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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 901 records · Page 50
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2009

Magnetic-Field-Tunable Superconducting Rectifier

Superconducting electronic components have been developed that provide current rectification that is tunable by design and with an externally applied magnetic field to the circuit component. The superconducting material used in the device is relatively free of pinning sites with its critical current determined by a geometric energy barrier to vortex entry. The ability of the vortices to move freely inside the device means this innovation does not suffer from magnetic hysteresis effects changing the state of the superconductor. The invention requires a superconductor geometry with opposite edges along the direction of current flow. In order for the critical current asymmetry effect to occur, the device must have different vortex nucleation conditions at opposite edges. Alternative embodiments producing the necessary conditions include edges being held at different temperatures, at different local magnetic fields, with different current-injection geometries, and structural differences between opposite edges causing changes in the size of the geometric energy barrier. An edge fabricated with indentations of the order of the coherence length will significantly lower the geometric energy barrier to vortex entry, meaning vortex passage across the device at lower currents causing resistive dissipation. The existing prototype is a two-terminal device consisting of a thin-film su - perconducting strip operating at a temperature below its superconducting transition temperature (Tc). Opposite ends of the strip are connected to electrical leads made of a higher Tc superconductor. The thin-film lithographic process provides an easy means to alter edge-structures, current-injection geo - metries, and magnetic-field conditions at the edges. The edge-field conditions can be altered by using local field(s) generated from dedicated higher Tc leads or even using the device s own higher Tc superconducting leads.

Sadleir, John E.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Surface reconstructions and electronic structure of metallic delafossite thin films

The growing interest in the growth and study of thin films of low-dimensional metallic delafossites, with the general formula ABO2, is driven by their potential to exhibit electronic and magnetic characteristics that are not accessible in bulk systems. The layered structure of these compounds introduces unique surface states as well as electronic and structural reconstructions, making the investigation of their surface behavior pivotal to understanding their intrinsic electronic structure. In this work, we study the surface phenomena of epitaxially grown PtCoO2, PdCoO2, and PdCrO2 films, utilizing a combination of molecular-beam epitaxy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Through precise control of surface termination and treatment, we discover a pronounced 3×3 surface reconstruction in PtCoO2 films and PdCoO2 films, alongside a 2 × 2 surface reconstruction observed in PdCrO2 films. These reconstructions have not been reported in prior studies of delafossites. Furthermore, our computational investigations demonstrate the BO2 surface’s relative stability compared to the A-terminated surface and the significant reduction in surface energy facilitated by the reconstruction of the A-terminated surface. These experimental and theoretical insights illuminate the complex surface dynamics in metallic delafossites, paving the way for future explorations of their distinctive properties in low-dimensional studies.

Materials Science↗
DOE OSTI2023

Tuning the band topology of GdSb by epitaxial strain

Rare-earth monopnictide (RE-V) semimetal crystals subjected to hydrostatic pressure have shown interesting trends in magnetoresistance, magnetic ordering, and superconductivity, with theory predicting pressure-induced band inversion. Yet, thus far, there have been no direct experimental reports of interchanged band order in RE-Vs due to strain. This work studies the evolution of band topology in biaxially strained GdSb(001) epitaxial films using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and density functional theory (DFT). As biaxial strain is tuned from tensile to compressive strain, the gap between the hole and the electron bands dispersed along [001] decreases. The conduction and valence band shifts seen in DFT and ARPES measurements are explained by a tight-binding model that accounts for the orbital symmetry of each band. Finally, we discuss the effect of biaxial strain on carrier compensation and magnetic ordering temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Critical slowing of the spin and charge density wave order in thin film Cr following photoexcitation

