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2017-10-03
Holographic model for the anomalous scalings of the cuprates
We examine transport in a holographic model in which the dynamics of the charged degrees of freedom is described by the nonlinear Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) action. Axionic scalar fields are included to break translational invariance and generate momentum dissipation in the system. Scaling exponents are introduced by using geometries which are nonrelativistic and hyperscaling-violating in the infrared. In the probe DBI limit the theory reproduces the anomalous temperature dependence of the resistivity and Hall angle of the cuprate strange metals, $\rho \sim T$ and $\cot\Theta_H \sim T^2$. These scaling laws would not be present without the nonlinear dynamics encoded by the DBI interactions. We further show that because of its richness the DBI theory supports a wide spectrum of temperature scalings. This model provides explicit examples in which transport is controlled by different relaxation times. On the other hand, when only one quantity sets the temperature scale of the system, the Hall angle and conductivity typically exhibit the same temperature behavior. We illustrate this point using new fully backreacted analytical dyonic black brane solutions.
1710.01326v2
2018-01-31
The origin of Mooij correlations in disordered metals
Sufficiently disordered metals display systematic deviations from the behavior predicted by semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory. Here the scattering events from impurities or thermal excitations can no longer be considered as additive independent processes, as asserted by Matthiessen's rule following from this picture. In the intermediate region between the regime of good conduction and that of insulation, one typically finds a change of sign of the temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR), even at elevated temperature spanning ambient conditions, a phenomenology that was first identified by Mooij in 1973. Traditional weak coupling approaches to identify relevant corrections to the Boltzmann picture focused on long distance interference effects such as "weak localization", which are especially important in low dimensions (1D, 2D) and close to the zero temperature limit. Here we formulate a strong-coupling approach to tackle the interplay of strong disorder and lattice deformations (phonons) in bulk three-dimensional metals at high temperatures. We identify a polaronic mechanism of strong disorder renormalization, which describes how a lattice locally responds to the relevant impurity potential. This mechanism, which quantitatively captures the Mooij regime, is physically distinct and unrelated to Anderson localization, but realizes early seminal ideas of Anderson himself, concerning the interplay of disorder and lattice deformations.
1802.00065v4
2018-05-30
Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka (HLN) treatment of the Magneto Conductivity of Bi2Te3 Topological Insulator
We report the magneto-conductivity analysis at different temperatures under magnetic field of up to 5Tesla of a well characterized Bi2Te3 crystal. Details of crystal growth and various physical properties including high linear magneto resistance are already reported by some of us. To elaborate upon the transport properties of Bi2Te3 crystal, the magneto conductivity is fitted to the known HLN (Hikami Larkin Nagaoka) equation and it is found that the conduction mechanism is dominated by both surface driven WAL (weak anti localization) and the bulk WL states. The value of HLN equation coefficient signifying the type of localization (WL, WAL or both WL and WAL) falls within the range of -0.5 to -1.5. In our case, the low field (0.25Tesla) fitting of studied crystal exhibited value close to -0.86 for studied temperatures of up to 50K, indicating both WAL and WL contributions. The phase coherence length is found to decrease from 98.266 to 40.314nm with increasing temperature. Summarily, the short letter reports the fact that bulk Bi2Te3 follows the HLN equation and quantitative analysis of the same facilitates to know the quality of studied crystal in terms of WAL to WL contributions and thus the surface to bulk conduction ratio.
1805.11822v1
2018-06-18
Band structure and Fermi surfaces of the reentrant ferromagnetic superconductor Eu(Fe0.86Ir0.14)2As2
The electronic structure of the reentrant superconductor Eu(Fe$_{0.86}$Ir$_{0.14}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ (T$_c$ = 22 K) with coexisting ferromagnetic order (T$_M$ = 18 K) is investigated using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). We study the in-plane and out-of-plane band dispersions and Fermi surface (FS) of Eu(Fe$_{0.86}$Ir$_{0.14}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$. The near E$_F$ Fe 3d-derived band dispersions near the $\Gamma$ and X high-symmetry points show changes due to Ir substitution, but the FS topology is preserved. From momentum dependent measurements of the superconducting gap measured at T = 5 K, we estimate an essentially isotropic s-wave gap ($\Delta\sim5.25\pm 0.25$ meV), indicative of strong-coupling superconductivity with 2$\Delta$/k$_{B}$T$_{c}\simeq$ 5.8. The gap gets closed at temperatures T $\geq$ 10 K, and this is attributed to the resistive phase which sets in at T$_M$ = 18 K due to the Eu$^{2+}$-derived magnetic order. The modifications of the FS with Ir substitution clearly indicates an effective hole doping with respect to the parent compound.
1806.06563v1
2018-09-26
Nanoscale Intergranular Corrosion and Relation With Grain Boundary Character as Studied In Situ on Copper
The initiation of intergranular corrosion at various types of grain boundaries (GBs) was studied at the nanometer scale on microcrystalline copper in 1 mM HCl aqueous solution. In situ Electrochemical Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (ECSTM) and Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction analysis of the same local microstructural region were combined using an innovative methodology including micro marking performed with the STM tip. The results demonstrate that electrochemically-induced intergranular dissolution, at the surface termination of GBs, is dependent on the grain boundary character. It is found that random high angle boundaries as well as sigma9 coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries are susceptible to nanoscale initiation of intergranular corrosion while for sigma3 CSL boundaries the behavior is dependent on the deviation angle of the GB plane from the exact orientation. For the sigma3 twins, a transition from resistance to susceptibility occurs between 1{\deg} and 1.7{\deg} of deviation as a result of the increase of the density of steps (i.e. misorientation dislocations) in the coincidence boundary plane. The work emphasizes the precision needed in the design of the grain boundary network in applications where intergranular corrosion or its initiation must be controlled at the nanoscale.
1809.09872v1
2018-11-14
Multifrequency Nanoscale Impedance Microscopy (m-NIM): A novel approach towards detection of selective and subtle modifications on the surface of polycrystalline boron-doped diamond electrodes
In this paper, we describe the modification of Nanoscale Impedance Microscopy (NIM), namely, a combination of contact-mode atomic force microscopy with local impedance measurements. The postulated approach is based on the application of multifrequency voltage perturbation instead of standard frequency-by-frequency analysis, which among others offers more time-efficient and accurate determination of the resultant impedance spectra with high spatial resolution. Based on the impedance spectra analysis with an appropriate electric equivalent circuit, it was possible to map surface resistance and contact capacitance. Polycrystalline heavy boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes were the research object. Recent studies have shown that the exposure of such electrodes to oxidizing environment may result in the modification of termination type, and thus it is a key factor in describing the electric and electrochemical properties of BDD. We have successfully applied multifrequency NIM, which allowed us to prove that the modification of termination type is selective and occurs with different propensity on the grains having specific crystallographic orientation. Furthermore, our approach enabled the detection of even subtle submicroscopic surface heterogeneities, created as a result of various oxidation treatments and to distinguish them from the surface heterogeneity related to the local distribution of boron at the grain boundaries.
1811.05709v1
2019-05-12
Nodeless superconductivity and preserved time-reversal symmetry in the noncentrosymmetric Mo3P superconductor
We report a comprehensive study of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor Mo$_3$P. Its bulk superconductivity, with $T_c = 5.5$ K, was characterized via electrical resistivity, magnetization, and heat-capacity measurements, while its microscopic electronic properties were investigated by means of muon-spin rotation/relaxation ($\mu$SR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. In the normal state, NMR relaxation data indicate an almost ideal metallic behavior, confirmed by band-structure calculations, which suggest a relatively high electron density of states, dominated by the Mo $4d$-orbitals. The low-temperature superfluid density, determined via transverse-field $\mu$SR and electronic specific heat, suggest a fully-gapped superconducting state in Mo$_3$P, with $\Delta_0= 0.83$ meV, the same as the BCS gap value in the weak-coupling case, and a zero-temperature magnetic penetration depth $\lambda_0 = 126$ nm. The absence of spontaneous magnetic fields below the onset of superconductivity, as determined from zero-field $\mu$SR measurements, indicates a preserved time-reversal symmetry in the superconducting state of Mo$_3$P and, hence, spin-singlet pairing.
1905.04726v1
2019-05-28
Electronic structure and $H$-$T$ phase diagram of Eu(Fe$_{1-x}$Rh$_x$)$_2$As$_2$
The iron-based superconductors represent a promising platform for high-temperature superconductivity, but the interactions underpinning their pairing present a puzzle. The EuFe$_2$As$_2$ family is unique among these materials for having magnetic order which onsets within the superconducting state, just below the superconducting transition. Superconductivity and magnetic order are normally antagonistic and often vie for the same unpaired electrons, but in this family the magnetism arises from largely localized Eu moments and they coexist, with the competition between these evenly-matched opponents leading to reentrant superconducting behavior. To help elucidate the physics in this family and the interactions between the magnetic order and superconductivity, we investigate the $H$--$T$ phase diagram near optimal Rh doping through specific heat, resistivity, and magnetization measurements, and study the electronic structure by angular-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The competition between the Eu and FeAs layers may offer a route to directly accessing the electronic structure under effective magnetic fields via ARPES, which is ordinarily a strictly zero-field technique.
1905.11554v2
2019-09-10
New and fast route to black TiO2 based on hollow cathode H2 plasma
In this work, we demonstrate a new method to produce black TiO2 from pristine anatase TiO2 films. It consists on the immersion of TiO2 films in a hollow cathode H2 RF plasma for a few minutes, resulting in an efficient blackening of TiO2. In this study, the pristine anatase TiO2 films were grown by magnetron sputtering onto cover glass and c-Si substrates and then annealed at 450 {\deg}C for 2 h. Before and after the hollow cathode H2 plasma treatment, the samples were characterized by profilometry, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron and atomic force microscopies, and four-point probe measurements. The results show that the obtained black TiO2 thin films have a significant light absorption on the whole solar spectrum, a very low sheet resistance, and also a relatively high surface area when compared to the pristine TiO2. All these characteristics lead to an important improvement on their photocatalytic activity, as measured by the degradation rate of methylene blue under UV irradiation.
1909.04623v1
2019-09-27
Superconducting proximity effect in InAsSb surface quantum wells with in-situ Al contact
We demonstrate robust superconducting proximity effect in InAs$_{0.5}$Sb$_{0.5}$ quantum wells grown with epitaxial Al contact, which has important implications for mesoscopic and topological superconductivity. Unlike more commonly studied InAs and InSb semiconductors, bulk InAs$_{0.5}$Sb$_{0.5}$ supports stronger spin-orbit coupling and larger $g$-factor. However, these potentially desirable properties have not been previously measured in epitaxial heterostructures with superconductors, which could serve as a platform for fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. Through structural and transport characterization we observe high-quality interfaces and strong spin-orbit coupling. We fabricate Josephson junctions based on InAs$_{0.5}$Sb$_{0.5}$ quantum wells and observe strong proximity effect. These junctions exhibit product of normal resistance and critical current, $I_{c}R_{N} = \SI{270}{\micro V}$, and excess current, $I_{ex}R_{N} = \SI{200}{\micro V}$ at contact separations of 500~nm. Both of these quantities demonstrate a robust and long-range proximity effect with highly-transparent contacts.
1909.12571v2
2020-03-15
Vacancy diffusion in multi-principal element alloys: the role of chemical disorder in the ordered lattice
Many of the purported virtues of Multi-Principal Element Alloys (MPEAs), such as corrosion, high-temperature oxidation and irradiation resistance, are highly sensitive to vacancy diffusivity. Similarly, solute interdiffusion is governed by vacancy diffusion -- it is often unclear whether MPEAs are truly stable, or effectively stabilized by slow interdiffusion. The considerable composition space afforded to these alloys makes optimizing for desired properties a daunting task; theoretical and computational tools are necessary to guide alloy development. For diffusion, such tools depend on both a knowledge of the vacancy migration barriers within a given alloy and an understanding of how these barriers influence vacancy diffusivity. We present a generalized theory of vacancy diffusion in rugged energy landscapes, paired with Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of MPEA vacancy diffusion. The barrier energy statistics are informed by nudged elastic band calculations in the equiatomic CoNiCrFeMn alloy. Theory and simulations show that vacancy diffusion in solid-solution MPEAs is not necessarily sluggish, but can potentially be tuned, and that trap models are an insufficient explanation for sluggish diffusion in the CoNiCrFeMn HEA. These results also show that any model that endeavors to faithfully represent diffusion-related phenomena must account for the full nature of the energy landscape, not just the migration barriers.
2003.06900v2
2017-03-28
Indium substitution effect on the topological crystalline insulator family (Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_{x}$)$_{1-y}$In$_{y}$Te: Topological and superconducting properties
Topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) have been of great interest in the area of condensed matter physics. We investigated the effect of indium substitution on the crystal structure and transport properties in the TCI system (Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_{x}$)$_{1-y}$In$_{y}$Te. For samples with a tin concentration $x\le50\%$, the low-temperature resisitivities show a dramatic variation as a function of indium concentration: with up to ~2% indium doping the samples show weak-metallic behavior, similar to their parent compounds; with ~6% indium doping, samples have true bulk-insulating resistivity and present evidence for nontrivial topological surface states; with higher indium doping levels, superconductivity was observed, with a transition temperature, Tc, positively correlated to the indium concentration and reaching as high as 4.7 K. We address this issue from the view of bulk electronic structure modified by the indium-induced impurity level that pins the Fermi level. The current work summarizes the indium substitution effect on (Pb,Sn)Te, and discusses the topological and superconducting aspects, which can be provide guidance for future studies on this and related systems.
1703.09836v1
2019-02-22
Development of transmon qubits solely from optical lithography on 300mm wafers
Qubit information processors are increasing in footprint but currently rely on e-beam lithography for patterning the required Josephson junctions (JJs). Advanced optical lithography is an alternative patterning method, and we report on the development of transmon qubits patterned solely with optical lithography. The lithography uses 193 nm wavelength exposure and 300-mm large silicon wafers. Qubits and arrays of evaluation JJs were patterned with process control which resulted in narrow feature distributions: a standard deviation of 0:78% for a 220 nm linewidth pattern realized across over half the width of the wafers. Room temperature evaluation found a 2.8-3.6% standard deviation in JJ resistance in completed chips. The qubits used aluminum and titanium nitride films on silicon substrates without substantial silicon etching. T1 times of the qubits were extracted at 26 - 27 microseconds, indicating a low level of material-based qubit defects. This study shows that large wafer optical lithography on silicon is adequate for high-quality transmon qubits, and shows a promising path for improving many-qubit processors.
