung, Bokhee; Kim, Young Do; Yang, Woochul; Nemanich, R. J.

2000-09-01

This study examines the effects of a thin Ta interlayer on the formation of TiSi2 on Si(111) substrate. The Ta interlayer was introduced by depositing Ta and Ti films sequentially on an atomically clean Si(111) substrate in an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) system. Samples of 100 Å Ti with 5 and 10 Å Ta interlayers were compared to similar structures without an interlayer. After deposition, the substrates were annealed for 10 min, in situ, at temperatures between 500 and 750 °C in 50 °C increments. The TiSi2 formation with and without the Ta interlayer was analyzed with an X-ray diffractometer, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and a four-point probe. The AES analysis data showed a 1:2 ratio of Ti:Si in the Ti-silicide layer and indicated that the Ta layer remained at the interface between TiSi2 and the Si(111) substrate. The C 49-C 54 TiSi2 phase transition temperature was lowered by ˜200 °C. The C 49-C 54 TiSi2 phase transition temperature was 550 °C for the samples with a Ta interlayer and was 750 °C for the samples with no Ta interlayer. The sheet resistance of the Ta interlayered Ti silicide showed lower values of resistivity at low temperatures which indicated the change in phase transition temperature. The C 54 TiSi2 displayed different crystal orientation when the Ta interlayer was employed. The SEM and TEM micrographs showed that the TiSi2 with a Ta interlayer significantly suppressed the tendency to islanding and surface agglomeration.

Structure and magnetism of epitaxially strained Pd(001) films on Fe(001): Experiment and theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fullerton, Eric E.; Stoeffler, D.; Ounadjela, K.; Heinrich, B.; Celinski, Z.; Bland, J. A. C.

1995-03-01

We present an experimental and theoretical description of the structure and magnetism of epitaxially strained Pd(001) films on Fe(001) and in Fe/Pd/Fe(001) trilayers. The structure is determined by combining reflection high-energy electron diffraction and x-ray diffraction. For Fe/Au(001) bilayers and Fe/Pd/Au(001) trilayers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on Ag(001), the Fe and Au layers are well represented by their bulk structure, whereas, thin Pd layers have a face-centered tetragonal structure with an in-plane expansion of 4.2% and an out-of-plane contraction of 7.2% (c/a=0.89). Theoretical ab initio studies of the interfacial structure indicate that the structural ground state of the epitaxially strained Pd layer is well described by a fct structure which maintains the bulk Pd atomic volume with small deviations at the interface. For Fe/Pd/Fe trilayers, the interlayer coupling oscillates with a period of 4 monolayers (ML) on a ferromagnetic background that crosses to weak antiferromagnetic coupling for thicknesses >12 ML of Pd. Strong ferromagnetic coupling observed below 5 ML of Pd indicates that 2 ML of Pd at each interface are ferromagnetically ordered. Theoretical studies of Fe3Pdn superlattices (where n is the number of Pd atomic layers) determine the polarization of the Pd layer and the interlayer magnetic coupling to depend strongly on the c/a ratio of the Pd layers. Modeling of a Pd layer with a constant-volume fct structure and one monolayer interfacial roughness find that the first 2 ML of the Pd is polarized in close agreement with the experimental results. Polarized neutron reflectivity results on an Fe(5.6 ML)/Pd(7 ML)/Au(20 ML) sample determine the average moment per Fe atom of 2.66+/-0.05μB. Calculations for the same structure show that this value is consistent with the induced Pd polarization.

Thermally induced growth of ZnO nanocrystals on mixed metal oxide surfaces.

PubMed

Inayat, Alexandra; Makky, Ayman; Giraldo, Jose; Kuhnt, Andreas; Busse, Corinna; Schwieger, Wilhelm

2014-06-23

An in situ method for the growth of ZnO nanocrystals on Zn/Al mixed metal oxide (MMO) surfaces is presented. The key to this method is the thermal treatment of Zn/Al layered double hydroxides (Zn/Al LDHs) in the presence of nitrate anions, which results in partial demixing of the LDH/MMO structure and the subsequent crystallization of ZnO crystals on the surface of the forming MMO layers. In a first experimental series, thermal treatment of Zn/Al LDHs with different fractions of nitrate and carbonate in the interlayer space was examined by thermogravimetry coupled with mass spectrometry (TG-MS) and in situ XRD. In a second experimental series, Zn/Al LDHs with only carbonate in the interlayer space were thermally treated in the presence of different amounts of an external nitrate source (NH4NO3). All obtained Zn/Al MMO samples were analysed by electron microscopy, nitrogen physisorption and powder X-ray diffraction. The gas phase formed during nitrate decomposition turned out to be responsible for the formation of crystalline ZnO nanoparticles. Accordingly, both interlayer nitrate and the presence of ammonium nitrate led to the formation of supported ZnO nanocrystals with mean diameters between 100 and 400 nm, and both methods offer the possibility to tailor the amount and size of the ZnO crystals by means of the amount of nitrate. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Role of low-temperature AlGaN interlayers in thick GaN on silicon by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritze, S.; Drechsel, P.; Stauss, P.; Rode, P.; Markurt, T.; Schulz, T.; Albrecht, M.; Bläsing, J.; Dadgar, A.; Krost, A.

2012-06-01

Thin AlGaN interlayers have been grown into a thick GaN stack on Si substrates to compensate tensile thermal stress and significantly improve the structural perfection of the GaN. In particular, thicker interlayers reduce the density in a-type dislocations as concluded from x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Beyond an interlayer thickness of 28 nm plastic substrate deformation occurs. For a thick GaN stack, the first two interlayers serve as strain engineering layers to obtain a crack-free GaN structure, while a third strongly reduces the XRD ω-(0002)-FWHM. The vertical strain and quality profile determined by several XRD methods demonstrates the individual impact of each interlayer.

Electronic structure of the bismuth family of high-temperature superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Donglai

High temperature superconductivity remains the central intellectual problem in condensed matter physics fifteen years after its discovery. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) directly probes the electronic structure, and has played an important role in the field of high temperature superconductors. With the recent advances in sample growth and the photoemission technique, we are able to study the electronic structure in great detail, and address regimes that were previously inaccessible. This thesis work contains systematic photoemission studies of the electronic structure of the Bi-family of high temperature superconductors, which include the single-layer system (Bi2201), the bi-layer system (Bi2212), and the tri-layer system (Bi2223). We show that, unlike conventional BCS superconductors, phase coherence information emerges in the single particle excitation spectrum of high temperature superconductors as the superconducting peak in Bi2212. The universality and various properties of this superconducting peak are studied in various systems. We argue that the origin of the superconducting peak may provide the key to understanding the mechanism of High-Tc superconductors. In addition, we identified a new experimental energy scale in the bilayer material, the anisotropic intra-bilayer coupling energy. For a long time, it was predicted that this energy scale would cause bilayer band splitting. We observe this phenomenon, for the first time, in heavily overdoped Bi2212. This new observation requires the revision of the previous picture of the electronic excitation in the Brillouin zone boundary. As the first ARPES study of a trilayer system, various detailed electronic properties of Bi2223 are examined. We show that, comparing with Bi2212, both superconducting gap and relative superconducting peak intensity become larger in Bi2223, however, the strength of the interlayer coupling within each unit cell is possibly weaker. These results suggest that the large superconducting phase transition temperature in a high temperature superconductor is associated with parameters that cause both large pairing strength and strong phase coherence in the system. The number of CuO2 layers in each unit cell is just one of the factors that affect these parameters.

Strengthened PAN-based carbon fibers obtained by slow heating rate carbonization.

PubMed

Kim, Min-A; Jang, Dawon; Tejima, Syogo; Cruz-Silva, Rodolfo; Joh, Han-Ik; Kim, Hwan Chul; Lee, Sungho; Endo, Morinobu

2016-03-23

Large efforts have been made over the last 40 years to increase the mechanical strength of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers (CFs) using a variety of chemical or physical protocols. In this paper, we report a new method to increase CFs mechanical strength using a slow heating rate during the carbonization process. This new approach increases both the carbon sp(3) bonding and the number of nitrogen atoms with quaternary bonding in the hexagonal carbon network. Theoretical calculations support a crosslinking model promoted by the interstitial carbon atoms located in the graphitic interlayer spaces. The improvement in mechanical performance by a controlled crosslinking between the carbon hexagonal layers of the PAN based CFs is a new concept that can contribute further in the tailoring of CFs performance based on the understanding of their microstructure down to the atomic scale.

Ultrasonic semi-solid coating soldering 6061 aluminum alloys with Sn-Pb-Zn alloys.

PubMed

Yu, Xin-ye; Xing, Wen-qing; Ding, Min

2016-07-01

In this paper, 6061 aluminum alloys were soldered without a flux by the ultrasonic semi-solid coating soldering at a low temperature. According to the analyses, it could be obtained that the following results. The effect of ultrasound on the coating which promoted processes of metallurgical reaction between the components of the solder and 6061 aluminum alloys due to the thermal effect. Al2Zn3 was obtained near the interface. When the solder was in semi-solid state, the connection was completed. Ultimately, the interlayer mainly composed of three kinds of microstructure zones: α-Pb solid solution phases, β-Sn phases and Sn-Pb eutectic phases. The strength of the joints was improved significantly with the minimum shear strength approaching 101MPa. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Low-Frequency Shear and Layer-Breathing Modes in Raman Scattering of Two-Dimensional Materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liang, Liangbo; Zhang, Jun; Sumpter, Bobby G.

Ever since the isolation of single-layer graphene in 2004, two-dimensional layered structures have been among the most extensively studied classes of materials. To date, the pool of two-dimensional materials (2DMs) continues to grow at an accelerated pace and already covers an extensive range of fascinating and technologically relevant properties. An array of experimental techniques have been developed and used to fully characterize and understand these properties. In particular, Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a key experimental technique, thanks to its capability to identify minute structural and electronic effects in nondestructive measurements. While high-frequency (HF) intralayer Raman modes have beenmore » extensively employed for 2DMs, recent experimental and theoretical progress has demonstrated that low-frequency (LF) interlayer Raman modes are more effective at determining layer numbers and stacking configurations, and provide a unique opportunity to study interlayer coupling. These advantages are due to 2DMs’ unique interlayer vibration patterns where each layer behaves as an almost rigidly moving object with restoring forces corresponding to weak interlayer interactions. Compared to HF Raman modes, the relatively small attention originally devoted to LF Raman modes is largely due to their weaker signal and their proximity to the strong Rayleigh line background, which previously made their detection challenging. Recent progress in Raman spectroscopy with technical and hardware upgrades now makes it possible to probe LF modes with a standard single-stage Raman system and has proven crucial to characterize and understand properties of 2DMs. Here, we present a comprehensive and forward-looking review on the current status of exploiting LF Raman modes of 2DMs from both experimental and theoretical perspectives, revealing the fundamental physics and technological significance of LF Raman modes in advancing the field of 2DMs. We review a broad array of materials, with varying thickness and stacking configurations, discuss the effect of in-plane anisotropy, and present a generalized linear chain model and interlayer bond polarizability model to rationalize the experimental findings. We also discuss the instrumental improvements of Raman spectroscopy to enhance and separate LF Raman signals from the Rayleigh line. Lastly, we highlight the opportunities and challenges ahead in this fast-developing field.« less

Low-Frequency Shear and Layer-Breathing Modes in Raman Scattering of Two-Dimensional Materials

DOE PAGES

Liang, Liangbo; Zhang, Jun; Sumpter, Bobby G.; ...

2017-11-03

Ever since the isolation of single-layer graphene in 2004, two-dimensional layered structures have been among the most extensively studied classes of materials. To date, the pool of two-dimensional materials (2DMs) continues to grow at an accelerated pace and already covers an extensive range of fascinating and technologically relevant properties. An array of experimental techniques have been developed and used to fully characterize and understand these properties. In particular, Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a key experimental technique, thanks to its capability to identify minute structural and electronic effects in nondestructive measurements. While high-frequency (HF) intralayer Raman modes have beenmore » extensively employed for 2DMs, recent experimental and theoretical progress has demonstrated that low-frequency (LF) interlayer Raman modes are more effective at determining layer numbers and stacking configurations, and provide a unique opportunity to study interlayer coupling. These advantages are due to 2DMs’ unique interlayer vibration patterns where each layer behaves as an almost rigidly moving object with restoring forces corresponding to weak interlayer interactions. Compared to HF Raman modes, the relatively small attention originally devoted to LF Raman modes is largely due to their weaker signal and their proximity to the strong Rayleigh line background, which previously made their detection challenging. Recent progress in Raman spectroscopy with technical and hardware upgrades now makes it possible to probe LF modes with a standard single-stage Raman system and has proven crucial to characterize and understand properties of 2DMs. Here, we present a comprehensive and forward-looking review on the current status of exploiting LF Raman modes of 2DMs from both experimental and theoretical perspectives, revealing the fundamental physics and technological significance of LF Raman modes in advancing the field of 2DMs. We review a broad array of materials, with varying thickness and stacking configurations, discuss the effect of in-plane anisotropy, and present a generalized linear chain model and interlayer bond polarizability model to rationalize the experimental findings. We also discuss the instrumental improvements of Raman spectroscopy to enhance and separate LF Raman signals from the Rayleigh line. Lastly, we highlight the opportunities and challenges ahead in this fast-developing field.« less

A 3D conductive carbon interlayer with ultrahigh adsorption capability for lithium-sulfur batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qian; Zhu, Qizhen; An, Yabin; Chen, Renjie; Sun, Ning; Wu, Feng; Xu, Bin

2018-05-01

To improve the cycling performance of the Li-S batteries, a 3D interwoven hollow interlayer with extremely high electrolyte adsorption capability up to 9.64 g g-1 was simply prepared by carbonization of cotton fabric (CCF). For comparison, an interlayer coated on separator was obtained by the slurry-coating method of powdery CCF. The key role of the adsorption capability is confirmed by comparing the electrochemical performance of Li-S batteries with these two interlayers. In the Li-S batteries with 3D CCF interlayer, massive dissolved polysulfides, together with the electrolyte, can be adsorbed and confined in the 3D CCF interlayer, providing substantial extra active sites and alleviating the shuttle effect effectively. As a result, the Li-S batteries with 3D CCF interlayer show much enhanced utilization of active materials (1346.9 mAh g-1 at 0.1C), prolonged cycle life (capacity retention of 80% after 100 cycles), and improved rate performance (553.2 mAh g-1 at 4C). Even for cathodes with high sulfur loading of 5 mg cm-2, the cells with 3D CCF interlayer perform a high capacity of 1085 mAh g-1 and retain 870.6 mAh g-1 after 75 cycles at 0.5 mA cm-2. These results not only provide a sustainable, low cost and easy-prepared 3D CCF interlayer, but also offer a promising strategy based on interlayer with high adsorption capability in designing high-performance Li-S batteries.

Large Frequency Change with Thickness in Interlayer Breathing Mode—Significant Interlayer Interactions in Few Layer Black Phosphorus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Xin; Lu, Xin; Koon, Gavin Kok Wai; Castro Neto, Antonio H.; Özyilmaz, Barbaros; Xiong, Qihua; Quek, Su Ying

2015-06-01

Bulk black phosphorus (BP) consists of puckered layers of phosphorus atoms. Few-layer BP, obtained from bulk BP by exfoliation, is an emerging candidate as a channel material in post-silicon electronics. A deep understanding of its physical properties and its full range of applications are still being uncovered. In this paper, we present a theoretical and experimental investigation of phonon properties in few-layer BP, focusing on the low-frequency regime corresponding to interlayer vibrational modes. We show that the interlayer breathing mode A3g shows a large redshift with increasing thickness; the experimental and theoretical results agreeing well. This thickness dependence is two times larger than that in the chalcogenide materials such as few-layer MoS2 and WSe2, because of the significantly larger interlayer force constant and smaller atomic mass in BP. The derived interlayer out-of-plane force constant is about 50% larger than that in graphene and MoS2. We show that this large interlayer force constant arises from the sizable covalent interaction between phosphorus atoms in adjacent layers, and that interlayer interactions are not merely of the weak van der Waals type. These significant interlayer interactions are consistent with the known surface reactivity of BP, and have been shown to be important for electric-field induced formation of Dirac cones in thin film BP.

Large Frequency Change with Thickness in Interlayer Breathing Mode--Significant Interlayer Interactions in Few Layer Black Phosphorus.

PubMed

Luo, Xin; Lu, Xin; Koon, Gavin Kok Wai; Castro Neto, Antonio H; Özyilmaz, Barbaros; Xiong, Qihua; Quek, Su Ying

2015-06-10

Bulk black phosphorus (BP) consists of puckered layers of phosphorus atoms. Few-layer BP, obtained from bulk BP by exfoliation, is an emerging candidate as a channel material in post-silicon electronics. A deep understanding of its physical properties and its full range of applications are still being uncovered. In this paper, we present a theoretical and experimental investigation of phonon properties in few-layer BP, focusing on the low-frequency regime corresponding to interlayer vibrational modes. We show that the interlayer breathing mode A(3)g shows a large redshift with increasing thickness; the experimental and theoretical results agree well. This thickness dependence is two times larger than that in the chalcogenide materials, such as few-layer MoS2 and WSe2, because of the significantly larger interlayer force constant and smaller atomic mass in BP. The derived interlayer out-of-plane force constant is about 50% larger than that of graphene and MoS2. We show that this large interlayer force constant arises from the sizable covalent interaction between phosphorus atoms in adjacent layers and that interlayer interactions are not merely of the weak van der Waals type. These significant interlayer interactions are consistent with the known surface reactivity of BP and have been shown to be important for electric-field induced formation of Dirac cones in thin film BP.

Probing the Interlayer Exciton Physics in a MoS2/MoSe2/MoS2 van der Waals Heterostructure.

PubMed

Baranowski, M; Surrente, A; Klopotowski, L; Urban, J M; Zhang, N; Maude, D K; Wiwatowski, K; Mackowski, S; Kung, Y C; Dumcenco, D; Kis, A; Plochocka, P

2017-10-11

Stacking atomic monolayers of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has emerged as an effective way to engineer their properties. In principle, the staggered band alignment of TMD heterostructures should result in the formation of interlayer excitons with long lifetimes and robust valley polarization. However, these features have been observed simultaneously only in MoSe 2 /WSe 2 heterostructures. Here we report on the observation of long-lived interlayer exciton emission in a MoS 2 /MoSe 2 /MoS 2 trilayer van der Waals heterostructure. The interlayer nature of the observed transition is confirmed by photoluminescence spectroscopy, as well as by analyzing the temporal, excitation power, and temperature dependence of the interlayer emission peak. The observed complex photoluminescence dynamics suggests the presence of quasi-degenerate momentum-direct and momentum-indirect bandgaps. We show that circularly polarized optical pumping results in long-lived valley polarization of interlayer exciton. Intriguingly, the interlayer exciton photoluminescence has helicity opposite to the excitation. Our results show that through a careful choice of the TMDs forming the van der Waals heterostructure it is possible to control the circular polarization of the interlayer exciton emission.

First-principles study on interlayer state in alkali and alkaline earth metal atoms intercalated bilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneko, Tomoaki; Saito, Riichiro

2017-11-01

Energetics and electronic structures of alkali metal (Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs) and alkaline earth metal (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) atoms intercalated bilayer graphene are systematically investigated using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. Formation of alkali and alkaline earth metal atoms intercalated bilayer graphene is exothermic except for Be and Mg. The interlayer state between two graphene layers is occupied for K, Rb, Cs, Ca, Sr, and Ba. We find that the energetic position of the interlayer states between bilayer graphene monotonically shifts downward with increasing of interlayer distance. The interlayer distances of more than 4.5 Å and 4.0 Å, respectively, are necessary for the occupation of the interlayer state in bilayer graphene for alkali and alkaline earth metal atoms, which is almost independent of the intercalant metal species. We discuss the relevance to occurrence of superconductivity for the metal intercalated bilayer graphene in terms of the occupation of the interlayer state and the phonon frequency of metal ions.

The graphene oxide membrane immersing in the aqueous solution studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yongjing; Chen, Zhe; Yao, Lei; Wang, Xiao; Fu, Ping; Lin, Zhidong

2018-04-01

The interlayer spacing of graphene oxide (GO) is a key property for GO membrane. To probe the variation of interlayer spacing of the GO membrane immersing in KCl aqueous solution, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and computational calculation was utilized in this study. The XRD patterns show that soaking in KCl aqueous solution leads to an increase of interlayer spacing of GO membrane. And the EIS results indicate that during the immersing process, the charge transfer resistance of GO membrane decreases first and then increases. Computational calculation confirms that intercalated water molecules can result in an increase of interlayer spacing of GO membrane, while the permeation of K+ ions would lead to a decrease of interlayer spacing. All the results are in agreement with each other. It suggests that during the immersing process, the interlayer spacing of GO enlarges first and then decreases. EIS can be a promisingly online method for examining the interlayer spacing of GO in the aqueous solution.

Land-atmosphere coupling strength determines impact of land cover change in South-East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toelle, M. H.

2017-12-01

In a previous modeling study of large-scale deforestation in South-East Asia, between 20° S and 20° N, a decrease of latent heat flux and an increase of sensible heat flux is found. This induced higher temperatures, and ultimately deepened the boundary layer with leading to less rainfall, but higher rainfall amounts and extreme temperatures. In order to attribute these differences to a feedback mechanism, a correlation analysis is performed. Therefore, the land-atmosphere coupling strength is compared with the impact of land cover change during seasonal periods and ENSO events. Hereby, ERA-Interim-driven COSMO-CLM simulations are analyzed for the period 1990 to 2004. The regional climate model is able to reproduce the overall soil moisture spatial pattern suggested by the observational Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model. However, COSMO-CLM shows more spatial variability and strength. By deforestation, the coupling strength between land and atmosphere is increased. Major changes in coupling strength occur during La Niña events. The impact due to deforestation depends non-linearly on the coupling strength exemplified by maximum temperature and evapotranspiration. It is shown that the magnitude of change in extreme temperature due to deforestation depends on the former coupling strength over the region. The rise in extreme temperatures due to deforestation occurs mainly over the mainland, where the coupling strength is strongest. The impact is less pronounced over the maritime islands due to the oceanic influence. It is suggested that the regional-scale impact depends on the model-specific coupling strength besides the physical reasoning over this region. Deforestation over South-East Asia will likely have consequences for the agricultural output and increase socio-economic vulnerability.

Electron microscopy investigations of purity of AlN interlayer in Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N/GaN heterostructures grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sridhara Rao, D. V.; Jain, Anubha; Lamba, Sushil

2013-05-13

The electron microscopy was used to characterize the AlN interlayer in Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N/AlN/GaN heterostructures grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). We show that the AlN interlayer grown by PAMBE is without gallium and oxygen incorporation and the interfaces are coherent. The AlN interlayer has the ABAB stacking of lattice planes as expected for the wurtzite phase. High purity of AlN interlayer with the ABAB stacking leads to larger conduction band offset along with stronger polarization effects. Our studies show that the origin of lower sheet resistance obtained by PAMBE is the purity of AlN interlayer.

Effects of the F₄TCNQ-Doped Pentacene Interlayers on Performance Improvement of Top-Contact Pentacene-Based Organic Thin-Film Transistors.

PubMed

Fan, Ching-Lin; Lin, Wei-Chun; Chang, Hsiang-Sheng; Lin, Yu-Zuo; Huang, Bohr-Ran

2016-01-13

In this paper, the top-contact (TC) pentacene-based organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) with a tetrafluorotetracyanoquinodimethane (F₄TCNQ)-doped pentacene interlayer between the source/drain electrodes and the pentacene channel layer were fabricated using the co-evaporation method. Compared with a pentacene-based OTFT without an interlayer, OTFTs with an F₄TCNQ:pentacene ratio of 1:1 showed considerably improved electrical characteristics. In addition, the dependence of the OTFT performance on the thickness of the F₄TCNQ-doped pentacene interlayer is weaker than that on a Teflon interlayer. Therefore, a molecular doping-type F₄TCNQ-doped pentacene interlayer is a suitable carrier injection layer that can improve the TC-OTFT performance and facilitate obtaining a stable process window.

Spin Hall driven domain wall motion in magnetic bilayers coupled by a magnetic oxide interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Furuta, Masaki; Zhu, Jian-Gang Jimmy

2018-05-01

mCell, previously proposed by our group, is a four-terminal magnetoresistive device with isolated write- and read-paths for all-spin logic and memory applications. A mCell requires an electric-insulating magnetic layer to couple the spin Hall driven write-path to the magnetic free layer of the read-path. Both paths are magnetic layers with perpendicular anisotropy and their perpendicularly oriented magnetization needs to be maintained with this insertion layer. We have developed a magnetic oxide (FeOx) insertion layer to serve for these purposes. We show that the FeOx insertion layer provides sufficient magnetic coupling between adjacent perpendicular magnetic layers. Resistance measurement shows that this magnetic oxide layer can act as an electric-insulating layer. In addition, spin Hall driven domain wall motion in magnetic bi-layers coupled by the FeOx insertion layer is significantly enhanced compared to that in magnetic single layer; it also requires low voltage threshold that poses possibility for power-efficient device applications.

Resin adhesion strengths to zirconia ceramics after primer treatment with silane coupling monomer or oligomer.

PubMed

Okada, Masahiro; Inoue, Kazusa; Irie, Masao; Taketa, Hiroaki; Torii, Yasuhiro; Matsumoto, Takuya

2017-09-26

Resin bonding to zirconia ceramics is difficult to achieve using the standard methods for conventional silica-based dental ceramics, which employ silane coupling monomers as primers. The hypothesis in this study was that a silane coupling oligomer -a condensed product of silane coupling monomers- would be a more suitable primer for zirconia. To prove this hypothesis, the shear bond strengths between a composite resin and zirconia were compared after applying either a silane coupling monomer or oligomer. The shear bond strength increased after applying a non-activated ethanol solution of the silane coupling oligomer compared with that achieved when applying the monomer. Thermal treatment of the zirconia at 110°C after application of the silane coupling agents was essential to improve the shear bond strength between the composite resin cement and zirconia.

Impact of dispersed coupling strength on the free running periods of circadian rhythms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Changgui; Rohling, Jos H. T.; Liang, Xiaoming; Yang, Huijie

2016-03-01

The dominant endogenous clock, named the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), regulates circadian rhythms of behavioral and physiological activity in mammals. One of the main characteristics of the SCN is that the animal maintains a circadian rhythm with a period close to 24 h in the absence of a daily light-dark cycle (called the free running period). The free running period varies among species due to heterogeneity of the SCN network. Previous studies have shown that the heterogeneity in cellular coupling as well as in intrinsic neuronal periods shortens the free running period. Furthermore, as derived from experiments, one neuron's coupling strength is negatively associated with its period. It is unknown what the effects of this association between coupling strength and period are on the free running period and how the heterogeneity in coupling strength influences this free running period. In the present study we found that in the presence of a negative relationship between one neuron's coupling strength and its period, surprisingly, the dispersion of coupling strengths increases the free running period. Our present finding may shed new light on the understanding of the heterogeneous SCN network and provides an alternative explanation for the diversity of free running periods between species.

MBE growth and FMR, BLS and MOKE studies of exchange coupling in Fe whisker/Cr/Fe(001) and in Fe/Cu/Fe(001) 'loose spin' structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinrich, B.; From, M.; Cochran, J. F.; Kowalewski, M.; Atlan, D.; Celinski, Z.; Myrtle, K.

1995-02-01

The exchange coupling has been studied in structures which consist of two ferromagnetic layers separated by non-ferromagnetic spacers (trilayers). The exchange coupling was measured using FMR and BLS techniques in the temperature range 77-400 K. Two systems were investigated: (a) Fe whisker/Cr/Fe(001) and (b) Fe/Cr/Fe(001). The oscillatory thickness dependence of the exchange coupling through a spin-density wave Cr spacer will be discussed and compared with recent data obtained by other groups. Cu interlayers were deposited either in a pure form, or a single monolayer of {Cu}/{Fe} alloy ('loose spins') was inserted between two pure bcc Cu(001) layers. Several such 'loose spin' structures were engineered to test the behavior of 'loose spin' structures. It was found that the presence of Fe impurity atoms has a strong tendency to decrease the direct bilinear exchange coupling. The contribution of 'loose spins' to the exchange coupling can be made significant, and even dominant, by a suitable choice of the RKKY coupling energy between the 'loose spins' and the surrounding ferromagnetic layers.