We report on the evolution of the charge density wave (CDW) and spin density wave (SDW) orders of a chromium film following photoexcitation with an ultrafast optical laser pulse. The CDW is measured by ultrafast time-resolved x-ray diffraction of the CDW satellite that tracks the suppression and recovery of the CDW following photoexcitation. We find that as the temperature of the film approaches a discontinuous phase transition in the CDW and SDW orders, the time scales of recovery increase exponentially from the expected thermal time scales. We extend a Landau model for SDW systems to account for this critical slowing with the appropriate boundary conditions imposed by the geometry of the thin film system. This model allows us to assess the energy barrier between the available CDW/SDW states with different spatial periodicities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Stability, metallicity, and magnetism in niobium silicide nanofilms

Modern superconducting qubits based on two-dimensional (2D) transmons typically involve the growth of Nb thin films on high-resistivity Si substrates. Since imperfections at the Nb-Si heterointerface have been implicated as a source of two-level systems that limit quantum coherence times, detailed characterization and understanding of niobium silicide interfacial layers are critical to improving superconducting qubit technology. While bulk binary intermetallic niobium silicide phases are well understood, the thermodynamic phase stability and properties of ultrathin niobium silicides, such as those found at the Nb-Si heterointerface in 2D transmons, have not yet been explored. Here, we report finite-sized effects for ultrathin niobium silicide films using density functional theory calculations and predict nanoscale stabilization of Nb 6 Si 5 over the bulk α-Nb 5 Si 3 phase. This result is consistent with our experimental observations of a niobium silicide interfacial layer between a sputtered Nb thin film and the underlying Si substrate. Furthermore, our calculations show that Nb 6 Si 5 nanofilms are nonmagnetic, making them superior to nanofilms of α-Nb 5 Si 3 that exhibit antiferromagnetic correlations detrimental to long coherence times in superconducting qubits. Furthermore, by providing atomic-scale insight into niobium silicide nanofilms, this paper can help guide ongoing efforts to optimize Nb-Si heterointerfaces for long coherence times in superconducting qubits.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ultrathin Magnesium-Based Coating as an Efficient Oxygen Barrier for Superconducting Circuit Materials

Scaling up superconducting quantum circuits based on transmon qubits necessitates substantial enhancements in qubit coherence time. Over recent years, tantalum (Ta) has emerged as a promising candidate for transmon qubits, surpassing conventional counterparts in terms of coherence time. However, amorphous surface Ta oxide layer may introduce dielectric loss, ultimately placing a limit on the coherence time. In this study, a novel approach for suppressing the formation of tantalum oxide using an ultrathin magnesium (Mg) capping layer is presented. Synchrotron-based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies demonstrate that oxide is confined to an extremely thin region directly beneath the Mg/Ta interface. Additionally, it is demonstrated that the superconducting properties of thin Ta films are improved following the Mg capping, exhibiting sharper and higher-temperature transitions to superconductive and magnetically ordered states. Moreover, an atomic-scale mechanistic understanding of the role of the capping layer in protecting Ta from oxidation is established based on computational modeling. Further, this work provides valuable insights into the formation mechanism and functionality of surface tantalum oxide, as well as a new materials design principle with the potential to reduce dielectric loss in superconducting quantum materials. Ultimately, the findings pave the way for the realization of large-scale, high-performance quantum computing systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Amine-Assisted Ligand-Exchange Method to Enhance Photovoltaic Parameters in FAPbI3 Nanocrystal Solar Cells

Perovskite colloidal nanocrystals (PeNCs) have exceptional optoelectronic properties and phase stability, making them promising for photovoltaic applications. However, insulating ligands on PeNC surfaces limit the current density and reduce the power conversion efficiency (PCE) in PeNC solar cells (SCs). This study introduces an amine-assisted ligand-exchange (ALE) strategy using 3-phenyl-1-propylamine (3P1P) to effectively remove long ligands from PeNC films. ALE reduced long-chain ligand density without increasing the number of defect states and therefore reduced the exciton-binding energy of FAPbI3 NC films. These changes facilitated exciton dissociation and charge transport in FAPbI3 PeNC SCs. The facilitation of exciton dissociation was due to the increased magnetic dipole interaction between excitons after the ALE process. The use of ALE achieved FAPbI3 PeNC SCs that had an improved short-circuit current density of 17.98 mA/cm2 and a PCE of 15.56% with improved stability after the treatment and negligible hysteresis. This work provides new insight into engineering PeNC films.