1902.08501v1
2019-06-30
Evaluating Superconductors through Current Induced Depairing
The phenomenon of superconductivity occurs in the phase space of three principal parameters: temperature T, magnetic field B, and current density Jd . The critical temperature Tc is one of the first parameters that is measured and in a certain way defines the superconductor. From the practical applications point of view, of equal importance is the upper critical magnetic field Bc2 and conventional critical current density Jc (above which the system begins to show resistance without entering the normal state). However, a seldom-measured parameter, the depairing current density Jd , holds the same fundamental importance as Tc and Bc2, in that it defines a boundary between the superconducting and normal states. A study of Jd sheds unique light on other important characteristics of the superconducting state such as the superfluid density and the nature of the normal state below Tc, information that can play a key role in better understanding newly-discovered superconducting materials. From a measurement perspective, the extremely high values of Jd make it difficult to measure, which is the reason why it is seldom measured. Here, we will review the fundamentals of current-induced depairing and the fast-pulsed current technique that facilitates its measurement and discuss the results of its application to the topological-insulator/chalcogenide interfacial superconducting system. Keywords: pairbreaking, pair-breaking, vortex, vortices, theory, tutorial, RTS, room-temperature supeconductivity
1907.00427v1
2019-07-29
Imaging Nematic Transitions in Iron-Pnictide Superconductors with a Quantum Gas
The SQCRAMscope is a recently realized Scanning Quantum CRyogenic Atom Microscope that utilizes an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate to measure magnetic fields emanating from solid-state samples. The quantum sensor does so with unprecedented DC sensitivity at micron resolution from room-to-cryogenic temperatures. An additional advantage of the SQCRAMscope is the preservation of optical access to the sample: Magnetometry imaging of, e.g., electron transport may be performed in concert with other imaging techniques. This multimodal imaging capability can be brought to bear with great effect in the study of nematicity in iron-pnictide high-temperature superconductors, where the relationship between electronic and structural symmetry-breaking resulting in a nematic phase is under debate. Here, we combine the SQCRAMscope with an in situ microscope that measures optical birefringence near the surface. This enables simultaneous and spatially resolved detection of both bulk and near-surface manifestations of nematicity via transport and structural deformation channels, respectively. By performing the first local measurement of emergent resistivity anisotropy in iron pnictides, we observe sharp, nearly concurrent transport and structural transitions. More broadly, these measurements demonstrate the SQCRAMscope's ability to reveal important insights into the physics of complex quantum materials.
1907.12601v2
2020-02-05
Impact of Residual Carbon Impurities and Gallium Vacancies on Trapping Effects in AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs
Effects of residual C impurities and Ga vacancies on the dynamic instabilities of AlN/AlGaN/GaN metal insulator semiconductor high electron mobility transistors are investigated. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy, positron annihilation spectroscopy, steady state and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurements have been performed in conjunction with electrical characterization and current transient analyses. The correlation between yellow luminescence (YL), C- and Ga vacancy concentration is investigated. Time-resolved PL indicating the C$_{\mathrm{N}}$O$_{\mathrm{N}}$ complex as the main source of the YL, while Ga vacancies or related complexes with C seem not to play a major role. The device dynamic performance is found to be significantly dependent on the C concentration close to the channel of the transistor. Additionally, the magnitude of the YL is found to be in agreement with the threshold voltage shift and with the on-resistance degradation. Trap analysis of the GaN buffer shows an apparent activation energy of $\sim$0.8eV for all samples, pointing to a common dominating trapping process and that the growth parameters affect solely the density of trap centres. It is inferred that the trapping process is likely to be directly related to C based defects.
2002.01952v1
2020-04-17
Magnetic correlations in subsystems of the misfit [Ca$_2$CoO$_3$]$_{0.62}$[CoO$_2$] cobaltate
[Ca$_2$CoO$_3$]$_{0.62}$[CoO$_2$], a two dimensional misfit metallic compound, is famous for its rich phases accessed by temperature, $i.e.$ high temperature spin-state transition, metal-insulator transition (MIT) at intermediate temperature ($\sim$ 100 K) and low temperature spin density wave (SDW). It enters into SDW phase below T$_{MIT}$ which becomes long range at 27 K. Information on the independent role of misfit layers (rocksalt/Ca$_2$CoO$_3$ \& triangular/CoO$_2$) in these phases is scarce. By combining a set of complementary macroscopic (DC magnetization and resistivity) and microscopic (neutron diffraction and X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy) measurements on pure (CCO) and Tb substituted in the rocksalt layer of CCO (CCO1), magnetic correlations in both subsystems of this misfit compound are unraveled. CCO is found to exhibit glassiness, as well as exchange bias (EB) effects, while CCO1 does not exhibit glassiness, albeit it shows weaker EB effect. By combining local structure investigations from extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and neutron diffraction results on CCO, we confirm that the SDW arises in the CoO$_2$ layer. Our results show that the magnetocrystalline anisotropy associated with the rocksalt layer acts as a source of pinning, which is responsible for EB effect. Ferromagnetic clusters in the Ca$_2$CoO$_3$ affects SDW in CoO$_2$ and ultimately glassiness arises.
2004.08319v2
2020-08-31
Electronic properties in itinerant ferromagnet SrRu$_{1-x}$Ti$_x$O$_3$
Here, we study the electrical transport and specific heat in 4$d$ based ferromagnetic material SrRuO$_3$ and its Ti substituted SrRu$_{1-x}$Ti$_x$O$_3$ series ($x$ $\le$ 0.7). The SrRuO$_3$ is a metal and shows itinerant ferromagnetism with transition temperature $T_c$ $\sim$ 160 K. The nonmagnetic Ti$^{4+}$ (3$d^0$) substitution would not only weaken the active Ru-O-Ru channel but is also expected to tune the electronic density and electron correlation effect. A metal to insulator transition has been observed around $x$ $\sim$ 0.4. The nature of charge transport in paramagnetic-metallic state ($x$ $\leq$ 0.4) and in insulating state ($x$ $>$ 0.4) follows modified Mott's variable range hopping model. In ferromagnetic-metallic state, resistivity shows a $T^2$ dependence below $T_c$ which though modifies to $T^{3/2}$ dependence at low temperature. In Ti substituted samples, temperature range for $T^{3/2}$ dependence extends to higher temperature. Interestingly, this $T^{3/2}$ dependence dominates in whole ferromagnetic regime in presence of magnetic field. This evolution of electronic transport behavior can be explained within the framework of Fermi liquid theory and electron-magnon scattering mechanism. The negative magnetoresistance exhibits a hysteresis and a crossover between negative and positive value with magnetic field which is connected with magnetic behavior in series. The decreasing electronic coefficient of specific heat with $x$ supports the increasing insulating behavior in present series. We calculate a high Kadowaki-Woods ratio ($x$ $\leq$ 0.3) for SrRuO$_3$ which increases with substitution concentration. This signifies an increasing electronic correlation effect with substitution concentration.
2009.00076v1
2007-10-21
Change of strength of vortex pinning in YBCO due to BaZrO_3 inclusions
We probe the short-range pinning properties with the application of microwave currents at very high driving frequencies (47.7 GHz) on YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ films with and without sub-micrometer BaZrO$_3$ inclusions. We explore the temperature and field ranges 60 K$<T<T_c$ and 0$<\mu_0H<$0.8 T, with the field applied along the c-axis. The magnetic field induces a much smaller increase of the microwave resistivity, $\Delta \rho_1(H)+\mathrm{i}\Delta \rho_2(H)$, in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$/BaZrO$_3$ with respect to pure YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$. $\Delta \rho_1(H)$ is slightly superlinear in pure YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ (suggesting a possible contribution of thermal activation), but linear or sublinear in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$/BaZrO$_3$ (suggesting a possible suppression of thermal activation as a consequence of BaZrO$_3$ inclusions). These features persist up to close to $T_c$. We discuss our data in terms of the ratio $r=\Delta X_s'(H)/\Delta R_s'(H)$ in the framework of the models for the microwave surface impedance in the mixed state. Large $r$ are found in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$/BaZrO$_3$, with little field dependence. By contrast, smaller values and stronger field dependences are found in pure YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$. We discuss the different field dependence of the pinning constant.
0710.3943v1
2017-05-01
Selective mass enhancement close to the quantum critical point in BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$
A quantum critical point (QCP) is currently being conjectured for the BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$ system at the critical value $x_{\rm c} \approx$ 0.3. In the proximity of a QCP, all thermodynamic and transport properties are expected to scale with a single characteristic energy, given by the quantum fluctuations. Such an universal behavior has not, however, been found in the superconducting upper critical field $H_{\rm c2}$. Here we report $H_{\rm c2}$-data for epitaxial thin films extracted from the electrical resistance measured in very high magnetic fields up to 67 Tesla. Using a multi-band analysis we find that $H_{\rm c2}$ is sensitive to the QCP, implying a significant charge carrier effective mass enhancement at the doping-induced QCP that is essentially band-dependent. Our results point to two qualitatively different groups of electrons in BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$. The first one (possibly associated to hot spots or whole Fermi sheets) has a strong mass enhancement at the QCP, and the second one is insensitive to the QCP. The observed duality could also be present in many other quantum critical systems.
1705.00695v1
2017-07-31
Superconductivity at 5 K in quasi-one-dimensional Cr-based KCr3As3 single crystals
Recently a new family of Cr-based A2Cr3As3 (A = K, Rb, Cs) superconductors were reported, which own a rare quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) crystal structure with infinite (Cr3As3)2- chains and exhibit intriguing superconducting characteristics possibly derived from spin-triplet electron pairing. The crystal structure of A2Cr3As3 is actually a slight variation of the hexagonal TlFe3Te3 prototype although they have different lattice symmetry. Here we report superconductivity in a 133-type KCr3As3 compound that belongs to the latter structure. The single crystals of KCr3As3 were prepared by the deintercalation of K ions from K2Cr3As3 crystals which were grown from a high-temperature solution growth method, and it owns a centrosymmetric lattice in contrast to the non-centrosymmetric K2Cr3As3. After annealing at a moderate temperature, the KCr3As3 crystals show bulk superconductivity at 5 K revealed by electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity measurements. The discovery of this KCr3As3 superconductor provides a different structural instance to study the exotic superconductivity in these Q1D Cr-based superconductors.
1707.09711v1
2019-12-23
Antimonene/Bismuthene Vertical Van-der Waals Heterostructure: A Computational Study
In this paper, the structural, electronic, mechanical and optical properties of antimonene-bismuthene Van-der Waals heterostructure (Sb-Bi HS) were calculated based on the first principle density functional theory. We explored different stacks of Sb-Bi HS to find the most and the least stable staking for this heterostructure. At the GGA level of theory, the most stable model is a semiconductor with an indirect band gap of 159 meV. However, when the spin-orbit (SO) interaction is considered, the VBM and CBM touch the Fermi level and the HS becomes a semimetal. Our results also show that the electronic properties of the HS are robust against the external electric field and biaxial strain. Young modulus was calculated as 64.3N/M which predicts this HS as a resistant material against being stretched or compressed. The calculated optical properties, similar to monolayer antimonene, are completely dependent on the polarization of incident light and differ when parallel or perpendicular polarization is considered. Moreover, the absorption coefficient for perpendicular polarization in the visible region is significantly increased in comparison with the monolayer antimonene. High structural stability, electronic and mechanical robustness against electric field and strain, along with polarization-dependent optical properties of this HS, promise for its applications in beam splitters and nano-scale mirrors.
1912.10978v2
2021-01-01
An Electronic Textile Embedded Smart Cementitious Composite
Structural health monitoring (SHM) using self-sensing cement-based materials has been reported before, where nano-fillers have been incorporated in cementitious matrices as functional sensing elements. A percolation threshold is always required in order for conductive nano-fillers modified concrete to be useful for SHM. Nonetheless, the best pressure/strain sensitivity results achieved for any self-sensing cementitious matrix are <0.01 MPa-1. In this work, we introduce novel reduced graphene oxide (RGO) based electronic textile (e-textile) embedded in plain and polymer-binder-modified cementitious matrix for SHM applications. As a proof of concept, it was demonstrated that these coated fabric-based sensors can be successfully embedded within the cement-based structures, which are independent of any percolation threshold due to the interconnected fabric inside the host matrix. The piezo-resistive response was measured by applying direct and cyclic compressive loads (0.1 to 3.9 MPa). A pressure sensitivity of 1.5 MPa-1 and an ultra-high gauge factor of 2000 was obtained for the system of the self-sensing cementitious structure with embedded e-textiles. The sensitivity of this new system with embedded e-textile is many orders of magnitude higher than nanoparticle based self-sensing of cementitious composites. The manufactured e-textile sensors showed mechanical stability and functional durability over long-term cyclic compression tests of 1000 cycles.
2101.00140v1
2021-01-13
A reusable pipeline for large-scale fiber segmentation on unidirectional fiber beds using fully convolutional neural networks
Fiber-reinforced ceramic-matrix composites are advanced materials resistant to high temperatures, with application to aerospace engineering. Their analysis depends on the detection of embedded fibers, with semi-supervised techniques usually employed to separate fibers within the fiber beds. Here we present an open computational pipeline to detect fibers in ex-situ X-ray computed tomography fiber beds. To separate the fibers in these samples, we tested four different architectures of fully convolutional neural networks. When comparing our neural network approach to a semi-supervised one, we obtained Dice and Matthews coefficients greater than $92.28 \pm 9.65\%$, reaching up to $98.42 \pm 0.03 \%$, showing that the network results are close to the human-supervised ones in these fiber beds, in some cases separating fibers that human-curated algorithms could not find. The software we generated in this project is open source, released under a permissive license, and can be freely adapted and re-used in other domains. All data and instructions on how to download and use it are also available.
2101.04823v2
2021-01-22
Structural and transport properties of 4f electron doped Y1-x(Dy)xPdBi topological semi-metallic thin films
We report the effect of 4f electron doping on structural, electrical and magneto-transport properties of Dy doped half Heusler Y1-x(Dy)xPdBi (x =0, 0.2, 0.5, 1) thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. The Dy doping leads to lattice contraction which increases from 0% for the parent x =0 sample to approx 1.3% for x=1 sample with increase in Dy doping. The electrical transport measurements show a typical semi-metallic behaviour in the temperature range 3K to 300K and a sharp drop in resistivity at low temperatures (less than 3K) for all the samples. Magnetotransport measurements and Shubnikov de-Hass oscillations at high magnetic fields demonstrate that for these topologically non-trivial samples, Dy doping induced lattice contraction plays an active role in modifying the Fermi surface, carrier concentration and the effective electron mass. There is an uniform suppression of the onset of superconductivity with increased Dy doping which is possibly related to the increasing local exchange field arising from the 4f electrons in Dy. Our results indicate that we can tune various band structure parameters of YPdBi by f electron doping and strained thin films of Y1-x(Dy)xPdBi show surface dominated relativistic carrier transport at low temperatures.