Effect of particle size on the experimental dissolution and auto-aluminization processes of K-vermiculite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viennet, Jean-Christophe; Hubert, Fabien; Tertre, Emmanuel; Ferrage, Eric; Robin, Valentin; Dzene, Liva; Cochet, Carine; Turpault, Marie-Pierre

2016-05-01

In acidic soils, the fixation of Al in the interlayer spaces of 2:1 clay minerals and the subsequent formation of hydroxyl interlayer minerals (HIMs) are known to reduce soil fertility. The resulting crystal structure of HIMs consist of complex mixed-layer minerals (MLMs) with contrasting relative proportions of expandable, hydroxy-interlayers (HI) and illite layers. The present study aims to experimentally assess the influence of particle size on the formation of such complex HIMs for vermiculite saturated with potassium (K). Based on chemical and structural data, this study reports the dissolution and Al-interlayer occupancy of three size fractions (0.1-0.2, 1-2 and 10-20 μm) of K-vermiculite, which were obtained at pH = 3 by using stirred flow-through reactors. The Al-interlayer occupancies were ordered 0.1-0.2 μm < 10-20 μm < 1-2 μm even though the dissolution rate (in molvermiculite g-1 s-1) increases with decreasing particle size. For fine particles (0.1-0.2 μm), a rapid but low Al-interlayer occupancy during the transitory state and a null rate in the steady-state were evidenced and interpreted as indicating (i) a rapid but limited K+ interlayer exchange during the first step of the overall reactions and (ii) a stoichiometric dissolution of the crystal (TOT layer + interlayer) in the steady-state. By contrast, although the stoichiometric dissolution of the TOT layer is reached in the steady-state for the coarsest fractions (10-20 and 1-2 μm), the Al-interlayer occupancies continue to evolve due to the exchange of interlayer K+, which continues to progress for a longer duration. The mechanism of auto-aluminization is interpreted in the present study as multiple processes that involve (i) the dissolution of the mineral under acidic conditions, (ii) the interlayer diffusion of initial interlayer cations and their exchange with those from the aqueous phase and (iii) the fixation of interlayer aluminum. Competition between the kinetics of ion-exchange reactions and that of mineral dissolution is responsible for the above Al-interlayer occupancy order among the particle sizes (i.e., 0.1-0.2 μm < 10-20 μm < 1-2 μm). Moreover, this mechanism may be the cause of complex mineralogical structures such as mixed-layer minerals, which are commonly found in the clay-size fraction of acidic soils.

Dynamical processes and epidemic threshold on nonlinear coupled multiplex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Chao; Tang, Shaoting; Li, Weihua; Yang, Yaqian; Zheng, Zhiming

2018-04-01

Recently, the interplay between epidemic spreading and awareness diffusion has aroused the interest of many researchers, who have studied models mainly based on linear coupling relations between information and epidemic layers. However, in real-world networks the relation between two layers may be closely correlated with the property of individual nodes and exhibits nonlinear dynamical features. Here we propose a nonlinear coupled information-epidemic model (I-E model) and present a comprehensive analysis in a more generalized scenario where the upload rate differs from node to node, deletion rate varies between susceptible and infected states, and infection rate changes between unaware and aware states. In particular, we develop a theoretical framework of the intra- and inter-layer dynamical processes with a microscopic Markov chain approach (MMCA), and derive an analytic epidemic threshold. Our results suggest that the change of upload and deletion rate has little effect on the diffusion dynamics in the epidemic layer.

Microstructure and Properties of the Al-27Si/Cu/Al-50Si Joint Brazed by the Partial Transient Liquid Phase Bonding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Qingzhu; Wang, Haibo; Yang, Cheng

2018-06-01

Al-27Si and Al-50Si were brazed by using a thin Cu interlayer. The metallurgical bonding without obvious defects is achieved, and a wide brazing seam consisting of fine eutectic structures and coarse Si particles is formed in the Al-27Si/Cu/Al-50Si joint. The deposition of Si element in the liquid phases during solidification results in the formation of the larger Si particles and ultra-small Si particles in the brazing seam. The shear strength of the joint reaches 63 MPa.

Microstructure and Properties of the Al-27Si/Cu/Al-50Si Joint Brazed by the Partial Transient Liquid Phase Bonding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Qingzhu; Wang, Haibo; Yang, Cheng

2018-04-01

Al-27Si and Al-50Si were brazed by using a thin Cu interlayer. The metallurgical bonding without obvious defects is achieved, and a wide brazing seam consisting of fine eutectic structures and coarse Si particles is formed in the Al-27Si/Cu/Al-50Si joint. The deposition of Si element in the liquid phases during solidification results in the formation of the larger Si particles and ultra-small Si particles in the brazing seam. The shear strength of the joint reaches 63 MPa.

Direct Coating of Nanocrystalline Diamond on Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsugawa, Kazuo; Kawaki, Shyunsuke; Ishihara, Masatou; Hasegawa, Masataka

2012-09-01

Nanocrystalline diamond films have been successfully deposited on stainless steel substrates without any substrate pretreatments to promote diamond nucleation, including the formation of interlayers. A low-temperature growth technique, 400 °C or lower, in microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition using a surface-wave plasma has cleared up problems in diamond growth on ferrous materials, such as the surface graphitization, long incubation time, substrate softening, and poor adhesion. The deposited nanocrystalline diamond films on stainless steel exhibit good adhesion and tribological properties, such as a high wear resistance, a low friction coefficient, and a low aggression strength, at room temperature in air without lubrication.

Transition to complete synchronization and global intermittent synchronization in an array of time-delay systems.

PubMed

Suresh, R; Senthilkumar, D V; Lakshmanan, M; Kurths, J

2012-07-01

We report the nature of transitions from the nonsynchronous to a complete synchronization (CS) state in arrays of time-delay systems, where the systems are coupled with instantaneous diffusive coupling. We demonstrate that the transition to CS occurs distinctly for different coupling configurations. In particular, for unidirectional coupling, locally (microscopically) synchronization transition occurs in a very narrow range of coupling strength but for a global one (macroscopically) it occurs sequentially in a broad range of coupling strength preceded by an intermittent synchronization. On the other hand, in the case of mutual coupling, a very large value of coupling strength is required for local synchronization and, consequently, all the local subsystems synchronize immediately for the same value of the coupling strength and, hence, globally, synchronization also occurs in a narrow range of the coupling strength. In the transition regime, we observe a type of synchronization transition where long intervals of high-quality synchronization which are interrupted at irregular times by intermittent chaotic bursts simultaneously in all the systems and which we designate as global intermittent synchronization. We also relate our synchronization transition results to the above specific types using unstable periodic orbit theory. The above studies are carried out in a well-known piecewise linear time-delay system.

Effects of the F4TCNQ-Doped Pentacene Interlayers on Performance Improvement of Top-Contact Pentacene-Based Organic Thin-Film Transistors

PubMed Central

Fan, Ching-Lin; Lin, Wei-Chun; Chang, Hsiang-Sheng; Lin, Yu-Zuo; Huang, Bohr-Ran

2016-01-01

In this paper, the top-contact (TC) pentacene-based organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) with a tetrafluorotetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ)-doped pentacene interlayer between the source/drain electrodes and the pentacene channel layer were fabricated using the co-evaporation method. Compared with a pentacene-based OTFT without an interlayer, OTFTs with an F4TCNQ:pentacene ratio of 1:1 showed considerably improved electrical characteristics. In addition, the dependence of the OTFT performance on the thickness of the F4TCNQ-doped pentacene interlayer is weaker than that on a Teflon interlayer. Therefore, a molecular doping-type F4TCNQ-doped pentacene interlayer is a suitable carrier injection layer that can improve the TC-OTFT performance and facilitate obtaining a stable process window. PMID:28787845

Effect of sputtered titanium interlayers on the properties of nanocrystalline diamond films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Cuiping, E-mail: licp226@126.com, E-mail: limingji@163.com; Li, Mingji, E-mail: licp226@126.com, E-mail: limingji@163.com; Wu, Xiaoguo

2016-04-07

Ti interlayers with different thicknesses were sputtered on Si substrates and then ultrasonically seeded in a diamond powder suspension. Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films were deposited using a dc arc plasma jet chemical vapor deposition system on the seeded Ti/Si substrates. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy tests showed that the roughness of the prepared Ti interlayer increased with increasing thickness. The effects of Ti interlayers with various thicknesses on the properties of NCD films were investigated. The results show nucleation, growth, and microstructure of the NCD films are strongly influenced by the Ti interlayers. The addition of a Timore » interlayer between the Si substrate and the NCD films can significantly enhance the nucleation rate and reduce the surface roughness of the NCD. The NCD film on a 120 nm Ti interlayer possesses the fastest nucleation rate and the smoothest surface. Raman spectra of the NCD films show trans-polyacetylene relevant peaks reduce with increasing Ti interlayer thickness, which can owe to the improvement of crystalline at grain boundaries. Furthermore, nanoindentation measurement results show that the NCD film on a 120 nm Ti interlayer displays a higher hardness and elastic modulus. High resolution transmission electron microscopy images of a cross-section show that C atoms diffuse into the Ti layer and Si substrate and form TiC and SiC hard phases, which can explain the enhancement of mechanical properties of NCD.« less

The thickness design of unintentionally doped GaN interlayer matched with background doping level for InGaN-based laser diodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, P.; Zhao, D. G., E-mail: dgzhao@red.semi.ac.cn; Jiang, D. S.

2016-03-15

In order to reduce the internal optical loss of InGaN laser diodes, an unintentionally doped GaN (u-GaN) interlayer is inserted between InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well active region and Al{sub 0.2}Ga{sub 0.8}N electron blocking layer. The thickness design of u-GaN interlayer matching up with background doping level for improving laser performance is studied. It is found that a suitably chosen u-GaN interlayer can well modulate the optical absorption loss and optical confinement factor. However, if the value of background doping concentration of u-GaN interlayer is too large, the output light power may decrease. The analysis of energy band diagram of amore » LD structure with 100 nm u-GaN interlayer shows that the width of n-side depletion region decreases when the background concentration increases, and may become even too small to cover whole MQW, resulting in a serious decrease of the output light power. It means that a suitable interlayer thickness design matching with the background doping level of u-GaN interlayer is significant for InGaN-based laser diodes.« less

Electric Field-Dependent Photoluminescence in Multilayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanev, T. K.; Henning, A.; Sangwan, V. K.; Speiser, N.; Stern, N. P.; Lauhon, L. J.; Hersam, M. C.; Wang, K.; Valencia, D.; Charles, J.; Kubis, T. C.

Owing to interlayer coupling, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as MoS2 exhibit strong layer dependence of optical and electronic phenomena such as the band gap and trion and neutral exciton population dynamics. Here, we systematically measure the effect of layer number on the optical response of multilayer MoS2 in an external electric field, observing field and layer number dependent emission energy and photoluminescence intensity. These effects are studied in few (2-6) and bulk (11 +) layered structures at low temperatures. In MoS2\\ the observed layer dependence arises from several mechanisms, including interlayer charge transfer, band structure, Stark Effect, Fermi level changes, screening, and surface effects, so it can be challenging to isolate how these mechanisms impact the observables. Because it behaves like a stack of weakly interacting monolayers rather than multilayer or bulk, ReS2 provides a comparison to traditional TMDCs to help isolate the underlying physical mechanisms dictating the response of multilayers. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation MRSEC program (DMR-1121262), and the 2-DARE Grant (EFRI-1433510). N.P.S. is an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow.

Small, highly oriented Ru grains in intermediate layer realized through suppressing relaxation of low-angle grain boundaries for perpendicular recording media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itagaki, Norikazu; Saito, Shin; Takahashi, Migaku

2009-04-01

Through analyzing the growth mechanism of the Ru layer in a nonmagnetic intermediate layer (NMIL) for perpendicular magnetic recording media, a concept for the NMIL is proposed in order to realize a recording layer of small, highly c-plane oriented grains with no intergranular exchange coupling. It was found that (1) fast Fourier transform analysis of plan-view transmission electron microscopy lattice images of Ru layers revealed that hexagonal close packed Ru grains in a c-plane oriented film readily coalesce with each other due to the disappearance of low-angle tilt boundaries. (2) A promising candidate for a NMIL consists of three individual epitaxially grown functional layers: a large-grain seed layer with a highly oriented sheet texture, a first interlayer of small grains, and a second interlayer of nonmagnetic grains isolated by a segregated oxide. (3) The Ru-SiO2/Ru/Mg NMIL based on the proposed concept exhibited small (diameter: 4.8 nm) Ru grains while retaining a narrow orientation distribution of 4.1°.

Experimental Determination of the Ionization Energies of MoSe 2, WS 2, and MoS 2 on SiO 2 Using Photoemission Electron Microscopy

DOE PAGES

Keyshar, Kunttal; Berg, Morgann; Zhang, Xiang; ...

2017-07-19

Here, the values of the ionization energies of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are needed to assess their potential usefulness in semiconductor heterojunctions for high-performance optoelectronics. Here, we report on the systematic determination of ionization energies for three prototypical TMD monolayers (MoSe 2, WS 2, and MoS 2) on SiO 2 using photoemission electron microscopy with deep ultraviolet illumination. The ionization energy displays a progressive decrease from MoS 2, to WS 2, to MoSe 2, in agreement with predictions of density functional theory calculations. Combined with the measured energy positions of the valence band edge at the Brillouin zone center, wemore » deduce that, in the absence of interlayer coupling, a vertical heterojunction comprising any of the three TMD monolayers would form a staggered (type-II) band alignment. This band alignment could give rise to long-lived interlayer excitons that are potentially useful for valleytronics or efficient electron–hole separation in photovoltaics.« less

Interlayer interactions in graphites.

PubMed

Chen, Xiaobin; Tian, Fuyang; Persson, Clas; Duan, Wenhui; Chen, Nan-xian

2013-11-06

Based on ab initio calculations of both the ABC- and AB-stacked graphites, interlayer potentials (i.e., graphene-graphene interaction) are obtained as a function of the interlayer spacing using a modified Möbius inversion method, and are used to calculate basic physical properties of graphite. Excellent consistency is observed between the calculated and experimental phonon dispersions of AB-stacked graphite, showing the validity of the interlayer potentials. More importantly, layer-related properties for nonideal structures (e.g., the exfoliation energy, cleave energy, stacking fault energy, surface energy, etc.) can be easily predicted from the interlayer potentials, which promise to be extremely efficient and helpful in studying van der Waals structures.

Design of latex-layered double hydroxide composites by tuning the aggregation in suspensions.

PubMed

Pavlovic, Marko; Rouster, Paul; Bourgeat-Lami, Elodie; Prevot, Vanessa; Szilagyi, Istvan

2017-01-25

Colloidal stability of polymeric latex particles was studied in the presence of oppositely charged layered double hydroxide (LDH) platelets of different interlayer anions. Adsorption of the LDH particles led to charge neutralization and to overcharging of the latex at appropriate concentrations. Mixing stable colloidal suspensions of individual particles results in rapid aggregation once the LDH adsorption neutralizes the negative charges of the polymer spheres, while stable suspensions were observed at high and low LDH doses. The governing interparticle interactions included repulsive electrical double layer forces as well as van der Waals and patch-charge attractions, whose strength depended on the amount of LDH particles adsorbed on the latex surface. The type of the LDH interlayer anions did not affect the colloidal stability of the samples. Structural investigation of the obtained latex-LDH composites revealed that the polymer spheres were completely coated with the inorganic platelets once their concentration was sufficiently high. These results are especially important for designing synthetic routes for hybrid systems in suspensions, where stable colloids are required for uniform film-formation and for the homogeneous distribution of the inorganic filler within the composite materials.

Interfacial Shear Strength of Multilayer Graphene Oxide Films.

PubMed

Daly, Matthew; Cao, Changhong; Sun, Hao; Sun, Yu; Filleter, Tobin; Singh, Chandra Veer

2016-02-23

Graphene oxide (GO) is considered as one of the most promising layered materials with tunable physical properties and applicability in many important engineering applications. In this work, the interfacial behavior of multilayer GO films was directly investigated via GO-to-GO friction force microscopy, and the interfacial shear strength (ISS) was measured to be 5.3 ± 3.2 MPa. Based on high resolution atomic force microscopy images and the available chemical data, targeted molecular dynamics simulations were performed to evaluate the influence of functional structure, topological defects, and interlayer registry on the shear response of the GO films. Theoretical values for shear strength ranging from 17 to 132 MPa were predicted for the different structures studied, providing upper bounds for the ISS. Computational results also revealed the atomic origins of the stochastic nature of friction measurements. Specifically, the wide scatter in experimental measurements was attributed to variations in functional structure and topological defects within the sliding volume. The findings of this study provide important insight for understanding the significant differences in strength between monolayer and bulk graphene oxide materials and can be useful for engineering topological structures with tunable mechanical properties.

Influence of Cr and W alloying on the fiber-matrix interfacial shear strength in cast and directionally solidified sapphire NiAl composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asthana, R.; Tiwari, R.; Tewari, S. N.

1995-01-01

Sapphire-reinforced NiAl matrix composites with chromium or tungsten as alloying additions were synthesized using casting and zone directional solidification (DS) techniques and characterized by a fiber pushout test as well as by microhardness measurements. The sapphire-NiAl(Cr) specimens exhibited an interlayer of Cr rich eutectic at the fiber-matrix interface and a higher interfacial shear strength compared to unalloyed sapphire-NiAl specimens processed under identical conditions. In contrast, the sapphire-NiAl(W) specimens did not show interfacial excess of tungsten rich phases, although the interfacial shear strength was high and comparable to that of sapphire-NiAl(Cr). The postdebond sliding stress was higher in sapphire-NiAl(Cr) than in sapphire-NiAl(W) due to interface enrichment with chromium particles. The matrix microhardness progressively decreased with increasing distance from the interface in both DS NiAl and NiAl(Cr) specimens. The study highlights the potential of casting and DS techniques to improve the toughness and strength of NiAl by designing dual-phase microstructures in NiAl alloys reinforced with sapphire fibers.

Processing and characterization of phase boundaries in ceramic and metallic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Liang

The goal of this dissertation work was to explore and describe advanced characterization of novel materials processing. These characterizations were carried out using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), and X-ray diffraction techniques. The materials studied included ceramics and metallic materials. The first part of this dissertation focuses on the processing, and the resulting interfacial microstructure of ceramics joined using spin-on interlayers. SEM, TEM, and indentation tests were used to investigate the interfacial microstructural and mechanical property evolution of polycrystalline zirconia bonded to glass ceramic MaCor(TM), and polycrystalline alumina to single crystal alumina. Interlayer assisted specimens were joined using a thin amorphous silica interlayer. This interlayer was produced by spin coating an organic based silica bond material precursor and curing at 200°C, followed by joining in a microwave cavity or conventional electric furnace. Experimental results indicate that in the joining of the zirconia and MaCor(TM) no significant interfacial microstructural and mechanical property differences developed between materials joined either with or without interlayers, due to the glassy nature of MaCor(TM). The bond interface was non-planar, as a result of the strong wetting of MaCor(TM) and silica and dissolution of the zirconia. However, without the aid of a silica interlayer, sapphire and 98% polycrystalline alumina failed to join under the experimental conditions under this study. A variety of interfacial morphologies have been observed, including amorphous regions, fine crystalline alumina, and intimate contact between the sapphire and polycrystalline alumina. In addition, the evolution of the joining process from the initial sputter-cure to the final joining state and joining mechanisms were characterized. The second part of this dissertation focused on the effects of working and heat treatment on microstructure, texture, phase boundary movement, and mechanical property evolution in Ti-6Al-4V wire. The as-received wire consisted of equilibrium a and metastable beta phases and had a moderately strong fiber texture with prism plane normals aligned with the wire axis. The wire was worked by extrusion, solution heat-treatment and water quenching, and aging. The extrusion process strengthened the as-received texture. After solutionization and quenching, microstrucual observations showed the presence of many needlelike martensitic platelets in the prior beta phase regions. Texture analysis revealed that a secondary fiber with basal plane normals aligned with the wire axis emerged at the expense of the initial texture, indicating that highly preferred phase boundary motion (variant selection) occurred during the beta → alpha transformation. The strength of the variant selection consistently increased with solutionization temperature and time. In addition, the effects of dislocation type and density on variant selections were further investigated. This implies that strategic prior deformation and heat treatment can be exploited to design the resulting texture and microstructure and consequently optimize the properties of titanium products.

Dispersion relations of elastic waves in one-dimensional piezoelectric/piezomagnetic phononic crystal with functionally graded interlayers.

PubMed

Guo, Xiao; Wei, Peijun; Lan, Man; Li, Li

2016-08-01

The effects of functionally graded interlayers on dispersion relations of elastic waves in a one-dimensional piezoelectric/piezomagnetic phononic crystal are studied in this paper. First, the state transfer equation of the functionally graded interlayer is derived from the motion equation by the reduction of order (from second order to first order). The transfer matrix of the functionally graded interlayer is obtained by solving the state transfer equation with the spatial-varying coefficient. Based on the transfer matrixes of the piezoelectric slab, the piezomagnetic slab and the functionally graded interlayers, the total transfer matrix of a single cell is obtained. Further, the Bloch theorem is used to obtain the resultant dispersion equations of in-plane and anti-plane Bloch waves. The dispersion equations are solved numerically and the numerical results are shown graphically. Five kinds of profiles of functionally graded interlayers between a piezoelectric slab and a piezomagnetic slab are considered. It is shown that the functionally graded interlayers have evident influences on the dispersion curves and the band gaps. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tipping Point for Expansion of Layered Aluminosilicates in Weakly Polar Solvents: Supercritical CO 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schaef, Herbert T.; Loganathan, Narasimhan; Bowers, Geoffrey M.

Layered aluminosilicates play a dominant role in the mechanical and gas storage properties of the subsurface, are used in diverse industrial applications, and serve as model materials for understanding solvent-ion-support systems. Although expansion in the presence of H2O is well known to be systematically correlated with the hydration free energy of the interlayer cation, in environments dominated by non-polar solvents (i.e. CO2), uptake into the interlayer is not well-understood. Using novel high pressure capabilities, we investigated the interaction of super-critical CO2 with Na+-, NH4+-, and Cs+-saturated montmorillonite, comparing results with predictions from molecular dynamics simulations. Despite the known trend inmore » H2O, and that cation solvation energies in CO2 suggest a stronger interaction with Na+, both the NH4+- and Cs+-clays readily absorbed CO2 and expanded while the Na+-clay did not. The apparent inertness of the Na+-clay was not due to kinetics, as experiments seeking a stable expanded state showed that none exists. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed a large endothermicity to CO2 intercalation in the Na+-clay, but little or no energy barrier for the NH4+- and Cs+-clays. Consequently, we have shown for the first time that in the presence of a low dielectric constant gas swelling depends more on the strength of the interaction between interlayer cation and aluminosilicate sheets and less on that with solvent. The finding suggests a distinct regime in layered aluminosilicates swelling behavior triggered by low solvent polarizability, with important implications in geomechanics, storage and retention of volatile gases, and across industrial uses in gelling, decoloring, heterogeneous catalysis, and semi-permeable reactive barriers.« less

Influence of in-situ deposited SiNx interlayer on crystal quality of GaN epitaxial films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Teng; Jia, Wei; Tong, Guangyun; Zhai, Guangmei; Li, Tianbao; Dong, Hailiang; Xu, Bingshe

2018-05-01

GaN epitaxial films with SiNx interlayers were prepared by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on c-plane sapphire substrates. The influences of deposition times and locations of SiNx interlayers on crystal quality of GaN epitaxial films were studied. Under the optimal growth time of 120 s for the SiNx interlayer, the dislocation density of GaN film is reduced to 4.05 × 108 cm-2 proved by high resolution X-ray diffraction results. It is found that when the SiNx interlayer deposits on the GaN nucleation islands, the subsequent GaN film has the lowest dislocation density of only 2.89 × 108 cm-2. Moreover, a model is proposed to illustrate the morphological evolution and associated propagation processes of TDs in GaN epi-layers with SiNx interlayers for different deposition times and locations.

Long-Range Interactions Restrict Water Transport in Pyrophyllite Interlayers

DOE PAGES

Zarzycki, Piotr; Gilbert, Benjamin

2016-04-27

Water diffusion within smectite clay interlayers is reduced by confinement and hence is highly determined by the interlayer spacings that are adopted during swelling. However, a molecular understanding of the short-and long-range forces governing interlayer water structure and dynamics is lacking. Using molecular dynamics simulations of water intercalated between pyrophyllite (smectite prototype) layers we provide a detailed picture of the variation of interlayered water mobility accompanying smectite expansion. Subtle changes in hydrogen bond network structure cause significant changes in water mobility that is greater for stable hydration states and reduced for intermediate separations. By studying pyrophyllite with and without externalmore » water we reveal that long-range electrostatic forces apply a restraining effect upon interlayer water mobility. Our findings are relevant for broad range of confining nanostructures with walls thin enough to permit long-range interactions that could affect the mobility of confined solvent molecules and solute species.« less

Long-Range Interactions Restrict Water Transport in Pyrophyllite Interlayers

PubMed Central

Zarzycki, Piotr; Gilbert, Benjamin

2016-01-01

Water diffusion within smectite clay interlayers is reduced by confinement and hence is highly determined by the interlayer spacings that are adopted during swelling. However, a molecular understanding of the short- and long-range forces governing interlayer water structure and dynamics is lacking. Using molecular dynamics simulations of water intercalated between pyrophyllite (smectite prototype) layers we provide a detailed picture of the variation of interlayered water mobility accompanying smectite expansion. Subtle changes in hydrogen bond network structure cause significant changes in water mobility that is greater for stable hydration states and reduced for intermediate separations. By studying pyrophyllite with and without external water we reveal that long-range electrostatic forces apply a restraining effect upon interlayer water mobility. Our findings are relevant for broad range of confining nanostructures with walls thin enough to permit long-range interactions that could affect the mobility of confined solvent molecules and solute species. PMID:27118164

Time-varying coupling functions: Dynamical inference and cause of synchronization transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stankovski, Tomislav

2017-02-01

Interactions in nature can be described by their coupling strength, direction of coupling, and coupling function. The coupling strength and directionality are relatively well understood and studied, at least for two interacting systems; however, there can be a complexity in the interactions uniquely dependent on the coupling functions. Such a special case is studied here: synchronization transition occurs only due to the time variability of the coupling functions, while the net coupling strength is constant throughout the observation time. To motivate the investigation, an example is used to present an analysis of cross-frequency coupling functions between delta and alpha brain waves extracted from the electroencephalography recording of a healthy human subject in a free-running resting state. The results indicate that time-varying coupling functions are a reality for biological interactions. A model of phase oscillators is used to demonstrate and detect the synchronization transition caused by the varying coupling functions during an invariant coupling strength. The ability to detect this phenomenon is discussed with the method of dynamical Bayesian inference, which was able to infer the time-varying coupling functions. The form of the coupling function acts as an additional dimension for the interactions, and it should be taken into account when detecting biological or other interactions from data.

Strengthened PAN-based carbon fibers obtained by slow heating rate carbonization

PubMed Central

Kim, Min-A; Jang, Dawon; Tejima, Syogo; Cruz-Silva, Rodolfo; Joh, Han-Ik; Kim, Hwan Chul; Lee, Sungho; Endo, Morinobu

2016-01-01

Large efforts have been made over the last 40 years to increase the mechanical strength of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers (CFs) using a variety of chemical or physical protocols. In this paper, we report a new method to increase CFs mechanical strength using a slow heating rate during the carbonization process. This new approach increases both the carbon sp3 bonding and the number of nitrogen atoms with quaternary bonding in the hexagonal carbon network. Theoretical calculations support a crosslinking model promoted by the interstitial carbon atoms located in the graphitic interlayer spaces. The improvement in mechanical performance by a controlled crosslinking between the carbon hexagonal layers of the PAN based CFs is a new concept that can contribute further in the tailoring of CFs performance based on the understanding of their microstructure down to the atomic scale. PMID:27004752

Elevated-temperature flow strength, creep resistance and diffusion welding characteristics of Ti-gAl-2Nb-1Ta-0.8Mo

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whittenberger, J. D.; Moore, T. J.

1977-01-01

A study of the flow strength, creep resistance and diffusion welding characteristics of the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-2Nb-1Ta-0.8Mo was conducted. Two mill-processed forms of this alloy were examined. The forged material was essentially processed above the beta transus while the rolled form was subjected to considerable work below the beta transus. Between 1150 and 1250 K, the forged material was stronger and more creep resistant than the rolled alloy. Both forms exhibit superplastic characteristics in this temperature range. Strain measurements during diffusion welding experiments at 1200 K reveal that weld interfaces have no measurable effect on the overall creep deformation. Significant deformation appears to be necessary to produce a quality diffusion weld between superplastic materials. A 'soft' interlayer inserted between faying surfaces would seemingly allow manufacture of quality diffusion welds with little overall deformation.