amines↗
DOE OSTI2021

Spin waves excitation at micron-sized, anisotropy modified regions in amorphous Fe 80 B 20 stripes: Local properties and inter-regions coupling

We report on the measurement of the local magnetization dynamics occurring, at units of GHz, in large aspect ratio stripes lithographed from reduced damping amorphous Fe 80 B 20 films. The stripes were submitted to local anisotropy modifications by micrometric beam synchrotron X-ray irradiation. Our results include data on the dispersion relationships and group velocities corresponding to spin waves excited at both the non-irradiated and the irradiated regions. Whereas in the former case we observed standing spin waves with transverse-to-the stripe axis wave vector, in the latter one, for which the wave vector of the spin waves was parallel-to-the stripe axis, propagating spin waves were excited. In both regions, we measured the effective propagation distance of the spin waves, which resulted to be independent of the wave vector orientation. In the spin waves excited at the irradiated region, we also measured the decay time and effective damping coefficient, which was in good agreement with previously reported values obtained from FMR measurements in amorphous Fe 80 B 20 continuous films. We show that the interaction of the non-irradiated and irradiated zones results, at the stripe transverse saturation remanence and under an exciting field frequency of 4 GHz, in the introduction of a π phase shift between the standing spin waves excited at both sides of the irradiated region. This result opens the possibility of using the local, transverse to the stripe axis, magnetic anisotropy easy axis induced by the X-ray irradiation as a crucial constituent of a zero-applied field spin wave phase-shifter.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Epitaxial Electrodeposition of Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for Energy Conversion and Storage

The focus of this project was to electrodeposit epitaxial films and nanostructures of inorganic materials. Although electrodeposition is normally associated with the electroplating of metals, the emphasis in this work was the deposition of compound materials such as metal oxides, semiconductors, catalysts, and magnetic materials. An electrochemical/chemical approach was used, in which an electrochemical redox reaction was followed by a chemical reaction to produce the product. The materials were deposited as epitaxial thin films or nanostructures onto a single-crystal substrate that determined their in-plane and out-of-plane orientation. Epitaxial films can have enhanced properties due to the lack of grain boundaries. They can also produce catalytic materials which have enhanced reactivity due to the exposure of the most catalytically active surface. A method was developed to produce inexpensive single-crystal-like metal foils that could be used as the substrate to deposit materials for applications such as flexible electronics. It was also demonstrated that epitaxial films of inorganic materials could be produced by a simple spin-coating technique.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

CMOS-Compatible Ultrathin Superconducting NbN Thin Films Deposited by Reactive Ion Sputtering on 300 mm Si Wafer

We report a milestone in achieving large-scale, ultrathin (~5 nm) superconducting NbN thin films on 300 mm Si wafers using a high-volume manufacturing (HVM) industrial physical vapor deposition (PVD) system. The NbN thin films possess remarkable structural uniformity and consistently high superconducting quality across the entire 300 mm Si wafer, by incorporating an AlN buffer layer. High-resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analyses unveiled enhanced crystallinity of (111)-oriented δ-phase NbN with the AlN buffer layer. Notably, NbN films deposited on AlN-buffered Si substrates exhibited a significantly elevated superconducting critical temperature (~2 K higher for the 10 nm NbN) and a higher upper critical magnetic field or H c2 (34.06 T boost in H c2 for the 50 nm NbN) in comparison with those without AlN. These findings present a promising pathway for the integration of quantum-grade superconducting NbN films with the existing 300 mm CMOS Si platform for quantum information applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electric field control of magnetism: multiferroics and magnetoelectrics

