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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 1,027 records · Page 57
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Defect-induced phonon-resonant scattering and its influence on thermal transport of irradiated thorium-dioxide

Thermal transport in proton irradiated thorium-dioxide (ThO 2 ) is investigated. Using a combination of experiments and first-principles computational framework, the role of lattice defects on thermal conductivity is analyzed. A resonant-phonon scattering mechanism beyond the traditionally considered Rayleigh scattering is found to significantly influence low-temperature thermal transport in the presence of irradiation-induced point defects. The existence of localized phonon modes associated with irradiation-induced defects is suggested by the inability of the first-principles based thermal conductivity model—which considers only three-phonon interactions and phonon-defects scattering using the Tamura formalism—to predict the experimental results, unless a resonant scattering mechanism is included. The emergence of additional peaks in the Raman spectra in the proximity of phonon-resonant frequency provides further evidence for the existence of localized modes. Coupled with a microstructure evolution model, this analysis enables more accurate analysis for contrasting the contributions of different phonon scattering mechanisms across all irradiation doses and temperatures.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Parallel magnetic field suppresses dissipation in superconducting nanostrips

The motion of Abrikosov vortices in type-II superconductors results in a finite resistance in the presence of an applied electric current. Elimination or reduction of the resistance via immobilization of vortices is the "holy grail" of superconductivity research. Common wisdom dictates that an increase in the magnetic field escalates the loss of energy since the number of vortices increases. Here we show that this is no longer true if the magnetic field and the current are applied parallel to each other. Our experimental studies on the resistive behavior of a superconducting Mo0.79Ge0.21 nanostrip reveal the emergence of a dissipative state with increasing magnetic field, followed by a pronounced resistance drop, signifying a reentrance to the superconducting state. Large-scale simulations of the 3D time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau model indicate that the intermediate resistive state is due to an unwinding of twisted vortices. When the magnetic field increases, this instability is suppressed due to a better accommodation of the vortex lattice to the pinning configuration. Our findings show that magnetic field and geometrical confinement can suppress the dissipation induced by vortex motion and thus radically improve the performance of superconducting materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2012

Direct measurement of the magnetic penetration depth by magnetic force microscopy

We present an experimental approach using magnetic force microscopy for measurements of the absolute value of the magnetic penetration depth λ in superconductors. λ is obtained in a simple and robust way without introducing any tip modeling procedure via direct comparison of the Meissner response curves for a material of interest to those measured for a reference sample. Using a well-characterized Nb film as a reference, we determine the absolute value of λ in a Ba(Fe 0.92 Co 0.08 ) 2 As 2 single crystal and a MgB 2 thin film through a comparative experiment. Our apparatus features simultaneous loading of multiple samples, and allows straightforward measurement of the absolute value of λ in superconducting thin film or single-crystal samples.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Quantum critical fluctuations in the heavy fermion compound Ce(Ni 0.935 Pd 0.065 ) 2 Ge 2

Electric resistivity, specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, and inelastic neutron scattering experi- ments were performed on a single crystal of the heavy fermion compound Ce(Ni 0.935 Pd 0.065 ) 2 Ge 2 in order to study the spin fluctuations near an antiferromagnetic (AF) quantum critical point (QCP). The resistivity and the specific heat coefficient for T ≤ 1 K exhibit the power law behavior expected for a 3D itinerant AF QCP (ρ(T) ~ T 3/2 and γ(T) ~ γ 0 - bT 1/2 ). However, for 2 ≤ T ≤ 10 K, the susceptibility and specific heat vary as log T and the resistivity varies linearly with temperature. Furthermore, despite the fact that the resistivity and specific heat exhibit the non-Fermi liquid behavior expected at a QCP, the correlation length, correlation time, and staggered susceptibility of the spin fluctuations remain finite at low temperature. We suggest that these deviations from the divergent behavior expected for a QCP may result from alloy disorder.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electronic and magnetic properties of epitaxial perovskite SrCrO3(001)

We have investigated the intrinsic properties of SrCrO3 epitaxial thin films synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy. We find compelling evidence that SrCrO3 is a correlated metal. X-ray photoemission valence band and O K-edge x-ray absorption spectra indicate a strongly hybridized Cr3d-O2p state crossing the Fermi level, leading to metallic behavior. Comparison between valence band spectra near the Fermi level and the densities of states calculated using density functional theory (DFT) also suggests the presence of coherent and incoherent states and points to a strong electron-electron correlation effects. The magnetic susceptibility can be described by Pauli paramagnetism at temperatures above 100 K, but reveals antiferromagnetic behavior at lower temperatures resulting from orbital ordering as suggested by Ortega-San-Martin et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 255701 (2007)].