Impact of vegetation on land-atmosphere coupling strength and its implication for desertification mitigation over East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myoung, Boksoon; Choi, Yong-Sang; Choi, Suk-Jin; Park, Seon Ki

2012-06-01

Desertification of the East Asian drylands and the consequent dust transport have been serious concerns for adjacent Asian countries as well as the western United States. Tree planting has been considered one applicable strategy to mitigate the desertification. However, the desired effect of the tree planting would not be brought to fruition unless the newly planted trees change the coupling characteristics between the land and the atmosphere. Based on this perception, we attempt to clarify the effects of vegetation on the coupling strength between the atmosphere and land surface, and we suggest the most efficient areas of tree planting for desertification mitigation in East Asia. Using regional vegetation-atmosphere coupled model simulations, coupling strength with and without vegetation was computed and compared with each other. An increased vegetation fraction reduces the coupling strength in June, July, and August (JJA), primarily due to decreased evapotranspiration variability. This effect is pronounced over the Manchurian Plains and the highly populated areas of Beijing and Tianjin. The reduced coupling strength tends to weaken feedback between soil moisture and precipitation as a maintenance mechanism of warm season droughts in the midlatitudes and subsequently decrease the probability of droughts, a finding that is reflected in the enhanced JJA mean soil moisture. However, some drylands like the eastern edges of the Gobi desert present marginal or even opposite changes in coupling strength, meaning a limited effect of vegetation on relieving droughts. Therefore, given limited financial and human resources, acupuncture-like afforestation, i.e., concentrated tree planting in a particular region where the coupling strength can be substantially reduced by vegetation, is an effective strategy to secure long-standing desertification mitigation.

Performance of TenCate Paving interlayers in asphalt concrete pavements.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-08-01

As a continued effort of a previously completed project entitled Performance of TenCate Mirafi PGM-G4 Interlayer-Reinforced Asphalt Pavements in Alaska, this project evaluated two newly modified paving interlayers (TruPave and Mirapave) through...

Variable Temperature Infrared Spectroscopy Investigation of Benzoic Acid Interactions with Montmorillonite Clay Interlayer Water.

PubMed

Nickels, Tara M; Ingram, Audrey L; Maraoulaite, Dalia K; White, Robert L

2015-07-01

Molecular interactions between benzoic acid and cations and water contained in montmorillonite clay interlayer spaces are characterized by using variable temperature diffuse reflection infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (VT-DRIFTS). Using sample perturbation and difference spectroscopy, infrared spectral changes resulting from removal of interlayer water and associated changes in local benzoic acid environments are identified. Difference spectra features can be correlated with changes in specific molecular vibrations that are characteristic of benzoic acid molecular orientation. Results suggest that the carboxylic acid functionality of benzoic acid interacts with interlayer cations through a bridging water molecule and that this interaction is affected by the nature of the cation present in the clay interlayer space.

Bending stiffness and interlayer shear modulus of few-layer graphene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Xiaoming; Yi, Chenglin; Ke, Changhong, E-mail: cke@binghamton.edu

2015-03-09

Interlayer shear deformation occurs in the bending of multilayer graphene with unconstrained ends, thus influencing its bending rigidity. Here, we investigate the bending stiffness and interlayer shear modulus of few-layer graphene through examining its self-folding conformation on a flat substrate using atomic force microscopy in conjunction with nonlinear mechanics modeling. The results reveal that the bending stiffness of 2–6 layers graphene follows a square-power relationship with its thickness. The interlayer shear modulus is found to be in the range of 0.36–0.49 GPa. The research findings show that the weak interlayer shear interaction has a substantial stiffening effect for multilayer graphene.

Interface amorphization in hexagonal boron nitride films on sapphire substrate grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xu; Nitta, Shugo; Pristovsek, Markus; Liu, Yuhuai; Nagamatsu, Kentaro; Kushimoto, Maki; Honda, Yoshio; Amano, Hiroshi

2018-05-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films directly grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by pulsed-mode metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy exhibit an interlayer for growth temperatures above 1200 °C. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows that this interlayer is amorphous, while the crystalline h-BN layer above has a distinct orientational relationship with the sapphire substrate. Electron energy loss spectroscopy shows the energy-loss peaks of B and N in both the amorphous interlayer and the overlying crystalline h-BN layer, while Al and O signals are also seen in the amorphous interlayer. Thus, the interlayer forms during h-BN growth through the decomposition of the sapphire at elevated temperatures.

Quantum-Dot Light-Emitting Diodes with Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanodot Hole Transport and Electronic Energy Transfer Layer.

PubMed

Park, Young Ran; Jeong, Hu Young; Seo, Young Soo; Choi, Won Kook; Hong, Young Joon

2017-04-12

Electroluminescence efficiency is crucial for the application of quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) in practical devices. We demonstrate that nitrogen-doped carbon nanodot (N-CD) interlayer improves electrical and luminescent properties of QD-LEDs. The N-CDs were prepared by solution-based bottom up synthesis and were inserted as a hole transport layer (HTL) between other multilayer HTL heterojunction and the red-QD layer. The QD-LEDs with N-CD interlayer represented superior electrical rectification and electroluminescent efficiency than those without the N-CD interlayer. The insertion of N-CD layer was found to provoke the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from N-CD to QD layer, as confirmed by time-integrated and -resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. Moreover, hole-only devices (HODs) with N-CD interlayer presented high hole transport capability, and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy also revealed that the N-CD interlayer reduced the highest hole barrier height. Thus, more balanced carrier injection with sufficient hole carrier transport feasibly lead to the superior electrical and electroluminescent properties of the QD-LEDs with N-CD interlayer. We further studied effect of N-CD interlayer thickness on electrical and luminescent performances for high-brightness QD-LEDs. The ability of the N-CD interlayer to improve both the electrical and luminescent characteristics of the QD-LEDs would be readily exploited as an emerging photoactive material for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices.

Sorption of Eu(III) on granite: EPMA, LA-ICP-MS, batch and modeling studies.

PubMed

Fukushi, Keisuke; Hasegawa, Yusuke; Maeda, Koushi; Aoi, Yusuke; Tamura, Akihiro; Arai, Shoji; Yamamoto, Yuhei; Aosai, Daisuke; Mizuno, Takashi

2013-11-19

Eu(III) sorption on granite was assessed using combined microscopic and macroscopic approaches in neutral to acidic conditions where the mobility of Eu(III) is generally considered to be high. Polished thin sections of the granite were reacted with solutions containing 10 μM of Eu(III) and were analyzed using EPMA and LA-ICP-MS. On most of the biotite grains, Eu enrichment up to 6 wt % was observed. The Eu-enriched parts of biotite commonly lose K, which is the interlayer cation of biotite, indicating that the sorption mode of Eu(III) by the biotite is cation exchange in the interlayer. The distributions of Eu appeared along the original cracks of the biotite. Those occurrences indicate that the prior water-rock interaction along the cracks engendered modification of biotite to possess affinity to the Eu(III). Batch Eu(III) sorption experiments on granite and biotite powders were conducted as functions of pH, Eu(III) loading, and ionic strength. The macroscopic sorption behavior of biotite was consistent with that of granite. At pH > 4, there was little pH dependence but strong ionic strength dependence of Eu(III) sorption. At pH < 4, the sorption of Eu(III) abruptly decreased with decreased pH. The sorption behavior at pH > 4 was reproducible reasonably by the modeling considering single-site cation exchange reactions. The decrease of Eu(III) sorption at pH < 4 was explained by the occupation of exchangeable sites by dissolved cationic species such as Al and Fe from granite and biotite in low-pH conditions. Granites are complex mineral assemblages. However, the combined microscopic and macroscopic approaches revealed that elementary reactions by a single mineral phase can be representative of the bulk sorption reaction in complex mineral assemblages.

Formation and Restacking of Disordered Smectite Osmotic Hydrates

DOE PAGES

Gilbert, Benjamin; Comolli, Luis R.; Tinnacher, Ruth M.; ...

2015-12-01

Clay swelling, an important phenomenon in natural systems, can dramatically affect the properties of soils and sediments. Something of particular interest in low-salinity, saturated systems are osmotic hydrates, forms of smectite in which the layer separation greatly exceeds the thickness of a single smectite layer due to the intercalation of water. In situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies have shown a strong link between ionic strength and average interlayer spacing in osmotic hydrates but also indicate the presence of structural disorder that has not been fully described. In the present study the structural state of expanded smectite in sodium chloride solutionsmore » was investigated by combining very low electron dose, high-resolution cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy observations with XRD experiments. Wyoming smectite (SWy-2) was embedded in vitreous ice to evaluate clay structure in aqua. Lattice-fringe images showed that smectite equilibrated in aqueous, low-ionic-strength solutions, exists as individual smectite layers, osmotic hydrates composed of parallel layers, as well as disordered layer conformations. There was no evidence found here for edge-to-sheet attractions, but significant variability in interlayer spacing was observed. Whether this variation could be explained by a dependence of the magnitude of long-range cohesive (van der Waals) forces on the number of layers in a smectite particle was investigated here. Calculations of the Hamaker constant for layer-layer interactions showed that van der Waals forces may span at least five layers plus the intervening water and confirmed that forces vary with layer number. The drying of the disordered osmotic hydrates induced re-aggregation of the smectite to form particles that exhibited coherent scattering domains. Clay disaggregation and restacking may be considered as an example of oriented attachment, with the unusual distinction that it may be cycled repeatedly by changing solution conditions.« less

Formation and Restacking of Disordered Smectite Osmotic Hydrates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gilbert, Benjamin; Comolli, Luis R.; Tinnacher, Ruth M.

Clay swelling, an important phenomenon in natural systems, can dramatically affect the properties of soils and sediments. Something of particular interest in low-salinity, saturated systems are osmotic hydrates, forms of smectite in which the layer separation greatly exceeds the thickness of a single smectite layer due to the intercalation of water. In situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies have shown a strong link between ionic strength and average interlayer spacing in osmotic hydrates but also indicate the presence of structural disorder that has not been fully described. In the present study the structural state of expanded smectite in sodium chloride solutionsmore » was investigated by combining very low electron dose, high-resolution cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy observations with XRD experiments. Wyoming smectite (SWy-2) was embedded in vitreous ice to evaluate clay structure in aqua. Lattice-fringe images showed that smectite equilibrated in aqueous, low-ionic-strength solutions, exists as individual smectite layers, osmotic hydrates composed of parallel layers, as well as disordered layer conformations. There was no evidence found here for edge-to-sheet attractions, but significant variability in interlayer spacing was observed. Whether this variation could be explained by a dependence of the magnitude of long-range cohesive (van der Waals) forces on the number of layers in a smectite particle was investigated here. Calculations of the Hamaker constant for layer-layer interactions showed that van der Waals forces may span at least five layers plus the intervening water and confirmed that forces vary with layer number. The drying of the disordered osmotic hydrates induced re-aggregation of the smectite to form particles that exhibited coherent scattering domains. Clay disaggregation and restacking may be considered as an example of oriented attachment, with the unusual distinction that it may be cycled repeatedly by changing solution conditions.« less

Synchronization of three electrochemical oscillators: From local to global coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yifan; Sebek, Michael; Mori, Fumito; Kiss, István Z.

2018-04-01

We investigate the formation of synchronization patterns in an oscillatory nickel electrodissolution system in a network obtained by superimposing local and global coupling with three electrodes. We explored the behavior through numerical simulations using kinetic ordinary differential equations, Kuramoto type phase models, and experiments, in which the local to global coupling could be tuned by cross resistances between the three nickel wires. At intermediate coupling strength with predominant global coupling, two of the three oscillators, whose natural frequencies are closer, can synchronize. By adding even a relatively small amount of local coupling (about 9%-25%), a spatially organized partially synchronized state can occur where one of the two synchronized elements is in the center. A formula was derived for predicting the critical coupling strength at which full synchronization will occur independent of the permutation of the natural frequencies of the oscillators over the network. The formula correctly predicts the variation of the critical coupling strength as a function of the global coupling fraction, e.g., with local coupling the critical coupling strength is about twice than that required with global coupling. The results show the importance of the topology of the network on the synchronization properties in a simple three-oscillator setup and could provide guidelines for decrypting coupling topology from identification of synchronization patterns.

Evaluation of stone/RAP interlayers under accelerated loading : technical summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-08-01

The primary objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using an untreated RAP interlayer in lieu of a stone interlayer in a soil-cement asphalt pavement structure under accelerated loading. The secondary objective was to investigat...

Bonding strength of glass-ceramic trabecular-like coatings to ceramic substrates for prosthetic applications.

PubMed

Chen, Qiang; Baino, Francesco; Pugno, Nicola M; Vitale-Brovarone, Chiara

2013-04-01

A new approach based on the concepts of quantized fracture mechanics (QFM) is presented and discussed in this paper to estimate the bonding strength of trabecular-like coatings, i.e. glass-ceramic scaffolds mimicking the architecture of cancellous bone, to ceramic substrates. The innovative application of glass-derived scaffolds as trabecular-like coatings is proposed in order to enhance the osteointegration of prosthetic ceramic devices. The scaffolds, prepared by polymeric sponge replication, are joined to alumina substrates by a dense glass-ceramic coating (interlayer) and the so-obtained 3-layer constructs are investigated from micro-structural, morphological and mechanical viewpoints. In particular, the fracture strengths of three different crack propagation modes, i.e. glass-derived scaffold fracture, interface delamination or mixed fracture, are predicted in agreement with those of experimental mechanical tests. The approach proposed in this work could have interesting applications towards an ever more rational design of bone tissue engineering biomaterials and coatings, in view of the optimization of their mechanical properties for making them actually suitable for clinical applications. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of micro-oxidation on joints of C/C composites and GH3044 for large-size aerospace parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Xiaohong; Jin, Xiuxiu; Yan, Ningning; Yang, Li

2017-11-01

To improve the bonding strength of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites and GH3044 nickel-based superalloy, the bonding interlayer with Ti/Ni/Cu/Ni multiple foils were prepared by a two-step technique involving micro-oxidation and partial transient liquid phase (PTLP) process. Interface characteristics and mechanical behavior of joints were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) and energy X-ray dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Results show that a porous layer on C/C composites is formed by micro-oxidation for more than 2 min at 1073 K in air, which provides a diffusion path for liquid phase to infiltrate into C/C substrate and generate a wedge interlocking interface. After micro-oxidation for 4 min, the shear strength of joints reaches 32.09 ± 1.98 MPa what is 36.73% higher than that of joints without micro-oxidation (23.47 ± 1.15 MPa). The increase of shear strength remarkably depends on physical interlocking and chemical bonding at porous interface.

Tunable Magnetic Resonance in Microwave Spintronics Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Yunpeng; Fan, Xin; Xie, Yunsong; Zhou, Yang; Wang, Tao; Wilson, Jeffrey D.; Simons, Rainee N.; Chui, Sui-Tat; Xiao, John Q.

2015-01-01

Magnetic resonance is one of the key properties of magnetic materials for the application of microwave spintronics devices. The conventional method for tuning magnetic resonance is to use an electromagnet, which provides very limited tuning range. Hence, the quest for enhancing the magnetic resonance tuning range without using an electromagnet has attracted tremendous attention. In this paper, we exploit the huge exchange coupling field between magnetic interlayers, which is on the order of 4000 Oe and also the high frequency modes of coupled oscillators to enhance the tuning range. Furthermore, we demonstrate a new scheme to control the magnetic resonance frequency. Moreover, we report a shift in the magnetic resonance frequency as high as 20 GHz in CoFe based tunable microwave spintronics devices, which is 10X higher than conventional methods.

Tunable Magnetic Resonance in Microwave Spintronics Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Yunpeng; Fan, Xin; Xie, Yungsong; Zhou, Yang; Wang, Tao; Wilson, Jeffrey D.; Simons, Rainee N.; Chui, Sui-Tat; Xiao, John Q.

2015-01-01

Magnetic resonance is one of the key properties of magnetic materials for the application of microwave spintronics devices. The conventional method for tuning magnetic resonance is to use an electromagnet, which provides very limited tuning range. Hence, the quest for enhancing the magnetic resonance tuning range without using an electromagnet has attracted tremendous attention. In this paper, we exploit the huge exchange coupling field between magnetic interlayers, which is on the order of 4000 Oe and also the high frequency modes of coupled oscillators to enhance the tuning range. Furthermore, we demonstrate a new scheme to control the magnetic resonance frequency. Moreover, we report a shift in the magnetic resonance frequency as high as 20 GHz in CoFe-based tunable microwave spintronics devices, which is 10X higher than conventional methods.

Degradation of the Giant Magnetoresistance in Fe/Cr Multilayers Due to Ar-Ion Beam Mixing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopcewicz, M.; Stobiecki, F.; Jagielski, J.; Szymański, B.; Schmidt, M.; Kalinowska, J.

2002-12-01

The influence of 200 keV Ar-ion irradiation on the interlayer coupling in the Fe/Cr multilayer system exhibiting the giant magnetoresistance effect (GMR) is studied by conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS), VSM hysteresis loops, magnetoresistivity and electric resistivity measurements and supplemented by the small-angle X-ray diffraction (SAXRD). The increase of Ar ion dose causes an increase of interface roughness, as evidenced by the increase of the Fe step-sites detected by CEMS as a result of which the GMR gradually decreases and vanishes at doses exceeding 1×1014 Ar/cm2. A degradation of GMR with increasing Ar-ion dose is related to the formation of pinholes between Fe layers and the decrease of the antiferromagnetically coupled fraction.

Structural evolution of Ti destroyable interlayer in large-size diamond film deposition by DC arc plasma jet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jianchao; Li, Chengming; Liu, Jinlong; Wei, Junjun; Chen, Liangxian; Hua, Chenyi; Yan, Xiongbo

2016-05-01

The addition of titanium (Ti) interlayer was verified to reduce the residual stress of diamond films by self-fracturing and facilitate the harvest of a crack-free free-standing diamond film prepared by direct current (DC) arc plasma jet. In this study, the evolution of the Ti interlayer between large-area diamond film and substrate was studied and modeled in detail. The evolution of the interlayer was found to be relevant to the distribution of the DC arc plasma, which can be divided into three areas (arc center, arc main, and arc edge). The formation rate of titanium carbide (TiC) in the arc main was faster than in the other two areas and resulted in the preferred generation of crack in the diamond film in the arc main during cooling. Sandwich structures were formed along with the growth of TiC until the complete transformation of the Ti interlayer. The interlayer released stress via self-fracture. Avoiding uneven fragile regions that formed locally in the interlayer and achieving cooperatively released stress are crucial for the preparation of large crack-free diamond films.

Enhanced performance of solution-processed organic thin-film transistors with a low-temperature-annealed alumina interlayer between the polyimide gate insulator and the semiconductor.

PubMed

Yoon, Jun-Young; Jeong, Sunho; Lee, Sun Sook; Kim, Yun Ho; Ka, Jae-Won; Yi, Mi Hye; Jang, Kwang-Suk

2013-06-12

We studied a low-temperature-annealed sol-gel-derived alumina interlayer between the organic semiconductor and the organic gate insulator for high-performance organic thin-film transistors. The alumina interlayer was deposited on the polyimide gate insulator by a simple spin-coating and 200 °C-annealing process. The leakage current density decreased by the interlayer deposition: at 1 MV/cm, the leakage current densities of the polyimide and the alumina/polyimide gate insulators were 7.64 × 10(-7) and 3.01 × 10(-9) A/cm(2), respectively. For the first time, enhancement of the organic thin-film transistor performance by introduction of an inorganic interlayer between the organic semiconductor and the organic gate insulator was demonstrated: by introducing the interlayer, the field-effect mobility of the solution-processed organic thin-film transistor increased from 0.35 ± 0.15 to 1.35 ± 0.28 cm(2)/V·s. Our results suggest that inorganic interlayer deposition could be a simple and efficient surface treatment of organic gate insulators for enhancing the performance of solution-processed organic thin-film transistors.

Effects of Electrospun Carbon Nanofibers' Interlayers on High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

PubMed

Gao, Tianji; Le, TrungHieu; Yang, Ying; Yu, Zhihao; Huang, Zhenghong; Kang, Feiyu

2017-03-31

Two different interlayers were introduced in lithium-sulfur batteries to improve the cycling stability with sulfur loading as high as 80% of total mass of cathode. Melamine was recommended as a nitrogen-rich (N-rich) amine component to synthesize a modified polyacrylic acid (MPAA). The electrospun MPAA was carbonized into N-rich carbon nanofibers, which were used as cathode interlayers, while carbon nanofibers from PAA without melamine was used as an anode interlayer. At the rate of 0.1 C, the initial discharge capacity with two interlayers was 983 mAh g -1 , and faded down to 651 mAh g -1 after 100 cycles with the coulombic efficiency of 95.4%. At the rate of 1 C, the discharge capacity was kept to 380 mAh g -1 after 600 cycles with a coulombic efficiency of 98.8%. It apparently demonstrated that the cathode interlayer is extremely effective at shutting down the migration of polysulfide ions. The anode interlayer induced the lithium ions to form uniform lithium metal deposits confined on the fiber surface and in the bulk to strengthen the cycling stability of the lithium metal anode.

High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries with a Self-Assembled Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Interlayer and a Robust Electrode-Electrolyte Interface.

PubMed

Kim, Hee Min; Hwang, Jang-Yeon; Manthiram, Arumugam; Sun, Yang-Kook

2016-01-13

Elemental sulfur electrode has a huge advantage in terms of charge-storage capacity. However, the lack of electrical conductivity results in poor electrochemical utilization of sulfur and performance. This problem has been overcome to some extent previously by using a bare multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) paper interlayer between the sulfur cathode and the polymeric separator, resulting in good electron transport and adsorption of dissolved polysulfides. To advance the interlayer concept further, we present here a self-assembled MWCNT interlayer fabricated by a facile, low-cost process. The Li-S cells fabricated with the self-assembled MWCNT interlayer and a high loading of 3 mg cm(-2) sulfur exhibit a first discharge specific capacity of 1112 mAh g(-1) at 0.1 C rate and retain 95.8% of the capacity at 0.5 C rate after 100 cycles as the self-assembled MWCNT interlayer facilitates good interfacial contact between the interlayer and the sulfur cathode and fast electron and lithium-ion transport while trapping and reutilizing the migrating polysulfides. The approach presented here has the potential to advance the commercialization feasibility of the Li-S batteries.

Effects of Electrospun Carbon Nanofibers’ Interlayers on High-Performance Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

PubMed Central

Gao, Tianji; Le, TrungHieu; Yang, Ying; Yu, Zhihao; Huang, Zhenghong; Kang, Feiyu

2017-01-01

Two different interlayers were introduced in lithium–sulfur batteries to improve the cycling stability with sulfur loading as high as 80% of total mass of cathode. Melamine was recommended as a nitrogen-rich (N-rich) amine component to synthesize a modified polyacrylic acid (MPAA). The electrospun MPAA was carbonized into N-rich carbon nanofibers, which were used as cathode interlayers, while carbon nanofibers from PAA without melamine was used as an anode interlayer. At the rate of 0.1 C, the initial discharge capacity with two interlayers was 983 mAh g−1, and faded down to 651 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles with the coulombic efficiency of 95.4%. At the rate of 1 C, the discharge capacity was kept to 380 mAh g−1 after 600 cycles with a coulombic efficiency of 98.8%. It apparently demonstrated that the cathode interlayer is extremely effective at shutting down the migration of polysulfide ions. The anode interlayer induced the lithium ions to form uniform lithium metal deposits confined on the fiber surface and in the bulk to strengthen the cycling stability of the lithium metal anode. PMID:28772731

Precise measurement of coupling strength and high temperature quantum effect in a nonlinearly coupled qubit-oscillator system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Li; Zhao, Nan

2018-04-01

We study the coherence dynamics of a qubit coupled to a harmonic oscillator with both linear and quadratic interactions. As long as the linear coupling strength is much smaller than the oscillator frequency, the long time behavior of the coherence is dominated by the quadratic coupling strength g 2. The coherence decays and revives at a period , with the width of coherence peak decreasing as the temperature increases, hence providing a way to measure g 2 precisely without cooling. Unlike the case of linear coupling, here the coherence dynamics never reduces to the classical limit in which the oscillator is classical. Finally, the validity of linear coupling approximation is discussed and the coherence under Hahn-echo is evaluated.

Stability and Process of Destruction of Compressed Plate of Layered Composite Materials With Defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bokhoeva, L. A.; Rogov, V. E.; Chermoshentseva, A. S.; Lobanov, D. V.

2016-08-01

Interlayer defects in composite materials are a pressing problem, which affecting their performance characteristics. In this research, we considered the problem of the stability and of the fracture process of the compressed thin plate made of laminated composite materials with the interlayer defects. In this research we had got a critical equation for a plate with interlayer defect. The experiment showed the effect and the quantity of nano-dispersed additives on the mechanical properties of composite materials with interlayer defects.

Structural charge site influence on the interlayer hydration of expandable three-sheet clay minerals

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kerns, Raymond L.; Mankin, Charles J.

1968-01-01

Previous investigations have demonstrated the influences of interlayer cation composition, relative humidity, temperature, and magnitude of interlayer surface charge on the interlayer hydration of montmorillonites and vermiculites. It has been suggested that the sites of layer charge deficiencies may also have an influence upon the amount of hydration that can take place in the interlayers of expandable clay minerals. If the interlayer cation-to-layer bonds are considered as ideally electrostatic, the magnitude of the forces resisting expansion may be expressed as a form of Coulomb's law. If this effect is significant, expandable structures in which the charge-deficiency sites are predominantly in the tetrahedral sheet should have less pronounced swelling properties than should structures possessing charge deficiencies located primarily in the octahedral sheet.Three samples that differed in location of layer charge sites were selected for study. An important selection criterion was a non-correlation between tetrahedral charge sites and high surface-charge density, and between octahedral charge sites and low surface-charge density.The effects of differences in interlayer cation composition were eliminated by saturating portions of each sample with the same cations. Equilibrium (001) d values at controlled constant humidities were used as a measure of the relative degree of interlayer hydration.Although no correlation could be made between the degree of interlayer hydration and total surface-charge density, the investigation does not eliminate total surface-charge density as being significant to the swelling properties of three-sheet clay-mineral structures. The results do indicate a correlation between more intense expandability and predominance of charge deficiencies in the octahedral sheet. Conversely, less intense swelling behavior is associated with predominantly tetrahedral charge deficiencies.

Mechanism Responsible for Intercalation of Dimethyl Sulfoxide in Kaolinite: Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

PubMed

Zhang, Shuai; Liu, Qinfu; Cheng, Hongfei; Gao, Feng; Liu, Cun; Teppen, Brian J

2018-01-01

Intercalation is the promising strategy to expand the interlayer region of kaolinite for their further applications. Herein, the adaptive biasing force (ABF) accelerated molecular dynamics simulations were performed to calculate the free energies involved in the kaolinite intercalation by dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Additionally, the classical all atom molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to calculate the interfacial interactions between kaolinite interlayer surfaces and DMSO with the aim at exploring the underlying force that drives the DMSO to enter the interlayer space. The results showed that the favorable interaction of DMSO with both kaolinite interlayer octahedral surface and tetrahedral surface can help in introducing DMSO enter kaolinite interlayer. The hydroxyl groups on octahedral surface functioned as H-donors attracting the S=O groups of DMSO through hydrogen bonding interaction. The tetrahedral surface featuring hydrophobic property attracted the methyl groups of DMSO through hydrophobic interaction. The results provided a detailed picture of the energetics and interlayer structure of kaolinite-DMSO intercalate.

Interlayer orientation-dependent light absorption and emission in monolayer semiconductor stacks

PubMed Central

Heo, Hoseok; Sung, Ji Ho; Cha, Soonyoung; Jang, Bo-Gyu; Kim, Joo-Youn; Jin, Gangtae; Lee, Donghun; Ahn, Ji-Hoon; Lee, Myoung-Jae; Shim, Ji Hoon; Choi, Hyunyong; Jo, Moon-Ho

2015-01-01

Two-dimensional stacks of dissimilar hexagonal monolayers exhibit unusual electronic, photonic and photovoltaic responses that arise from substantial interlayer excitations. Interband excitation phenomena in individual hexagonal monolayer occur in states at band edges (valleys) in the hexagonal momentum space; therefore, low-energy interlayer excitation in the hexagonal monolayer stacks can be directed by the two-dimensional rotational degree of each monolayer crystal. However, this rotation-dependent excitation is largely unknown, due to lack in control over the relative monolayer rotations, thereby leading to momentum-mismatched interlayer excitations. Here, we report that light absorption and emission in MoS2/WS2 monolayer stacks can be tunable from indirect- to direct-gap transitions in both spectral and dynamic characteristics, when the constituent monolayer crystals are coherently stacked without in-plane rotation misfit. Our study suggests that the interlayer rotational attributes determine tunable interlayer excitation as a new set of basis for investigating optical phenomena in a two-dimensional hexagonal monolayer system. PMID:26099952

Strain modulation-enhanced Mg acceptor activation efficiency of Al0.14Ga0.86N/GaN superlattices with AlN interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Lei; Li, Rui; Li, Ding; Liu, Ningyang; Liu, Lei; Chen, Weihua; Wang, Cunda; Yang, Zhijian; Hu, Xiaodong

2010-02-01

AlN layer was grown as interlayer between undoped GaN and Mg doped Al0.14Ga0.86N/GaN superlattices (SLs) epilayer to modulate the strain distribution between Al0.14Ga0.86N barrier and GaN well layers in SLs sample. Strain relaxation was observed in the SLs sample with AlN interlayer by x-ray diffraction reciprocal space mapping method. The measured hole concentration of SLs sample with AlN interlayer at room temperature was over 1.6×1018 cm-3 but that was only 6.6×1016 cm-3 obtained in SLs sample without AlN interlayer. Variable temperature Hall-effect measurement showed that the acceptor activation energy decreased from 150 to 70 meV after inserting the AlN layer, which indicated that the strain modulation of SLs induced by AlN interlayer was beneficial to the Mg acceptor activation and hole concentration enhancement.