This article is written on behalf of a large number of colleagues, collaborators, and researchers in the field of complex oxides as well as current and former students and postdocs who continue to enable and undertake cutting-edge research in the field of multiferroics, magnetoelectrics, and the pursuit of electric-field control of magnetism. What we present is something that is extremely exciting from both a fundamental science and applications perspective and has the potential to revolutionize our world. Needless to say, to realize this potential will require numerous new innovations, both in the fundamental science arena as well as translating these scientific discoveries into real applications. Thus, this article will attempt to bridge the gap between fundamental condensed-matter physics and the actual manifestations of the physical concepts into real-life applications. Here, we hope this article will help spur more translational research within the broad materials physics community.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interface-induced sign reversal of the anomalous Hall effect in magnetic topological insulator heterostructures

The Berry phase picture provides important insights into the electronic properties of condensed matter systems. The intrinsic anomalous Hall (AH) effect can be understood as the consequence of non-zero Berry curvature in momentum space. Here, we fabricate TI/magnetic TI heterostructures and find that the sign of the AH effect in the magnetic TI layer can be changed from being positive to negative with increasing the thickness of the top TI layer. Our first-principles calculations show that the built-in electric fields at the TI/magnetic TI interface influence the band structure of the magnetic TI layer, and thus lead to a reconstruction of the Berry curvature in the heterostructure samples. Based on the interface-induced AH effect with a negative sign in TI/V-doped TI bilayer structures, we create an artificial “topological Hall effect”-like feature in the Hall trace of the V-doped TI/TI/Cr-doped TI sandwich heterostructures. Our study provides a new route to create the Berry curvature change in magnetic topological materials that may lead to potential technological applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Engineering new limits to magnetostriction through metastability in iron-gallium alloys

Magnetostrictive materials transduce magnetic and mechanical energies and when combined with piezoelectric elements, evoke magnetoelectric transduction for high-sensitivity magnetic field sensors and energy-efficient beyond-CMOS technologies. The dearth of ductile, rare-earth-free materials with high magnetostrictive coefficients motivates the discovery of superior materials. Fe 1- x Ga x alloys are amongst the highest performing rare-earth-free magnetostrictive materials; however, magnetostriction becomes sharply suppressed beyond x = 19% due to the formation of a parasitic ordered intermetallic phase. Here, we harness epitaxy to extend the stability of the BCC Fe 1- x Ga x alloy to gallium compositions as high as x = 30% and in so doing dramatically boost the magnetostriction by as much as 10x relative to the bulk and 2x larger than canonical rare-earth based magnetostrictors. A Fe 1- x Ga x - [Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 ] 0.7 -[PbTiO 3 ] 0.3 (PMN-PT) composite magnetoelectric shows robust 90° electrical switching of magnetic anisotropy and a converse magnetoelectric coefficient of 2.0 × 10 -5 s m -1 . When optimally scaled, this high coefficient implies stable switching at ~80 aJ per bit.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Axion insulator state in hundred-nanometer-thick magnetic topological insulator sandwich heterostructures

Abstract An axion insulator is a three-dimensional (3D) topological insulator (TI), in which the bulk maintains the time-reversal symmetry or inversion symmetry but the surface states are gapped by surface magnetization. The axion insulator state has been observed in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown magnetically doped TI sandwiches and exfoliated intrinsic magnetic TI MnBi 2 Te 4 flakes with an even number layer. All these samples have a thickness of ~ 10 nm, near the 2D-to-3D boundary. The coupling between the top and bottom surface states in thin samples may hinder the observation of quantized topological magnetoelectric response. Here, we employ MBE to synthesize magnetic TI sandwich heterostructures and find that the axion insulator state persists in a 3D sample with a thickness of ~ 106 nm. Our transport results show that the axion insulator state starts to emerge when the thickness of the middle undoped TI layer is greater than ~ 3 nm. The 3D hundred-nanometer-thick axion insulator provides a promising platform for the exploration of the topological magnetoelectric effect and other emergent magnetic topological states, such as the high-order TI phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Infrared nano-imaging of Dirac magnetoexcitons in graphene