2101.09185v2
2012-06-07
Anisotropic magnetothermoelectric power of ferromagnetic thin films
We compare the behavior of the magnetothermoelectric power (MTEP)in metallic ferromagnetic thin films of Ni80Fe20 (Permalloy; Py), Co and CrO2 at temperatures in the range of 100 K to 400 K. In 25 nm thick Py films and 50 nm thick Co films both the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and MTEP show a relative change in resistance and thermoelectric power (TEP) of the order of 0.2% when the magnetic field is reversed, and in both cases there is no significant change in AMR or MTEP any more after the saturation field has been reached. Surprisingly, both Py and Co films have opposite MTEP behavior although both have the same sign for AMR and TEP. The data on 100 nm films of fully spin-polarized CrO2, grown both on TiO2 and on sapphire, show a different picture. The MTEP behavior at low fields shows peaks similar to the AMR in these films, with variations up to 1%. With increasing field both the MR and the MTEP variations keeps growing, with MTEP showing relative changes of 1.5% with the thermal gradient along the b-axis and even 20% with the gradient along the c-axis, with an intermediate value of 3% for the film on sapphire. It appears that the low-field effects are due to magnetic domain switching, while the high-field effects are intrinsic to the electronic structure of CrO2.
1206.1527v2
2018-07-10
Influence of particle size and agglomeration in solid oxide fuel cell cathodes using manganite nanoparticles
In this work we studied the influence of particle size and agglomeration in the performance of solid oxide fuel cell cathodes made with nanoparticles of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3. We followed two synthesis routes based on the Liquid Mix method. In both procedures we introduced additional reagents in order to separated the manganite particles. We evaluated cathodic performance by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy in symmetrical (CATHODE/ELECTROLYTE/CATHODE) cells. Particle size was tuned by the temperature used for cathode sintering. Our results show that deagglomeration of the particles, serves to improve the cathodes performance. However, the dependence of the performance with the size of the particles is not clear, as different trends were obtained for each synthesis route. As a common feature, the cathodes with the lowest area specific resistance are the ones sintered at the largest temperature. This result indicates that an additional factor related with the quality of the cathode/electrolyte sintering, is superimposed with the influence of particle size, however further work is needed to clarify this issue. The enhancement obtained by deagglomeration suggest that the use of this kind of methods deserved to be considered to develop high performance electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells.
1807.03816v1
2019-10-25
Interdiffusion between gadolinia doped ceria and yttria stabilized zirconia in solid oxide fuel cells: experimental investigation and kinetic modeling
Interdiffusion between the yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte and the gadolinia doped ceria (CGO) barrier layer is one of the major causes to the degradation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). We present in this work experimental investigations on CGO-YSZ bi-layer electrolyte sintered at 1250 C or 1315 C and element transport as a function of sintering temperature and dwelling time. In order to quantitatively simulate the experimental observations, the CALPHAD-type thermodynamic assessment of the CGO-YSZ system is performed by simplifying the system to a CeO2-ZrO2 quasi-binary system, and the kinetic descriptions (atomic mobilities) are constructed based on critical review of literature data. The CGO-YSZ interdiffusion is then modeled with the DICTRA software and the simulation results are compared with the experimental data under different sintering or long-term operating conditions. The corresponding ohmic resistance of the bi-layer electrolyte is predicted based on the simulated concentration profile. The results implies that the interdiffusion across the CGO-YSZ interface happens mainly during sintering at high temperature, while during long-term operation at relatively lower temperature the impact of interdiffusion on cell degradation is negligible.
1910.11947v2
2019-11-29
Ultrathin 2 nm gold as ideal impedance-matched absorber for infrared light
Thermal detectors are a cornerstone of infrared (IR) and terahertz (THz) technology due to their broad spectral range. These detectors call for suitable broad spectral absorbers with minimalthermal mass. Often this is realized by plasmonic absorbers, which ensure a high absorptivity butonly for a narrow spectral band. Alternativly, a common approach is based on impedance-matching the sheet resistance of a thin metallic film to half the free-space impedance. Thereby, it is possible to achieve a wavelength-independent absorptivity of up to 50 %, depending on the dielectric properties of the underlying substrate. However, existing absorber films typicallyrequire a thickness of the order of tens of nanometers, such as titanium nitride (14 nm), whichcan significantly deteriorate the response of a thermal transducers. Here, we present the application of ultrathin gold (2 nm) on top of a 1.2 nm copper oxide seed layer as an effective IR absorber. An almost wavelength-independent and long-time stable absorptivity of 47(3) %, ranging from 2 $\mu$m to 20 $\mu$m, could be obtained and is further discussed. The presented gold thin-film represents analmost ideal impedance-matched IR absorber that allows a significant improvement of state-of-the-art thermal detector technology.
1911.13126v1
2020-08-01
Critical cooling rates for amorphous-to-ordered complexion transitions in Cu-rich nanocrystalline alloys
Amorphous complexions in nanocrystalline metals have the potential to improve mechanical properties and radiation tolerance, as well as resistance to grain growth. In this study, the stability of amorphous complexions in binary and ternary Cu-based alloys is investigated by observing the effect of cooling rate from high temperature on the occurrence of amorphous-to-ordered complexion transitions. Bulk Cu-Zr and Cu-Zr-Hf alloy samples were annealed to induce boundary premelting and then quenched through a procedure that induces a gradient of local cooling rate through the sample height. Amorphous complexion thickness distributions were found to be invariant to local cooling rate in the Cu-Zr-Hf alloy, demonstrating enhanced stability of the amorphous complexion structure compared to the Cu-Zr alloy, which had thinner amorphous complexions in the regions that were slowly cooled. The experimental results are used to construct time-temperature-transformation diagrams of the amorphous-to-ordered complexion transition for both the binary and ternary alloys, enabling a deeper understanding of the influence of cooling rate and grain boundary chemistry on complexion transitions. The critical cooling rate necessary to avoid complexion transitions in the ternary alloy is found to be at least three orders of magnitude slower than that for the binary alloy.
2008.00292v2
2020-10-26
Astability versus Bistability in van der Waals Tunnel Diode for Voltage Controlled Oscillator and Memory Applications
Van der Waals (vdW) tunnel junctions are attractive due to their atomically sharp interface, gate tunablity, and robustness against lattice mismatch between the successive layers. However, the negative differential resistance (NDR) demonstrated in this class of tunnel diodes often exhibits noisy behaviour with low peak current density, and lacks robustness and repeatability, limiting their practical circuit applications. Here we propose a strategy of using a 1L-WS$_2$ as an optimum tunnel barrier sandwiched in a broken gap tunnel junction of highly doped black phosphorus (BP) and SnSe$_2$. We achieve high yield tunnel diodes exhibiting highly repeatable, ultra-clean, and gate tunable NDR characteristics with a signature of intrinsic oscillation, and a large peak-to-valley current ratio (PVCR) of 3.6 at 300 K (4.6 at 7 K), making them suitable for practical applications. We show that the thermodynamic stability of the vdW tunnel diode circuit can be tuned from astability to bistability by altering the constraint through choosing a voltage or a current bias, respectively. In the astable mode under voltage bias, we demonstrate a compact, voltage controlled oscillator without the need for an external tank circuit. In the bistable mode under current bias, we demonstrate a highly scalable, single element one-bit memory cell that is promising for dense random access memory applications in memory intensive computation architectures.
2010.13828v1
2020-12-14
Magnetic, superconducting, and topological surface states on Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$
The idea of employing non-Abelian statistics for error-free quantum computing ignited interest in recent reports of topological surface superconductivity and Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$. An associated puzzle is that the topological features and superconducting properties are not observed uniformly across the sample surface. Understanding and practical control of these electronic inhomogeneities present a prominent challenge for potential applications. Here, we combine neutron scattering, scanning angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and microprobe composition and resistivity measurements to characterize the electronic state of Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$. We establish a phase diagram in which the superconductivity is observed only at sufficiently low Fe concentration, in association with distinct antiferromagnetic correlations, while the coexisting topological surface state occurs only at sufficiently high Te concentration. We find that FeTe$_{0.55}$Se$_{0.45}$ is located very close to both phase boundaries, which explains the inhomogeneity of superconducting and topological states. Our results demonstrate the compositional control required for use of topological MZMs in practical applications.
2012.07893v1
2021-02-16
Nodal superconductivity and superconducting domes in the topological Kagome metal CsV3Sb5
Recently superconductivity was discovered in the Kagome metal AV3Sb5 (A = K, Rb, and Cs), which has an ideal Kagome lattice of vanadium. These V-based superconductors also host charge density wave (CDW) and topological nontrivial band structure. Here we report the ultralow-temperature thermal conductivity and high pressure resistance measurements on CsV3Sb5 with Tc = 2.5 K, the highest among AV3Sb5. A finite residual linear term of thermal conductivity at zero magnetic field and its rapid increase in fields suggest nodal superconductivity. By applying pressure, the Tc of CsV3Sb5 increases first, then decreases to lower than 0.3 K at 11.4 GPa, showing a clear first superconducting dome peaked around 0.8 GPa. Above 11.4 GPa, superconductivity re-emerges, suggesting a second superconducting dome. Both nodal superconductivity and superconducting domes point to unconventional superconductivity in this V-based superconductor. While our finding of nodal superconductivity puts a strong constrain on the pairing state of the first dome, which should be related to the CDW instability, the superconductivity of the second dome may present another exotic pairing state in this ideal Kagome lattice of vanadium.
2102.08356v2
2021-03-26
Liquid Reconfigurable Stealth Window Constructed by Metamaterial Absorber
In this paper, a liquid reconfigurable stealth window constructed by metamaterial absorber at microwave band is proposed. The stealth window consists of an anti-reflection glass with indium tin oxide (ITO) as resistive film and a liquid container made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Since the materials constituting the window are all transparent, the metamaterials that can be switched through the liquid control system can always maintain high light transmission. The proposal can obtain a transmission passband from 2.3 GHz to 5 GHz with low insertion loss, especially at 2.45 GHz and 5 GHz with the insertion loss of the passband reach 0.51 and 0.99 , by alcohol drainage. It can also reflect electromagnetic waves at 2.45 GHz and absorb them from 4.5 GHz to 10.5 GHz with a strong absorptivity over 90% by alcohol injection, exhibiting the reconfigurable electromagnetic characteristic of switching between transmission state and absorption state. Furthermore, the proposed absorber shows its good transmission/absorption performance under different polarizations and obtains absorptivity over 90% when alcohol injection in an oblique incidence of 50{\deg}. Finally, the prototype window has been fabricated to demonstrate the validity of the proposed structure, which indicates that the proposal presents significant implications for smart stealth systems and WLAN communication that require switching of working states in a complex electromagnetic environment.
2103.14415v1
2021-05-05
Observation of current-induced switching in non-collinear antiferromagnetic IrMn$_3$ by differential voltage measurements
There is accelerating interest in developing memory devices using antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials, motivated by the possibility for electrically controlling AFM order via spin-orbit torques, and its read-out via magnetoresistive effects. Recent studies have shown, however, that high current densities create non-magnetic contributions to resistive switching signals in AFM/heavy metal (AFM/HM) bilayers, complicating their interpretation. Here we introduce an experimental protocol to unambiguously distinguish current-induced magnetic and nonmagnetic switching signals in AFM/HM structures, and demonstrate it in IrMn$_3$/Pt devices. A six-terminal double-cross device is constructed, with an IrMn$_3$ pillar placed on one cross. The differential voltage is measured between the two crosses with and without IrMn$_3$ after each switching attempt. For a wide range of current densities, reversible switching is observed only when write currents pass through the cross with the IrMn$_3$ pillar, eliminating any possibility of non-magnetic switching artifacts. Micromagnetic simulations support our findings, indicating a complex domain-mediated switching process.
2105.02277v1
2021-06-15
Unusual competition of superconductivity and charge-density-wave state in a compressed topological kagome metal
Understanding the competition between superconductivity and other ordered states (such as antiferromagnetic or charge-density-wave (CDW) state) is a central issue in condensed matter physics. The recently discovered layered kagome metal AV3Sb5 (A = K, Rb, and Cs) provides us a new playground to study the interplay of superconductivity and CDW state by involving nontrivial topology of band structures. Here, we conduct high-pressure electrical transport and magnetic susceptibility measurements to study CsV3Sb5 with the highest Tc of 2.7 K in AV3Sb5 family. While the CDW transition is monotonically suppressed by pressure, superconductivity is enhanced with increasing pressure up to P1~0.7 GPa, then an unexpected suppression on superconductivity happens until pressure around 1.1 GPa, after that, Tc is enhanced with increasing pressure again. The CDW is completely suppressed at a critical pressure P2~2 GPa together with a maximum Tc of about 8 K. In contrast to a common dome-like behavior, the pressure-dependent Tc shows an unexpected double-peak behavior. The unusual suppression of Tc at P1 is concomitant with the rapidly damping of quantum oscillations, sudden enhancement of the residual resistivity and rapid decrease of magnetoresistance. Our discoveries indicate an unusual competition between superconductivity and CDW state in pressurized kagome lattice.
2106.07896v1
2021-07-31
Optical phonon modes assisted thermal conductivity in p-type ZrIrSb Half-Heusler alloy: A combined experimental and computational study
Half Heusler (HH) alloys with 18 valence electron count have attracted significant interest in the area of research related to thermoelectrics. Understanding the novel transport properties exhibited by these systems with semiconducting ground state is an important focus area in this field. Large thermal conductivity shown by most of the HH alloy possesses a major hurdle in improving the figure of merit (ZT). Additionally, understanding the mechanism of thermal conduction in heavy constituents HH alloys is an interesting aspect. Here, we have investigated the high temperature thermoelectric properties of ZrIrSb through experimental studies, phonon dispersion and electronic band structure calculations. ZrIrSb is found to exhibit substantially lower magnitude of resistivity and Seebeck coefficient near room temperature, owing to existence of anti-site disorder between Ir/Sb and vacant sites. Interestingly, in ZrIrSb, lattice thermal conductivity is governed by coupling between the acoustic and low frequency optical phonon modes, which originates due to heavier Ir/Sb atoms. This coupling leads to an enhancement in the Umklapp processes due to the optical phonon excitations near zone boundary, resulting in a lower magnitude of \k{appa}L. Our studies point to the fact that the simultaneous existence of two heavy mass elements within a simple unit cell can substantially decrease the lattice degrees of freedom.
2108.00210v1
2021-08-18
Thermal Transport in Graphene Composites: The Effect of Lateral Dimensions of Graphene Fillers
We report on the investigation of thermal transport in non-cured silicone composites with graphene fillers of different lateral dimensions. Graphene fillers are comprised of few-layer graphene flakes with lateral sizes in the range from 400 nm to 1200 nm and number of atomic planes from one to ~100. The distribution of the lateral dimensions and thicknesses of graphene fillers has been determined via atomic force microscopy statistics. It was found that in the examined range of the lateral dimensions the thermal conductivity of the composites increases with the increasing size of the graphene fillers. The observed difference in thermal properties can be related to the average gray phonon mean free path in graphene, which has been estimated to be around ~800 nm at room temperature. The thermal contact resistance of composites with graphene fillers of 1200-nm lateral dimensions was also smaller than that of composites with graphene fillers of 400-nm lateral dimensions. The effects of the filler loading fraction and the filler size on the thermal conductivity of the composites were rationalized within the Kanari model. The obtained results are important for optimization of graphene fillers for applications in thermal interface materials for heat removal from high-power-density electronics.