Intercalation of gaseous thiols and sulfides into Ag+ ion-exchanged aluminum dihydrogen triphosphate.

PubMed

Hayashi, Aki; Saimen, Hiroki; Watanabe, Nobuaki; Kimura, Hitomi; Kobayashi, Ayumi; Nakayama, Hirokazu; Tsuhako, Mitsutomo

2005-08-02

Ag(+) ion-exchanged layered aluminum dihydrogen triphosphate (AlP) with the interlayer distance of 0.85 nm was synthesized by the ion-exchange of proton in triphosphate with Ag(+) ion. The amount of exchanged Ag(+) ion depended on the concentration of AgNO(3) aqueous solution. Ag(+) ion-exchanged AlP adsorbed gaseous thiols and sulfides into the interlayer region. The adsorption amounts of thiols were more than those of sulfides, thiols with one mercapto group > thiol with two mercapto groups > sulfides, and depended on the amount of exchanged Ag(+) ion in the interlayer region. The thiols with one mercapto group were intercalated to expand the interlayer distance of Ag(+) ion-exchanged AlP, whereas there was no expansion in the adsorption of sulfide. In the case of thiol with two mercapto groups, there was observed contraction of the interlayer distance through the bridging with Ag(+) ions of the upper and lower sides of the interlayer region.

Cascading failures with local load redistribution in interdependent Watts-Strogatz networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Chen; Zhang, Jun; Du, Wen-Bo; Sallan, Jose Maria; Lordan, Oriol

2016-05-01

Cascading failures of loads in isolated networks have been studied extensively over the last decade. Since 2010, such research has extended to interdependent networks. In this paper, we study cascading failures with local load redistribution in interdependent Watts-Strogatz (WS) networks. The effects of rewiring probability and coupling strength on the resilience of interdependent WS networks have been extensively investigated. It has been found that, for small values of the tolerance parameter, interdependent networks are more vulnerable as rewiring probability increases. For larger values of the tolerance parameter, the robustness of interdependent networks firstly decreases and then increases as rewiring probability increases. Coupling strength has a different impact on robustness. For low values of coupling strength, the resilience of interdependent networks decreases with the increment of the coupling strength until it reaches a certain threshold value. For values of coupling strength above this threshold, the opposite effect is observed. Our results are helpful to understand and design resilient interdependent networks.

Development of high temperature resistant graphite fiber coupling agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griffin, R. N.

1975-01-01

Surface treatments were investigated as potential coupling agents to improve the elevated temperature shear strength retention of polyimide/graphite and polyphenylquinoxaline/graphite composites. The potential coupling agents were evaluated by fiber strand tensile tests, fiber and composite weight losses at 533 and 588K, and by interlaminar shear strength retention at 533 and 588K. The two surface treatments selected for more extensive evaluation were a coating of Ventromer T-1, a complex organometallic reaction product of titanium tetrachloride and trimethyl borate, and a polyphenylquinoxaline (PPQ) sizing which was pyrolyzed in nitrogen to form a carbonaceous layer on the fiber. Pyrolyzed polyphenylquinoxaline is a satisfactory coupling agent for polyimide/Thornel 300 graphite fiber composites. During 1000 hours aging at 588K such composites lose a little over half their transverse tensile strength, and suffer a slight loss in flexural modulus. No degradation of flexural strength or interlaminar shear strength occured during 1000 hours aging at 588K. None of the coupling agents examined had a markedly beneficial effect with polyphenylquinoxaline composites.

Evaluation of asphalt rubber membrane interlayer (ARMI) using the University of Florida's composite system interface cracking (CSIC) test.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-05-01

Since the late 1970s, FDOT : has applied an interlayer : of Asphalt Rubber : Membrane Interlayer : (ARMI) to asphalt roadway : surfaces. ARMI layers are : constructed by spraying : asphalt rubber binder onto : the asphalt, covering the : layer with n...

Increased fracture toughness of graphite-epoxy composites through intermittent interlaminar bonding. [Mylar interlayer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Felbeck, D. K.; Jea, L. C.

1980-01-01

Intermittent interlaminar bonding, which can lead to a large increase in the fracture surface area, was achieved through the introduction of thin perforated Mylar between the layers of a multi-layer continuous-filament graphite-epoxy composite. For the best optimum condition included in this study, fracture toughness was increased from about 100 kJ/sq m for untreated specimens to an average of about 500 kJ/sq m, while tensile strength dropped from 500 MPa to 400 MPa, and elastic modulus remained the same at about 75 GPa. An approximate analysis is presented to explain the observed improvement in toughness.

Layer-dependent ferromagnetism in a van der Waals crystal down to the monolayer limit.

PubMed

Huang, Bevin; Clark, Genevieve; Navarro-Moratalla, Efrén; Klein, Dahlia R; Cheng, Ran; Seyler, Kyle L; Zhong, Ding; Schmidgall, Emma; McGuire, Michael A; Cobden, David H; Yao, Wang; Xiao, Di; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo; Xu, Xiaodong

2017-06-07

Since the discovery of graphene, the family of two-dimensional materials has grown, displaying a broad range of electronic properties. Recent additions include semiconductors with spin-valley coupling, Ising superconductors that can be tuned into a quantum metal, possible Mott insulators with tunable charge-density waves, and topological semimetals with edge transport. However, no two-dimensional crystal with intrinsic magnetism has yet been discovered; such a crystal would be useful in many technologies from sensing to data storage. Theoretically, magnetic order is prohibited in the two-dimensional isotropic Heisenberg model at finite temperatures by the Mermin-Wagner theorem. Magnetic anisotropy removes this restriction, however, and enables, for instance, the occurrence of two-dimensional Ising ferromagnetism. Here we use magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy to demonstrate that monolayer chromium triiodide (CrI 3 ) is an Ising ferromagnet with out-of-plane spin orientation. Its Curie temperature of 45 kelvin is only slightly lower than that of the bulk crystal, 61 kelvin, which is consistent with a weak interlayer coupling. Moreover, our studies suggest a layer-dependent magnetic phase, highlighting thickness-dependent physical properties typical of van der Waals crystals. Remarkably, bilayer CrI 3 displays suppressed magnetization with a metamagnetic effect, whereas in trilayer CrI 3 the interlayer ferromagnetism observed in the bulk crystal is restored. This work creates opportunities for studying magnetism by harnessing the unusual features of atomically thin materials, such as electrical control for realizing magnetoelectronics, and van der Waals engineering to produce interface phenomena.

Layer-dependent ferromagnetism in a van der Waals crystal down to the monolayer limit

DOE PAGES

Huang, Bevin; Clark, Genevieve; Navarro-Moratalla, Efrén; ...

2017-06-07

Since the celebrated discovery of graphene, the family of two-dimensional (2D) materials has grown to encompass a broad range of electronic properties. Recent additions include spin-valley coupled semiconductors, Ising superconductors that can be tuned into a quantum metal, possible Mott insulators with tunable charge-density waves, and topological semi-metals with edge transport. Despite this progress, there is still no 2D crystal with intrinsic magnetism, which would be useful for many technologies such as sensing, information, and data storage. Theoretically, magnetic order is prohibited in the 2D isotropic Heisenberg model at finite temperatures by the Mermin-Wagner theorem. However, magnetic anisotropy removes thismore » restriction and enables, for instance, the occurrence of 2D Ising ferromagnetism. Here, we use magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) microscopy to demonstrate that monolayer chromium triiodide (CrI 3) is an Ising ferromagnet with out-of-plane spin orientation. Its Curie temperature of 45 K is only slightly lower than the 61 K of the bulk crystal, consistent with a weak interlayer coupling. Moreover, our studies suggest a layer-dependent magnetic phases, showcasing the hallmark thickness dependent physical properties typical of van der Waals crystals. Remarkably, bilayer CrI3 displays suppressed magnetization with a metamagnetic effect, while in trilayer the interlayer ferromagnetism observed in the bulk crystal is restored. Our work creates opportunities for studying magnetism by harnessing the unique features of atomically-thin materials, such as electrical control for realizing magnetoelectronics, and van der Waals engineering for novel interface phenomena.« less

Layer-dependent ferromagnetism in a van der Waals crystal down to the monolayer limit

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, Bevin; Clark, Genevieve; Navarro-Moratalla, Efrén

Since the celebrated discovery of graphene, the family of two-dimensional (2D) materials has grown to encompass a broad range of electronic properties. Recent additions include spin-valley coupled semiconductors, Ising superconductors that can be tuned into a quantum metal, possible Mott insulators with tunable charge-density waves, and topological semi-metals with edge transport. Despite this progress, there is still no 2D crystal with intrinsic magnetism, which would be useful for many technologies such as sensing, information, and data storage. Theoretically, magnetic order is prohibited in the 2D isotropic Heisenberg model at finite temperatures by the Mermin-Wagner theorem. However, magnetic anisotropy removes thismore » restriction and enables, for instance, the occurrence of 2D Ising ferromagnetism. Here, we use magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) microscopy to demonstrate that monolayer chromium triiodide (CrI 3) is an Ising ferromagnet with out-of-plane spin orientation. Its Curie temperature of 45 K is only slightly lower than the 61 K of the bulk crystal, consistent with a weak interlayer coupling. Moreover, our studies suggest a layer-dependent magnetic phases, showcasing the hallmark thickness dependent physical properties typical of van der Waals crystals. Remarkably, bilayer CrI3 displays suppressed magnetization with a metamagnetic effect, while in trilayer the interlayer ferromagnetism observed in the bulk crystal is restored. Our work creates opportunities for studying magnetism by harnessing the unique features of atomically-thin materials, such as electrical control for realizing magnetoelectronics, and van der Waals engineering for novel interface phenomena.« less

Tunable two-dimensional interfacial coupling in molecular heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Xu, Beibei; Chakraborty, Himanshu; Yadav, Vivek K.; ...

2017-08-22

Two-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures are of considerable interest for the next generation nanoelectronics because of their unique interlayer coupling and optoelectronic properties. Here, we report a modified Langmuir–Blodgett method to organize twodimensional molecular charge transfer crystals into arbitrarily and vertically stacked heterostructures, consisting of bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT–TTF)/C 60 and poly (3-dodecylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3DDT)/C 60 nanosheets. A strong and anisotropic interfacial coupling between the charge transfer pairs is demonstrated. The van der Waals heterostructures exhibit pressure dependent sensitivity with a high piezoresistance coefficient of -4.4 × 10 -6 Pa -1, and conductance and capacitance tunable by external stimuli (ferroelectric field and magneticmore » field). Density functional theory calculations confirm charge transfer between the n-orbitals of the S atoms in BEDT–TTF of the BEDT–TTF/C 60 layer and the π* orbitals of C atoms in C 60 of the P3DDT/C 60 layer contribute to the inter-complex CT. Thus, the two-dimensional molecular van der Waals heterostructures with tunable optical–electronic–magnetic coupling properties are promising for flexible electronic applications.« less

Evaluation of asphalt rubber membrane interlayer (ARMI) using the University of Florida's composite system interface cracking (CSIC) test [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-01

Since the late 1970s, FDOT : has applied an interlayer : of Asphalt Rubber : Membrane Interlayer : (ARMI) to asphalt roadway : surfaces. ARMI layers are : constructed by spraying : asphalt rubber binder onto : the asphalt, covering the : layer with n...

In0.15Ga0.85N visible-light metal-semiconductor-metal photodetector with GaN interlayers deposited by pulsed NH3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hongxia; Zhang, Xiaohan; Wang, Hailong; Lv, Zesheng; Li, Yongxian; Li, Bin; Yan, Huan; Qiu, Xinjia; Jiang, Hao

2018-05-01

InGaN visible-light metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors with GaN interlayers deposited by pulsed NH3 were fabricated and characterized. By periodically inserting the GaN thin interlayers, the surface morphology of InGaN active layer is improved and the phase separation is suppressed. At 5 V bias, the dark current reduced from 7.0 × 10-11 A to 7.0 × 10-13 A by inserting the interlayers. A peak responsivity of 85.0 mA/W was measured at 420 nm and 5 V bias, corresponding to an external quantum efficiency of 25.1%. The insertion of GaN interlayers also lead to a sharper spectral response cutoff.

[Effect of amount of silane coupling agent on flexural strength of dental composite resins reinforced with aluminium borate whisker].

PubMed

Zhu, Ming-yi; Zhang, Xiu-yin

2015-06-01

To evaluate the effect of amount of silane coupling agent on flexural strength of dental composite resins reinforced with aluminium borate whisker (ABW). ABW was surface-treated with 0%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% silan coupling agent (γ-MPS), and mixed with resin matrix to synthesize 5 groups of composite resins. After heat-cured at 120 degrees centigrade for 1 h, specimens were tested in three-point flexure to measure strength according to ISO-4049. One specimen was selected randomly from each group and observed under scanning electron microscope (SEM). The data was analyzed with SAS 9.2 software package. The flexural strength (117.93±11.9 Mpa) of the group treated with 2% silane coupling agent was the highest, and significantly different from that of the other 4 groups (α=0.01). The amount of silane coupling agent has impact on the flexural strength of dental composite resins reinforced with whiskers; The flexual strength will be reduced whenever the amount is higher or lower than the threshold. Supported by Research Fund of Science and Technology Committee of Shanghai Municipality (08DZ2271100).

[A Structural Equation Model on Family Strength of Married Working Women].

PubMed

Hong, Yeong Seon; Han, Kuem Sun

2015-12-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of predictive factors related to family strength and develop a structural equation model that explains family strength among married working women. A hypothesized model was developed based on literature reviews and predictors of family strength by Yoo. This constructed model was built of an eight pathway form. Two exogenous variables included in this model were ego-resilience and family support. Three endogenous variables included in this model were functional couple communication, family stress and family strength. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire from 319 married working women who were 30~40 of age and lived in cities of Chungnam province in Korea. Data were analyzed with PASW/WIN 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 programs. Family support had a positive direct, indirect and total effect on family strength. Family stress had a negative direct, indirect and total effect on family strength. Functional couple communication had a positive direct and total effect on family strength. These predictive variables of family strength explained 61.8% of model. The results of the study show a structural equation model for family strength of married working women and that predicting factors for family strength are family support, family stress, and functional couple communication. To improve family strength of married working women, the results of this study suggest nursing access and mediative programs to improve family support and functional couple communication, and reduce family stress.

Metalliclike behavior of the exchange coupling in (001) Fe/MgO/Fe junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellouard, C.; Duluard, A.; Snoeck, E.; Lu, Y.; Negulescu, B.; Lacour, D.; Senet, C.; Robert, S.; Maloufi, N.; Andrieu, S.; Hehn, M.; Tiusan, C.

2017-10-01

Exchange magnetic coupling between Fe electrodes through a thin MgO interlayer in epitaxial junctions has been investigated as a function of temperature, MgO thickness, and interface quality. Depending on the MgO thickness, which has been varied from 1.5 to 4 monolayers, two opposite temperature dependences are clearly disentangled. For a thin MgO spacer, the main component decreases with temperature following a metalliclike behavior. On the contrary, for the thickest MgO layers, the main component increases with temperature, following an Arrhenius law. Moreover, the insertion of a monoatomic roughness at the bottom MgO interface, induced by the addition of a fraction of a Fe monolayer, exacerbates the metallic features as an oscillatory behavior from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic is observed. These results allow questioning the simple tunneling mechanism usually invoked for MgO coupling, and suggest a crossover behavior of the thin MgO spacer from metallic to insulating with a progressive opening of the gap.

Inelastic neutron scattering and molecular simulation of the dynamics of interlayer water in smectite clay minerals

DOE PAGES

Cygan, Randall T.; Daemen, Luke L.; Ilgen, Anastasia G.; ...

2015-11-16

The study of mineral–water interfaces is of great importance to a variety of applications including oil and gas extraction, gas subsurface storage, environmental contaminant treatment, and nuclear waste repositories. Understanding the fundamentals of that interface is key to the success of those applications. Confinement of water in the interlayer of smectite clay minerals provides a unique environment to examine the interactions among water molecules, interlayer cations, and clay mineral surfaces. Smectite minerals are characterized by a relatively low layer charge that allows the clay to swell with increasing water content. Montmorillonite and beidellite varieties of smectite were investigated to comparemore » the impact of the location of layer charge on the interlayer structure and dynamics. Inelastic neutron scattering of hydrated and dehydrated cation-exchanged smectites was used to probe the dynamics of the interlayer water (200–900 cm –1 spectral region) and identify the shift in the librational edge as a function of the interlayer cation. Molecular dynamics simulations of equivalent phases and power spectra, derived from the resulting molecular trajectories, indicate a general shift in the librational behavior with interlayer cation that is generally consistent with the neutron scattering results for the monolayer hydrates. Both neutron scattering and power spectra exhibit librational structures affected by the location of layer charge and by the charge of the interlayer cation. Furthermore, divalent cations (Ba 2+ and Mg 2+) characterized by large hydration enthalpies typically exhibit multiple broad librational peaks compared to monovalent cations (Cs + and Na +), which have relatively small hydration enthalpies.« less

Ordering Design Tasks Based on Coupling Strengths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, J. L.; Bloebaum, C. L.

1994-01-01

The design process associated with large engineering systems requires an initial decomposition of the complex system into modules of design tasks which are coupled through the transference of output data. In analyzing or optimizing such a coupled system, it is essential to be able to determine which interactions figure prominently enough to significantly affect the accuracy of the system solution. Many decomposition approaches assume the capability is available to determine what design tasks and interactions exist and what order of execution will be imposed during the analysis process. Unfortunately, this is often a complex problem and beyond the capabilities of a human design manager. A new feature for DeMAID (Design Manager's Aid for Intelligent Decomposition) will allow the design manager to use coupling strength information to find a proper sequence for ordering the design tasks. In addition, these coupling strengths aid in deciding if certain tasks or couplings could be removed (or temporarily suspended) from consideration to achieve computational savings without a significant loss of system accuracy. New rules are presented and two small test cases are used to show the effects of using coupling strengths in this manner.

Ordering design tasks based on coupling strengths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, James L., Jr.; Bloebaum, Christina L.

1994-01-01

The design process associated with large engineering systems requires an initial decomposition of the complex system into modules of design tasks which are coupled through the transference of output data. In analyzing or optimizing such a coupled system, it is essential to be able to determine which interactions figure prominently enough to significantly affect the accuracy of the system solution. Many decomposition approaches assume the capability is available to determine what design tasks and interactions exist and what order of execution will be imposed during the analysis process. Unfortunately, this is often a complex problem and beyond the capabilities of a human design manager. A new feature for DeMAID (Design Manager's Aid for Intelligent Decomposition) will allow the design manager to use coupling strength information to find a proper sequence for ordering the design tasks. In addition, these coupling strengths aid in deciding if certain tasks or couplings could be removed (or temporarily suspended) from consideration to achieve computational savings without a significant loss of system accuracy. New rules are presented and two small test cases are used to show the effects of using coupling strengths in this manner.

Strength of plate coupling in the southern Ryukyu subduction zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doo, Wen-Bin; Lo, Chung-Liang; Wu, Wen-Nan; Lin, Jing-Yi; Hsu, Shu-Kun; Huang, Yin-Sheng; Wang, Hsueh-Fen

2018-01-01

Understanding the strength of a plate coupling is critical for assessing potential seismic and tsunamic hazards in subduction zones. The interaction between an overriding plate and the associated subducting plate can be used to evaluate the strength of plate coupling by examining the mantle lithospheric buoyancy. Here, we calculate the mantle lithosphere buoyancy across the northern portion of the southern Ryukyu subduction zone based on gravity modeling with the constraints from a newly derived P-wave seismic velocity model. The result indicates that the strength of the plate coupling in the study area is relatively strong, which is consistent with previous observations in the southernmost Ryukyu subduction zone. Because few large earthquakes (Mw > 7) have occurred in the southern Ryukyu subduction zone, a large amount of energy is locked and accumulated by plate coupling, that could be released in the near future.

3D printing of porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds intended for use in bone tissue engineering applications.

PubMed

Cox, Sophie C; Thornby, John A; Gibbons, Gregory J; Williams, Mark A; Mallick, Kajal K

2015-02-01

A systematic characterisation of bone tissue scaffolds fabricated via 3D printing from hydroxyapatite (HA) and poly(vinyl)alcohol (PVOH) composite powders is presented. Flowability of HA:PVOH precursor materials was observed to affect mechanical stability, microstructure and porosity of 3D printed scaffolds. Anisotropic behaviour of constructs and part failure at the boundaries of interlayer bonds was highlighted by compressive strength testing. A trade-off between the ability to facilitate removal of PVOH thermal degradation products during sintering and the compressive strength of green parts was revealed. The ultimate compressive strength of 55% porous green scaffolds printed along the Y-axis and dried in a vacuum oven for 6h was 0.88 ± 0.02 MPa. Critically, the pores of 3D printed constructs could be user designed, ensuring bulk interconnectivity, and the imperfect packing of powder particles created an inherent surface roughness and non-designed porosity within the scaffold. These features are considered promising since they are known to facilitate osteoconduction and osteointegration in-vivo. Characterisation techniques utilised in this study include two funnel flow tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), compressive strength testing and computed tomography (CT). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study on mechanical and ablative properties of EPDM/OMMT thermal insulating nanocomposites.

PubMed

Gao, Guoxin; Zhang, Zhicheng; Li, Xuefei; Meng, Qingjie; Zheng, Yuansuo; Jin, Zhihao

2010-11-01

In order to enhance the elongation at break, the ablation resistant properties as well as the tensile strength of the thermal insulating materials, organo-montmorillonite (OMMT) was introduced into the short aramid fibers reinforced Ethylene-Propylene-Diene Monomer (EPDM) based nanocomposites. The effects of OMMT content on the mechanical and ablative properties of the nanocomposites were investigated systematically. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirm that EPDM-matrix has been intercalated into OMMT interlayers after a mixing process on a two-roll mill. The brittle fracture of nanocomposites also indicates that OMMT can lubricate aramid fiber to weaken the interfacial adhesive strength between the fibers and the matrix. As a result, the tensile strength and elongation at break are both improved sharply with OMMT content increasing from 1 phr to 7 phr. However, thanks to the inevitable agglomeration of OMMT with high loading inside the nanocomposites, the tensile strength and elongation at break reduce gently once OMMT is over 7 phr. Furthermore, the ablation resistant properties are improved greatly by increasing OMMT from 1 phr to 11 phr. Therefore, the optimal content of OMMT is 7-11 phr for the thermal insulating nanocomposites with big elongation and excellent ablation resistant properties.

77 FR 21422 - Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Airplanes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-10

... the fail-safe interlayer of certain No. 2 and No. 3 glass windows, which could result in loss of the... would hinder the internal or external detailed inspections for fail-safe interlayer cracks, glass pane... this AD only if the non-clear damage hinders the inspection for fail-safe interlayer cracks, glass pane...

Measuring Interlayer Shear Stress in Bilayer Graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Guorui; Dai, Zhaohe; Wang, Yanlei; Tan, PingHeng; Liu, Luqi; Xu, Zhiping; Wei, Yueguang; Huang, Rui; Zhang, Zhong

2017-07-01

Monolayer two-dimensional (2D) crystals exhibit a host of intriguing properties, but the most exciting applications may come from stacking them into multilayer structures. Interlayer and interfacial shear interactions could play a crucial role in the performance and reliability of these applications, but little is known about the key parameters controlling shear deformation across the layers and interfaces between 2D materials. Herein, we report the first measurement of the interlayer shear stress of bilayer graphene based on pressurized microscale bubble loading devices. We demonstrate continuous growth of an interlayer shear zone outside the bubble edge and extract an interlayer shear stress of 40 kPa based on a membrane analysis for bilayer graphene bubbles. Meanwhile, a much higher interfacial shear stress of 1.64 MPa was determined for monolayer graphene on a silicon oxide substrate. Our results not only provide insights into the interfacial shear responses of the thinnest structures possible, but also establish an experimental method for characterizing the fundamental interlayer shear properties of the emerging 2D materials for potential applications in multilayer systems.

Connecting the molecular scale to the continuum scale for diffusion processes in smectite-rich porous media.

PubMed

Bourg, Ian C; Sposito, Garrison

2010-03-15

In this paper, we address the manner in which the continuum-scale diffusive properties of smectite-rich porous media arise from their molecular- and pore-scale features. Our starting point is a successful model of the continuum-scale apparent diffusion coefficient for water tracers and cations, which decomposes it as a sum of pore-scale terms describing diffusion in macropore and interlayer "compartments." We then apply molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to determine molecular-scale diffusion coefficients D(interlayer) of water tracers and representative cations (Na(+), Cs(+), Sr(2+)) in Na-smectite interlayers. We find that a remarkably simple expression relates D(interlayer) to the pore-scale parameter δ(nanopore) ≤ 1, a constrictivity factor that accounts for the lower mobility in interlayers as compared to macropores: δ(nanopore) = D(interlayer)/D(0), where D(0) is the diffusion coefficient in bulk liquid water. Using this scaling expression, we can accurately predict the apparent diffusion coefficients of tracers H(2)0, Na(+), Sr(2+), and Cs(+) in compacted Na-smectite-rich materials.

A method for building low loss multi-layer wiring for superconducting microwave devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunsworth, A.; Barends, R.; Chen, Yu; Chen, Zijun; Chiaro, B.; Fowler, A.; Foxen, B.; Jeffrey, E.; Kelly, J.; Klimov, P. V.; Lucero, E.; Mutus, J. Y.; Neeley, M.; Neill, C.; Quintana, C.; Roushan, P.; Sank, D.; Vainsencher, A.; Wenner, J.; White, T. C.; Neven, H.; Martinis, John M.; Megrant, A.

2018-02-01

Complex integrated circuits require multiple wiring layers. In complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor processing, these layers are robustly separated by amorphous dielectrics. These dielectrics would dominate energy loss in superconducting integrated circuits. Here, we describe a procedure that capitalizes on the structural benefits of inter-layer dielectrics during fabrication and mitigates the added loss. We use a deposited inter-layer dielectric throughout fabrication and then etch it away post-fabrication. This technique is compatible with foundry level processing and can be generalized to make many different forms of low-loss wiring. We use this technique to create freestanding aluminum vacuum gap crossovers (airbridges). We characterize the added capacitive loss of these airbridges by connecting ground planes over microwave frequency λ/4 coplanar waveguide resonators and measuring resonator loss. We measure a low power resonator loss of ˜3.9 × 10-8 per bridge, which is 100 times lower than that of dielectric supported bridges. We further characterize these airbridges as crossovers, control line jumpers, and as part of a coupling network in gmon and fluxmon qubits. We measure qubit characteristic lifetimes (T1s) in excess of 30 μs in gmon devices.

Activating "Invisible" Glue: Using Electron Beam for Enhancement of Interfacial Properties of Graphene-Metal Contact.

PubMed

Kim, Songkil; Russell, Michael; Kulkarni, Dhaval D; Henry, Mathias; Kim, Steve; Naik, Rajesh R; Voevodin, Andrey A; Jang, Seung Soon; Tsukruk, Vladimir V; Fedorov, Andrei G

2016-01-26

Interfacial contact of two-dimensional graphene with three-dimensional metal electrodes is crucial to engineering high-performance graphene-based nanodevices with superior performance. Here, we report on the development of a rapid "nanowelding" method for enhancing properties of interface to graphene buried under metal electrodes using a focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID). High energy electron irradiation activates two-dimensional graphene structure by generation of structural defects at the interface to metal contacts with subsequent strong bonding via FEBID of an atomically thin graphitic interlayer formed by low energy secondary electron-assisted dissociation of entrapped hydrocarbon contaminants. Comprehensive investigation is conducted to demonstrate formation of the FEBID graphitic interlayer and its impact on contact properties of graphene devices achieved via strong electromechanical coupling at graphene-metal interfaces. Reduction of the device electrical resistance by ∼50% at a Dirac point and by ∼30% at the gate voltage far from the Dirac point is obtained with concurrent improvement in thermomechanical reliability of the contact interface. Importantly, the process is rapid and has an excellent insertion potential into a conventional fabrication workflow of graphene-based nanodevices through single-step postprocessing modification of interfacial properties at the buried heterogeneous contact.

A general method to improve 3D-printability and inter-layer adhesion in lignin-based composites

DOE PAGES

Nguyen, Ngoc A.; Bowland, Christopher C.; Naskar, Amit K.