Magnetic fields can have profound effects on the motion of electrons in quantum materials. Two-dimensional electron systems subject to strong magnetic fields are expected to exhibit quantized Hall conductivity, chiral edge currents and distinctive collective modes referred to as magnetoplasmons and magnetoexcitons. Generating these propagating collective modes in charge-neutral samples and imaging them at their native nanometre length scales have thus far been experimentally elusive. Here we visualize propagating magnetoexciton polaritons at their native length scales and report their magnetic-field-tunable dispersion in near-charge-neutral graphene. Imaging these collective modes and their associated nano-electro-optical responses allows us to identify polariton-modulated optical and photo-thermal electric effects at the sample edges, which are the most pronounced near charge neutrality. Our work is enabled by innovations in cryogenic near-field optical microscopy techniques that allow for the nano-imaging of the near-field responses of two-dimensional materials under magnetic fields up to 7 T. In conclusion, this nano-magneto-optics approach allows us to explore and manipulate magnetopolaritons in specimens with low carrier doping via harnessing high magnetic fields.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Antiferromagnetic metal phase in an electron-doped rare-earth nickelate

Long viewed as passive elements, antiferromagnetic materials have emerged as promising candidates for spintronic devices due to their insensitivity to external fields and potential for high-speed switching. Recent work exploiting spin and orbital effects has identified ways to electrically control and probe the spins in metallic antiferromagnets, especially in non-collinear or non-centrosymmetric spin structures. The rare-earth nickelate NdNiO 3 is known to be a non-collinear antiferromagnet in which the onset of antiferromagnetic ordering is concomitant with a transition to an insulating state. In this work, we find that for low electron doping, the magnetic order on the nickel site is preserved, whereas electronically, a new metallic phase is induced. We show that this metallic phase has a Fermi surface that is mostly gapped by an electronic reconstruction driven by bond disproportionation. Furthermore, we demonstrate the ability to write to and read from the spin structure via a large zero-field planar Hall effect. Our results expand the already rich phase diagram of rare-earth nickelates and may enable spintronics applications in this family of correlated oxides.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Tuning of the magnetotransport properties of a spin-polarized 2D electron system using visible light

We report on the effects of visible light on the low temperature electronic properties of the spin-polarized two dimensional electron system (2DES) formed at the interfaces between LaAlO 3 , EuTiO 3 and (001) SrTiO 3 . A strong, persistent modulation of both longitudinal and transverse conductivity was obtained using light emitting diodes (LEDs) with emissions at different wavelengths in the visible spectrum range. In particular, Hall effect data show that visible light induces a non-volatile electron filling of bands with mainly 3 dxz,yz character, and at the same time an enhancement of the anomalous Hall effect associated to the magnetic properties of the system. Accordingly, a suppression of the weak-anti localization corrections to the magneto-conductance is found, which correlates with an enhancement of the spin-polarization and of the ferromagnetic character of 2DES. The results establish the LED-induced photo-doping as a viable route for the control of the ground state properties of artificial spin-polarized oxide 2DES.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Signatures of a liquid-crystal transition in spin-wave excitations of skyrmions

Abstract Understanding the spin-wave excitations of chiral magnetic order, such as the skyrmion crystal (SkX), is of fundamental interest to confirm such exotic magnetic order. The SkX is realized by competing Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and ferromagnetic-exchange interactions with a magnetic field or anisotropy. Here, we compute the dynamical spin structure factor, using Monte Carlo and spin dynamics simulations, extracting the spin-wave spectrum in the SkX, in the vicinity of the paramagnet to SkX transition. Inside the SkX, we find six spin-wave modes, which are supplemented by another mode originating from the ferromagnetic background. Above the critical temperature T s for the skyrmion crystallization, we find a diffusive regime, reminiscent of the liquid-to-crystal transition, revealing that topological spin texture of skyrmionic character starts to develop above T s as the precursor of the SkX. We discuss the opportunities for the detection of the spin waves of the SkX using inelastic-neutron-scattering experiments in manganite-iridate heterostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