2108.08409v1
2021-09-15
Superconductivity in In-doped AgSnBiTe3 with possible band inversion
We investigated the chemical pressure effects on structural and electronic properties of SnTe-based material using partial substitution of Sn by Ag0.5Bi0.5, which results in lattice shrinkage. For Sn1-2x(AgBi)xTe, single-phase polycrystalline samples were obtained with a wide range of x. On the basis of band calculations, we confirmed that the Sn1-2x(AgBi)xTe system is basically possessing band inversion and topologically preserved electronic states. To explore new superconducting phases related to the topological electronic states, we investigated the In-doping effects on structural and superconducting properties for x = 0.33 (AgSnBiTe3). For (AgSnBi)(1-y)/3InyTe, single-phase polycrystalline samples were obtained for y = 0-0.5 by high-pressure synthesis. Superconductivity was observed for y = 0.2-0.5. For y = 0.4, the transition temperature estimated from zero-resistivity state was 2.4 K, and the specific heat investigation confirmed the emergence of bulk superconductivity. Because the presence of band inversion was theoretically predicted, and the parameters obtained from specific heat analyses were comparable to In-doped SnTe, we expect that the (AgSnBi)(1-y)/3InyTe and other (Ag,In,Sn,Bi)Te phases are candidate systems for studying topological superconductivity.
2109.07167v2
2021-09-17
Visualizing band selective enhancement of quasiparticle lifetime in a metallic ferromagnet
Electrons navigate more easily in a background of ordered magnetic moments than around randomly oriented ones. This fundamental quantum mechanical principle is due to their Bloch wave nature and also underlies ballistic electronic motion in a perfect crystal. As a result, a paramagnetic metal that develops ferromagnetic order often experiences a sharp drop in the resistivity. Despite the universality of this phenomenon, a direct observation of the impact of ferromagnetic order on the electronic quasiparticles in a magnetic metal is still lacking. Here we demonstrate that quasiparticles experience a significant enhancement of their lifetime in the ferromagnetic state of the low-density magnetic semimetal EuCd2As2, but this occurs only in selected bands and specific energy ranges. This is a direct consequence of the magnetically induced band splitting and the multi-orbital nature of the material. Our detailed study allows to disentangle different electronic scattering mechanisms due to non-magnetic disorder and magnon exchange. Such high momentum and energy dependence quasiparticle lifetime enhancement can lead to spin selective transport and potential spintronic applications.
2109.08538v1
2021-09-23
The Transfer Matrix Method and The Theory of Finite Periodic Systems. From Heterostructures to Superlattices
Long-period systems and superlattices, with additional periodicity, have new effects on the energy spectrum and wave functions. Most approaches adjust theories for infinite systems, which is acceptable for large but not small number of unit cells $n$. In the past 30 years, a theory based entirely on transfer matrices was developed, where the finiteness of $n$ is an essential condition. The theory of finite periodic systems (TFPS) is also valid for any number of propagating modes, and arbitrary potential profiles (or refractive indices). We review this theory, the transfer matrix definition, symmetry properties, group representations, and relations with the scattering amplitudes. We summarize the derivation of multichannel matrix polynomials (which reduce to Chebyshev polynomials in the one-propagating mode limit), the analytical formulas for resonant states, energy eigenvalues, eigenfunctions, parity symmetries, and discrete dispersion relations, for superlattices with different confinement characteristics. After showing the inconsistencies and limitations of hybrid approaches that combine the transfer-matrix method with Floquet's theorem, we review some applications of the TFPS to multichannel negative resistance, ballistic transistors, channel coupling, spintronics, superluminal, and optical antimatter effects. We review two high-resolution experiments using superlattices: tunneling time in photonic band-gap and optical response of blue-emitting diodes, and show extremely accurate theoretical predictions.
2109.11640v4
2021-12-03
Multiscale simulation of injection-induced fracture slip and wing-crack propagation in poroelastic media
In fractured poroelastic media under high differential stress, the shearing of fractures and faults and the corresponding propagation of wing cracks can be induced by fluid injection. Focusing on low-pressure stimulation with fluid pressures below the minimum principal stress but above the threshold required to overcome the fracture's frictional resistance to slip, this paper presents a mathematical model and a numerical solution approach for coupling fluid flow with fracture shearing and propagation. Numerical challenges are related to the strong coupling between hydraulic and mechanical processes, the material discontinuity the fractures represent in the medium, the wide range of spatial scales involved, and the strong effect that fracture deformation and propagation have on the physical processes. The solution approach is based on a multiscale strategy. In the macroscale model, flow in and poroelastic deformation of the matrix are coupled with the flow in the fractures and fracture contact mechanics, allowing fractures to frictionally slide. Fracture propagation is handled at the microscale, where the maximum tangential stress criterion triggers the propagation of fractures, and Paris' law governs the fracture growth processes. Simulations show how the shearing of a fracture due to fluid injection is linked to fracture propagation, including cases with hydraulically and mechanically interacting fractures.
2112.01811v2
2022-04-05
Tunable Energy Level Alignment in the Multilayers of Carboxylic Acids on Silver
The precise energy level alignment between a metal electrode and an organic semiconductor is required to reduce contact resistance and enhance the efficiency of organic-semiconductor-based devices. One of the ways is to include interlayers that mediate the energy level alignment, i.e., charge injection layers (CILs). Here we introduce the monolayer thick CILs based on the aromatic carboxylic acids that can induce the energy level shift in the subsequent layers by up to 0.8 eV. By gradual chemical transformation of the as-deposited molecules, we achieve a highly tunable energy level shift in the range of 0.5 eV. We reveal that the position of both the work function and energy-level position in the CIL increases linearly with the density of induced dipoles. The energy level position of subsequent layers changes in the same way as the CIL. Our results thus connect the energy alignment quantities, i.e., energy level positions of both CIL and subsequent layers and sample work function. The high tunability would allow precise tuning of the active layers deposited on the CIL, which marks the path towards efficient charge injection layers on metal electrodes.
2204.02141v2
2022-05-11
Hierarchy of Symmetry Breaking Correlated Phases in Twisted Bilayer Graphene
Twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) near the magic twist angle of $\sim1.1^{o}$ exhibits a rich phase diagram. However, the interplay between different phases and their dependence on twist angle is still elusive. Here, we explore the stability of various TBG phases and demonstrate that superconductivity near filling of two electrons per moir\'e unit cell alongside Fermi surface reconstructions, as well as entropy-driven high-temperature phase transitions and linear-in-T resistance occur over a range of twist angles which extends far beyond those exhibiting correlated insulating phases. In the vicinity of the magic angle, we also find a metallic phase that displays a hysteretic anomalous Hall effect and incipient Chern insulating behaviour. Such a metallic phase can be rationalized in terms of the interplay between interaction-driven deformations of TBG bands leading to Berry curvature redistribution and Fermi surface reconstruction. Our results provide an extensive perspective on the hierarchy of correlated phases in TBG as classified by their robustness against deviations from the magic angle or, equivalently, their electronic interaction requirements.
2205.05225v1
2022-06-16
Origin of Hole-Trapping States in Solution-Processed Copper(I) Thiocyanate (CuSCN) and Defect-Healing by I$_2$ Doping
Solution-processed copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) typically exhibits low crystallinity with short-range order; the defects result in a high density of trap states that limit the device performance. Despite the extensive electronic applications of CuSCN, its defect properties have not been studied in detail. Through X-ray absorption spectroscopy, pristine CuSCN prepared from the standard diethyl sulfide-based recipe is found to contain under-coordinated Cu atoms, pointing to the presence of SCN vacancies. A defect passivation strategy is introduced by adding solid I$_2$ to the processing solution. At small concentrations, the iodine is found to exist as I$^-$ which can substitute for the missing SCN$^-$ ligand, effectively healing the defective sites and restoring the coordination around Cu. Applying I$_2$-doped CuSCN as a p-channel in thin-film transistors shows that the hole mobility increases by more than five times at the optimal doping concentration of 0.5 mol%. Importantly, the on/off current ratio and the subthreshold characteristics also improve as the I$_2$ doping method leads to the defect healing effect while avoiding the creation of detrimental impurity states. An analysis of the capacitance-voltage characteristics corroborates that the trap state density is reduced upon I$_2$ addition. The contact resistance and bias-stress stability of the devices also improve. This work shows a simple and effective route to improve hole transport properties of CuSCN which is applicable to wide-ranging electronic and optoelectronic applications.
2206.08040v1
2022-07-09
Diffusion-aware voltage source: An equivalent circuit network to resolve lithium concentration gradients in active particles
Traditional equivalent circuit models (ECMs) have difficulties in estimating battery internal states due to the lack of relevant physics, such as the lithium diffusion in active particles. Here we configure a circuit network to describe the lithium diffusion and define it as a new high-level circuit element called diffusion-aware voltage source. The circuit representation is proven equivalent to the discretized diffusion equation. The new voltage source gives the electrode potential as a function of the surface concentration and thus automatically incorporates the diffusion overpotential. We show that an ECM with the proposed diffusion-aware voltage sources (called "shell ECM") can reproduce the single particle model simulation results, making it a trustworthy easy-to-implement substitute. Furthermore, the simplest shell ECM consisting of a single diffusion-aware voltage source and a resistor is validated against experimental constant-current discharges at various rates. The diffusion-aware voltage source can be used to measure diffusivity by fitting the diffusion resistance against experimental data. The viability of the shell ECM for onboard usage is confirmed by implementation into a battery management system of WAE Technologies. By tracking the internal concentration states, the shell ECM demonstrates robustness to dynamic applied-current profiles.
2207.04249v2
2022-07-27
Effect on the Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ with Sn Doping
We thoroughly investigate the effect of nonmagnetic Sn doping on the electronic and magnetic properties of antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi$_2$Te$_4$. We observe that Sn doping reduces the out-of-plane antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions in MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ up to 68\% of Sn concentration and above the system is found to be paramagnetic. In this way, the anomalous Hall effect observed at a very high field of 7.8 T in MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ is reduced to 2 T with 68\% of Sn doping. Electrical transport measurements suggest that all compositions are metallic in nature, while the low-temperature resistivity is sensitive to the AFM ordering and to the doping-induced disorder. Hall effect study demonstrates that Sn actually dopes electrons into the system, thus, enhancing the electron carrier density almost by two orders at 68\% of Sn. In contrast, SnBi$_2$Te$_4$ is found to be a p-type system. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies show that the topological properties are intact at least up to 55\% of Sn as the Dirac surface states are present in the valance band, but in SnBi$_2$Te$_4$ we are unable to detect the topological states due to heavy hole doping. Overall, Sn doping significantly affects the electronic and magnetic properties of MnBi$_2$Te$_4$.
2207.13595v1
2022-08-01
Morphological Evolution of NMC Secondary Particles Through in situ electrochemical FIB/SEM experiment
Microstructural evolution of NMC secondary particles during the battery operation drives the electrochemical performance and impacts the Li-ion battery lifetime. In this work, we develop an in situ methodology using the FIB/SEM instrument to cycle single secondary particles of NMC active materials while following the modifications of their 3D morphology. Two types of secondary particles, i.e. low and high gradient NMC, were studied alongside morphological investigations in both pristine state and different number of cycles. The quantification of initial inner porosity and cracking evolution upon electrochemical cycling reveals a clear divergence depending on the type of gradient particles. An unexpected enhancement of the discharge capacity is observed during the first cycles concurrently to the appearance of inner cracks. At the first stages, impedance spectroscopy shows a charge transfer resistance reduction that suggests a widening of the crack network connected to the surface, which leads to an increase of contact area between liquid electrolyte and NMC particle. 3D microstructure of individual secondary particles after in situ cycles were investigated using FIB/SEM and nano-XCT. The results suggest a strong impact of the initial porosity shape on the degradation rate.
2208.00878v1
2022-10-06
Even-Denominator Fractional Quantum Hall State at Filling Factor ν = 3/4
Fractional quantum Hall states (FQHSs) exemplify exotic phases of low-disorder two-dimensional (2D) electron systems when electron-electron interaction dominates over the thermal and kinetic energies. Particularly intriguing among the FQHSs are those observed at even-denominator Landau level filling factors, as their quasi-particles are generally believed to obey non-Abelian statistics and be of potential use in topological quantum computing. Such states, however, are very rare and fragile, and are typically observed in the excited Landau level of 2D electron systems with the lowest amount of disorder. Here we report the observation of a new and unexpected even-denominator FQHS at filling factor {\nu} = 3/4 in a GaAs 2D hole system with an exceptionally high quality (mobility). Our magneto-transport measurements reveal a strong minimum in the longitudinal resistance at {\nu} = 3/4, accompanied by a developing Hall plateau centered at (h/e2)/(3/4). This even-denominator FQHS is very unusual as it is observed in the lowest Landau level and in a 2D hole system. While its origin is unclear, it is likely a non-Abelian state, emerging from the residual interaction between composite fermions.
2210.03226v1
2023-02-07
Towards Flexible Biolaboratory Automation: Container Taxonomy-Based, 3D-Printed Gripper Fingers
Automation in the life science research laboratory is a paradigm that has gained increasing relevance in recent years. Current robotic solutions often have a limited scope, which reduces their acceptance and prevents the realization of complex workflows. The transport and manipulation of laboratory supplies with a robot is a particular case where this limitation manifests. In this paper, we deduce a taxonomy of biolaboratory liquid containers that clarifies the need for a flexible grasping solution. Using the taxonomy as a guideline, we design fingers for a parallel robotic gripper which are developed with a monolithic dual-extrusion 3D print that integrates rigid and soft materials to optimize gripping properties. We design fine-tuned fingertips that provide stable grasps of the containers in question. A simple actuation system and a low weight are maintained by adopting a passive compliant mechanism. The ability to resist chemicals and high temperatures and the integration with a tool exchange system render the fingers usable for daily laboratory use and complex workflows. We present the task suitability of the fingers in experiments that show the wide range of vessels that can be handled as well as their tolerance against displacements and their grasp stability.
2302.03644v2
2023-04-21
Revealing the higher-order spin nature of the Hall effect in non-collinear antiferromagnet $\mathrm{Mn_3Ni_{0.35}Cu_{0.65}N}$
Ferromagnets generate an anomalous Hall effect even without the presence of a magnetic field, something that conventional antiferromagnets cannot replicate but noncollinear antiferromagnets can. The anomalous Hall effect governed by the resistivity tensor plays a crucial role in determining the presence of time reversal symmetry and the topology present in the system. In this work we reveal the complex origin of the anomalous Hall effect arising in noncollinear antiferromagnets by performing Hall measurements with fields applied in selected directions in space with respect to the crystalline axes. Our coplanar magnetic field geometry goes beyond the conventional perpendicular field geometry used for ferromagnets and allows us to suppress any magnetic dipole contribution. It allows us to map the in-plane anomalous Hall contribution and we demonstrate a 120$^\circ$ symmetry which we find to be governed by the octupole moment at high fields. At low fields we subsequently discover a surprising topological Hall-like signature and, from a combination of theoretical techniques, we show that the spins can be recast into dipole, emergent octupole and noncoplanar effective magnetic moments. These co-existing orders enable magnetization dynamics unachievable in either ferromagnetic or conventional collinear antiferromagnetic materials.