2018-05-02

Here, we report the utilization of a melt-stable lignin waste-stream from biorefineries as a renewable feedstock, with acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer to synthesize a renewable matrix having excellent 3D-printability. While the initial low melt viscosity of the dispersed lignin phase induces local thermo-rheological relaxation facilitating the composite's melt flow, thermal crosslinking in both lignin and rubber phases as well as at the lignin-rubber interface decreases the molecular mobility. Consequently, interfacial diffusion and the resulting adhesion between deposited layers is decreased. However, addition of 10 wt.% of discontinuous carbon fibers (CFs) within the green composites not only significantly enhancesmore » the material performance but also lowers the degree of chemical crosslinking formed in the matrix during melt-phase synthesis. Furthermore, abundant functional groups including hydroxyl (from lignin) and nitrile (from rubber and ABS) allow combinations of hydrogen bonded structures where CFs play a critical bridging role between the deposited layers. As a result, a highly interfused printed structure with 100% improved inter-layer adhesion strength was obtained. This research offers a route toward utilizing lignin for replacement of petroleum-based thermoplastics used in additive manufacturing and methods to enhance printability of the materials with exceptional mechanical performance.« less

A general method to improve 3D-printability and inter-layer adhesion in lignin-based composites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nguyen, Ngoc A.; Bowland, Christopher C.; Naskar, Amit K.

Here, we report the utilization of a melt-stable lignin waste-stream from biorefineries as a renewable feedstock, with acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer to synthesize a renewable matrix having excellent 3D-printability. While the initial low melt viscosity of the dispersed lignin phase induces local thermo-rheological relaxation facilitating the composite's melt flow, thermal crosslinking in both lignin and rubber phases as well as at the lignin-rubber interface decreases the molecular mobility. Consequently, interfacial diffusion and the resulting adhesion between deposited layers is decreased. However, addition of 10 wt.% of discontinuous carbon fibers (CFs) within the green composites not only significantly enhancesmore » the material performance but also lowers the degree of chemical crosslinking formed in the matrix during melt-phase synthesis. Furthermore, abundant functional groups including hydroxyl (from lignin) and nitrile (from rubber and ABS) allow combinations of hydrogen bonded structures where CFs play a critical bridging role between the deposited layers. As a result, a highly interfused printed structure with 100% improved inter-layer adhesion strength was obtained. This research offers a route toward utilizing lignin for replacement of petroleum-based thermoplastics used in additive manufacturing and methods to enhance printability of the materials with exceptional mechanical performance.« less

Interface properties of MIS structures based on hetero-epitaxial graded-gap Hg1-xCdxTe with CdTe interlayer created in situ during MBE growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voitsekhovskii, Alexander V.; Nesmelov, Sergey N.; Dzyadukh, Stanislav M.; Varavin, Vasily S.; Dvoretsky, Sergey A.; Mikhailov, Nikolay N.; Yakushev, Maksim V.; Sidorov, Georgy Yu.

2017-11-01

Heterostructures based on n-Hg1-xCdxTe (x = 0.23-0.40) with near-surface graded-gap layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si (013) substrates. At 77 K, the admittance of the In/Al2O3/Hg1-xCdxTe metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures with grown in situ CdTe intermediate layer and without such a layer was investigated. It has been established that MIS structures of In/Al2O3/Hg1-xCdxTe with an interlayer of in situ grown CdTe are characterized by the electrical strength of the dielectric and the qualitative interface. The hysteresis of the capacitive characteristics is practically absent within a small range of variation in the bias voltage. The density of fast surface states at the minimum does not exceed 2.2 × 1010 eV-1 cm-2. MIS structures of In/Al2O3/Hg1-xCdxTe without an intermediate layer of CdTe have significantly higher densities of fast and slow surface states, as well as lower values of the differential resistance of the space-charge region in the regime of strong inversion.

Transient Liquid-Phase Diffusion Bonding of Aluminum Metal Matrix Composite Using a Mixed Cu-Ni Powder Interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maity, Joydeep; Pal, Tapan Kumar

2012-07-01

In the present study, the transient liquid-phase diffusion bonding of an aluminum metal matrix composite (6061-15 wt.% SiCp) has been investigated for the first time using a mixed Cu-Ni powder interlayer at 560 °C, 0.2 MPa, for different holding times up to 6 h. The microstructure of the isothermally solidified zone contains equilibrium precipitate CuAl2, metastable precipitate Al9Ni2 in the matrix of α-solid solution along with the reinforcement particles (SiC). On the other hand, the microstructure of the central bond zone consists of equilibrium phases such as NiAl3, Al7Cu4Ni and α-solid solution along with SiC particles (without any segregation) and the presence of microporosities. During shear test, the crack originates from microporosities and propagates along the interphase interfaces resulting in poor bond strength for lower holding times. As the bonding time increases, with continual diffusion, the structural heterogeneity is diminished, and the microporosities are eliminated at the central bond zone. Accordingly, after 6-h holding, the microstructure of the central bond zone mainly consists of NiAl3 without any visible microporosity. This provides a joint efficiency of 84% with failure primarily occurring through decohesion at the SiC particle/matrix interface.

Optical properties of stanene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pratap Chaudhary, Raghvendra; Saxena, Sumit; Shukla, Shobha

2016-12-01

Successful synthesis of graphene has created a runaway effect in the exploration of other similar two-dimensional materials. These materials are important as they provide large surface areas and have led to the exploration of new physical phenomena. Even though graphene has exotic electronic properties, its spin-orbit coupling is very weak. Tin, being one of the heaviest elements in this group, is expected to have enhanced spin-orbit coupling in addition to other exotic properties of graphene. Here we report optical signatures of free standing stanene obtained using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. Raman measurements were performed on a transmission electron microscope (TEM) grid. Interlayer spacing, phonon frequencies and the imaginary part of the complex dielectric function obtained using first principles methods are in good agreement with the experimental data. Occurrence of parallel bands suggests the possibility of the presence of excitonic effects in stanene.

``Loose spins'' in Fe/Cu/Fe(001) structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinrich, B.; Celinski, Z.; Liao, L. X.; From, M.; Cochran, J. F.

1994-05-01

Slonczewski recently proposed a model for the exchange coupling between ferromagnetic layers separated by a nonferromagnetic spacer based on the concept of ``loose spins.'' ``Loose spins'' contribute to the total exchange energy. We have studied the role of ``loose spins'' in bcc Fe/Cu/Fe(001) structures. bcc Fe/Cu/Fe(001) trilayers deposited at room temperature were investigated extensively in our previous studies. In our ``loose spin'' studies, the Fe was added inside the Cu interlayer. Several structures were atomically engineered in order to test the behavior of ``loose spins:'' One additional atomic layer of an (Fe+Cu) alloy were located in appropriate positions in a Cu spacer. The bilinear and biquadratic exchange coupling in the above structures was quantitatively studied with FMR in the temperature range 77-370 K and with MOKE at RT.

Perturbation theory for arbitrary coupling strength?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahapatra, Bimal P.; Pradhan, Noubihary

2018-03-01

We present a new formulation of perturbation theory for quantum systems, designated here as: “mean field perturbation theory” (MFPT), which is free from power-series-expansion in any physical parameter, including the coupling strength. Its application is thereby extended to deal with interactions of arbitrary strength and to compute system-properties having non-analytic dependence on the coupling, thus overcoming the primary limitations of the “standard formulation of perturbation theory” (SFPT). MFPT is defined by developing perturbation about a chosen input Hamiltonian, which is exactly solvable but which acquires the nonlinearity and the analytic structure (in the coupling strength) of the original interaction through a self-consistent, feedback mechanism. We demonstrate Borel-summability of MFPT for the case of the quartic- and sextic-anharmonic oscillators and the quartic double-well oscillator (QDWO) by obtaining uniformly accurate results for the ground state of the above systems for arbitrary physical values of the coupling strength. The results obtained for the QDWO may be of particular significance since “renormalon”-free, unambiguous results are achieved for its spectrum in contrast to the well-known failure of SFPT in this case.

The Effect of Inhibitory Neuron on the Evolution Model of Higher-Order Coupling Neural Oscillator Population

PubMed Central

Qi, Yi; Wang, Rubin; Jiao, Xianfa; Du, Ying

2014-01-01

We proposed a higher-order coupling neural network model including the inhibitory neurons and examined the dynamical evolution of average number density and phase-neural coding under the spontaneous activity and external stimulating condition. The results indicated that increase of inhibitory coupling strength will cause decrease of average number density, whereas increase of excitatory coupling strength will cause increase of stable amplitude of average number density. Whether the neural oscillator population is able to enter the new synchronous oscillation or not is determined by excitatory and inhibitory coupling strength. In the presence of external stimulation, the evolution of the average number density is dependent upon the external stimulation and the coupling term in which the dominator will determine the final evolution. PMID:24516505

Activity and Stability of (Pr 1-xNd x) 2NiO 4 as Cathodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: Part V. In Situ Studies of Phase Evolution

DOE PAGES

Dogdibegovic, Emir; Alabri, Nawf S.; Wright, Christopher J.; ...

2017-08-12

This study is to complement an early report (the manuscript is attached for review purpose) on the role of interlayer on activity and performance stability in praseodymium nickelates. The aforementioned report showed a remarkable 48% increase in power density while switching from common GDC interlayer to a new interlayer chemistry (PGCO). Furthermore, a stable long-term performance was linked with suppressed reaction between the cathode and PGCO interlayer. In this article, we report in situ studies of the phase evolution. The high energy XRD studies at a synchrotron source showed fully suppressed phase transition in praseodymium nickelates with PGCO interlayer, whilemore » the electrodes on the GDC interlayer undergo substantial phase transformation. Furthermore, in operando and post-test XRD analyses shown fully suppressed structural changes in electrodes operated in full cells at 750°C and 0.80 V for 500 hours. SEM-EDS analysis showed that the formation of PrO x at the cathode-interlayer interface may play a role in a decrease of mechanical integrity of the interfaces, due to thermal expansion mismatch, leading to a local stress between the two phases. Furthermore, phase evolution at a narrow interface may propagate toward the electrode bulk, leading to structural changes Q1 and performance degradation.« less

Activity and Stability of (Pr 1-xNd x) 2NiO 4 as Cathodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: Part V. In Situ Studies of Phase Evolution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dogdibegovic, Emir; Alabri, Nawf S.; Wright, Christopher J.

This study is to complement an early report (the manuscript is attached for review purpose) on the role of interlayer on activity and performance stability in praseodymium nickelates. The aforementioned report showed a remarkable 48% increase in power density while switching from common GDC interlayer to a new interlayer chemistry (PGCO). Furthermore, a stable long-term performance was linked with suppressed reaction between the cathode and PGCO interlayer. In this article, we report in situ studies of the phase evolution. The high energy XRD studies at a synchrotron source showed fully suppressed phase transition in praseodymium nickelates with PGCO interlayer, whilemore » the electrodes on the GDC interlayer undergo substantial phase transformation. Furthermore, in operando and post-test XRD analyses shown fully suppressed structural changes in electrodes operated in full cells at 750°C and 0.80 V for 500 hours. SEM-EDS analysis showed that the formation of PrO x at the cathode-interlayer interface may play a role in a decrease of mechanical integrity of the interfaces, due to thermal expansion mismatch, leading to a local stress between the two phases. Furthermore, phase evolution at a narrow interface may propagate toward the electrode bulk, leading to structural changes Q1 and performance degradation.« less

Carbon felt interlayer derived from rice paper and its synergistic encapsulation of polysulfides for lithium-sulfur batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Kai; Zhong, Lei; Guan, Ruiteng; Xiao, Min; Han, Dongmei; Wang, Shuanjin; Meng, Yuezhong

2018-05-01

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have remarkably high theoretical specific capacity as promising candidates for next-generation energy storage. However, the "polysulfides shuttle" effect hampers its commercial application. Here, we use a kind of rice paper as a raw material to get inorganic oxides doping carbon felt by the facile carbonization method, and then modified by a simple coating process using poly (fluorenyl ether ketone) and Super P slurry. The special structure of the carbon felt derived from rice paper and its modified layer endow the final electronic conductive interlayer with inherent polysulfides absorbents and ion Coulombic repulsion functions, respectively, which show synergistic effect for trapping polysulfides. As an interlayer of Li-S batteries, the obtained carbon felt/poly (fluorenyl ether ketone)& Super P (CFSS) interlayer shows excellent electrochemical performance in improving specific capacity and decreasing polarization. The batteries with CFSS interlayer exhibit a high capacity of 837 mA h g-1 at 2.0 C and a high initial capacity of 1073.4 mA h g-1 and good capacity retention of 824.5 mA h g-1 after 500 cycles at 0.5 C. CFSS interlayer also shows excellent anti-self-discharge performance. Therefore, the simple and economical CFSS interlayer can be considered as a promising component for high performance Li-S batteries.

Improvements of phosphorescent white OLEDs performance for lighting application.

PubMed

Lee, Jonghee; Chu, Hye Yong; Lee, Jeong-Ik; Song, Ki-Im; Lee, Su Jin

2008-10-01

We developed white OLED device with high power efficiency, in which blue and orange phosphorescent emitters were used. By introduction of multi-functional interlayer which has partial doping of orange dopant inside EBL, we report WOLEDs with peak external efficiencies up to (14.1% EQE, 31.3 Im/W) without light out-coupling technique. At 1000 cd/m2, the performance achieved was 11.9% EQE, 18.7 Im/W with CIE = (0.39, 0.44). We also found that WOLED performances are related with doping ratio of the orange dopant that was inserted inside EBL.

Electronic properties of bilayer graphenes strongly coupled to interlayer stacking and an external field

DOE PAGES

Park, Changwon; Ryou, Junga; Hong, Suklyun; ...

2015-07-02

Bilayer graphene (BLG) with a tunable band gap appears interesting as an alternative to graphene for practical applications; thus, its transport properties are being actively pursued. Using density functional theory and perturbation analysis, we investigated, under an external electric field, the electronic properties of BLG in various stackings relevant to recently observed complex structures. We established the first phase diagram summarizing the stacking-dependent gap openings of BLG for a given field. Lastly, we further identified high-density midgap states, localized on grain boundaries, even under a strong field, which can considerably reduce the overall transport gap.

Paraelectric-antiferroelectric phase transition in achiral liquid crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pociecha, Damian; Gorecka, Ewa; Čepič, Mojca; Vaupotič, Nataša; Gomola, Kinga; Mieczkowski, Jozef

2005-12-01

Critical freezing of molecular rotation in an achiral smectic phase, which leads to polar ordering through the second order paraelectric-antiferroelectric (Sm-A→Sm-APA) phase transition is studied theoretically and experimentally. Strong softening of the polar mode in the Sm-A phase and highly intensive dielectric mode in the Sm-APA phase are observed due to weak antiferroelectric interactions in the system. In the Sm-APA phase the dielectric response behaves critically upon biasing by a dc electric field. Such a behavior is found general for the antiferroelectric smectic phase with significant quadrupolar interlayer coupling.

Effect of sulphur vacancy and interlayer interaction on the electronic structure and spin splitting of bilayer MoS2.

PubMed

Dong, Yulan; Zeng, Bowen; Xiao, Jin; Zhang, Xiaojiao; Li, Dongde; Li, Mingjun; He, Jun; Long, Mengqiu

2018-02-27

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) is one of the candidate materials for nanoelectronics and optoelectronics devices in the future. The electronic and magnetic properties of MoS 2 can be regulated by interlayer interaction and the vacancy effect. Nevertheless, the combined effect of these two factors on MoS 2 is not clearly understood. In this study, we have investigated the impact of a single S vacancy combined with interlayer interaction on the properties of bilayer MoS 2 . Our calculated results show that an S vacancy brings impurity states in the band structure of bilayer MoS 2 , and the energy level of the impurity states can be affected by the interlayer distance, which finally disappears in the bulk state when the layer distance is relatively small. Moreover, during the compression of bilayer MoS 2 , the bottom layer, where the S vacancy stays, gets an additional charge due to interlayer charge transfer, which first increases, and then decreases due to gradually forming the interlayer S-S covalent bond, as interlayer distance decreases. The change of the additional charge is consistent with the change of the total magnetic moment of the bottom layers, no magnetic moment has been found in the top layer. The distribution of magnetic moment mainly concentrates on the three Mo atoms around the S vacancy, for each of which the magnetic moment is very much related to the Mo-Mo length. Our conclusion is that the interlayer charge transfer and S vacancy co-determine the magnetic properties of this system, which may be a useful way to regulate the electronic and magnetic properties of MoS 2 for potential applications.

Effects of exchanged cation and layer charge on the sorption of water and EGME vapors on montmorillonite clays

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chiou, Cary T.; Rutherford, David W.

1997-01-01

The effects of exchanged cation and layer charge on the sorption of water and ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (EGME) vapors on montmorillonite have been studied on SAz-1 and SWy-1 source clays, each exchanged respectively with Ca, Na, K, Cs and tetramethylammonium (TMA) cations. The corresponding lattice expansions were also determined, and the corresponding N2 adsorption data were provided for comparison. For clays exchanged with cations of low hydrating powers (such as K, Cs and TMA), water shows a notably lower uptake than does N2 at low relative pressures (P/P0). By contrast, EGME shows higher uptakes than N2 on all exchanged clays at all P/P0. The anomaly for water is attributed to its relatively low attraction for siloxane surfaces of montmorillonite because of its high cohesive energy density. In addition to solvating cations and expanding interlayers, water and EGME vapors condense into small clay pores and interlayer voids created by interlayer expansion. The initial (dry) interlayer separation varies more significantly with cation type than with layer charge; the water-saturated interlayer separation varies more with cation type than the EGME-saturated interlayer separation. Because of the differences in surface adsorption and interlayer expansion for water and EGME, no general correspondence is found between the isotherms of water and EGME on exchanged clays, nor is a simple relation observed between the overall uptake of either vapor and the cation solvating power. The excess interlayer capacities of water and of EGME that result from lattice expansion of the exchanged clays are estimated by correcting for amounts of vapor adsorption on planar clay surfaces and of vapor condensation into intrinsic clay pores. The resulting data follow more closely the relative solvating powers of the exchanged cations.

Effect of sulphur vacancy and interlayer interaction on the electronic structure and spin splitting of bilayer MoS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Yulan; Zeng, Bowen; Xiao, Jin; Zhang, Xiaojiao; Li, Dongde; Li, Mingjun; He, Jun; Long, Mengqiu

2018-03-01

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is one of the candidate materials for nanoelectronics and optoelectronics devices in the future. The electronic and magnetic properties of MoS2 can be regulated by interlayer interaction and the vacancy effect. Nevertheless, the combined effect of these two factors on MoS2 is not clearly understood. In this study, we have investigated the impact of a single S vacancy combined with interlayer interaction on the properties of bilayer MoS2. Our calculated results show that an S vacancy brings impurity states in the band structure of bilayer MoS2, and the energy level of the impurity states can be affected by the interlayer distance, which finally disappears in the bulk state when the layer distance is relatively small. Moreover, during the compression of bilayer MoS2, the bottom layer, where the S vacancy stays, gets an additional charge due to interlayer charge transfer, which first increases, and then decreases due to gradually forming the interlayer S-S covalent bond, as interlayer distance decreases. The change of the additional charge is consistent with the change of the total magnetic moment of the bottom layers, no magnetic moment has been found in the top layer. The distribution of magnetic moment mainly concentrates on the three Mo atoms around the S vacancy, for each of which the magnetic moment is very much related to the Mo-Mo length. Our conclusion is that the interlayer charge transfer and S vacancy co-determine the magnetic properties of this system, which may be a useful way to regulate the electronic and magnetic properties of MoS2 for potential applications.

Electroencephalogram–Electromyography Coupling Analysis in Stroke Based on Symbolic Transfer Entropy

PubMed Central

Gao, Yunyuan; Ren, Leilei; Li, Rihui; Zhang, Yingchun

2018-01-01

The coupling strength between electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) signals during motion control reflects the interaction between the cerebral motor cortex and muscles. Therefore, neuromuscular coupling characterization is instructive in assessing motor function. In this study, to overcome the limitation of losing the characteristics of signals in conventional time series symbolization methods, a variable scale symbolic transfer entropy (VS-STE) analysis approach was proposed for corticomuscular coupling evaluation. Post-stroke patients (n = 5) and healthy volunteers (n = 7) were recruited and participated in various tasks (left and right hand gripping, elbow bending). The proposed VS-STE was employed to evaluate the corticomuscular coupling strength between the EEG signal measured from the motor cortex and EMG signal measured from the upper limb in both the time-domain and frequency-domain. Results showed a greater strength of the bi-directional (EEG-to-EMG and EMG-to-EEG) VS-STE in post-stroke patients compared to healthy controls. In addition, the strongest EEG–EMG coupling strength was observed in the beta frequency band (15–35 Hz) during the upper limb movement. The predefined coupling strength of EMG-to-EEG in the affected side of the patient was larger than that of EEG-to-EMG. In conclusion, the results suggested that the corticomuscular coupling is bi-directional, and the proposed VS-STE can be used to quantitatively characterize the non-linear synchronization characteristics and information interaction between the primary motor cortex and muscles. PMID:29354091

Renormalization of Collective Modes in Large-Scale Neural Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moirogiannis, Dimitrios; Piro, Oreste; Magnasco, Marcelo O.

2017-05-01

The bulk of studies of coupled oscillators use, as is appropriate in Physics, a global coupling constant controlling all individual interactions. However, because as the coupling is increased, the number of relevant degrees of freedom also increases, this setting conflates the strength of the coupling with the effective dimensionality of the resulting dynamics. We propose a coupling more appropriate to neural circuitry, where synaptic strengths are under biological, activity-dependent control and where the coupling strength and the dimensionality can be controlled separately. Here we study a set of N→ ∞ strongly- and nonsymmetrically-coupled, dissipative, powered, rotational dynamical systems, and derive the equations of motion of the reduced system for dimensions 2 and 4. Our setting highlights the statistical structure of the eigenvectors of the connectivity matrix as the fundamental determinant of collective behavior, inheriting from this structure symmetries and singularities absent from the original microscopic dynamics.

Magnetron sputtered zinc oxide nanorods as thickness-insensitive cathode interlayer for perovskite planar-heterojunction solar cells.

PubMed

Liang, Lusheng; Huang, Zhifeng; Cai, Longhua; Chen, Weizhong; Wang, Baozeng; Chen, Kaiwu; Bai, Hua; Tian, Qingyong; Fan, Bin

2014-12-10

Suitable electrode interfacial layers are essential to the high performance of perovskite planar heterojunction solar cells. In this letter, we report magnetron sputtered zinc oxide (ZnO) film as the cathode interlayer for methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) perovskite solar cell. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrate that the sputtered ZnO films consist of c-axis aligned nanorods. The solar cells based on this ZnO cathode interlayer showed high short circuit current and power conversion efficiency. Besides, the performance of the device is insensitive to the thickness of ZnO cathode interlayer. Considering the high reliability and maturity of sputtering technique both in lab and industry, we believe that the sputtered ZnO films are promising cathode interlayers for perovskite solar cells, especially in large-scale production.

Evolution of mechanical response of sodium montmorillonite interlayer with increasing hydration by molecular dynamics.

PubMed

Schmidt, Steven R; Katti, Dinesh R; Ghosh, Pijush; Katti, Kalpana S

2005-08-16

The mechanical response of the interlayer of hydrated montmorillonite was evaluated using steered molecular dynamics. An atomic model of the sodium montmorillonite was previously constructed. In the current study, the interlayer of the model was hydrated with multiple layers of water. Using steered molecular dynamics, external forces were applied to individual atoms of the clay surface, and the response of the model was studied. The displacement versus applied stress and stress versus strain relationships of various parts of the interlayer were studied. The paper describes the construction of the model, the simulation procedure, and results of the simulations. Some results of the previous work are further interpreted in the light of the current research. The simulations provide quantitative stress deformation relationships as well as an insight into the molecular interactions taking place between the clay surface and interlayer water and cations.

Plexcitons: The Role of Oscillator Strengths and Spectral Widths in Determining Strong Coupling.

PubMed

Thomas, Reshmi; Thomas, Anoop; Pullanchery, Saranya; Joseph, Linta; Somasundaran, Sanoop Mambully; Swathi, Rotti Srinivasamurthy; Gray, Stephen K; Thomas, K George

2018-01-23

Strong coupling interactions between plasmon and exciton-based excitations have been proposed to be useful in the design of optoelectronic systems. However, the role of various optical parameters dictating the plasmon-exciton (plexciton) interactions is less understood. Herein, we propose an inequality for achieving strong coupling between plasmons and excitons through appropriate variation of their oscillator strengths and spectral widths. These aspects are found to be consistent with experiments on two sets of free-standing plexcitonic systems obtained by (i) linking fluorescein isothiocyanate on Ag nanoparticles of varying sizes through silane coupling and (ii) electrostatic binding of cyanine dyes on polystyrenesulfonate-coated Au nanorods of varying aspect ratios. Being covalently linked on Ag nanoparticles, fluorescein isothiocyanate remains in monomeric state, and its high oscillator strength and narrow spectral width enable us to approach the strong coupling limit. In contrast, in the presence of polystyrenesulfonate, monomeric forms of cyanine dyes exist in equilibrium with their aggregates: Coupling is not observed for monomers and H-aggregates whose optical parameters are unfavorable. The large aggregation number, narrow spectral width, and extremely high oscillator strength of J-aggregates of cyanines permit effective delocalization of excitons along the linear assembly of chromophores, which in turn leads to efficient coupling with the plasmons. Further, the results obtained from experiments and theoretical models are jointly employed to describe the plexcitonic states, estimate the coupling strengths, and rationalize the dispersion curves. The experimental results and the theoretical analysis presented here portray a way forward to the rational design of plexcitonic systems attaining the strong coupling limits.

Ripples on spikes show increased phase-amplitude coupling in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy seizure onset zones

PubMed Central

Weiss, Shennan A; Orosz, Iren; Salamon, Noriko; Moy, Stephanie; Wei, Linqing; Van ’t Klooster, Maryse A; Knight, Robert T; Harper, Ronald M; Bragin, Anatol; Fried, Itzhak; Engel, Jerome; Staba, Richard J

2016-01-01

Objective Ripples (80–150 Hz) recorded from clinical macroelectrodes have been shown to be an accurate biomarker of epileptogenic brain tissue. We investigated coupling between epileptiform spike phase and ripple amplitude to better understand the mechanisms that generate this type of pathological ripple (pRipple) event. Methods We quantified phase amplitude coupling (PAC) between epileptiform EEG spike phase and ripple amplitude recorded from intracranial depth macroelectrodes during episodes of sleep in 12 patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. PAC was determined by 1) a phasor transform that corresponds to the strength and rate of ripples coupled with spikes, and a 2) ripple-triggered average to measure the strength, morphology, and spectral frequency of the modulating and modulated signals. Coupling strength was evaluated in relation to recording sites within and outside the seizure onset zone (SOZ). Results Both the phasor transform and ripple-triggered averaging methods showed ripple amplitude was often robustly coupled with epileptiform EEG spike phase. Coupling was more regularly found inside than outside the SOZ, and coupling strength correlated with the likelihood a macroelectrode’s location was within the SOZ (p<0.01). The ratio of the rate of ripples coupled with EEG spikes inside the SOZ to rates of coupled ripples in non-SOZ was greater than the ratio of rates of ripples on spikes detected irrespective of coupling (p<0.05). Coupling strength correlated with an increase in mean normalized ripple amplitude (p<0.01), and a decrease in mean ripple spectral frequency (p<0.05). Significance Generation of low-frequency (80–150 Hz) pRipples in the SOZ involves coupling between epileptiform spike phase and ripple amplitude. The changes in excitability reflected as epileptiform spikes may also cause clusters of pathologically interconnected bursting neurons to grow and synchronize into aberrantly large neuronal assemblies. PMID:27723936

The coherent interlayer resistance of a single, rotated interface between two stacks of AB graphite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Habib, K. M. Masum; Sylvia, Somaia S.; Ge, Supeng; Neupane, Mahesh; Lake, Roger K.

2013-12-01

The coherent, interlayer resistance of a misoriented, rotated interface between two stacks of AB graphite is determined for a variety of misorientation angles. The quantum-resistance of the ideal AB stack is on the order of 1 to 10 mΩ μm2. For small rotation angles, the coherent interlayer resistance exponentially approaches the ideal quantum resistance at energies away from the charge neutrality point. Over a range of intermediate angles, the resistance increases exponentially with cell size for minimum size unit cells. Larger cell sizes, of similar angles, may not follow this trend. The energy dependence of the interlayer transmission is described.

Inter-layer potential for hexagonal boron nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leven, Itai; Azuri, Ido; Kronik, Leeor; Hod, Oded

2014-03-01

A new interlayer force-field for layered hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) based structures is presented. The force-field contains three terms representing the interlayer attraction due to dispersive interactions, repulsion due to anisotropic overlaps of electron clouds, and monopolar electrostatic interactions. With appropriate parameterization, the potential is able to simultaneously capture well the binding and lateral sliding energies of planar h-BN based dimer systems as well as the interlayer telescoping and rotation of double walled boron-nitride nanotubes of different crystallographic orientations. The new potential thus allows for the accurate and efficient modeling and simulation of large-scale h-BN based layered structures.