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2011

A nanoscale SQUID operating at high magnetic fields

A washer-free Nb nanoSQUID has been developed for measuring magnetization changes from nanoscale objects. The SQUID loop is etched into a 250 nm wide Au/Nb bilayer track and the diameter of the SQUID hole is ~ 70 nm. In the presence of a magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the SQUID, vortex penetration into the 250 nm wide track can be observed via the critical current–applied field characteristic and the value at which vortex first penetrates is consistent with the theoretical prediction. Upon removing the applied field, the penetrated vortices escape the track and the critical current at zero field is restored.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Phase Separation in the Iron Chalcogenide Superconductor Fe1+yTexSe1−x

We present direct evidence for phase separation and chemical inhomogeneity in Fe{sub 1+y}Te{sub x}Se{sub 1-x} single crystals from scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) data. In STEM, images recorded using a high-angle annular dark field (HAADF) detector show characteristic nanometer-scale patterns of phase separation from the Z-dependent image contrast. The separation was observed both in non-superconducting samples with excess iron and in superconducting samples. Using EELS, we determined {approx}20% (or lower) fluctuation in Te concentration from the average local compositions by integrating the intensity of the Te-M{sub 4,5} edge. The energy-loss near-edge structure (ELNES) of the Fe-L{sub 2,3} edge changes with varying composition, especially the L{sub 3}/L{sub 2} white-line intensity ratio, which is sensitive to the d-state occupancy of the Fe. The results suggest a miscibility gap in the Fe{sub 1+y}Te{sub x}Se{sub 1-x} system and changes in the d-electron states at the nanometer scale from the separated phases.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Angular photonic band gap

We propose detailed numerical simulations of a class of material systems that strongly discriminate light based primarily on the angle of incidence, over a broad range of frequencies, and independent of the polarization. Unique properties of these systems emerge from investigating photonic crystals whose constituents have an anisotropic dielectric response.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Finite field regime for a quantum spin liquid in α – RuCl 3

An external magnetic field can cause a transition in α – RuCl 3 from an ordered zigzag state to a disordered state that is possibly related to the Kitaev quantum spin liquid. Here, we present field-dependent inelastic neutron scattering and magnetocaloric effect measurements implying the existence of an additional transition out of the quantum spin-liquid phase at an upper field limit B u . The neutron scattering reveals three distinct regimes of magnetic response. In the low-field ordered state the response shows magnon peaks; the intermediate-field regime shows only continuum scattering, and above B u the response shows sharp magnon peaks at the lower bound of a strong continuum. Measurable dispersion of magnon modes along the (0,0,L) direction implies non-negligible interplane interactions. Combining the magnetocaloric effect measurements with other data, a T–B phase diagram is constructed. The results constrain the range where one might expect to observe quantum spin-liquid behavior in α – RuCl 3 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Local imaging of diamagnetism in proximity-coupled niobium nanoisland arrays on gold thin films.

In this work, we study the effect of engineered disorder on the local magnetic response of proximity-coupled superconducting island arrays by comparing scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) susceptibility measurements to a model in which we treat the system as a network of one-dimensional (1D) superconductor-normal-metal-superconductor Josephson junctions, each with a Josephson coupling energy E-J determined by the junction length or distance between islands. We find that the disordered arrays exhibit a spatially inhomogeneous diamagnetic response which, for low local applied magnetic fields, is well described by this junction network model, and we discuss these results as they relate to inhomogeneous 2D superconductors. Our model of the static magnetic response of the arrays does not fully capture the onset of nonlinearity and dissipation with increasing applied field, as these effects are associated with vortex motion due to the dynamic nature of the scanning SQUID susceptometry measurement. This work demonstrates a model 2D superconducting system with engineered disorder, and it highlights the impact of dissipation on the local magnetic properties of 2D superconductors and Josephson junction arrays.