2304.10747v1
2023-04-25
Effects of Oxidation on the Tribological Properties of Diamond Sliding Against Silica. Insights from Ab initio Molecular Dynamics
Tribological phenomena such as adhesion, friction, and wear can undermine the functionality of devices and applications based on the diamond-silica interface. Controlling these phenomena is highly desirable, but difficult since extrinsic factors, such as the surface termination by adsorbed species, can deeply affect the reactivity of diamond and its resistance to wear. In this work, we investigate the effects of diamond oxidation by massive ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of silica sliding against diamond surfaces considering different surface orientations, O-coverages, and tribological conditions. Our findings reveal a dual role of oxygen that depends on coverage. At full coverage, the adsorbed oxygen is very effective in friction and wear reduction because the repulsion with the silica counter-surface prevents the formation of chemical bonds across the interface. At reduced coverage and high pressure, Si-O-C bonds are anyway established. In this situation the presence of oxygen results detrimental as it weakens the surface C-C bonds making the surface more vulnerable to wear. Indeed we observed atomic wear on the C(110) surface at 50% O-coverage under harsh tribological conditions. The mechanisms of friction reduction and atomistic wear are explained through the analysis of the electronic properties and surface-surface interactions. Overall, our accurate in silico experiments shed light into the effects of adsorbed oxygen on the tribological behavior of diamond and show how oxidized diamond can be worn by silica.
2304.12511v1
2023-05-03
Correlated Insulator and Chern Insulators in Pentalayer Rhombohedral Stacked Graphene
Rhombohedral stacked multilayer graphene is an ideal platform to search for correlated electron phenomena, due to its pair of flat bands touching at zero energy and further tunability by an electric field. Furthermore, its valley-dependent Berry phase at zero energy points to possible topological states when the pseudospin symmetry is broken by electron correlation. However, experimental explorations of these opportunities are very limited so far, due to a lack of devices with optimized layer numbers and configurations. Here we present electron transport measurements of hBN-encapsulated pentalayer graphene at down to 100 milli-Kelvin. We observed a correlated insulating state with >MOhm resistance at zero charge density and zero displacement field, where the tight-binding calculation predicts a metallic ground state. By increasing the displacement field, we observed a Chern insulator state with C = -5 and two other states with C = -3 at a low magnetic field of ~1 Tesla. At high displacement fields and charge densities, we observed isospin-polarized quarter- and half-metals. Therefore, rhombohedral-stacked pentalayer graphene is the first graphene system to exhibit two different types of Fermi-surface instabilities: driven by a pair of flat bands touching at zero energy, and by the Stoner mechanism in a single flat band. Our results demonstrate a new direction to explore intertwined electron correlation and topology phenomena in natural graphitic materials without the need of moir\'e superlattice engineering.
2305.03151v2
2023-05-10
Strange metallicity in an antiferromagnetic quantum critical model: A sign-problem-free quantum Monte-Carlo study
We compute transport and thermodynamic properties of a two-band spin-fermion model describing itinerant fermions in two dimensions interacting via $Z_2$ antiferromagnetic quantum critical fluctuations by means of a sign-problem-free quantum Monte-Carlo approach. We show that the phase diagram of this model indeed contains a $d$-wave superconducting phase at low enough temperatures. However, a crucial question that arises is whether a non-Fermi-liquid metallic regime exists above $T_c$ exhibiting hallmark strange-metal transport phenomenology. Interestingly, we find that this version of the model describes a non-Fermi-liquid metallic regime that displays an approximately $T$-linear resistivity above $T_c$ for a strong fermion-boson interaction. Using Nernst-Einstein relation, our QMC results also show that this strange metal phase exhibits a crossover from being characterized by a charge compressibility given approximately by $\chi_{c}\sim 1/T$ at high temperatures to being described by a charge diffusivity consistent with the scaling $D_{c}\sim 1/T$ at low temperatures. Therefore, our work adds support to the view that the $Z_2$ antiferromagnetic spin-fermion model at strong coupling can be considered a minimal model that describes both unconventional superconductivity and strange metallicity, which are fundamentally interconnected in many important strongly-correlated quantum materials.
2305.06421v2
2023-06-09
Giant Hall Switching by Surface-State-Mediated Spin-Orbit Torque in a Hard Ferromagnetic Topological Insulator
Topological insulators (TI) and magnetic topological insulators (MTI) can apply highly efficient spin-orbit torque (SOT) and manipulate the magnetization with their unique topological surface states with ultra-high efficiency. Here, we demonstrate efficient SOT switching of a hard MTI, V-doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3 (VBST) with a large coercive field that can prevent the influence of an external magnetic field. A giant switched anomalous Hall resistance of 9.2 $k\Omega$ is realized, among the largest of all SOT systems. The SOT switching current density can be reduced to $2.8\times10^5 A/cm^2$. Moreover, as the Fermi level is moved away from the Dirac point by both gate and composition tuning, VBST exhibits a transition from edge-state-mediated to surface-state-mediated transport, thus enhancing the SOT effective field to $1.56\pm 0.12 T/ (10^6 A/cm^2)$ and the interfacial charge-to-spin conversion efficiency to $3.9\pm 0.3 nm^{-1}$. The findings establish VBST as an extraordinary candidate for energy-efficient magnetic memory devices.
2306.05603v3
2023-06-26
CIMulator: A Comprehensive Simulation Platform for Computing-In-Memory Circuit Macros with Low Bit-Width and Real Memory Materials
This paper presents a simulation platform, namely CIMulator, for quantifying the efficacy of various synaptic devices in neuromorphic accelerators for different neural network architectures. Nonvolatile memory devices, such as resistive random-access memory, ferroelectric field-effect transistor, and volatile static random-access memory devices, can be selected as synaptic devices. A multilayer perceptron and convolutional neural networks (CNNs), such as LeNet-5, VGG-16, and a custom CNN named C4W-1, are simulated to evaluate the effects of these synaptic devices on the training and inference outcomes. The dataset used in the simulations are MNIST, CIFAR-10, and a white blood cell dataset. By applying batch normalization and appropriate optimizers in the training phase, neuromorphic systems with very low-bit-width or binary weights could achieve high pattern recognition rates that approach software-based CNN accuracy. We also introduce spiking neural networks with RRAM-based synaptic devices for the recognition of MNIST handwritten digits.
2306.14649v1
2023-07-03
Designing impact-resistant bio-inspired low-porosity structures using neural networks
Biological structural designs in nature, like hoof walls, horns, and antlers, can be used as inspiration for generating structures with excellent mechanical properties. A common theme in these designs is the small percent porosity in the structure ranging from 1 - 5\%. In this work, the sheep horn was used as an inspiration due to its higher toughness when loaded in the radial direction compared to the longitudinal direction. Under dynamic transverse compression, we investigated the structure-property relations in low porosity structures characterized by their two-dimensional (2D) cross-sections. A diverse design space was created by combining polygonal tubules with different numbers of sides placed on a grid with varying numbers of rows and columns. The volume fraction and the orientation angle of the tubules were also varied. The finite element (FE) method was used with a rate-dependent elastoplastic material model to generate the stress-strain curves under plane strain conditions. A gated recurrent unit (GRU) model was trained to predict the structures' stress-strain response and energy absorption under different strain rates and applied strains. The parameter-based model uses eight discrete parameters to characterize the design space and as inputs to the model. The trained GRU model can efficiently predict the response of a new design in as little as 0.16 ms and allows rapid performance evaluation of 128000 designs in the design space. The GRU predictions identified high-performance structures, and four design trends that affect the specific energy absorption were extracted and discussed.
2307.00986v2
2023-07-07
Using electrical impedance spectroscopy to identify equivalent circuit models of lubricated contacts with complex geometry: in-situ application to mini traction machine
Electrical contact resistance or capacitance as measured between a lubricated contact has been used in tribometers, partially reflecting the lubrication condition. In contrast, the electrical impedance provides rich information of magnitude and phase, which can be interpreted using equivalent circuit models, enabling more comprehensive measurements, including the variation of lubricant film thickness and the asperity (metal to metal) contact area. An accurate circuit model of the lubricated contact is critical as needed for the electrical impedance analysis. However, existing circuit models are hand derived and suited to interfaces with simple geometry, such as parallel plates, concentric and eccentric cylinders. Circuit model identification of lubricated contacts with complex geometry is challenging. This work takes the ball-on-disc lubricated contact in a Mini Traction Machine (MTM) as an example, where screws on the ball, grooves on the disc, and contact close to the disc edge make the overall interface geometry complicated. The electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is used to capture its frequency response, with a group of load, speed, and temperature varied and tested separately. The results enable an identification of equivalent circuit models by fitting parallel resistor-capacitor models, the dependence on the oil film thickness is further calibrated using a high-accuracy optical interferometry, which is operated under the same lubrication condition as in the MTM. Overall, the proposed method is applicable to general lubricated interfaces for the identification of equivalent circuit models, which in turn facilitates in-situ tribo-contacts with electric impedance measurement of oil film thickness. It does not need transparent materials as optical techniques do, or structural modifications for piezoelectric sensor mounting as ultrasound techniques do.
2307.03668v1
2023-08-22
Magnetic Skyrmion: From Fundamental Physics to Pioneering Applications
Skyrmionic devices exhibit energy-efficient and high-integration data storage and computing capabilities due to their small size, topological protection, and low drive current requirements. So, to realize these devices, an extensive study, from fundamental physics to practical applications, becomes essential. In this article, we present an exhaustive review of the advancements in understanding the fundamental physics behind magnetic skyrmions and the novel data storage and computing technologies based on them. We begin with an in-depth discussion of fundamental concepts such as topological protection, stability, statics and dynamics essential for understanding skyrmions, henceforth the foundation of skyrmion technologies. For the realization of CMOS-compatible skyrmion functional devices, the writing and reading of the skyrmions are crucial. We discuss the developments in different writing schemes such as STT, SOT, and VCMA. The reading of skyrmions is predominantly achieved via two mechanisms: the Magnetoresistive Tunnel Junction (MTJ) TMR effect and topological resistivity (THE). So, a thorough investigation into the Skyrmion Hall Effect, topological properties, and emergent fields is also provided, concluding the discussion on skyrmion reading developments. Based on the writing and reading schemes, we discuss the applications of the skyrmions in conventional logic, unconventional logic, memory applications, and neuromorphic computing in particular. Subsequently, we present an overview of the potential of skyrmion-hosting Majorana Zero Modes (MZMs) in the emerging Topological Quantum Computation and helicity-dependent skyrmion qubits.
2308.11811v2
2023-09-11
Ultrafast optical properties of stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric refractory metal nitrides TiNx, ZrNx, and HfNx
Refractory metal nitrides have recently gained attention in various fields of modern photonics due to their cheap and robust production technology, silicon-technology compatibility, high thermal and mechanical resistance, and competitive optical characteristics in comparison to typical plasmonic materials like gold and silver. In this work, we demonstrate that by varying the stoichiometry of sputtered nitride films, both static and ultrafast optical responses of refractory metal nitrides can efficiently be controlled. We further prove that the spectral changes in ultrafast transient response are directly related to the position of the epsilon-near-zero region. At the same time, the analysis of the temporal dynamics allows us to identify three time components - the "fast" femtosecond one, the "moderate" picosecond one, and the "slow" at the nanosecond time scale. We also find out that the non-stoichiometry does not significantly decrease the recovery time of the reflectance value. Our results show the strong electron-phonon coupling and reveal the importance of both the electron and lattice temperature-induced changes in the permittivity near the ENZ region and the thermal origin of the long tail in the transient optical response of refractory nitrides.
2309.05593v1
2023-10-01
Effect of Spin Fluctuations on Magnetoresistance and Anomalous Hall Effect in the Chiral Magnet Co8Zn8Mn4
The beta Mn type Co-Zn-Mn alloys have seized significant attention due to their ability to host skyrmions at room temperature. Here we analyse the unconventional magneto-transport properties of Co8Zn8Mn4 single crystals with a Curie temperature of 275 K. A negative magnetoresistance is obtained over a wide temperature range of 50K to 300K. The deviation of the isothermal magnetoresistance (MR) curves from linearity to non-linearity as one approaches higher temperatures points towards the transition from the dominance of magnons to spin fluctuations. In the paramagnetic phase, the change in the shape of the MR curve has been explained using the Khosla and Fischer model. The relationship between the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and longitudinal resistivity reveals the dominance of the skew-scattering mechanism, which is inexplicable based on the theories of semi-classical magneto-transport. We experimentally determine that the spin fluctuation is the source of the skew-scattering mechanism in Co8Zn8Mn4. In general skew-scattering mechanisms predominate in compounds with high conductivity, but our findings demonstrate that this is not always the case and that other aspects also require equal consideration. Our work throws new light on the predominant scattering mechanism in chiral magnets with skyrmionics phase at low conductivity.
2310.00739v1
2023-11-01
Annealing effects on the magnetic and magnetotransport properties of iron oxide nanoparticles self-assemblies
In magnetic tunnel junctions based on iron oxide nanoparticles the disorder and the oxidation state of the surface spin as well as the nanoparticles functionalization play a crucial role in the magnetotransport properties. In this work, we report a systematic study of the effects of vacuum annealing on the structural, magnetic and transport properties of self-assembled ~10 nm Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The high temperature treatment (from 573 to 873 K) decomposes the organic coating into amorphous carbon, reducing the electrical resistivity of the assemblies by 4 orders of magnitude. At the same time, the 3Fe2+/(Fe3++Fe2+) ratio is reduced from 1.11 to 0.13 when the annealing temperature of the sample increases from 573 to 873 K, indicating an important surface oxidation. Although the 2 nm physical gap remains unchanged with the thermal treatment, a monotonous decrease of tunnel barrier width was obtained from the electron transport measurements when the annealing temperature increases, indicating an increment in the number of defects and hot-spots in the gap between the nanoparticles. This is reflected in the reduction of the spin dependent tunneling, which reduces the interparticle magnetoresistance. This work shows new insights about influence of the nanoparticle interfacial composition, as well their the spatial arrangement, on the tunnel transport of self-assemblies, and evidence the importance of optimizing the nanostructure fabrication for increasing the tunneling current without degrading the spin polarized current.
2311.00700v1
2023-11-08
Incorporating temporal dynamics of mutations to enhance the prediction capability of antiretroviral therapy's outcome for HIV-1
Motivation: In predicting HIV therapy outcomes, a critical clinical question is whether using historical information can enhance predictive capabilities compared with current or latest available data analysis. This study analyses whether historical knowledge, which includes viral mutations detected in all genotypic tests before therapy, their temporal occurrence, and concomitant viral load measurements, can bring improvements. We introduce a method to weigh mutations, considering the previously enumerated factors and the reference mutation-drug Stanford resistance tables. We compare a model encompassing history (H) with one not using it (NH). Results: The H-model demonstrates superior discriminative ability, with a higher ROC-AUC score (76.34%) than the NH-model (74.98%). Significant Wilcoxon test results confirm that incorporating historical information improves consistently predictive accuracy for treatment outcomes. The better performance of the H-model might be attributed to its consideration of latent HIV reservoirs, probably obtained when leveraging historical information. The findings emphasize the importance of temporal dynamics in mutations, offering insights into HIV infection complexities. However, our result also shows that prediction accuracy remains relatively high even when no historical information is available. Supplementary information: Supplementary material is available.