Plasticized Polymer Interlayer for Low-Temperature Fabrication of a High-Quality Silver Nanowire-Based Flexible Transparent and Conductive Film

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jo, Wonhee; Kang, Hong Suk; Choi, Jaeho

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are one of the most promising materials to replace commercially available indium tin oxide in flexible transparent conductive films (TCFs); however, there are still numerous problems originating from poor AgNW junction formation and improper AgNW embedment into transparent substrates. To mitigate these problems, high-temperature processes have been adopted; however, unwanted substrate deformation prevents the use of these processes for the formation of flexible TCFs. In this work, we present a novel poly(methyl methacrylate) interlayer plasticized by dibutyl phthalate for low-temperature fabrication of AgNW-based TCFs, which does not cause any substrate deformation. By exploiting the viscoelastic properties ofmore » the plasticized interlayer near the lowered glass-transition temperature, a monolithic junction of AgNWs on the interlayer and embedment of the interconnected AgNWs into the interlayer are achieved in a single-step pressing. The resulting AgNW-TCFs are highly transparent (~92% at a wavelength of 550 nm), highly conductive (<90 Ω/sq), and environmentally and mechanically robust. Therefore, the plasticized interlayer provides a simple and effective route to fabricate high-quality AgNW-based TCFs.« less

Cooperative effect of random and time-periodic coupling strength on synchronization transitions in one-way coupled neural system: mean field approach.

PubMed

Jiancheng, Shi; Min, Luo; Chusheng, Huang

2017-08-01

The cooperative effect of random coupling strength and time-periodic coupling strengh on synchronization transitions in one-way coupled neural system has been investigated by mean field approach. Results show that cooperative coupling strength (CCS) plays an active role for the enhancement of synchronization transitions. There exist an optimal frequency of CCS which makes the system display the best CCS-induced synchronization transitions, a critical frequency of CCS which can not further affect the CCS-induced synchronization transitions, and a critical amplitude of CCS which can not occur the CCS-induced synchronization transitions. Meanwhile, noise intensity plays a negative role for the CCS-induced synchronization transitions. Furthermore, it is found that the novel CCS amplitude-induced synchronization transitions and CCS frequency-induced synchronization transitions are found.

One-dimensional polaritons with size-tunable and enhanced coupling strengths in semiconductor nanowires.

PubMed

van Vugt, Lambert K; Piccione, Brian; Cho, Chang-Hee; Nukala, Pavan; Agarwal, Ritesh

2011-06-21

Strong coupling of light with excitons in direct bandgap semiconductors leads to the formation of composite photonic-electronic quasi-particles (polaritons), in which energy oscillates coherently between the photonic and excitonic states with the vacuum Rabi frequency. The light-matter coherence is maintained until the oscillator dephases or the photon escapes. Exciton-polariton formation has enabled the observation of Bose-Einstein condensation in the solid-state, low-threshold polariton lasing and is also useful for terahertz and slow-light applications. However, maintaining coherence for higher carrier concentration and temperature applications still requires increased coupling strengths. Here, we report on size-tunable, exceptionally high exciton-polariton coupling strengths characterized by a vacuum Rabi splitting of up to 200 meV as well as a reduction in group velocity, in surface-passivated, self-assembled semiconductor nanowire cavities. These experiments represent systematic investigations on light-matter coupling in one-dimensional optical nanocavities, demonstrating the ability to engineer light-matter coupling strengths at the nanoscale, even in non-quantum-confined systems, to values much higher than in bulk.

One-dimensional polaritons with size-tunable and enhanced coupling strengths in semiconductor nanowires

PubMed Central

van Vugt, Lambert K.; Piccione, Brian; Cho, Chang-Hee; Nukala, Pavan; Agarwal, Ritesh

2011-01-01

Strong coupling of light with excitons in direct bandgap semiconductors leads to the formation of composite photonic-electronic quasi-particles (polaritons), in which energy oscillates coherently between the photonic and excitonic states with the vacuum Rabi frequency. The light-matter coherence is maintained until the oscillator dephases or the photon escapes. Exciton-polariton formation has enabled the observation of Bose-Einstein condensation in the solid-state, low-threshold polariton lasing and is also useful for terahertz and slow-light applications. However, maintaining coherence for higher carrier concentration and temperature applications still requires increased coupling strengths. Here, we report on size-tunable, exceptionally high exciton-polariton coupling strengths characterized by a vacuum Rabi splitting of up to 200 meV as well as a reduction in group velocity, in surface-passivated, self-assembled semiconductor nanowire cavities. These experiments represent systematic investigations on light-matter coupling in one-dimensional optical nanocavities, demonstrating the ability to engineer light-matter coupling strengths at the nanoscale, even in non-quantum-confined systems, to values much higher than in bulk. PMID:21628582

On the Influence of the Coupling Strength among Chua’s Circuits on the Structure of Their Hyper-Chaotic Attractors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freud, Sven; Plaga, Rainer; Breithaupt, Ralph

2016-06-01

The hyper-chaotic strange attractor of systems of four Chua’s circuits that are mutually coupled by three strong and three weak couplings is studied, both experimentally and via simulation. A new metric to compare strange attractors is presented. It is found that the strength of the couplings between circuits have a complex and determining influence on the probability for the presence of a trajectory within their attractors. This influence is strictly local, i.e. the probability of the presence of the trajectories is determined by the coupling strength to the directly adjacent circuits and independent of the coupling strengths among other circuits. Fluctuations in the properties of Chua’s circuits due to random fluctuations during the production of its components have a significant influence on the probability of presence of the attractor’s trajectories that could be qualitatively, but not quantitatively, modeled by our simulation. The consequences of these results for the possibility to construct “physical unclonable functions” as networks of Chua’s circuits with a hyper-chaotic dynamics are discussed.

Dramatic Enhancement of Graphene Oxide/Silk Nanocomposite Membranes: Increasing Toughness, Strength, and Young's modulus via Annealing of Interfacial Structures.

PubMed

Wang, Yaxian; Ma, Ruilong; Hu, Kesong; Kim, Sunghan; Fang, Guangqiang; Shao, Zhengzhong; Tsukruk, Vladimir V

2016-09-21

We demonstrate that stronger and more robust nacre-like laminated GO (graphene oxide)/SF (silk fibroin) nanocomposite membranes can be obtained by selectively tailoring the interfacial interactions between "bricks"-GO sheets and "mortar"-silk interlayers via controlled water vapor annealing. This facial annealing process relaxes the secondary structure of silk backbones confined between flexible GO sheets. The increased mobility leads to a significant increase in ultimate strength (by up to 41%), Young's modulus (up to 75%) and toughness (up to 45%). We suggest that local silk recrystallization is initiated in the proximity to GO surface by the hydrophobic surface regions serving as nucleation sites for β-sheet domains formation and followed by SF assembly into nanofibrils. Strong hydrophobic-hydrophobic interactions between GO layers with SF nanofibrils result in enhanced shear strength of layered packing. This work presented here not only gives a better understanding of SF and GO interfacial interactions, but also provides insight on how to enhance the mechanical properties for the nacre-mimic nanocomposites by focusing on adjusting the delicate interactions between heterogeneous "brick" and adaptive "mortar" components with water/temperature annealing routines.

Impacts of Irrigation on Land-Atmosphere Coupling Strength Under Different Evapotranspiration Characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, C. Y.; Lo, M. H.

2017-12-01

The Budyko curve displays that the magnitude of evapotranspiration (ET) is limited mainly by the availabilities of energy and water, i.e., under wet conditions, ET is primarily controlled by the available energy, while under dry conditions, ET is primarily controlled by the available water. Land-atmosphere coupling (LAC) strength, which relates to the Budyko curve, is widely discussed because of its contribution towards the improvement in seasonal climate forecasts. For example, the "hot spots" of LAC, where the soil moisture anomalies strongly affect the local precipitation, are found in the transition zones between wet and dry climates. ET of these transition zones is limited by the available water, but at the same time, the surface latent heat flux is large enough to trigger moist convection. Recently, the impacts of irrigation have gained lots of attention, including the change in LAC. Badger and Dirmeyer (2015) analyzed the climate response of Amazon forest replacement by crop with consideration of irrigation in model simulations, discovering negative relationship between added irrigation water and coupling between the soil moisture and the latent heat flux. In addition, Lu et al. (2017) found remarkable decreases of LAC strength with the increase of irrigated cropland percentage in the Great Plains of America. The two studies show that irrigation is possible to affect land-atmosphere coupling strength. However, whether the irrigation process leads to the reduction of coupling strength in other regions of the world remains unclear. This study aims to compare the differences of irrigation impact on land-atmosphere coupling strength between five selected locations undergoing intense irrigation: India, North China Plain, Southwest Europe, Great Plains and Middle East. The spatial divergence of the factor that limits the ET (e.g., either by the available energy or water) will be the focus in this study. Both offline simulation (Community Land Model) and couple simulation (coupled with Community Atmosphere Model) are used to explore the direct change and the subsequent shifts in land-atmosphere interactions. Also, three LAC indices are adopted to quantify the coupling strength between land and atmosphere.

Effect of gender on strength gains after isometric exercise coupled with electromyographic biofeedback in knee osteoarthritis: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Anwer, S; Equebal, A; Nezamuddin, M; Kumar, R; Lenka, P K

2013-09-01

The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effect of gender on strength gains after five week training programme that consisted of isometric exercise coupled with electromyographic biofeedback to the quadriceps muscle. Forty-three (20 men and 23 women) patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), were placed into two groups based on their gender. Both groups performed isometric exercise coupled with electromyographic biofeedback for five days a week for five weeks. Both groups reported gains in muscle strength after five week training. However, the difference was found to be statistically insignificant between the two groups (P=0.224). The results suggest that gender did not affect gains in muscle strength by isometric exercise coupled with electromyographic biofeedback in patients with knee OA. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Atomistic simulation on the plastic deformation and fracture of bio-inspired graphene/Ni nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zhenyu; Wang, Dandan; Lu, Zixing; Hu, Wenjun

2016-11-01

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the plastic deformation and fracture behaviors of bio-inspired graphene/metal nanocomposites, which have a "brick-and-mortar" nanostructure, consisting of hard graphene single-layers embedded in a soft Ni matrix. The plastic deformation mechanisms of the nanocomposites were analyzed as well as their effects on the mechanical properties with various geometrical variations. It was found that the strength and ductility of the metal matrix can be highly enhanced with the addition of the staggered graphene layers, and the plastic deformation can be attributed to the interfacial sliding, dislocation nucleation, and cracks' combination. The strength of the nanocomposites strongly depends on the length scale of the nanostructure and the interlayer distance as well. In addition, slip at the interface releases the stress in graphene layers, leading to the stress distribution on the graphene more uniform. The present results are expected to contribute to the design of the nanolayered graphene/metal composites with high performance.

Highly adhesive and high fatigue-resistant copper/PET flexible electronic substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sang Jin; Ko, Tae-Jun; Yoon, Juil; Moon, Myoung-Woon; Oh, Kyu Hwan; Han, Jun Hyun

2018-01-01

A voidless Cu/PET substrate is fabricated by producing a superhydrophilic PET surface comprised of nanostructures with large width and height and then by Cu electroless plating. Effect of PET surface nanostructure size on the failure mechanism of the Cu/PET substrate is studied. The fabricated Cu/PET substrate exhibits a maximum peel strength of 1300 N m-1 without using an interlayer, and virtually no increase in electrical resistivity under the extreme cyclic bending condition of 1 mm curvature radius after 300 k cycles. The authors find that there is an optimum nanostructure size for the highest Cu/PET adhesion strength, and the failure mechanism of the Cu/PET flexible substrate depends on the PET surface nanostructure size. Thus, this work presents the possibility to produce flexible metal/polymer electronic substrates that have excellent interfacial adhesion between the metal and polymer and high fatigue resistance against repeated bending. Such metal/polymer substrates provides new design opportunities for wearable electronic devices that can withstand harsh environments and have extended lifetimes.

Elevated temperature flow strength, creep resistance and diffusion welding characteristics of Ti-6Al-2Nb-1Ta-0.8Mo

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whittenberger, J. D.; Moore, T. J.

1979-01-01

A study of the flow strength, creep resistance and diffusion welding characteristics of the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-2Nb-1Ta-0.8Mo has been conducted. Two mill-processed forms of this alloy were examined. The forged material had been processed above the beta transus (approximately 1275 K) while the rolled form had been subjected to work below the beta transus. Between 1150 and 1250 K, the forged material was stronger and more creep resistant than the rolled alloy. Both forms exhibit superplastic characteristics in this temperature range. Strain measurements during diffusion welding experiments at 1200 K reveal that weld interfaces have no measurable effect on the overall creep deformation. Significant deformation appears to be necessary to produce a quality diffusion weld between superplastic materials. A 'soft' interlayer inserted between faying surfaces would seemingly allow manufacture of quality diffusion welds with little overall deformation.

Microstructural and bulk property changes in hardened cement paste during the first drying process

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maruyama, Ippei, E-mail: ippei@dali.nuac.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Nishioka, Yukiko; Igarashi, Go

2014-04-01

This paper reports the microstructural changes and resultant bulk physical property changes in hardened cement paste (hcp) during the first desorption process. The microstructural changes and solid-phase changes were evaluated by water vapor sorption, nitrogen sorption, ultrasonic velocity, and {sup 29}Si and {sup 27}Al nuclear magnetic resonance. Strength, Young's modulus, and drying shrinkage were also examined. The first drying process increased the volume of macropores and decreased the volume of mesopores and interlayer spaces. Furthermore, in the first drying process globule clusters were interconnected. During the first desorption, the strength increased for samples cured at 100% to 90% RH, decreasedmore » for 90% to 40% RH, and increased again for 40% to 11% RH. This behavior is explained by both microstructural changes in hcp and C–S–H globule densification. The drying shrinkage strains during rapid drying and slow drying were compared and the effects of the microstructural changes and evaporation were separated.« less

Robust magnon-photon coupling in a planar-geometry hybrid of inverted split-ring resonator and YIG film.

PubMed

Bhoi, Biswanath; Kim, Bosung; Kim, Junhoe; Cho, Young-Jun; Kim, Sang-Koog

2017-09-20

We experimentally demonstrate strongly enhanced coupling between excited magnons in an Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) film and microwave photons in an inverted pattern of split-ring resonator (noted as ISRR). The anti-crossing effects of the ISRR's photon mode and the YIG's magnon modes were found from |S 21 |-versus-frequency measurements for different strengths and directions of externally applied magnetic fields. The spin-number-normalized coupling strength (i.e. single spin-photon coupling) [Formula: see text] was determined to 0.194 Hz ([Formula: see text] = 90 MHz) at 3.7 GHz frequency. Furthermore, we found that additional fine features in the anti-crossing region originate from the excitation of different spin-wave modes (such as the magnetostatic surface and the backward-volume magnetostatic spin-waves) rather than the Kittel-type mode. These spin-wave modes, as coupled with the ISRR mode, modify the anti-crossing effect as well as their coupling strength. An equivalent circuit model very accurately reproduced the observed anti-crossing effect and its coupling strength variation with the magnetic field direction in the planar-geometry ISRR/YIG hybrid system. This work paves the way for the design of new types of high-gain magnon-photon coupling systems in planar geometry.

Strongly Enhanced Tunneling at Total Charge Neutrality in Double-Bilayer Graphene-WSe_{2} Heterostructures.

PubMed

Burg, G William; Prasad, Nitin; Kim, Kyounghwan; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; MacDonald, Allan H; Register, Leonard F; Tutuc, Emanuel

2018-04-27

We report the experimental observation of strongly enhanced tunneling between graphene bilayers through a WSe_{2} barrier when the graphene bilayers are populated with carriers of opposite polarity and equal density. The enhanced tunneling increases sharply in strength with decreasing temperature, and the tunneling current exhibits a vertical onset as a function of interlayer voltage at a temperature of 1.5 K. The strongly enhanced tunneling at overall neutrality departs markedly from single-particle model calculations that otherwise match the measured tunneling current-voltage characteristics well, and suggests the emergence of a many-body state with condensed interbilayer excitons when electrons and holes of equal densities populate the two layers.

Strongly Enhanced Tunneling at Total Charge Neutrality in Double-Bilayer Graphene-WSe2 Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burg, G. William; Prasad, Nitin; Kim, Kyounghwan; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; MacDonald, Allan H.; Register, Leonard F.; Tutuc, Emanuel

2018-04-01

We report the experimental observation of strongly enhanced tunneling between graphene bilayers through a WSe2 barrier when the graphene bilayers are populated with carriers of opposite polarity and equal density. The enhanced tunneling increases sharply in strength with decreasing temperature, and the tunneling current exhibits a vertical onset as a function of interlayer voltage at a temperature of 1.5 K. The strongly enhanced tunneling at overall neutrality departs markedly from single-particle model calculations that otherwise match the measured tunneling current-voltage characteristics well, and suggests the emergence of a many-body state with condensed interbilayer excitons when electrons and holes of equal densities populate the two layers.

Joining thick section aluminum to steel with suppressed FeAl intermetallic formation via friction stir dovetailing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reza-E-Rabby, Md.; Ross, Kenneth; Overman, Nicole R.

A new solid-phase technique called friction stir dovetailing (FSD) has been developed for joining thick section aluminum to steel. In FSD, mechanical interlocks are formed at the aluminum-steel interface and are reinforced by metallurgical bonds where intermetallic growth has been uniquely suppressed. Lap shear testing shows superior strength and extension at failure compared to popular friction stir approaches where metallurgical bonding is the only joining mechanism. High resolution microscopy revealed the presence of a 40-70 nm interlayer having a composition of 76.4 at% Al, 18.4 at% Fe, and 5.2 at% Si, suggestive of limited FeAl3 intermetallic formation.

Metal-free spin and spin-gapless semiconducting heterobilayers: monolayer boron carbonitrides on hexagonal boron nitride.

PubMed

Pan, Hongzhe; Zhang, Hongyu; Sun, Yuanyuan; Ding, Yingchun; Chen, Jie; Du, Youwei; Tang, Nujiang

2017-06-07

The interfaces between monolayer boron carbonitrides and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) play an important role in their practical applications. Herein, we respectively investigate the structural and electronic properties of two metal-free heterobilayers constructed by vertically stacking two-dimensional (2D) spintronic materials (B 4 CN 3 and B 3 CN 4 ) on a h-BN monolayer from the viewpoints of lattice match and lattice mismatch models using density functional calculations. It is found that both B 4 CN 3 and B 3 CN 4 monolayers can be stably adsorbed on the h-BN monolayer due to the van der Waals interactions. Intriguingly, we demonstrate that the bipolar magnetic semiconductor (BMS) behavior of the B 4 CN 3 layer and the spin gapless semiconductor (SGS) property of the B 3 CN 4 layer can be well preserved in the B 4 CN 3 /BN and B 3 CN 4 /BN heterobilayers, respectively. The magnetic moments and spintronic properties of the two systems originate mainly from the 2p z electrons of the carbon atoms in the B 4 CN 3 and B 3 CN 4 layers. Furthermore, the BMS behavior of the B 4 CN 3 /BN bilayer is very robust while the electronic property of the B 3 CN 4 /BN bilayer is sensitive to interlayer couplings. These theoretical results are helpful both in understanding the interlayer coupling between B 4 CN 3 or B 3 CN 4 and h-BN monolayers and in providing a possibility of fabricating 2D composite B 4 CN 3 /BN and B 3 CN 4 /BN metal-free spintronic materials theoretically.

Intermolecular interactions between imidazole derivatives intercalated in layered solids. Substituent group effect

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

González, M.; Lemus-Santana, A.A.; Rodríguez-Hernández, J.

2013-08-15

This study sheds light on the intermolecular interactions between imidazole derive molecules (2-methyl-imidazole, 2-ethyl-imidazole and benzimidazole) intercalated in T[Ni(CN){sub 4}] layers to form a solid of formula unit T(ImD){sub 2}[Ni(CN){sub 4}]. These hybrid inorganic–organic solids were prepared by soft chemical routes and their crystal structures solved and refined from X-ray powder diffraction data. The involved imidazole derivative molecules were found coordinated through the pyridinic N atom to the axial positions for the metal T in the T[Ni(CN){sub 4}] layer. In the interlayers region ligand molecules from neighboring layers remain stacked in a face-to-face configuration through dipole–dipole and quadrupole–quadrupole interactions. Thesemore » intermolecular interactions show a pronounced dependence on the substituent group and are responsible for an ImD-pillaring concatenation of adjacent layers. This is supported by the structural information and the recorded magnetic data in the 2–300 K temperature range. The samples containing Co and Ni are characterized by presence of spin–orbit coupling and pronounced temperature dependence for the effective magnetic moment except for 2-ethyl-imidazole related to the local distortion for the metal coordination environment. For this last one ligand a weak ferromagnetic ordering ascribed to a super-exchange interaction between T metals from neighboring layers through the ligands π–π interaction was detected. - Graphical abstract: In the interlayers region imidazole derivative molecules are oriented according to their dipolar and quadrupolar interactions and minimizing the steric impediment. Highlights: • Imidazole derivatives intercalation compounds. • Intermolecular interaction between intercalated imidazole derivatives. • Hybrid inorganic–organic solids. • Pi–pi interactions and ferromagnetic coupling. • Dipolar and quadrupolar interactions between intercalated imidazole derivatives.« less

Asphalt-Rubber SAMI (Stress-Absorbing Membrane Interlayers) Field Evaluation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-04-01

revealed that there was promise in using the material as an interlayer to prevent the reflection of cracks from an old pavement to a new asphalt -concrete...reflection cracking , and (2) that asphalt - rubber interlayers should be investigated in conjunction with conventional asphalt -concrete overlays. An... Asphalt -rubber samples were taken and tested and construction activities were documented. The performance has been monitored by conducting crack

Tipping Point for Expansion of Layered Aluminosilicates in Weakly Polar Solvents: Supercritical CO2.

PubMed

Schaef, Herbert T; Loganathan, Narasimhan; Bowers, Geoffrey M; Kirkpatrick, R James; Yazaydin, A Ozgur; Burton, Sarah D; Hoyt, David W; Thanthiriwatte, K Sahan; Dixon, David A; McGrail, B Peter; Rosso, Kevin M; Ilton, Eugene S; Loring, John S

2017-10-25

Layered aluminosilicates play a dominant role in the mechanical and gas storage properties of the subsurface, are used in diverse industrial applications, and serve as model materials for understanding solvent-ion-support systems. Although expansion in the presence of H 2 O is well-known to be systematically correlated with the hydration free energy of the interlayer cation, particularly in environments dominated by nonpolar solvents (i.e., CO 2 ), uptake into the interlayer is not well-understood. Using novel high-pressure capabilities, we investigated the interaction of dry supercritical CO 2 with Na-, NH 4 -, and Cs-saturated montmorillonite, comparing results with predictions from molecular dynamics simulations. Despite the known trend in H 2 O and that cation solvation energies in CO 2 suggest a stronger interaction with Na, both the NH 4 - and Cs-clays readily absorbed CO 2 and expanded, while the Na-clay did not. The apparent inertness of the Na-clay was not due to kinetics, as experiments seeking a stable expanded state showed that none exists. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed a large endothermicity to CO 2 intercalation in the Na-clay but little or no energy barrier for the NH 4 - and Cs-clays. Indeed, the combination of experiment and theory clearly demonstrate that CO 2 intercalation of Na-montmorillonite clays is prohibited in the absence of H 2 O. Consequently, we have shown for the first time that in the presence of a low dielectric constant, gas swelling depends more on the strength of the interaction between the interlayer cation and aluminosilicate sheets and less on that with solvent. The finding suggests a distinct regime in layered aluminosilicate swelling behavior triggered by low solvent polarizability, with important implications in geomechanics, storage, and retention of volatile gases, and across industrial uses in gelling, decoloring, heterogeneous catalysis, and semipermeable reactive barriers.

Diamond film deposition on WC-Co and steel substrates with a CrN interlayer for tribological applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandran, Maneesh; Hoffman, Alon

2016-06-01

The most renowned property of diamond is its exceptional hardness. By depositing diamond films on tungsten carbide (WC-Co) and steel substrates, the hardness of diamond can be combined with the toughness of these materials, resulting in an excellent wear resistance material for tribological applications. However, poor adhesion of diamond coating on these substrates leads to a lesser lifetime for the diamond coated tools than expected. The prime reasons for the lack of proper adhesion are the preferential formation of graphitic layer at the interface due to the catalytic activities of cobalt/iron and the interfacial residual stresses due to the mismatch in thermal expansion coefficients of diamond (1.5  ×  10-6 K-1) and WC-Co (5.2  ×  10-6 K-1) or steel (12  ×  10-6 K-1). In this review, we discuss the possibility of using a Cr-N interlayer as a diffusion barrier to prevent the catalytic activities of cobalt/iron and also to relax the interfacial residual stresses to some extent to enhance the adhesion of diamond coatings on these substrates. An overview of the most pertinent results of the last two decades, including the recent progress is introduced. We describe in detail how the Cr-N interlayer with the desired properties is fabricated. We give a concise overview of diamond deposition process, including the methods to vary the grain size from microcrystalline to nanocrystalline, which are suitable for some tribological applications. We describe in detail on surface and interface analysis, residual stress measurements, assessment adhesion strength and tribological performance of diamond coated WC-Co and steel substrates using various characterization techniques. We conclude by highlighting the current progress and future perspectives of diamond coatings on these substrates for tribological applications.

Effect of nano BiPb-2212 phase addition on BiPb-2223 phase properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammed, N. H.; Abou-Aly, A. I.; Barakat, M. Me.; Hassan, M. S.

2018-06-01

BiPb-2212 phase in nanoscale was added to BiPb-2223 phase with a general stoichiometry of (Bi1.7Pb0.4Sr2.1Ca1.1Cu2.1O8+δ)x/Bi1.8Pb0.4Sr2.0Ca2.0Cu3.2O10+δ, 0.0 ≤ x  ≤ 2.5 wt.%. All samples were prepared by the standard solid-state reaction method. The prepared nano BiPb-2212 phase was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The prepared samples were characterized by XRD and the scanning electron microscope (SEM). XRD analysis indicated that the sample with x = 1.5 wt.% has the highest relative volume fraction for BiPb-2223 phase. Samples were examined by electrical resistivity and I-V measurements. There is no significant change in the superconducting transition temperature Tc for all samples. The highest critical current density Jc was recorded for the sample with x = 1.5 wt.%. The normalized excess conductivity (Δσ/σroom) was calculated according to Aslamazov-Larkin (AL) model. Four different fluctuating regions were recorded as the temperature decreased. The coherence length along the c-axis at 0 K ξc(0), interlayer coupling strength s, Fermi velocity vF of the carriers and Fermi energy EF were calculated for both samples with x = 0.0 wt.% and 1.5 wt.%.

Development of a Nano-Satellite Micro-Coupling Mechanism with Characterization of a Shape Memory Alloy Interference Joint

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-01

satellite incorporation are explored by assembly and experimentation. Research on pseudoelastic material properties , analytical predictions, and...are explored by assembly and experimentation. Research on pseudoelastic material properties , analytical predictions, and tests of coupling strengths...20  Table 2.  Material Properties Used in Micro-Coupling Predicted Strength Calculations

Origins of interlayer formation and misfit dislocation displacement in the vicinity of InAs/GaAs quantum dots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, S.; Kim, S. J.; Pan, X. Q.

We have examined the origins of interlayer formation and misfit dislocation (MD) displacement in the vicinity of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs). For QDs formed by the Stranski-Krastanov mode, regularly spaced MDs nucleate at the interface between the QD and the GaAs buffer layer. In the droplet epitaxy case, both In island formation and In-induced “nano-drilling” of the GaAs buffer layer are observed during In deposition. Upon annealing under As flux, the In islands are converted to InAs QDs, with an InGaAs interlayer at the QD/buffer interface. Meanwhile, MDs nucleate at the QD/interlayer interface.

Observation of interlayer excitons in MoSe2 single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horng, Jason; Stroucken, Tineke; Zhang, Long; Paik, Eunice Y.; Deng, Hui; Koch, Stephan W.

2018-06-01

Interlayer excitons with direct optical transitions are observed coexisting with intralayer excitons in the same K valleys in bilayer, few-layer, and bulk MoSe2 single crystals by confocal reflection contrast spectroscopy. Quantitative analysis using the Dirac-Bloch equations provides unambiguous state assignment of all the measured resonances. The interlayer excitons in bilayer MoSe2 have a large binding energy of 153 meV and a narrow linewidth of 20 meV. Their spectral weight is comparable to the commonly studied higher-order intralayer excitons. At the same time, the interlayer excitons are characterized by distinct transition energies and permanent dipole moments, providing a promising high temperature and optically accessible platform for dipolar exciton physics.