Bishop-Van Horn, Logan↗
DOE OSTI2023

Improved quasiparticle self-consistent electronic band structure and excitons in β – LiGaO 2

The band structure of β–LiGaO 2 is calculated using the quasiparticle self-consistent QSGWˆ method where the screened Coulomb interaction Wˆ is evaluated including electron-hole interaction ladder diagrams and G is the one-electron Green's function. Improved convergence compared to previous calculations leads to a significantly larger band gap of about 7.0 eV. However, exciton binding energies are found to be large and lead to an exciton gap of about 6.0 eV if also a zero-point-motion correction of about –0.4 eV is included. Furthermore, these results are in excellent agreement with recent experimental results on the onset of absorption. Besides the excitons observed thus far, the calculations indicate the existence of a Rydberg-like series of exciton excited states, which is however modified from the classical Wannier exciton model by the anisotropies of the material and the more complex mixing of Bloch states in the excitons resulting from the Bethe-Salpeter equation. The exciton fine structure and the exciton wave functions are visualized and analyzed in various ways.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Vortex dynamics induced by scanning SQUID susceptometry

In this work, we measured the local magnetic response of a niobium thin film by applying a millitesla-scale AC magnetic field using a micron-scale field coil and detecting the response with a micron-scale pickup loop in a scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) susceptometry measurement. Near the film's critical temperature, we observed a steplike nonlinear and dissipative magnetic response due to the dynamics of a small number of vortex-antivortex pairs induced in the film by the local applied AC field. We modeled the dynamics of the measurement using a combined two-dimensional London-Maxwell and time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau approach, allowing us to construct a detailed real-space picture of the vortex motion causing the observed dissipative response. This work pushes scanning SQUID susceptometry of two-dimensional superconductors beyond the regime of linear response and lays the foundation for microscopic studies of vortex dynamics and pinning in superconducting devices and more exotic materials systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Magnetotropic susceptibility

The magnetotropic susceptibility is the thermodynamic coefficient associated with the rotational anisotropy of the free energy in an external magnetic field and is closely related to the magnetic susceptibility. It emerges naturally in frequency-shift measurements of oscillating mechanical cantilevers, which are becoming an increasingly important tool in the quantitative study of the thermodynamics of modern condensed-matter systems. Here, in this work, we discuss the basic properties of the magnetotropic susceptibility as they relate to the experimental aspects of frequency-shift measurements, as well as to the interpretation of those experiments in terms of the intrinsic properties of the system under study.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Experimental evidence for nonspherical magnetic form factor in Ru 3 +

The Mott insulator ..alpha..-RuCl3 has generated great interest in the community due to its possible field-induced Kitaev quantum spin liquid state. Despite enormous effort spent trying to obtain the form of the low-energy Hamiltonian, there is currently no agreed upon set of parameters which is able to explain all of the data. A key piece of missing information lies in the determination of the magnetic form factor of Ru3+, particularly for a true quantitative treatment of inelastic neutron scattering data. Here we present the experimentally derived magnetic form factor of Ru3+ in the low spin 4d5 state using polarized neutron diffraction within the paramagnetic regime on high-quality single crystals of ..alpha..-RuCl3. We observe strong evidence of an anisotropic form factor, expected of the spin-orbit coupled jeff=12 ground state. We model the static magnetization density in increasing complexity from simple isotropic cases, to a multipolar expansion, and, finally, ab initio calculations of the generalized jeff=12 ground state. Comparison of both single ion models and inclusion of Cl- anions support the presence of hybridization of Ru3+ with the surrounding Cl- ligands.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Anomalous Enhancement of the Superconducting Transition Temperature of Electron-doped La2-xCexCuO4 and Pr2-xCexCuO4 Cuprate Heterostructures

The superconducting transition temperature T{sub c} of multilayers of electron-doped cuprates, composed of underdoped (or undoped) and overdoped La{sub 2-x}Ce{sub x}CuO{sub 4} (LCCO) and Pr{sub 2-x}Ce{sub x}CuO{sub 4} (PCCO) thin films, is found to increase significantly with respect to the T{sub c} of the corresponding single-phase films. By investigating the critical current density of superlattices with different doping levels and layer thicknesses, we find that the T{sub c} enhancement is caused by a redistribution of charge over an anomalously large distance.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Spin-ordering and Magnetoelastic Coupling in the Extended Kagome System YBaCo4O7

Low-temperature magnetic and structural behavior of the extended Kagome system YBaCo{sub 4}O{sub 7} has been studied by single-crystal neutron diffraction and high-resolution powder x-ray diffraction. Long-range magnetic ordering associated with a structural transition from orthorhombic Pbn2{sub 1} to monoclinic P2{sub 1} symmetry has been found at T{sub 1}-100 K. The interplay between the structural and magnetic degrees of freedom indicates that the degeneracy of the magnetic ground state, present in the orthorhombic phase, is lifted through a strong magnetoelastic coupling, as observed in other frustrated systems. At T{sub 2}-60 K, an additional magnetic transition is observed, though isosymmetric. Models for the magnetic structures below T{sub 1} and T{sub 2} are presented, based on refinements using a large number of independent reflections. The results obtained are compared with previous single-crystal and powder-diffraction studies on this and related compositions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