2311.04846v1
2024-03-12
Fragmentation of Dense Rotation-Dominated Structures Fed by Collapsing Gravomagneto-Sheetlets and Origin of Misaligned 100 au-Scale Binaries and Multiple Systems
The majority of stars are in binary/multiple systems. How such systems form in turbulent, magnetized cores of molecular clouds in the presence of non-ideal MHD effects remains relatively under-explored. Through ATHENA++-based non-ideal MHD AMR simulations with ambipolar diffusion, we show that the collapsing protostellar envelope is dominated by dense gravomagneto-sheetlets, a turbulence-warped version of the classic pseuodisk produced by anisotropic magnetic resistance to the gravitational collapse, in agreement with previous simulations of turbulent, magnetized single-star formation. The sheetlets feed mass, magnetic fields, and angular momentum to a Dense ROtation-Dominated (DROD) structure, which fragments into binary/multiple systems. This DROD fragmentation scenario is a more dynamic variant of the traditional disk fragmentation scenario for binary/multiple formation, with dense spiral filaments created by inhomogeneous feeding from the highly structured larger-scale sheetlets rather than the need for angular momentum transport, which is dominated by magnetic braking. Collisions between the dense spiraling filaments play a key role in pushing the local magnetic Toomre parameter $Q_\mathrm{m}$ below unity, leading to gravitational collapse and stellar companion formation provided that the local material is sufficiently demagnetized, with a plasma-$\beta$ of order unity or more. This mechanism can naturally produce {\it in situ} misaligned systems on the 100-au scale, often detected with high-resolution ALMA observations. Our simulations also highlight the importance of non-ideal MHD effects, which affect whether fragmentation occurs and, if so, the masses and orbital parameters of the stellar companions formed.
2403.07777v1
2024-03-17
Thickness effect on superconducting properties of niobium films for radio-frequency cavity applications
Niobium-coated copper radio-frequency cavities are cost-effective alternatives to bulk niobium cavities, given the lower material costs of copper substrates and their operation in liquid helium at around 4.2 K. However, these cavities historically exhibited a gradual degradation in performance with the accelerating field. This phenomenon, not yet fully understood, limits the application of niobium thin film cavities in accelerators where the real-estate gradient needs to be maximized. Recent studies on niobium films deposited on copper using high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) technique show promising results in mitigating the performance degradation of niobium thin film radio-frequency cavities. This paper examines the effect of film thickness on the superconducting properties of niobium films deposited on copper using HiPIMS. The study provides insights into how the critical temperature, transition width, lower and upper critical fields, and critical current density vary with the film thickness. Increasing the thickness of niobium films deposited through HiPIMS is found to enhance superconducting properties and reduce densities of defects and structural irregularities in the crystalline lattice. This shows potential for enhancing overall performance and potentially mitigating the observed performance degradation in niobium thin film radio-frequency cavities. Additionally, the Ivry's scaling relation among critical temperature, thickness, and sheet resistance at the normal state appears applicable to niobium films up to approximately 4 $\mu$m. This extends the previously confirmed validity for niobium films, which was limited to around 300 nm thickness.
2403.11245v1
2024-04-15
Stiffness-Tuneable Limb Segment with Flexible Spine for Malleable Robots
Robotic arms built from stiffness-adjustable, continuously bending segments serially connected with revolute joints have the ability to change their mechanical architecture and workspace, thus allowing high flexibility and adaptation to different tasks with less than six degrees of freedom, a concept that we call malleable robots. Known stiffening mechanisms may be used to implement suitable links for these novel robotic manipulators; however, these solutions usually show a reduced performance when bending due to structural deformation. By including an inner support structure this deformation can be minimised, resulting in an increased stiffening performance. This paper presents a new multi-material spine-inspired flexible structure for providing support in stiffness-controllable layer-jamming-based robotic links of large diameter. The proposed spine mechanism is highly movable with type and range of motions that match those of a robotic link using solely layer jamming, whilst maintaining a hollow and light structure. The mechanics and design of the flexible spine are explored, and a prototype of a link utilising it is developed and compared with limb segments based on granular jamming and layer jamming without support structure. Results of experiments verify the advantages of the proposed design, demonstrating that it maintains a constant central diameter across bending angles and presents an improvement of more than 203% of resisting force at 180 degrees.
2404.09653v1
2024-04-23
Ultrafast nanocomposite scintillators based on Cd-enhanced CsPbCl3 nanocrystals in polymer matrix
Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (LHP-NCs) embedded in polymer matrices are gaining traction for next-generation radiation detectors. While progress has been made on green-emitting CsPbBr3 NCs, scant attention has been given to the scintillation properties of CsPbCl3 NCs, which emit size-tunable UV-blue light matching the peak efficiency of ultrafast photodetectors. In this study, we explore the scintillation characteristics of CsPbCl3 NCs produced through a scalable method and treated with CdCl2. Spectroscopic, radiometric and theoretical analysis on both untreated and treated NCs uncover deep hole trap states due to surface undercoordinated chloride ions, eliminated by Pb to Cd substitution. This yields near-perfect efficiency and resistance to polyacrylate mass-polymerization. Radiation hardness tests demonstrate stability to high gamma doses while time-resolved experiments reveal ultrafast radioluminescence with an average lifetime as short as 210 ps. These findings enhance our comprehension of LHP NCs' scintillation properties, positioning CsPbCl3 as a promising alternative to conventional fast scintillators.
2404.14813v1
1994-10-19
$Pb_{0.4}Bi_{1.6}Sr_{2}Ca_{1}Cu_{2}O_{8+x}$ and Oxygen Stoichiometry: Structure, Resistivity, Fermi Surface Topology and Normal State Properties
$Pb_{0.4}Bi_{1.6}Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+x}$ ($Bi(Pb)-$2212) single crystal samples were studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), $ab-$plane ($\rho_{ab}$) and $c-$axis ($\rho_c$) resistivity, and high resolution angle-resolved ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (ARUPS). TEM reveals that the modulation in the $b-$axis for $Pb(0.4)-$doped $Bi(Pb)-$2212 is dominantly of $Pb-$type that is not sensitive to the oxygen content of the system, and the system clearly shows a structure of orthorhombic symmetry. Oxygen annealed samples exhibit a much lower $c-$axis resistivity and a resistivity minimum at $80-130$K. He-annealed samples exhibit a much higher $c-$axis resistivity and $d\rho_c/dT<0$ behavior below 300K. The Fermi surface (FS) of oxygen annealed $Bi(Pb)-$2212 mapped out by ARUPS has a pocket in the FS around the $\bar{M}$ point and exhibits orthorhombic symmetry. There are flat, parallel sections of the FS, about 60\% of the maximum possible along $k_x = k_y$, and about 30\% along $k_x = - k_y$. The wavevectors connecting the flat sections are about $0.72(\pi, \pi)$ along $k_x = k_y$, and about $0.80(\pi, \pi)$ along $k_x = - k_y$, rather than $(\pi,\pi)$. The symmetry of the near-Fermi-energy dispersing states in the normal state changes between oxygen-annealed and He-annealed samples.
9410069v1
2003-05-30
General expressions for the electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity of twinned crystals
General expressions are derived for the electrical resisitivity and thermal conductivity of a twinned single crystal. Particular attention is paid to the effect of the structure of the twin domains on these transport coefficients. Edge effects are also considered. The expression for the thermal conductivity is used to fit data for a twinned single crystal of 0.8% Zn-doped YBa2Cu3O6.98. The expression for the electrical resistivity is used to fit previously published electrical resistivity data for a twinned single crystal of YBa2Cu3O6.9. It is found that twin boundaries are not a significant source of electron scattering in high-quality single crystals of Y-123. We cannot rule out scattering of phonons by twin boundaries in these crystals, with up to 12% suppression of the phonon component of the thermal conductivity. The related problem of determining the electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity of a crystal with oblique and alternating isotropic regions of different conductivities is also solved.
0305698v5
2003-06-13
Behavior of the contacts of Quantum Hall Effect devices at high currents : an electronic thermometer
This paper reports on an experimental study of the contact resistance of Hall bars in the Quantum Hall Effect regime while increasing the current through the sample. These measurements involve also the longitudinal resistance and they have been always performed before the breakdown of the Quantum Hall Effect. Our investigations are restricted to the $i=2$ plateau which is used in all metrological measurements of the von Klitzing constant $R_K$. A particular care has been taken concerning the configuration of the measurement. Four configurations were used for each Hall bar by reversing the current and the magnetic field polarities. Several samples with different width have been studied and we observed that the critical current for the contact resistance increases with the width of the Hall bar as previously observed for the critical current of the longitudinal resistance. The critical currents exhibit either a linear or a sublinear increase. All our observations are interpreted in the current understanding of the Quantum hall effect brekdown. Our analysis suggests that a heated region appears at the current contact, develops and then extends in the whole sample while increasing the current. Consequently, we propose to use the contact resistance as an electronic thermometer for the Hall fluid.
0306368v3
2004-07-19
Resistivity studies under hydrostatic pressure on a low-resistance variant of the quasi-2D organic superconductor kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br: quest for intrinsic scattering contributions
Resistivity measurements have been performed on a low (LR)- and high (HR)-resistance variant of the kappa-(BEDT-TTF)_2Cu[N(CN)_2]Br superconductor. While the HR sample was synthesized following the standard procedure, the LR crystal is a result of a somewhat modified synthesis route. According to their residual resistivities and residual resistivity ratios, the LR crystal is of distinctly superior quality. He-gas pressure was used to study the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the different transport regimes for both variants. The main results of these comparative investigations are (i) a significant part of the inelastic-scattering contribution, which causes the anomalous rho(T) maximum in standard HR crystals around 90 K, is sample dependent, i.e. extrinsic in nature, (ii) the abrupt change in rho(T) at T* approx. 40 K from a strongly temperature-dependent behavior at T > T* to an only weakly T-dependent rho(T) at T < T* is unaffected by this scattering contribution and thus marks an independent property, most likely a second-order phase transition, (iii) both variants reveal a rho(T) proportional to AT^2 dependence at low temperatures, i.e. for T_c < T < T_0, although with strongly sample-dependent coefficients A and upper bounds for the T^2 behavior measured by T_0. The latter result is inconsistent with the T^2 dependence originating from coherent Fermi-liquid excitations.
0407478v1
2004-10-28
Transport properties in manganite thin films
The resistivity of thin $La_{0.7}A_{0.3}MnO_{3}$ films ($A=Ca, Sr$) is investigated in a wide temperature range. The comparison of the resistivities is made among films grown by different techniques and on several substrates allowing to analyze samples with different amounts of disorder. In the low-temperature nearly half-metallic ferromagnetic state the prominent contribution to the resistivity scales as $T^{\alpha}$ with $\alpha \simeq 2.5$ for intermediate strengths of disorder supporting the theoretical proposal of single magnon scattering in presence of minority spin states localized by the disorder. For large values of disorder the low-temperature behavior of the resistivity is well described by the law $T^{3}$ characteristic of anomalous single magnon scattering processes, while in the regime of low disorder the $\alpha$ exponent tends to a value near 2. In the high temperature insulating paramagnetic phase the resistivity shows the activated behavior characteristic of polaronic carriers. Finally in the whole range of temperatures the experimental data are found to be consistent with a phase separation scenario also in films doped with strontium ($A=Sr$).
0410743v1
2008-12-22
Joule Heating and Anomalous Resistivity in the Solar Corona
Recent radioastronomical observations of Faraday rotation in the solar corona can be interpreted as evidence for coronal currents, with values as large as $2.5 \times 10^9$ Amperes (Spangler 2007). These estimates of currents are used to develop a model for Joule heating in the corona. It is assumed that the currents are concentrated in thin current sheets, as suggested by theories of two dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The Spitzer result for the resistivity is adopted as a lower limit to the true resistivity. The calculated volumetric heating rate is compared with an independent theoretical estimate by Cranmer et al (2007). This latter estimate accounts for the dynamic and thermodynamic properties of the corona at a heliocentric distance of several solar radii. Our calculated Joule heating rate is less than the Cranmer et al estimate by at least a factor of $3 \times 10^5$. The currents inferred from the observations of Spangler (2007) are not relevant to coronal heating unless the true resistivity is enormously increased relative to the Spitzer value. However, the same model for turbulent current sheets used to calculate the heating rate also gives an electron drift speed which can be comparable to the electron thermal speed, and larger than the ion acoustic speed. It is therefore possible that the coronal current sheets are unstable to current-driven instabilities which produce high levels of waves, enhance the resistivity and thus the heating rate.
0812.4220v1
2009-06-24
Turbulent resistivity driven by the magnetorotational instability
We measure the turbulent resistivity in the nonlinear regime of the MRI, and evaluate the turbulent magnetic Prandtl number. We perform a set of numerical simulations with the Eulerian finite volume codes Athena and Ramses in the framework of the shearing box model. We consider models including explicit dissipation coefficients and magnetic field topologies such that the net magnetic flux threading the box in both the vertical and azimuthal directions vanishes. We first demonstrate good agreement between the two codes by comparing the properties of the turbulent states in simulations having identical microscopic diffusion coefficients (viscosity and resistivity). We find the properties of the turbulence do not change when the box size is increased in the radial direction, provided it is elongated in the azimuthal direction. To measure the turbulent resistivity in the disk, we impose a fixed electromotive force on the flow and measure the amplitude of the saturated magnetic field that results. We obtain a turbulent resistivity that is in rough agreement with mean field theories like the Second Order Smoothing Approximation. The numerical value translates into a turbulent magnetic Prandtl number Pm_t of order unity. Pm_t appears to be an increasing function of the forcing we impose. It also becomes smaller as the box size is increased in the radial direction, in good agreement with previous results obtained in very large boxes. Our results are in general agreement with other recently published papers studying the same problem but using different methodology. Thus, our conclusion that Pm_t is of order unity appears robust.
0906.4422v2
2009-07-08
Turbulent resistivity evaluation in MRI generated turbulence
(abriged) MRI turbulence is a leading mechanism for the generation of an efficient turbulent transport of angular momentum in an accretion disk through a turbulent viscosity effect. It is believed that the same process could also transport large-scale magnetic fields in disks, reshaping the magnetic structures in these objects. This process, known as turbulent resistivity, has been suggested and used in several accretion-ejection models and simulations to produce jets. Still, the efficiency of MRI-driven turbulence to transport large-scale magnetic fields is largely unknown. We investigate this problem both analytically and numerically. We introduce a linear calculation of the MRI in the presence of a spatially inhomogeneous mean magnetic field. We show that, in this configuration, MRI modes lead to an efficient magnetic field transport, on the order of the angular momentum transport. We next use fully non linear simulations of MRI turbulence to compute the turbulent resistivity in several magnetic configurations. We find that the turbulent resistivity is on the order of the turbulent viscosity in all our simulations, although somewhat lower. The turbulent resistivity tensor is found to be highly anisotropic with a diffusion coefficient 3 times greater in the radial direction than in the vertical direction. These results support the possibility of driving jets from turbulent disks; the resulting jets may not be steady.