Multilayer Disk Reduced Interlayer Crosstalk with Wide Disk-Fabrication Margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirotsune, Akemi; Miyauchi, Yasushi; Endo, Nobumasa; Onuma, Tsuyoshi; Anzai, Yumiko; Kurokawa, Takahiro; Ushiyama, Junko; Shintani, Toshimichi; Sugiyama, Toshinori; Miyamoto, Harukazu

2008-07-01

To reduce interlayer crosstalk caused by the ghost spot which appears in a multilayer optical disk with more than three information layers, a multilayer disk structure which reduces interlayer crosstalk with a wide disk-fabrication margin was proposed in which the backward reflectivity of the information layers is sufficiently low. It was confirmed that the interlayer crosstalk caused by the ghost spot was reduced to less than the crosstalk from the adjacent layer by controlling backward reflectivity. The wide disk-fabrication margin of the proposed disk structure was indicated by experimentally confirming that the tolerance of the maximum deviation of the spacer-layer thickness is four times larger than that in the previous multilayer disk.

Influence of a MoOx interlayer on the open-circuit voltage in organic photovoltaic cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Yunlong; Holmes, Russell J.

2013-07-01

Metal-oxides have been used as interlayers at the anode-organic interface in organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) to increase the open-circuit voltage (VOC). We examine the role of MoOx in determining the maximum VOC in a planar heterojunction OPV and find that the interlayer strongly affects the temperature dependence of VOC. Boron subphthalocyanine chloride (SubPc)-C60 OPVs that contain no interlayer show a maximum VOC of 1.2 V at low temperature, while those with MoOx show no saturation, reaching VOC > 1.4 V. We propose that the MoOx-SubPc interface forms a Schottky junction that provides an additional contribution to VOC at low temperature.

Flux-lattice melting, anisotropy, and the role of interlayer coupling in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duran, C.; Yazyi, J.; de La Cruz, F.; Bishop, D. J.; Mitzi, D. B.; Kapitulnik, A.

1991-10-01

We have used the high-Q mechanical-oscillator technique to probe the vortex-lattice structure in high-quality Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O single crystals over a wide range of magnetic fields (200 Oe to 40 kOe), and relative orientations θ between the magnetic field and the crystalline c^ axis. In addition to the large softening and dissipation peak previously observed and interpreted as due to flux-lattice melting, another distinctly different peak at higher temperatures is seen. The temperatures where the dissipation peaks take place are solely defined by the parallel component of the field cosθ, while the restoring force on the oscillator is due to both field components. We suggest that the two peaks are due to the softening of interplanar coupling at the low-temperature peak, and melting or depinning of the two-dimensional pancake vortices at the higher-temperature peak.

Real-Space Imaging of the Tailored Plasmons in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, F.; Das, Suprem R.; Luan, Y.; Chung, T.-F.; Chen, Y. P.; Fei, Z.

2017-12-01

We report a systematic plasmonic study of twisted bilayer graphene (TBLG)—two graphene layers stacked with a twist angle. Through real-space nanoimaging of TBLG single crystals with a wide distribution of twist angles, we find that TBLG supports confined infrared plasmons that are sensitively dependent on the twist angle. At small twist angles, TBLG has a plasmon wavelength comparable to that of single-layer graphene. At larger twist angles, the plasmon wavelength of TBLG increases significantly with apparently lower damping. Further analysis and modeling indicate that the observed twist-angle dependence of TBLG plasmons in the Dirac linear regime is mainly due to the Fermi-velocity renormalization, a direct consequence of interlayer electronic coupling. Our work unveils the tailored plasmonic characteristics of TBLG and deepens our understanding of the intriguing nano-optical physics in novel van der Waals coupled two-dimensional materials.

Manipulating topological states by imprinting non-collinear spin textures

DOE PAGES

Streubel, Robert; Han, Luyang; Im, Mi -Young; ...

2015-03-05

Topological magnetic states, such as chiral skyrmions, are of great scientific interest and show huge potential for novel spintronics applications, provided their topological charges can be fully controlled. So far skyrmionic textures have been observed in noncentrosymmetric crystalline materials with low symmetry and at low temperatures. We propose theoretically and demonstrate experimentally the design of spin textures with topological charge densities that can be tailored at ambient temperatures. Tuning the interlayer coupling in vertically stacked nanopatterned magnetic heterostructures, such as a model system of a Co/Pd multilayer coupled to Permalloy, the in-plane non-collinear spin texture of one layer can bemore » imprinted into the out-of-plane magnetised material. We observe distinct spin textures, e.g. vortices, magnetic swirls with tunable opening angle, donut states and skyrmion core configurations. We show that applying a small magnetic field, a reliable switching between topologically distinct textures can be achieved at remanence« less

Watering Graphene for Devices and Electricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Wanlin; Yin, Jun; Li, Xuemei; Zhang, Zhuhua

2013-03-01

Graphene bring us into a fantastic two-dimensional (2D) age of nanotechnology, which can be fabricated and applied at wafer scale, visible at single layer but showing exceptional properties distinguished from its bulk form graphite, linking the properties of atomic layers with the engineering scale of our mankind. We shown that flow-induced-voltage in graphene can be 20 folds higher than in graphite, not only due to the giant Seebeck coefficient of single layer graphene, but also the exceptional interlayer interaction in few layer graphene. Extremely excitingly, water flow over graphene can generate electricity through unexpected interaction of the ions in the water with the graphene. We also find extraordinary mechanical-electric-magnetic coupling effects in graphene and BN systems. Such extraordinary multifield coupling effects in graphene and functional nanosystems open up new vistas in nanotechnology for efficient energy conversion, self-powering flexible devices and novel functional systems.

Real-Space Imaging of the Tailored Plasmons in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hu, F.; Das, Suprem R.; Luan, Y.

Here, we report a systematic plasmonic study of twisted bilayer graphene (TBLG)—two graphene layers stacked with a twist angle. Through real-space nanoimaging of TBLG single crystals with a wide distribution of twist angles, we find that TBLG supports confined infrared plasmons that are sensitively dependent on the twist angle. At small twist angles, TBLG has a plasmon wavelength comparable to that of single-layer graphene. At larger twist angles, the plasmon wavelength of TBLG increases significantly with apparently lower damping. Further analysis and modeling indicate that the observed twist-angle dependence of TBLG plasmons in the Dirac linear regime is mainly duemore » to the Fermi-velocity renormalization, a direct consequence of interlayer electronic coupling. Our work unveils the tailored plasmonic characteristics of TBLG and deepens our understanding of the intriguing nano-optical physics in novel van der Waals coupled two-dimensional materials.« less

Real-Space Imaging of the Tailored Plasmons in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

DOE PAGES

Hu, F.; Das, Suprem R.; Luan, Y.; ...

2017-12-13

Here, we report a systematic plasmonic study of twisted bilayer graphene (TBLG)—two graphene layers stacked with a twist angle. Through real-space nanoimaging of TBLG single crystals with a wide distribution of twist angles, we find that TBLG supports confined infrared plasmons that are sensitively dependent on the twist angle. At small twist angles, TBLG has a plasmon wavelength comparable to that of single-layer graphene. At larger twist angles, the plasmon wavelength of TBLG increases significantly with apparently lower damping. Further analysis and modeling indicate that the observed twist-angle dependence of TBLG plasmons in the Dirac linear regime is mainly duemore » to the Fermi-velocity renormalization, a direct consequence of interlayer electronic coupling. Our work unveils the tailored plasmonic characteristics of TBLG and deepens our understanding of the intriguing nano-optical physics in novel van der Waals coupled two-dimensional materials.« less

Enhanced luminescence efficiency by surface plasmon coupling of Ag nanoparticles in a polymer light-emitting diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Sy-Hann; Jhong, Jhen-Yu

2011-08-01

This study achieved a substantial enhancement in electroluminescence by coupling localized surface plasmons in a single layer of Ag nanoparticles. Thermal evaporation was used to fabricate 20-nm Ag particles sandwiched between a gallium-doped zinc oxide film and a glass substrate to form novel window materials for use in polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs). The PLEDs discussed herein are single-layer devices based on a poly(9,9-di-n-octyl-2,7-fluorene) (PFO) emissive layer. In addition to low cost, this novel fabrication method can effectively prevent interruption or degradation of the charge transport properties of the active layer to meet the high performance requirements of PLEDs. Due to the surface-plasmon-enhanced emission, the electroluminescence intensity was increased by nearly 1-fold, compared to that of the same PLED without the interlayer of Ag nanoparticles.

Coupling strength assumption in statistical energy analysis

PubMed Central

Lafont, T.; Totaro, N.

2017-01-01

This paper is a discussion of the hypothesis of weak coupling in statistical energy analysis (SEA). The examples of coupled oscillators and statistical ensembles of coupled plates excited by broadband random forces are discussed. In each case, a reference calculation is compared with the SEA calculation. First, it is shown that the main SEA relation, the coupling power proportionality, is always valid for two oscillators irrespective of the coupling strength. But the case of three subsystems, consisting of oscillators or ensembles of plates, indicates that the coupling power proportionality fails when the coupling is strong. Strong coupling leads to non-zero indirect coupling loss factors and, sometimes, even to a reversal of the energy flow direction from low to high vibrational temperature. PMID:28484335

Electrochemical preparation of carbon films with a Mo2C interlayer in LiCl-NaCl-Na2CO3 melts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Jianbang; Wang, Shuai; Zhang, Feng; Zhang, Long; Jiao, Handong; Zhu, Hongmin; Jiao, Shuqiang

2015-08-01

The electrodeposition of carbon films with a Mo2C interlayer was investigated in LiCl-NaCl-Na2CO3 melts at 900 °C. Cyclic voltammetry was applied to study the electrochemical reaction mechanism on Mo and Pt electrodes, indicating that, two reduction reactions including carbon deposition and carbon monoxide evolution, may take place on the two electrodes simultaneously during the cathodic sweep. Carbon films with a continuous Mo2C interlayer were prepared by constant voltage electrolysis, showing a good adhesion between Mo substrate and carbon films. The carbon films with a Mo2C interlayer were characterized using X-ray diffraction measurement, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results reveal that carbon materials deposited on the electrodes are mainly composed of graphite and carbon diffusion in Mo (or Mo2C) leads to the formation and growth of Mo2C interlayer.

Toward Increasing Micropore Volume between Hybrid Layered Perovskites with Silsesquioxane Interlayers.

PubMed

Kataoka, Sho; Kamimura, Yoshihiro; Endo, Akira

2018-04-10

Hybrid organic-inorganic layered perovskites are typically nonporous solids. However, the incorporation of silsesquioxanes with a cubic cage structure as interlayer materials creates micropores between the perovskite layers. In this study, we increase in the micropore volume in layered perovskites by replacing a portion of the silsesquioxane interlayers with organic amines. In the proposed method, approximately 20% of the silsesquioxane interlayers can be replaced without changing the layer distance owing to the size of the silsesquioxane. When small amines (e.g., ethylamine) are used in this manner, the micropore volume of the obtained hybrid layered perovskites increases by as much as 44%; when large amines (e.g., phenethylamine) are used, their micropore volume decreases by as much as 43%. Through the variation of amine fraction, the micropore volume can be adjusted in the range. Finally, the magnetic moment measurements reveal that the layered perovskites with mixed interlayers exhibit ferromagnetic ordering at temperature below 20 K, thus indicating that the obtained perovskites maintain their functions as layered perovskites.

Effects of GaN interlayer on the transport properties of lattice-matched AlInN/AlN/GaN heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, F.; Gao, K. H., E-mail: khgao@tju.edu.cn; Li, Z. Q.

2015-04-21

We study the effects of GaN interlayer on the transport properties of two-dimensional electron gases confined in lattice-matched AlInN/AlN/GaN heterostructures. It is found that the Hall mobility is evidently enhanced when an additional ultrathin GaN interlayer is introduced between AlInN and AlN layers. The enhancement of the Hall mobility is especially remarkable at low temperature. The high Hall mobility results in a low sheet resistance of 23 Ω/◻ at 2 K. Meanwhile, Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations (SdH) are also remarkably enhanced due to the existence of GaN interlayer. The enhancement of the SdH oscillations is related to the larger quantum mobility μ{sub q}more » owing to the suppression of the interface roughness, alloy disorder, and ionized impurity scatterings by the GaN interlayer.« less

Observation of long-lived interlayer excitons in monolayer MoSe 2–WSe 2 heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Rivera, Pasqual; Schaibley, John R.; Jones, Aaron M.; ...

2015-02-24

Van der Waals bound heterostructures constructed with two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, boron nitride and transition metal dichalcogenides, have sparked wide interest in both device physics and technologies at the two-dimensional limit. One highly coveted heterostructure is that of differing monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides with type-II band alignment, with bound electrons and holes localized in individual monolayers, that is, interlayer excitons. Here, we report the observation of interlayer excitons in monolayer MoSe 2–WSe 2 heterostructures by photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy. The energy and luminescence intensity are highly tunable by an applied vertical gate voltage. Moreover, we measure an interlayermore » exciton lifetime of ~1.8 ns, an order of magnitude longer than intralayer excitons in monolayers. Ultimately, our work demonstrates optical pumping of interlayer electric polarization, which may provoke further exploration of interlayer exciton condensation, as well as new applications in two-dimensional lasers, light-emitting diodes and photovoltaic devices.« less

Photocarrier generation from interlayer charge-transfer transitions in WS2-graphene heterostructures

PubMed Central

Yuan, Long; Chung, Ting-Fung; Kuc, Agnieszka; Wan, Yan; Xu, Yang; Chen, Yong P.; Heine, Thomas; Huang, Libai

2018-01-01

Efficient interfacial carrier generation in van der Waals heterostructures is critical for their electronic and optoelectronic applications. We demonstrate broadband photocarrier generation in WS2-graphene heterostructures by imaging interlayer coupling–dependent charge generation using ultrafast transient absorption microscopy. Interlayer charge-transfer (CT) transitions and hot carrier injection from graphene allow carrier generation by excitation as low as 0.8 eV below the WS2 bandgap. The experimentally determined interlayer CT transition energies are consistent with those predicted from the first-principles band structure calculation. CT interactions also lead to additional carrier generation in the visible spectral range in the heterostructures compared to that in the single-layer WS2 alone. The lifetime of the charge-separated states is measured to be ~1 ps. These results suggest that interlayer interactions make graphene–two-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures very attractive for photovoltaic and photodetector applications because of the combined benefits of high carrier mobility and enhanced broadband photocarrier generation. PMID:29423439

Development of a Novel Ni-Fe-Cr-B-Si Interlayer Material for Transient Liquid Phase Bonding of Inconel 718

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarai, U. K.; Robi, P. S.; Pal, Sukhomay

2018-04-01

A Ni-Cr-Fe-Si-B based interlayer material was developed by mechanical alloying (MA) process in a high-energy planetary ball mill. Equiaxed alloy powders of size 12 µm was obtained after milling for 50 hours. X-ray diffraction analysis of the milled powder revealed that milling of elemental powders initially resulted in microcrystalline alloy powder having face centered cubic structure, which on subsequent milling resulted in nano-crystallice alloy powder with a crystallite size of 3.2 nm. XRD analysis also reveals formation of metastable eutectic alloys resulting in lowering of the melting point of the interlayer material to 1025 °C. IN 718 superalloy samples were joined at 1050°C using the developed interlayer. A homogeneous joint was formed by the newly developed interlayer material. Three different zones were observed at the bond (i) isothermally solidified zone, (ii) diffusion affected zone and (iii) unaffected base metal. In the diffusion-affected zone, boron was present at the grain boundaries of Ni γ matrix in bulky metal borides form. The diffusion of boron from interlayer material into the base material was mechanism of isothermal solidification and bond formation in transient liquid phase bonding of IN 718.

Molecular Modeling of the Binding Structures in the Interlayer Adsorption of a Tetracycline Antibiotic by Smectite Clays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aristilde, L.

2009-12-01

A controlling factor in the fate of antibiotics in the environment is their sequestration in soil particles including clay minerals. Of special interest is the interlayer adsorption by smectite clays, which has been shown to influence both the bioavailability and persistence of antibiotics in the soil environment. However, the interlayer structures of the bound antibiotics, essential to an accurate understanding of the adsorption mechanisms, are not well understood. Molecular simulations of oxytetracycline (OTC) with a model montmorillonite (MONT) clay were performed to gain insights into these structures for tetracycline antibiotics. Monte Carlo simulations were used for explorations of the clay layer spacing required for the adsorption of the antibiotic under different hydration states of the clay interlayer; these preliminary results were validated with previous X-ray diffraction patterns obtained following sorption experiments of OTC with MONT. Molecular dynamics relaxation simulations were performed subsequently in order to obtain geometry-optimized structures of the binding conformations of the intercalated antibiotic in the model MONT layers. This study contributes to a mechanistic understanding of the factors controlling the interlayer adsorption of the tetracycline antibiotics by the expandable smectite clay minerals. Figure 1. Optimized Monte Carlo simulation cell of OTC in the interlayer of MONT: perspective side view (top) and bottom view (bottom).

Role of interlayer hydration in lincomycin sorption by smectite clays.

PubMed

Wang, Cuiping; Ding, Yunjie; Teppen, Brian J; Boyd, Stephen A; Song, Cunyi; Li, Hui

2009-08-15

Lincomycin, an antibiotic widely administered as a veterinary medicine, is frequently detected in water. Little is known about the soil-water distribution of lincomycin despite the fact that this is a major determinant of its environmental fate and potential for exposure. Cation exchange was found to be the primary mechanism responsible for lincomycin sorption by soil clay minerals. This was evidenced by pH-dependent sorption, and competition with inorganic cations for sorptive sites. As solution pH increased, lincomycin sorption decreased. The extent of reduction was consistent with the decrease in cationic lincomycin species in solution. The presence of Ca2+ in solution diminished lincomycin sorption. Clay interlayer hydration status strongly influenced lincomycin adsorption. Smectites with the charge deficit from isomorphic substitution in tetrahedral layers (i.e., saponite) manifest a less hydrated interlayer environment resulting in greater sorption than that by octahedrally substituted clays (i.e., montmorillonite). Strongly hydrated exchangeable cations resulted in a more hydrated clay interlayer environment reducing sorption in the order of Ca- < K- < Cs-smectite. X-ray diffraction revealed that lincomycin was intercalated in smectite clay interlayers. Sorption capacity was limited by clay surface area rather than by cation exchange capacity. Smectite interlayer hydration was shown to be a major, yet previously unrecognized, factor influencing the cation exchange process of lincomycin on aluminosilicate mineral surfaces.

Dispersion of the intrinsic neuronal periods affects the relationship of the entrainment range to the coupling strength in the suprachiasmatic nucleus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Changgui; Yang, Huijie; Wang, Man

2017-11-01

Living beings on the Earth are subjected to and entrained (synchronized) to the natural 24-h light-dark cycle. Interestingly, they can also be entrained to an external artificial cycle of non-24-h periods. The range of these periods is called the entrainment range and it differs among species. In mammals, the entrainment range is regulated by a main clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) which is composed of 10 000 neurons in the brain. Previous works have found that the entrainment range depends on the cellular coupling strength in the SCN. In particular, the entrainment range decreases with the increase of the cellular coupling strength, provided that all the neuronal oscillators are identical. However, the SCN neurons differ in the intrinsic periods that follow a normal distribution in a range from 22 to 28 h. In the present study, taking the dispersion of the intrinsic neuronal periods into account, we examined the relationship between the entrainment range and the coupling strength. Results from numerical simulations and theoretical analyses both show that the relationship is altered to be paraboliclike if the intrinsic neuronal periods are nonidentical, and the maximal entrainment range is obtained with a suitable coupling strength. Our results shed light on the role of the cellular coupling in the entrainment ability of the SCN network.

Heterogeneous Coupling between Interdependent Lattices Promotes the Cooperation in the Prisoner’s Dilemma Game

PubMed Central

Xia, Cheng-Yi; Meng, Xiao-Kun; Wang, Zhen

2015-01-01

In the research realm of game theory, interdependent networks have extended the content of spatial reciprocity, which needs the suitable coupling between networks. However, thus far, the vast majority of existing works just assume that the coupling strength between networks is symmetric. This hypothesis, to some extent, seems inconsistent with the ubiquitous observation of heterogeneity. Here, we study how the heterogeneous coupling strength, which characterizes the interdependency of utility between corresponding players of both networks, affects the evolution of cooperation in the prisoner’s dilemma game with two types of coupling schemes (symmetric and asymmetric ones). Compared with the traditional case, we show that heterogeneous coupling greatly promotes the collective cooperation. The symmetric scheme seems much better than the asymmetric case. Moreover, the role of varying amplitude of coupling strength is also studied on these two interdependent ways. Current findings are helpful for us to understand the evolution of cooperation within many real-world systems, in particular for the interconnected and interrelated systems. PMID:26102082

Heterogeneous Coupling between Interdependent Lattices Promotes the Cooperation in the Prisoner's Dilemma Game.

PubMed

Xia, Cheng-Yi; Meng, Xiao-Kun; Wang, Zhen

2015-01-01

In the research realm of game theory, interdependent networks have extended the content of spatial reciprocity, which needs the suitable coupling between networks. However, thus far, the vast majority of existing works just assume that the coupling strength between networks is symmetric. This hypothesis, to some extent, seems inconsistent with the ubiquitous observation of heterogeneity. Here, we study how the heterogeneous coupling strength, which characterizes the interdependency of utility between corresponding players of both networks, affects the evolution of cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma game with two types of coupling schemes (symmetric and asymmetric ones). Compared with the traditional case, we show that heterogeneous coupling greatly promotes the collective cooperation. The symmetric scheme seems much better than the asymmetric case. Moreover, the role of varying amplitude of coupling strength is also studied on these two interdependent ways. Current findings are helpful for us to understand the evolution of cooperation within many real-world systems, in particular for the interconnected and interrelated systems.

Ag-Pd-Cu alloy inserted transparent indium tin oxide electrodes for organic solar cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Hyo-Joong; Seo, Ki-Won; Kim, Han-Ki, E-mail: imdlhkkim@khu.ac.kr

2014-09-01

The authors report on the characteristics of Ag-Pd-Cu (APC) alloy-inserted indium tin oxide (ITO) films sputtered on a glass substrate at room temperature for application as transparent anodes in organic solar cells (OSCs). The effect of the APC interlayer thickness on the electrical, optical, structural, and morphological properties of the ITO/APC/ITO multilayer were investigated and compared to those of ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer electrodes. At the optimized APC thickness of 8 nm, the ITO/APC/ITO multilayer exhibited a resistivity of 8.55 × 10{sup −5} Ω cm, an optical transmittance of 82.63%, and a figure-of-merit value of 13.54 × 10{sup −3} Ω{sup −1}, comparable to those of the ITO/Ag/ITOmore » multilayer. Unlike the ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer, agglomeration of the metal interlayer was effectively relieved with APC interlayer due to existence of Pd and Cu elements in the thin region of the APC interlayer. The OSCs fabricated on the ITO/APC/ITO multilayer showed higher power conversion efficiency than that of OSCs prepared on the ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer below 10 nm due to the flatness of the APC layer. The improved performance of the OSCs with ITO/APC/ITO multilayer electrodes indicates that the APC alloy interlayer prevents the agglomeration of the Ag-based metal interlayer and can decrease the thickness of the metal interlayer in the oxide-metal-oxide multilayer of high-performance OSCs.« less

Scale effect and value criterion of the permeability of the interlayer staggered zones in the basalt of Jinsha River basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Zhifang; Lin, Mu; Guo, Qiaona; Chen, Meng

2018-05-01

The hydrogeological characteristics of structural planes are different to those of the associated bedrock. The permeability, and therefore hydraulic conductivity (K), of a structural plane can be significantly different at different scales. The interlayer staggered zones in the Emeishan Basalt of early Late Permian were studied; this formation is located in the Baihetan hydropower project area in Jinsha River Basin, China. The seepage flow distribution of a solid model and two generalized models (A and B) were computed using COMSOL. The K values of the interlayer staggered zones for all three models were calculated by both simulation and analytical methods. The results show that the calculated K results of the generalized models can reflect the variation trend of permeability in each section of the solid model, and the approximate analytical calculation of K can be taken into account in the calculation of K in the generalized models instead of that found by simulation. Further studies are needed to investigate permeability variation in the interlayer staggered zones under the condition of different scales, considering the scaling variation in each section of an interlayer staggered zone. The permeability of each section of an interlayer staggered zone presents a certain degree of dispersivity at small scales; however, the permeability values tends to converge to a similar value as the scale of each section increases. The regularity of each section of the interlayer staggered zones under the condition of different scales can provide a scientific basis for reasonable selection of different engineering options.

Non-equilibrium quantum phase transition via entanglement decoherence dynamics.

PubMed

Lin, Yu-Chen; Yang, Pei-Yun; Zhang, Wei-Min

2016-10-07

We investigate the decoherence dynamics of continuous variable entanglement as the system-environment coupling strength varies from the weak-coupling to the strong-coupling regimes. Due to the existence of localized modes in the strong-coupling regime, the system cannot approach equilibrium with its environment, which induces a nonequilibrium quantum phase transition. We analytically solve the entanglement decoherence dynamics for an arbitrary spectral density. The nonequilibrium quantum phase transition is demonstrated as the system-environment coupling strength varies for all the Ohmic-type spectral densities. The 3-D entanglement quantum phase diagram is obtained.

Synchronization in interdependent networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Um, Jaegon; Minnhagen, Petter; Kim, Beom Jun

2011-06-01

We explore the synchronization behavior in interdependent systems, where the one-dimensional (1D) network (the intranetwork coupling strength JI) is ferromagnetically intercoupled (the strength J) to the Watts-Strogatz (WS) small-world network (the intranetwork coupling strength JII). In the absence of the internetwork coupling (J =0), the former network is well known not to exhibit the synchronized phase at any finite coupling strength, whereas the latter displays the mean-field transition. Through an analytic approach based on the mean-field approximation, it is found that for the weakly coupled 1D network (JI≪1) the increase of J suppresses synchrony, because the nonsynchronized 1D network becomes a heavier burden for the synchronization process of the WS network. As the coupling in the 1D network becomes stronger, it is revealed by the renormalization group (RG) argument that the synchronization is enhanced as JI is increased, implying that the more enhanced partial synchronization in the 1D network makes the burden lighter. Extensive numerical simulations confirm these expected behaviors, while exhibiting a reentrant behavior in the intermediate range of JI. The nonmonotonic change of the critical value of JII is also compared with the result from the numerical RG calculation.

Revisiting an old concept: the coupled oscillator model for VCD. Part 1: the generalised coupled oscillator mechanism and its intrinsic connection to the strength of VCD signals.

PubMed

Nicu, Valentin Paul

2016-08-03

Motivated by the renewed interest in the coupled oscillator (CO) model for VCD, in this work a generalised coupled oscillator (GCO) expression is derived by introducing the concept of a coupled oscillator origin. Unlike the standard CO expression, the GCO expression is exact within the harmonic approximation. Using two illustrative example molecules, the theoretical concepts introduced here are demonstrated by performing a GCO decomposition of the rotational strengths computed using DFT. This analysis shows that: (1) the contributions to the rotational strengths that are normally neglected in the standard CO model can be comparable to or larger than the CO contribution, and (2) the GCO mechanism introduced here can affect the VCD intensities of all types of modes in symmetric and asymmetric molecules.

Tin monochalcogenide heterostructures as mechanically rigid infrared band gap semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özçelik, V. Ongun; Fathi, Mohammad; Azadani, Javad G.; Low, Tony

2018-05-01

Based on first-principles density functional calculations, we show that SnS and SnSe layers can form mechanically rigid heterostructures with the constituent puckered or buckled monolayers. Due to the strong interlayer coupling, the electronic wave functions of the conduction and valence band edges are delocalized across the heterostructure. The resultant band gaps of the heterostructures reside in the infrared region. With strain engineering, the heterostructure band gap undergoes a transition from indirect to direct in the puckered phase. Our results show that there is a direct correlation between the electronic wave function and the mechanical rigidity of the layered heterostructure.

76 FR 19278 - Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Model 747-100, 747-100B, 747-100B SUD, 747-200B, 747...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-07

... are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking in the fail-safe interlayer of certain No. 2 and... to detect and correct cracking in the fail-safe interlayer of certain No. 2 and No. 3 glass windows... cracking in the fail-safe interlayer of certain No. 2 and No. 3 glass windows, which could result in loss...

Obtention of low oxidation states of copper from Cu 2+-Al 3+ layered double hydroxides containing organic sulfonates in the interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trujillano, Raquel; Holgado, María Jesús; Rives, Vicente

2009-03-01

A series of hydrotalcite-type compounds containing Cu(II) and Al(III) in the layers, and carbonate or different alkylsulfonates in the interlayer, have been prepared and studied. Calcination of these solids gives rise to formation of metallic copper and Cu 2+ and Cu + oxides or sulfates, depending on the calcination temperature and on the precise nature of the interlayer alkylsulfonate.