0907.1393v1
2009-07-15
Transport properties and the anisotropy of Ba_{1-x}K_xFe_2As_2 single crystals in normal and superconducting states
The transport and superconducting properties of Ba_{1-x}K_xFe_2As_2 single crystals with T_c = 31 K were studied. Both in-plane and out-of plane resistivity was measured by modified Montgomery method. The in-plane resistivity for all studied samples, obtained in the course of the same synthesis, is almost the same, unlike to the out-of plane resistivity, which differ considerably. We have found that the resistivity anisotropy \gamma=\rho_c /\rho_{ab} is almost temperature independent and lies in the range 10-30 for different samples. This, probably, indicates on the extrinsic nature of high out-of-plane resistivity, which may appear due to the presence of the flat defects along Fe-As layers in the samples. This statement is supported by comparatively small effective mass anisotropy, obtained from the upper critical field measurements, and from the observation of the so-called "Friedel transition", which indicates on the existence of some disorder in the samples in c-direction.
0907.2598v1
2010-12-31
In-plane anisotropy of electrical resistivity in the strain-detwinned SrFe2As2
Intrinsic, in-plane anisotropy of electrical resistivity was studied on mechanically detwinned single crystals of SrFe$_2$As$_2$ above and below the temperature of the coupled structural/magnetic transition, $T_{\textrm{TO}}$. Resistivity is smaller for electrical current flow along the orthorhombic $a_o$ direction (direction of antiferromagnetically alternating magnetic moments) and is larger for transport along the $b_o$ direction (direction of ferromagnetic chains), which is similar to CaFe$_2$As$_2$ and BaFe$_2$As$_2$ compounds. A strongly first order structural transition in SrFe$_2$As$_2$ was confirmed by high-energy x-ray measurements, with the transition temperature, and character unaffected by moderate strain. For small strain levels, which are just sufficient to detwin the sample, we find a negligible effect on the resistivity above $T_{\textrm{TO}}$. With the increase of strain, the resistivity anisotropy starts to develop above $T_{\textrm{TO}}$, clearly showing the relation of anisotropy to an anomalously strong response to strain. Our study suggests that electronic nematicity cannot be observed in the FeAs based compounds in which the structural transition is strongly first order.
1101.0274v1
2012-12-05
Electric field driven destabilization of the insulating state in nominally pure LaMnO3
We report an electric field driven destabilization of the insulating state in nominally pure LaMnO3 single crystal with a moderate field which leads to a resistive state transition below 300 K. The transition is between the insulating state in LaMnO3 and a high resistance bad metallic state that has a temperature independent resistivity. The transition occurs at a threshold field (Eth) which shows a steep enhancement on cooling. While at lower temperatures the transition is sharp and involves large change in resistance but it softens on heating and eventually absent above 280K. When the Mn4+ content is increased by Sr substitution up to x=0.1, the observed transition though observable in certain temperature range, softens considerably. The observation has been explained as bias driven percolation type transition between two coexisting phases, where the majority phase is a charge and orbitally ordered polaronic insulating phase and the minority phase is a bad metallic phase. The mobile fraction f of the bad metallic phase deduced from the experimental data follows an activated kinetics with the activation energy nearly equal to 200 meV and the prefactor fo is a strong function of the field that leads to a rapid enhancement of f on application of field leading to the resistive state transition. We suggest likely scenarios for such co-existing phases in nominally pure LaMnO3 that can lead to the bias driven percolation type transition.
1212.1001v2
2013-09-21
A switch to reduce resistivity in smoothed particle magnetohydrodynamics
Artificial resistivity is included in Smoothed Particle Magnetohydrodynamics simulations to capture shocks and discontinuities in the magnetic field. Here we present a new method for adapting the strength of the applied resistivity so that shocks are captured but the dissipation of the magnetic field away from shocks is minimised. Our scheme utilises the gradient of the magnetic field as a shock indicator, setting {\alpha}_B = h|gradB|/|B|, such that resistivity is switched on only where strong discontinuities are present. The advantage to this approach is that the resistivity parameter does not depend on the absolute field strength. The new switch is benchmarked on a series of shock tube tests demonstrating its ability to capture shocks correctly. It is compared against a previous switch proposed by Price & Monaghan (2005), showing that it leads to lower dissipation of the field, and in particular, that it succeeds at capturing shocks in the regime where the Alfv\'en speed is much less than the sound speed (i.e., when the magnetic field is very weak). It is also simpler. We also demonstrate that our recent constrained divergence cleaning algorithm has no difficulty with shock tube tests, in contrast to other implementations.
1309.5437v1
2013-10-04
Piggyback resistive Micromegas
Piggyback Micromegas consists in a novel readout architecture where the anode element is made of a resistive layer on a ceramic substrate. The resistive layer is deposited on the thin ceramic substrate by an industrial process which provides large dynamic range of resistivity (10$^6$ to 10$^{10}$\,M$\Omega$/square). The particularity of this new structure is that the active part is entirely dissociated from the read-out element. This gives a large flexibility on the design of the anode structure and the readout scheme. Without significant loss, signals are transmitted by capacitive coupling to the read-out pads. The detector provides high gas gain, good energy resolution and the resistive layer assures spark protection for the electronics. This assembly could be combined with modern pixel array electronic ASICs. First tests with different Piggyback detectors and configurations will be presented. This structure is adequate for cost effective fabrication and low outgassing detectors. It was designed to perform in sealed mode and its long term stability has been extensively studied. In addition perspectives on the future developments will be evoked.
1310.1242v1
2013-10-15
Recent advances with THGEM detectors
The Thick Gaseous Electron Multiplier (THGEM) is a simple and robust electrode suitable for large area detectors. In this work the results of extensive comparative studies of the physical properties of different THGEM-based structures are reviewed. The focus is on newly suggested THGEM-like WELL configurations as well as on recently developed characterization methods. The WELL structures are single-sided THGEM electrodes directly coupled to different anode readout electrodes. The structures differ by the coupling concept of the bottom THGEM electrode to the metallic readout pads: a Thick WELL (THWELL) with direct coupling; the Resistive WELL (RWELL) and the Segmented Resistive WELL (SRWELL) coupled through thin resistive films deposited on insulating sheets and a Resistive-Plate WELL (RPWELL) coupled through a plate of high bulk resistivity. The results are compared to that of traditional double-sided THGEM electrodes followed by induction gaps - in some cases with moderate additional multiplication within the gap. We compare the different configurations in terms of gain, avalanche extension, discharge-rate and magnitude as well as rate capabilities over a broad dynamic range - exploiting a method that mimics highly ionizing particles in the laboratory. We report on recent studies of avalanche distribution in THGEM holes using optical readout.
1310.3912v1
2014-10-10
On the bad metallicity and phase diagrams of Fe$_{1+δ}X$ ($X$ =Te, Se, S, solid solutions): an electrical resistivity study
Based on a systematic analysis of the thermal evolution of the resistivities of Fe-based chalcogenides Fe$_{1+\delta }$Te$_{1-x}X_{x}$ ($X$= Se, S), it is inferred that their often observed nonmetallic resistivities are related to a presence of two resistive channels: one is a high-temperature thermally-activated process while the other is a low-temperature log-in-$T$ process. On lowering temperature, there are often two metal-to-nonmetall crossover events: one from the high-$T$ thermally-activated nonmetallic regime into a metal-like phase and the other from the log-in-$T$ regime into a second metal-like phase. Based on these events, together with the magnetic and superconducting transitions, a phase diagram is constructed for each series. We discuss the origin of both processes as well as the associated crossover events. We also discuss how these resistive processes are being influenced by pressure, intercalation, disorder, doping, or sample condition and, in turn, how these modifications are shaping the associated phase diagrams.
1410.2676v1
2016-11-17
On the measurements of numerical viscosity and resistivity in Eulerian MHD codes
We propose a simple ansatz for estimating the value of the numerical resistivity and the numerical viscosity of any Eulerian MHD code. We test this ansatz with the help of simulations of the propagation of (magneto)sonic waves, Alfven waves, and the tearing mode instability using the MHD code Aenus. By comparing the simu- lation results with analytical solutions of the resistive-viscous MHD equations and an empirical ansatz for the growth rate of tearing modes we measure the numerical viscosity and resistivity of Aenus. The comparison shows that the fast-magnetosonic speed and wavelength are the characteristic velocity and length, respectively, of the aforementioned (relatively simple) systems. We also determine the dependance of the numerical viscosity and resistivity on the time integration method, the spatial reconstruction scheme and (to a lesser extent) the Riemann solver employed in the simulations. From the measured results we infer the numerical resolution (as a function of the spatial reconstruction method) required to properly resolve the growth and saturation level of the magnetic field amplified by the magnetorotational instability in the post-collapsed core of massive stars. Our results show that it is to the best advantage to resort to ultra-high order methods (e.g., 9th-order Monotonicity Preserving method) to tackle this problem properly, in particular in three dimensional simulations.
1611.05858v2
2017-02-06
Rings and gaps produced by variable magnetic disk winds and avalanche accretion streams: I. Axisymmetric resistive MHD simulations
Rings and gaps are being observed in an increasing number of disks around young stellar objects. We illustrate the formation of such radial structures through idealized, 2D (axisymmetric) resistive MHD simulations of coupled disk-wind systems threaded by a relatively weak poloidal magnetic field (plasma-$\beta \sim 10^3$). We find two distinct modes of accretion depending on the resistivity and field strength. A small resistivity or high field strength promotes the development of rapidly infalling `avalanche accretion streams' in a vertically extended disk envelope that dominates the dynamics of the system, especially the mass accretion. The streams are suppressed in simulations with larger resistivities or lower field strengths, where most of the accretion instead occurs through a laminar disk. In these simulations, the disk accretion is driven mainly by a slow wind that is typically accelerated by the pressure gradient from a predominantly toroidal magnetic field. Both wind-dominated and stream-dominated modes of accretion create prominent features in the surface density distribution of the disk, including rings and gaps, with a strong spatial variation of the magnetic flux relative to the mass. Regions with low mass-to-flux ratios accrete quickly, leading to the development of gaps, whereas regions with higher mass-to-flux ratios tend to accrete more slowly, allowing matter to accumulate and form dense rings. In some cases, avalanche accretion streams are observed to produce dense rings directly through continuous feeding. We discuss the implications of ring and gap formation driven by winds and streams on grain growth and planet formation.
1702.01565v2
2017-09-18
Log-rise of the Resistivity in the Holographic Kondo Model
We study a single-channel Kondo effect using a recently developed holographic large-$N$ technique. In order to obtain resistivity of this model, we introduce a probe field. The gravity dual of a localized fermionic impurity in 1+1-dimensional host matter is constructed by embedding a localized 2-dimensional Anti-de Sitter (\ads{2})-brane in the bulk of \ads{3}. This helps us construct an impurity charge density which acts as a source to the bulk equation of motion of the probe gauge field. The functional form of the charge density is obtained independently by solving the equations of motion for the fields confined to the \ads{2}-brane. The asymptotic solution of the probe field is dictated by the impurity charge density, which in turn, affects the current-current correlation functions, and hence the resistivity. Our choice of parameters tunes the near-boundary impurity current to be marginal, resulting in a $\log T$ behavior in the UV resistivity, as is expected for the Kondo problem. The resistivity at the IR fixed point turns out to be zero, signaling a complete screening of the impurity.
1709.06086v2
2019-07-11
First results of Resistive-Plate Well (RPWELL) detector operation at 163 K
We present for the first time, discharge-free operation at cryogenic conditions of a Resistive-Plate WELL (RPWELL) detector. It is a single-sided Thick Gaseous Electron Multiplier (THGEM) coupled to a readout anode via a plate of high bulk resistivity. The results of single- and double-stage RPWELL detectors operated in stable conditions in Ne/5$\%$CH$_{4}$ at 163 K are summarized. The RPWELL comprised a ferric-based (Fe$^{3+}$) ceramic composite ("Fe-ceramic") as the resistive plate, of volume resistivity $\sim$$10^{11}$ $\Omega$$\cdot$cm at this temperature. Gains of $\sim$$10^{4}$ and $\sim$$10^{5}$ were reached with the single-stage RPWELL, with 6 keV X-rays and single UV-photons, respectively. The double-stage detector, a THGEM followed by the RPWELL, reached gains $\sim$$10^{5}$ and $\sim$$10^{6}$ with X-rays and single UV-photons, respectively. The results were obtained with and without a CsI photocathode on the first multiplying element. Potential applications at these cryogenic conditions are discussed.
1907.05057v1
2020-04-10
Linear in temperature resistivity in the limit of zero temperature from the time reparameterization soft mode
The most puzzling aspect of the 'strange metal' behavior of correlated electron compounds is that the linear in temperature resistivity often extends down to low temperatures, lower than natural microscopic energy scales. We consider recently proposed deconfined critical points (or phases) in models of electrons in large dimension lattices with random nearest-neighbor exchange interactions. The criticality is in the class of Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev models, and exhibits a time reparameterization soft mode representing gravity in dual holographic theories. We compute the low temperature resistivity in a large $M$ limit of models with SU($M$) spin symmetry, and find that the dominant temperature dependence arises from this soft mode. The resistivity is linear in temperature down to zero temperature at the critical point, with a co-efficient universally proportional to the product of the residual resistivity and the co-efficient of the linear in temperature specific heat. We argue that the time reparameterization soft mode offers a promising and generic mechanism for resolving the strange metal puzzle.
2004.05182v4
2017-07-31
Universal linear-temperature resistivity: possible quantum diffusion transport in strongly correlated superconductors
The strongly correlated electron fluids in high temperature cuprate superconductors demonstrate an anomalous linear temperature ($T$) dependent resistivity behavior, which persists to a wide temperature range without exhibiting saturation. As cooling down, those electron fluids lose the resistivity and condense into the superfluid. However, the origin of the linear-$T$ resistivity behavior and its relationship to the strongly correlated superconductivity remain a mystery. Here we report a universal relation $d\rho/dT=(\mu_0k_B/\hbar)\lambda^2_L$, which bridges the slope of the linear-$T$-dependent resistivity ($d\rho/dT$) to the London penetration depth $\lambda_L$ at zero temperature among cuprate superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ and heavy fermion superconductors CeCoIn$_5$, where $\mu_0$ is vacuum permeability, $k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant and $\hbar$ is the reduced Planck constant. We extend this scaling relation to different systems and found that it holds for other cuprate, pnictide and heavy fermion superconductors as well, regardless of the significant differences in the strength of electronic correlations, transport directions, and doping levels. Our analysis suggests that the scaling relation in strongly correlated superconductors could be described as a hydrodynamic diffusive transport, with the diffusion coefficient ($D$) approaching the quantum limit $D\sim\hbar/m^*$, where $m^*$ is the quasi-particle effective mass.