Analysis of the influence of the interlayer staggered zone in the basalt of Jinsha River Basin on the main buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Qiaona; Huang, Jiangwei

2018-02-01

In this paper, the finite element software FEFLOW is used to simulate the seepage field of the interlayer staggered zone C2 in the basalt of Jinsha River Basin. The influence of the interlayer staggered zone C2 on the building is analyzed. Combined with the waterproof effect of current design scheme of anti-seepage curtain, the seepage field in the interlayer staggered zone C2 is discussed under different design schemes. The optimal design scheme of anti-seepage curtain is put forward. The results showed that the case four can effectively reduce the head and hydraulic gradient of underground powerhouse area, and improve the groundwater seepage field in the plant area.

ROLE OF PRESSURE IN SMECTITE DEHYDRATION - EFFECTS ON GEOPRESSURE AND SMECTITE-TO-ILLITE TRANSFORMATION.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colten-Bradley, Virginia

1987-01-01

Evaluation of the effects of pressure on the temperature of interlayer water loss (dehydration) by smectites under diagenetic conditions indicates that smectites are stable as hydrated phases in the deep subsurface. Hydraulic and differential pressure conditions affect dehydration differently. The temperature of dehydration increase with pore fluid pressure and interlayer water density. The temperatures of dehydration increase with pore fluid pressure and interlayer water density. The temperatures of dehydration under differential-presssure conditions are inversely related to pressure and interlayer water density. The model presented assumes the effects of pore fluid composition and 2:1 layer reactivity to be negligible. Agreement between theoretical and experimental results validate this assumption. Additional aspects of the subject are discussed.

Carrier-selective interlayer materials for silicon solar cell contacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Muyu; Islam, Raisul; Chen, Yusi; Chen, Junyan; Lu, Ching-Ying; Mitchell Pleus, A.; Tae, Christian; Xu, Ke; Liu, Yi; Kamins, Theodore I.; Saraswat, Krishna C.; Harris, James S.

2018-04-01

This work presents titanium oxide (TiOx) and nickel oxide (NiOx) as promising carrier-selective interlayer materials for metal-interlayer-semiconductor contacts for silicon solar cells. The electron-conducting, hole-blocking behavior of TiOx and the opposite carrier-selective behavior of NiOx are investigated using the transmission-line-method. The Fermi level depinning effect and the tunneling resistance are demonstrated to be dependent on the interlayer oxide thickness and annealing temperature. NiOx is furthermore experimentally demonstrated to be capable of improving the effective minority carrier lifetime by quasi-steady-state photoconductance method. Our study demonstrates that TiOx and NiOx can be effective carrier-selective materials for Si solar cells and provides a framework for characterizing carrier-selective contacts.

Distributed bragg reflector using AIGaN/GaN

DOEpatents

Waldrip, Karen E.; Lee, Stephen R.; Han, Jung

2004-08-10

A supported distributed Bragg reflector or superlattice structure formed from a substrate, a nucleation layer deposited on the substrate, and an interlayer deposited on the nucleation layer, followed by deposition of (Al,Ga,B)N layers or multiple pairs of (Al,Ga,B)N/(Al,Ga,B)N layers, where the interlayer is a material selected from AlN, Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x N, and AlBN with a thickness of approximately 20 to 1000 angstroms. The interlayer functions to reduce or eliminate the initial tensile growth stress, thereby reducing cracking in the structure. Multiple interlayers utilized in an AlGaN/GaN DBR structure can eliminate cracking and produce a structure with a reflectivity value greater than 0.99.

Coexistence of Magnetic Order and Ferroelectricity at 2D Nanosheet Interfaces.

PubMed

Li, Bao-Wen; Osada, Minoru; Ebina, Yasuo; Ueda, Shigenori; Sasaki, Takayoshi

2016-06-22

Multiferroic materials, in which the electronic polarization can be switched by a magnetic field and vice versa, are of fundamental importance for new electronic technologies. However, there exist very few single-phase materials that exhibit such cross-coupling properties at room temperature, and heterostructures with a strong magnetoelectric coupling have only been made with complex techniques. Here, we present a rational design for multiferroic materials by use of a layer-by-layer engineering of 2D nanosheets. Our approach to new multiferroic materials is the artificial construction of high-quality superlattices by interleaving ferromagnetic Ti0.8Co0.2O2 nanosheets with dielectric perovskite-structured Ca2Nb3O10 nanosheets. Such an artificial structuring allows us to engineer the interlayer coupling, and the (Ti0.8Co0.2O2/Ca2Nb3O10/Ti0.8Co0.2O2) superlattices induce room-temperature ferroelectricity in the presence of the ferromagnetic order. Our technique provides a new route for tailoring artificial multiferroic materials in a highly controllable manner.

Engineering three-dimensional topological insulators in Rashba-type spin-orbit coupled heterostructures

PubMed Central

Das, Tanmoy; Balatsky, A. V.

2013-01-01

Topological insulators represent a new class of quantum phase defined by invariant symmetries and spin-orbit coupling that guarantees metallic Dirac excitations at its surface. The discoveries of these states have sparked the hope of realizing non-trivial excitations and novel effects such as a magnetoelectric effect and topological Majorana excitations. Here we develop a theoretical formalism to show that a three-dimensional topological insulator can be designed artificially via stacking bilayers of two-dimensional Fermi gases with opposite Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling on adjacent layers, and with interlayer quantum tunneling. We demonstrate that in the stack of bilayers grown along a (001)-direction, a non-trivial topological phase transition occurs above a critical number of Rashba bilayers. In the topological phase, we find the formation of a single spin-polarized Dirac cone at the -point. This approach offers an accessible way to design artificial topological insulators in a set up that takes full advantage of the atomic layer deposition approach. This design principle is tunable and also allows us to bypass limitations imposed by bulk crystal geometry. PMID:23739724

Carrier transfer in vertically stacked quantum ring-quantum dot chains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mazur, Yu. I., E-mail: ymazur@uark.edu; Dorogan, V. G.; Benamara, M.

2015-04-21

The interplay between structural properties and charge transfer in self-assembled quantum ring (QR) chains grown by molecular beam epitaxy on top of an InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) superlattice template is analyzed and characterized. The QDs and QRs are vertically stacked and laterally coupled as well as aligned within each layer due to the strain field distributions that governs the ordering. The strong interdot coupling influences the carrier transfer both along as well as between chains in the ring layer and dot template structures. A qualitative contrast between different dynamic models has been developed. By combining temperature and excitation intensity effects,more » the tuning of the photoluminescence gain for either the QR or the QD mode is attained. The information obtained here about relaxation parameters, energy scheme, interlayer and interdot coupling resulting in creation of 1D structures is very important for the usage of such specific QR–QD systems for applied purposes such as lasing, detection, and energy-harvesting technology of future solar panels.« less

Influence of the Ar-ion irradiation on the giant magnetoresistance in Fe/Cr multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopcewicz, M.; Stobiecki, F.; Jagielski, J.; Szymański, B.; Schmidt, M.; Dubowik, J.; Kalinowska, J.

2003-05-01

The influence of 200 keV Ar-ion irradiation on the interlayer coupling in Fe/Cr multilayers exhibiting the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect is studied by the conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS), vibrating sample magnetometer hysteresis loops, magnetoresistivity, and electric resistivity measurements and supplemented by the small-angle x-ray diffraction. The increase of Ar-ion dose causes an increase of interface roughness, as evidenced by the increase of the Fe step sites detected by CEMS. The modification of microstructure induces changes in magnetization reversal indicating a gradual loss of antiferromagnetic (AF) coupling correlated with the degradation of the GMR effect. Distinctly weaker degradation of AF coupling and the GMR effect observed for irradiated samples with a thicker Cr layer thickness suggest that observed effects are caused by pinholes creation. The measurements of temperature dependence of remanence magnetization confirm increase of pinhole density and sizes during implantation. Other effects which can influence spin dependent contribution to the resistance, such as interface roughness as well as shortening of mean-free path of conduction electrons, are also discussed.

Atomic layer MoS2-graphene van der Waals heterostructure nanomechanical resonators.

PubMed

Ye, Fan; Lee, Jaesung; Feng, Philip X-L

2017-11-30

Heterostructures play significant roles in modern semiconductor devices and micro/nanosystems in a plethora of applications in electronics, optoelectronics, and transducers. While state-of-the-art heterostructures often involve stacks of crystalline epi-layers each down to a few nanometers thick, the intriguing limit would be hetero-atomic-layer structures. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of freestanding van der Waals heterostructures and their functional nanomechanical devices. By stacking single-layer (1L) MoS 2 on top of suspended single-, bi-, tri- and four-layer (1L to 4L) graphene sheets, we realize an array of MoS 2 -graphene heterostructures with varying thickness and size. These heterostructures all exhibit robust nanomechanical resonances in the very high frequency (VHF) band (up to ∼100 MHz). We observe that fundamental-mode resonance frequencies of the heterostructure devices fall between the values of graphene and MoS 2 devices. Quality (Q) factors of heterostructure resonators are lower than those of graphene but comparable to those of MoS 2 devices, suggesting interface damping related to interlayer interactions in the van der Waals heterostructures. This study validates suspended atomic layer heterostructures as an effective device platform and provides opportunities for exploiting mechanically coupled effects and interlayer interactions in such devices.

Scalable and sustainable synthesis of carbon microspheres via a purification-free strategy for sodium-ion capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shijie; Wang, Rutao; Zhang, Yabin; Jin, Dongdong; Zhang, Li

2018-03-01

Sodium-based energy storage receives a great deal of interest due to the virtually inexhaustible sodium reserve, while the scalable and sustainable strategies to synthesize carbon-based materials with suitable interlayer spaces and large sodium storage capacities are yet to be fully investigated. Carbon microspheres, with regular geometry, non-graphitic characteristic, and stable nature are promising candidates, yet the synthetic methods are usually complex and energy consuming. In this regard, we report a scalable purification-free strategy to synthesize carbon microspheres directly from 5 species of fresh juice. As-synthesized carbon microspheres exhibit dilated interlayer distance of 0.375 nm and facilitate Na+ uptake and release. For example, such carbon microsphere anodes have a specific capacity of 183.9 mAh g-1 at 50 mA g-1 and exhibit ultra-stability (99.0% capacity retention) after 10000 cycles. Moreover, via facile activation, highly porous carbon microsphere cathodes are fabricated and show much higher energy density at high rate than commercial activated carbon. Coupling the compelling anodes and cathodes above, novel sodium-ion capacitors show the high working potential up to 4.0 V, deliver a maximum energy density of 52.2 Wh kg-1, and exhibit an acceptable capacity retention of 85.7% after 2000 cycles.

Binary Compound Bilayer and Multilayer with Vertical Polarizations: Two-Dimensional Ferroelectrics, Multiferroics, and Nanogenerators.

PubMed

Li, Lei; Wu, Menghao

2017-06-27

Vertical ferroelectricity in two-dimensional (2D) materials is desirable for high-density data storage without quantum tunneling or high power consumption/dissipation, which still remains elusive due to the surface-depolarizing field. Herein, we report the first-principles evidence of 2D vertical ferroelectricity induced by interlayer translation, which exists extensively in the graphitic bilayer of BN, AlN, ZnO, MoS 2 , GaSe, etc.; the bilayer of some 2D ferromagnets like MXene, VS 2 , and MoN 2 can be even multiferroics with switchable magnetizations upon ferroelectric switching, rendering efficient reading and writing for high-density data storage. In particular, the electromechanical coupling between interlayer translation and potential can be used to drive the flow of electrons as nanogenerators for harvesting energy from human activities, ocean waves, mechanical vibration, etc. A ferroelectric superlattice with spatial varying potential can be formed in a bilayer Moire pattern upon a small twist or strain, making it possible to generate periodic n/p doped-domains and shape the periodicity of the potential energy landscape. Finally, some of their multilayer counterparts with wurtzite structures like a ZnO multilayer are revealed to exhibit another type of vertical ferroelectricity with greatly enhanced polarizations.

Scanning tunneling spectroscopic (STS) studies of the bulk magnetic doping effects on the surface state of Bi2Se3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C.-C.; Teague, M. L.; Woodward, N. D.; Yeh, N.-C.; He, L.; Kou, X.; Lang, M.; Wang, K.-L.

2014-03-01

We report STS studies of MBE-grown undoped and Cr-doped Bi2Se3 bi-layers on InP (111) and as a function of the updoped layer thickness and the Cr-doping level (x) . Our studies reveal gapless Dirac spectra at all temperatures (T) for samples with an undoped top layer larger than 5 QLs, implying that the interlayer magnetic correlation length ξ⊥ is < ~ 5-QL. For samples with an undoped top layer smaller than 5 QLs, STS reveals gapped spectra at T

Influences of alkaline earth metal substitution on the crystal structure and physical properties of magnetic RuSr1.9A0.1GdCu2O8 (A = Ca, Sr, and Ba) superconductors.

PubMed

Hur, Su Gil; Park, Dae Hoon; Hwang, Seong-Ju; Kim, Seung Joo; Lee, J H; Lee, Sang Young

2005-11-24

We have investigated the effect of alkaline earth metal substitution on the crystal structure and physical properties of magnetic superconductors RuSr(1.9)A(0.1)GdCu(2)O(8) (A = Ca, Sr, and Ba) in order to probe an interaction between the magnetic coupling of the RuO(2) layer and the superconductivity of the CuO(2) layer. X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopic analyses demonstrate that the isovalent substitution of Sr ions with Ca or Ba ions makes it possible to tune the interlayer distance between the CuO(2) and the RuO(2) layers. From the measurements of electrical resistance and magnetic susceptibility, it was found that, in contrast to negligible change of magnetization, both of the alkaline earth metal substitutions lead to a notable depression of zero-resistance temperature T(c) (DeltaT(c) approximately 17-19 K). On the basis of the absence of a systematic correlation between the T(c) and the interlayer distance/magnetization, we have concluded that the internal magnetic field of the RuO(2) layer has insignificant influence on the superconducting property of the CuO(2) layer in the ruthenocuprate.

One node driving synchronisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chengwei; Grebogi, Celso; Baptista, Murilo S.

2015-12-01

Abrupt changes of behaviour in complex networks can be triggered by a single node. This work describes the dynamical fundamentals of how the behaviour of one node affects the whole network formed by coupled phase-oscillators with heterogeneous coupling strengths. The synchronisation of phase-oscillators is independent of the distribution of the natural frequencies, weakly depends on the network size, but highly depends on only one key oscillator whose ratio between its natural frequency in a rotating frame and its coupling strength is maximum. This result is based on a novel method to calculate the critical coupling strength with which the phase-oscillators emerge into frequency synchronisation. In addition, we put forward an analytical method to approximately calculate the phase-angles for the synchronous oscillators.

One node driving synchronisation

PubMed Central

Wang, Chengwei; Grebogi, Celso; Baptista, Murilo S.

2015-01-01

Abrupt changes of behaviour in complex networks can be triggered by a single node. This work describes the dynamical fundamentals of how the behaviour of one node affects the whole network formed by coupled phase-oscillators with heterogeneous coupling strengths. The synchronisation of phase-oscillators is independent of the distribution of the natural frequencies, weakly depends on the network size, but highly depends on only one key oscillator whose ratio between its natural frequency in a rotating frame and its coupling strength is maximum. This result is based on a novel method to calculate the critical coupling strength with which the phase-oscillators emerge into frequency synchronisation. In addition, we put forward an analytical method to approximately calculate the phase-angles for the synchronous oscillators. PMID:26656718

Relationship Education for Military Couples: Recommendations for Best Practice.

PubMed

Bakhurst, Melissa G; Loew, Benjamin; McGuire, Annabel C L; Halford, W Kim; Markman, Howard J

2017-06-01

Military couples have a number of distinctive strengths and challenges that are likely to influence their relationship adjustment. Military couples' strengths include stable employment, financial security, and subsidized health and counseling services. At the same time, military couples often experience long periods of separation and associated difficulties with emotional disconnect, trauma symptoms, and reintegrating the family. This paper describes best practice recommendations for working with military couples, including: addressing the distinctive challenges of the military lifestyle, ensuring program delivery is seen as relevant by military couples, and providing relationship education in formats that enhance the accessibility of programs. © 2016 Family Process Institute.

Substrate influence on the interlayer electron-phonon couplings in fullerene films probed with doubly-resonant SFG spectroscopy.

PubMed

Elsenbeck, Dennis; Das, Sushanta K; Velarde, Luis

2017-07-19

We present doubly-resonant sum frequency generation (DR-SFG) spectra of fullerene thin films on metallic and dielectric substrates as a way to investigate the interplay between nuclear and electronic coupling at buried interfaces. Modal and substrate selectivity in the electronic enhancement of the C 60 vibrational signatures is demonstrated for excitation wavelengths spanning the visible range. While the SFG response of the totally symmetric A g (2) mode of fullerene is distinctly coupled to the optically allowed electronic transition corresponding to the HOMO-LUMO+1 of C 60 (ca. 2.6 eV), the T 1u (4) vibrational mode appears to be coupled to a symmetry-forbidden HOMO-LUMO transition at lower energies (ca. 2.0 eV). For dielectric substrates, the DR-SFG intensity of the T 1u (4) mode shows lack of enhancement for upconversion wavelengths off-resonance with the optically-dark LUMO. However, the T 1u (4) mode shows a unique coupling to an intermediate state (∼2.4 eV) only for the fullerene films on the gold substrate. We attribute this coupling to unique interactions at the buried C 60 /gold interface. These results demonstrate the occurrence of clear electron-phonon couplings at the C 60 /substrate interfaces and shed light on the impact of these couplings on the optical response of electronically excited fullerene. This coupling may influence charge and energy transport in organic electronic devices mediated by vibrational motions. We also demonstrate a potential use of this added selectivity in chemical imaging.

Water Structure and Dynamics in Smectites: X-ray Diffraction and 2 H NMR Spectroscopy of Mg–, Ca–, Sr–, Na–, Cs–, and Pb–Hectorite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reddy, U. Venkateswara; Bowers, Geoffrey M.; Loganathan, Narasimhan

2016-04-06

Variable-temperature X-ray diffraction and 2H NMR spectroscopy of the smectite mineral, hectorite, containing interlayer Na +, K +, Cs +, Mg 2+, Ca 2+, Sr 2+, and Pb 2+ equilibrated at 43% relative humidity (RH) and mixed with 2H 2O to form a paste provide a comprehensive picture of the structural environments and dynamics of interlayer 2H 2O and the relationships of these properties to interlayer hydration state, the hydration energy and polarizability of the cation, temperature, and the formation of ice-1h in the interparticle pores. The variation in basal spacing shown by the XRD data correlates well with themore » 2H NMR behavior, and the XRD data show for the first time in hectorites that crystallization of interparticle ice-1h causes a decrease in the interlayer spacing, likely due to removal of interlayer 2H 2O. The variation of the 2H NMR behavior of all the samples with decreasing temperature reflects decreasing frequencies of motion for the rotation of the 2H 2O molecules around their dipoles, reorientation of the 2H 2O molecules, and exchange of the 2H 2O molecules between interlayer sites coordinated to and not coordinated to the cations.« less

Enhanced performance of lithium-sulfur batteries with an ultrathin and lightweight MoS2/carbon nanotube interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Lingjia; Luo, Nannan; Kong, Weibang; Luo, Shu; Wu, Hengcai; Jiang, Kaili; Li, Qunqing; Fan, Shoushan; Duan, Wenhui; Wang, Jiaping

2018-06-01

Ultrathin and lightweight MoS2/carbon nanotube (CNT) interlayers are developed to effectively trap polysulfides in high-performance lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. The MoS2/CNT interlayer is constructed by loading MoS2 nanosheets onto a cross-stacked CNT film. The CNT film with excellent conductivity and superior mechanical properties provides the Li-S batteries with a uniform conductive network, a supporting skeleton for the MoS2 nanosheets, as well as a physical barrier for the polysulfides. Moreover, chemical interactions and bonding between the MoS2 nanosheets and the polysulfides are evident. The electrode with the MoS2/CNT interlayer delivers an attractive specific capacity of 784 mA h g-1 at a high capacity rate of 10 C. In addition, the electrode demonstrates a high initial capacity of 1237 mA h g-1 and a capacity fade as low as -0.061% per cycle over 500 charge/discharge cycles at 0.2 C. The problem of self-discharge can also be suppressed with the introduction of the MoS2/CNT interlayer. The simple fabrication procedure, which is suitable for commercialization, and the outstanding electrochemical performance of the cells with the MoS2/CNT interlayer demonstrate a great potential for the development of high-performance Li-S batteries.

Designing interlayers to improve the mechanical reliability of transparent conductive oxide coatings on flexible substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Eun-Hye; Yang, Chan-Woo; Park, Jin-Woo

2012-05-01

In this study, we investigate the effect of interlayers on the mechanical properties of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) on flexible polymer substrates. Indium tin oxide (ITO), which is the most widely used TCO film, and Ti, which is the most widely used adhesive interlayer, are selected as the coating and the interlayer, respectively. These films are deposited on the polymer substrates using dc-magnetron sputtering to achieve varying thicknesses. The changes in the following critical factors for film cracking and delamination are analyzed: the internal stress (σi) induced in the coatings during deposition using a white light interferometer, the crystallinity using a transmission electron microscope, and the surface roughness of ITO caused by the interlayer using an atomic force microscope. The resistances to the cracking and delamination of ITO are evaluated using a fragmentation test. Our tests and analyses reveal the important role of the interlayers, which significantly reduce the compressive σi that is induced in the ITO and increase the resistance to the buckling delamination of the ITO. However, the relaxation of σi is not beneficial to cracking because there is less compensation for the external tension as σi further decreases. Based on these results, the microstructural control is revealed as a more influential factor than σi for improving crack resistance.

Effect of the crystal chemistry on the hydration mechanism of swelling micas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavón, Esperanza; Alba, María D.; Castro, Miguel A.; Cota, A.; Osuna, Francisco J.; Pazos, M. Carolina

2017-11-01

Swelling and dehydration under minor changes in temperature and water vapor pressure is an important property that clays and clay minerals exhibit. In particular, their interlayer space, the solid-water interface and the layers' collapse and re-expansion have received much attention because it affects to the dynamical properties of interlayer cations and thus the transfer and fate of water and pollutants. In this contribution, the dehydration and rehydration mechanism of a swelling high-charge mica family is examined by in situ X-ray Diffraction. The effect of the aluminosilicate layer charge and the physicochemical properties of the interlayer cations on these processes are analyzed. The results showed that the dehydration temperature and the number of steps involved in this process are related to the layer charge of the silicate and the physicochemical properties of the interlayer cations. Moreover, the ability to adsorb water molecules in a confined space with high electric field by the interlayer cations does not only depend on their hydration enthalpy but also on the electrostatic parameters of these cations.

A shape-based inter-layer contours correspondence method for ICT-based reverse engineering

PubMed Central

Duan, Liming; Yang, Shangpeng; Zhang, Gui; Feng, Fei; Gu, Minghui

2017-01-01

The correspondence of a stack of planar contours in ICT (industrial computed tomography)-based reverse engineering, a key step in surface reconstruction, is difficult when the contours or topology of the object are complex. Given the regularity of industrial parts and similarity of the inter-layer contours, a specialized shape-based inter-layer contours correspondence method for ICT-based reverse engineering was presented to solve the above problem based on the vectorized contours. In this paper, the vectorized contours extracted from the slices consist of three graphical primitives: circles, arcs and segments. First, the correspondence of the inter-layer primitives is conducted based on the characteristics of the primitives. Second, based on the corresponded primitives, the inter-layer contours correspond with each other using the proximity rules and exhaustive search. The proposed method can make full use of the shape information to handle industrial parts with complex structures. The feasibility and superiority of this method have been demonstrated via the related experiments. This method can play an instructive role in practice and provide a reference for the related research. PMID:28489867

A shape-based inter-layer contours correspondence method for ICT-based reverse engineering.

PubMed

Duan, Liming; Yang, Shangpeng; Zhang, Gui; Feng, Fei; Gu, Minghui

2017-01-01

The correspondence of a stack of planar contours in ICT (industrial computed tomography)-based reverse engineering, a key step in surface reconstruction, is difficult when the contours or topology of the object are complex. Given the regularity of industrial parts and similarity of the inter-layer contours, a specialized shape-based inter-layer contours correspondence method for ICT-based reverse engineering was presented to solve the above problem based on the vectorized contours. In this paper, the vectorized contours extracted from the slices consist of three graphical primitives: circles, arcs and segments. First, the correspondence of the inter-layer primitives is conducted based on the characteristics of the primitives. Second, based on the corresponded primitives, the inter-layer contours correspond with each other using the proximity rules and exhaustive search. The proposed method can make full use of the shape information to handle industrial parts with complex structures. The feasibility and superiority of this method have been demonstrated via the related experiments. This method can play an instructive role in practice and provide a reference for the related research.

Interplay between Interfacial Structures and Device Performance in Organic Solar Cells: A Case Study with the Low Work Function Metal, Calcium.

PubMed

Ju, Huanxin; Knesting, Kristina M; Zhang, Wei; Pan, Xiao; Wang, Chia-Hsin; Yang, Yaw-Wen; Ginger, David S; Zhu, Junfa

2016-01-27

A better understanding of how interfacial structure affects charge carrier recombination would benefit the development of highly efficient organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices. In this paper, transient photovoltage (TPV) and charge extraction (CE) measurements are used in combination with synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES) to gain insight into the correlation between interfacial properties and device performance. OPV devices based on PCDTBT/PC71BM with a Ca interlayer were studied as a reference system to investigate the interfacial effects on device performance. Devices with a Ca interlayer exhibit a lower recombination than devices with only an Al cathode at a given charge carrier density (n). In addition, the interfacial band structures indicate that the strong dipole moment produced by the Ca interlayer can facilitate the extraction of electrons and drive holes away from the cathode/polymer interface, resulting in beneficial reduction in interfacial recombination losses. These results help explain the higher efficiencies of devices made with Ca interlayers compared to that without the Ca interlayer.

TEM Analysis of Diffusion-Bonded Silicon Carbide Ceramics Joined Using Metallic Interlayers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ozaki, T.; Tsuda, H.; Halbig, M. C.; Singh, M.; Hasegawa, Y; Mori, S.; Asthana, R.

2017-01-01

Silicon Carbide (SiC) is a promising material for thermostructural applications due to its excellent high-temperature mechanical properties, oxidation resistance, and thermal stability. However, joining and integration technologies are indispensable for this material in order to fabricate large size and complex shape components with desired functionalities. Although diffusion bonding techniques using metallic interlayers have been commonly utilized to bond various SiC ceramics, detailed microstructural observation by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) of the bonded area has not been carried out due to difficulty in preparing TEM samples. In this study, we tried to prepare TEM samples from joints of diffusion bonded SiC ceramics by Focused Ion Beam (FIB) system and carefully investigated the interfacial microstructure by TEM analysis. The samples used in this study were SiC fiber bonded ceramics (SA-Tyrannohex: SA-THX) diffusion bonded with metallic interlayers such as Ti, TiMo, Mo-B and TiCu. In this presentation, we report the microstructure of diffusion bonded SA-THX mainly with TiCu interlayers obtained by TEM observations, and the influence of metallic interlayers on the joint microstructure and microhardness will be discussed.

Analytical solution and applications of three qubits in three coupled modes without rotating wave approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jian-Song; Zhang, Liu-Juan; Chen, Ai-Xi; Abdel-Aty, Mahmoud

2018-06-01

We study the dynamics of the three-qubit system interacting with multi-mode without rotating wave approximation (RWA). A physical realization of the system without direct qubits interactions with dephasing bath is proposed. It is shown that non-Markovian characters of the purity of the three qubits and the coupling strength of modes are stronger enough the RWA is no longer valid. The influences of the dephasing of qubits and interactions of modes on the dynamics of genuine multipartite entanglement and bipartite correlations of qubits are investigated. The multipartite and bipartite quantum correlations could be generated faster if we increase the coupling strength of modes and the RWA is not valid when the coupling strength is strong enough. The unitary transformations approach adopted here can be extended to other systems such as circuit or cavity quantum electrodynamic systems in the strong coupling regime.

GLACE: The Global Land-Atmosphere Coupling Experiment Part 2: Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guo, Zhichang; Dirmeyer, Paul A.; Koster, Randal D.; Bonan, Gordon; Chan, Edmond; Cox, Peter; Gordon, C. T.; Kanae, Shinjiro; Kowalczyk, Eva; Lawrence, David

2005-01-01

The twelve weather and climate models participating in the Global Land-Atmosphere Coupling Experiment (GLACE) show both a wide variation in the strength of land-atmosphere coupling and some intriguing commonalities. In this paper, we address the causes of variations in coupling strength - both the geographic variations within a given model and the model-to-model differences. The ability of soil moisture to affect precipitation is examined in two stages, namely, the ability of the soil moisture to affect evaporation, and the ability of evaporation to affect precipitation. Most of the differences between the models and within a given model are found to be associated with the first stage - an evaporation rate that varies strongly and consistently with soil moisture tends to lead to a higher coupling strength. The first stage differences reflect identifiable differences in model parameterization and model climate. Intermodel differences in the evaporation-precipitation connection, however, also play a key role.