1707.09782v1
2019-03-28
Faster Spectral Sparsification in Dynamic Streams
Graph sketching has emerged as a powerful technique for processing massive graphs that change over time (i.e., are presented as a dynamic stream of edge updates) over the past few years, starting with the work of Ahn, Guha and McGregor (SODA'12) on graph connectivity via sketching. In this paper we consider the problem of designing spectral approximations to graphs, or spectral sparsifiers, using a small number of linear measurements, with the additional constraint that the sketches admit an efficient recovery scheme. Prior to our work, sketching algorithms were known with near optimal $\tilde O(n)$ space complexity, but $\Omega(n^2)$ time decoding (brute-force over all potential edges of the input graph), or with subquadratic time, but rather large $\Omega(n^{5/3})$ space complexity (due to their reliance on a rather weak relation between connectivity and effective resistances). In this paper we first show how a simple relation between effective resistances and edge connectivity leads to an improved $\widetilde O(n^{3/2})$ space and time algorithm, which we show is a natural barrier for connectivity based approaches. Our main result then gives the first algorithm that achieves subquadratic recovery time, i.e. avoids brute-force decoding, and at the same time nontrivially uses the effective resistance metric, achieving $n^{1.4+o(1)}$ space and recovery time. Our main technical contribution is a novel method for `bucketing' vertices of the input graph into clusters that allows fast recovery of edges of high effective resistance: the buckets are formed by performing ball-carving on the input graph using (an approximation to) its effective resistance metric. We feel that this technique is likely to be of independent interest.
1903.12165v1
2012-06-13
Current Challenges and Perspectives in Resistive Gaseous Detectors: a manifesto from RPC 2012
Resistive gaseous detectors can be broadly defined as those operated in conditions where virtually no field lines exist that connect any two metallic electrodes sitting at different potential. This condition can be operationally recognized as 'no gas gap being delimited by two metallic electrodes'. Since early 70's, Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) are the most successful implementation of this idea, that leads to fully spark-protected gaseous detectors, with solid state-like reliability at working fields beyond 100kV/cm, yet enjoying the general characteristics of gaseous detectors in terms of flexibility, optimization and customization. We present a summary of the status of the field of resistive gaseous detectors as discussed in a dedicated closing session that took place during the XI Workshop for Resistive Plate Chambers and Related Detectors celebrated in Frascati, and especially we review the perspectives and ambitions towards the XII Workshop to be celebrated in Beijing in year 2014. Due to the existence of two specific reviews ([1,2]) also at this workshop, a minimum amount of overlap was found to be unavoidable. We have realized, however, that the three works provide a look at the field from different optics, so they can be largely considered to be complementary. Contrary to the initial concerns, the overall appearance seems to be fairly round, in our opinion.
1206.2735v2
2018-12-03
Resistive evolution of toroidal field configurations and their relation to magnetic clouds
We study the resistive evolution of a localized self-organizing magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium. In this configuration the magnetic forces are balanced by a pressure force caused by a toroidal depression in the pressure. Equilibrium is attained when this low pressure region prevents further expansion into the higher-pressure external plasma. We find that, for the parameters investigated, the resistive evolution of the structures follows a universal pattern when rescaled to resistive time. The finite resistivity causes both a decrease in the magnetic field strength and a finite slip of the plasma fluid against the static equilibrium. This slip is caused by a Pfirsch-Schl\"uter type diffusion, similar to what is seen in tokamak equilibria. The net effect is that the configuration remains in Magnetostatic equilibrium whilst it slowly grows in size. The rotational transform of the structure becomes nearly constant throughout the entire structure, and decreases according to a power law. In simulations this equilibrium is observed when highly tangled field lines relax in a high-pressure (relative to the magnetic field strength) environment, a situation that occurs when the twisted field of a coronal loop is ejected into the interplanetary solar wind. In this paper we relate this localized MHD equilibrium to magnetic clouds in the solar wind.
1812.00005v1
2019-01-24
Parylene Based Memristive Devices with Multilevel Resistive Switching for Neuromorphic Applications
In this paper, the resistive switching and neuromorphic behavior of memristive devices based on parylene, a polymer both low-cost and safe for the human body, is comprehensively studied. The Metal/Parylene/ITO sandwich structures were prepared by means of the standard gas phase surface polymerization method with different top active metal electrodes (Ag, Al, Cu or Ti of about 500 nm thickness). These organic memristive devices exhibit excellent performance: low switching voltage (down to 1 V), large OFF/ON resistance ratio (about 10^3), retention (> 10^4 s) and high multilevel resistance switching (at least 16 stable resistive states in the case of Cu electrodes). We have experimentally shown that parylene-based memristive elements can be trained by a biologically inspired spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) mechanism. The obtained results have been used to implement a simple neuromorphic network model of classical conditioning. The described advantages allow considering parylene-based organic memristors as prospective devices for hardware realization of spiking artificial neuron networks capable of supervised and unsupervised learning and suitable for biomedical applications.
1901.08667v2
2020-01-24
Metal-to-metal transition and heavy-electron state in Nd$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10-δ}$
The trilayer nickelate Nd$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10-\delta}$ ($\delta \approx$ 0.15) was investigated by the measurements of x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity. The crystal structure data suggest a higher Ni valence in the inner perovskite-like layer. At ambient pressure the resistivity shows a jump at 162 K, indicating a metal-to-metal transition (MMT). The MMT is also characterized by a magnetic susceptibility drop, a sharp specific-heat peak, and an isotropic lattice contraction. Below $\sim$ 50 K, a resistivity upturn with a log$T$ dependence shows up, accompanying with a negative thermal expansion. External hydrostatic pressure suppresses the resistivity jump progressively, coincident with the diminution of the log$T$ behavior. The low-temperature electronic specific-heat coefficient is extracted to be $\sim$ 150 mJ K$^{-2}$ mol-fu$^{-1}$, equivalent to $\sim$ 50 mJ K$^{-2}$ mol-Ni$^{-1}$, indicating an unusual heavy-electron correlated state. The novel heavy-electron state as well as the logarithmic temperature dependence of resistivity is explained in terms of the Ni$^{3+}$ centered Kondo effect in the inner layer of the (NdNiO$_3$)$_3$ trilayers.
2001.09059v2
2021-04-07
Functional annotation of creeping bentgrass protein sequences based on convolutional neural network
Background: Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis soionifera) is a perennial grass of Gramineae, belonging to cold season turfgrass, but has poor disease resistance. Up to now, little is known about the induced systemic resistance (ISR) mechanism, especially the relevant functional proteins, which is important to disease resistance of turfgrass. Achieving more information of proteins of infected creeping bentgrass is helpful to understand the ISR mechanism. Results: With BDO treatment, creeping bentgrass seedlings were grown, and the ISR response was induced by infecting Rhizoctonia solani. High-quality protein sequences of creeping bentgrass seedlings were obtained. Some of protein sequences were functionally annotated according to the database alignment while a large part of the obtained protein sequences was left non-annotated. To treat the non-annotated sequences, a prediction model based on convolutional neural network was established with the dataset from Uniport database in three domains to acquire good performance, especially the higher false positive control rate. With established model, the non-annotated protein sequences of creeping bentgrass were analyzed to annotate proteins relevant to disease-resistance response and signal transduction. Conclusions: The prediction model based on convolutional neural network was successfully applied to select good candidates of the proteins with functions relevant to the ISR mechanism from the protein sequences which cannot be annotated by database alignment. The waste of sequence data can be avoided, and research time and labor will be saved in further research of protein of creeping bentgrass by molecular biology technology. It also provides reference for other sequence analysis of turfgrass disease-resistance research.
2104.03139v2
2021-08-19
Resistive Hot Accretion Flows with Anisotropic Pressure
Since the collisional mean free path of charged particles in hot accretion flows can be significantly larger than the typical length-scale of the accretion flows, the gas pressure is anisotropic to magnetic field lines. For such a large collisional mean free path, the resistive dissipation can also play a key role in hot accretion flows. In this paper, we study the dynamics of resistive hot accretion flows in the presence of anisotropic pressure. We present a set of self-similar solutions where the flow variables are assumed to be a function only of radius. Our results show that the radial and rotational velocities and the sound speed increase considerably with the strength of anisotropic pressure. The increase in infall velocity and in sound speed are more significant if the resistive dissipation is taken into account. We find that such changes depend on the field strength. Our results indicate that the resistive heating is $10\%$ of the heating by the work done by anisotropic pressure when the strength of anisotropic pressure is 0.1. This value becomes higher when the strength of anisotropic pressure reduces. The increase in disk temperature can lead to heating and acceleration of the electrons in such flows. It helps us to explain the origin of phenomena such as the flares in Galactic Center Sgr A*.
2108.09829v1
2022-05-22
First Report of Susceptibility Status of the Invasive Vector: Aedes albopictus to insecticides used in vector control in Morocco
Aedes albopictus has been newly recorded in Agdal district at Rabat in Morocco. The establishment of this invasive mosquito could affect the public health by causing serious epidemics despite of its high nuisance in urban and sub-urban areas. Vector control is mainly based on environmental management but chemical insecticides can be used to reduce adult mosquito densities during peak periods. However, the level of susceptibility of this mosquito to insecticides has not been studied yet in Morocco. This paper reports the results of the first study conducted to monitor the insecticide resistance of adult and larva Ae. albopictus to the insecticides currently used in the vector control. The study was carried out during May-June 2018 at Rabat from the north-west of the country. Adult susceptibility tests were performed following the WHO test procedures. One organochlorate (DDT 4%), one pyrethroids (cyfluthrin 0.15%), one carbamate (bendiocarb 0.1%) and one organophosphate (fenithrothion 1%) were tested at diagnostic doses (DD). The five-fold DD of bendiocarb were also used to yield information on the intensity of mosquito adult resistance. The results of the performed susceptibility bioassay showed that the vector is susceptible to cyfluthrin and resistant to DDT, bendiocarb and fenithrothion. Larval bioassays to temephos were conducted according to WHO standard operating protocol to establish the dose-mortality relationship and deduct the LC50 and LC90 then resistance ratios. We show that larval populations of Ae. albopictus are still sensible to this insecticide. This information could help policy-makers to plan insecticide resistance management.
2205.11994v1
2023-09-15
Greedy Optimization of Resistance-based Graph Robustness with Global and Local Edge Insertions
The total effective resistance, also called the Kirchhoff index, provides a robustness measure for a graph $G$. We consider two optimization problems of adding $k$ new edges to $G$ such that the resulting graph has minimal total effective resistance (i.e., is most robust) -- one where the new edges can be anywhere in the graph and one where the new edges need to be incident to a specified focus node. The total effective resistance and effective resistances between nodes can be computed using the pseudoinverse of the graph Laplacian. The pseudoinverse may be computed explicitly via pseudoinversion; yet, this takes cubic time in practice and quadratic space. We instead exploit combinatorial and algebraic connections to speed up gain computations in an established generic greedy heuristic. Moreover, we leverage existing randomized techniques to boost the performance of our approaches by introducing a sub-sampling step. Our different graph- and matrix-based approaches are indeed significantly faster than the state-of-the-art greedy algorithm, while their quality remains reasonably high and is often quite close. Our experiments show that we can now process larger graphs for which the application of the state-of-the-art greedy approach was impractical before.
2309.08271v1
2024-05-28
Differential Voltage Analysis and Patterns in Parallel-Connected Pairs of Imbalanced Cells
Diagnosing imbalances in capacity and resistance within parallel-connected cells in battery packs is critical for battery management and fault detection, but it is challenging given that individual currents flowing into each cell are often unmeasured. This work introduces a novel method useful for identifying imbalances in capacity and resistance within a pair of parallel-connected cells using only voltage and current measurements from the pair. Our method utilizes differential voltage analysis (DVA) when the pair is under constant current discharge and demonstrates that features of the pair's differential voltage curve (dV/dQ), namely its mid-to-high SOC dV/dQ peak's height and skewness, are sensitive to imbalances in capacity and resistance. We analyze and explain how and why these dV/dQ peak shape features change in response to these imbalances, highlighting that the underlying current imbalance dynamics resulting from these imbalances contribute to these changes. Ultimately, we demonstrate that dV/dQ peak shape features can identify the product of capacity imbalance and resistance imbalance, but cannot uniquely identify the imbalances. This work lays the groundwork for identifying imbalances in capacity and resistance in parallel-connected cell groups in battery packs, where commonly only a single current sensor is placed for each parallel cell group.
2405.17754v1
2018-02-05
Electrical-current-induced magnetic hysteresis in self-assembled vertically aligned La_{2/3}Sr_{1/3}MnO_3:ZnO-nanopillar composites
Magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) is poised to become a next-generation information storage device. Yet, many materials challenges remain unsolved before it can become a widely used memory storage solution. Among them, an urgent need is to identify a material system that is suitable for downscaling and is compatible with low-power logic applications. Self-assembled, vertically-aligned La_{2/3}Sr_{1/3}MnO_3:ZnO nanocomposites, in which La_{2/3}Sr_{1/3}MnO_3 (LSMO) matrix and ZnO nanopillars form an intertwined structure with coincident-site-matched growth occurring between the LSMO and ZnO vertical interfaces, may offer new MRAM applications by combining their superior electric, magnetic (B), and optical properties. In this paper, we show the results of electrical current induced magnetic hysteresis in magneto-resistance measurements in these nano-pillar composites. We observe that when the current level is low, for example, 1 uA, the magneto-resistance displays a linear, negative, non-hysteretic B field dependence. Surprisingly, when a large current is used, I > 10 uA, a hysteretic behavior is observed when the B field is swept in the up and down directions. This hysteresis weakens as the sample temperature is increased. A possible spin-valve mechanism related to this electrical current induced magnetic hysteresis is proposed and discussed.
1802.01632v1
2018-03-05
Measurement of Elastoresistivity at Finite Frequency by Amplitude Demodulation
Elastoresistivity, the relation between resistivity and strain, can elucidate subtle properties of the electronic structure of a material and is an increasingly important tool for the study of strongly correlated materials. To date, elastoresistivity measurements have been predominantly performed with quasi-static (DC) strain. In this work, we demonstrate a method for using AC strain in elastoresistivity measurements. A sample experiencing AC strain has a time-dependent resistivity, which modulates the voltage produced by an AC current; this effect produces time-dependent variations in resisitivity that are directly proportional to the elastoresistivity, and which can be measured more quickly, with less strain on the sample, and with less stringent requirements for temperature stability than the previous DC technique. Example measurements between 10 Hz and 3 kHz are performed on a material with a large, well-characterized and temperature dependent elastoresistivity: the representative iron-based superconductor BaFe$_{1.975}$Co$_{0.025}$As$_2$. These measurements yield a frequency independent elastoresistivity and reproduce results from previous DC elastoresistivity methods to within experimental accuracy. We emphasize that the dynamic (AC) elastoresistivity is a distinct material-specific property that has not previously been considered.
1803.01909v2