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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 1,585 records · Page 88
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Magnetic field dependence of high- T c interface superconductivity in L a 1.55 S r 0.45 Cu O 4 / L a 2 Cu O 4 heterostructures

Heterostructures made of a layer of a cuprate insulator La 2 CuO 4 on the top of a layer of a nonsuperconducting cuprate metal La 1.55 Sr 0.45 CuO 4 show high-T c interface superconductivity confined within a single CuO 2 plane. Given this extreme quasi-two-dimensional quantum confinement, it is of interest to find out how interface superconductivity behaves when exposed to an external magnetic field. With this motivation, we have performed contactless tunnel-diode-oscillator-based measurements in pulsed magnetic fields up to 56 T as well as measurements of the complex mutual inductance between a spiral coil and the film in static fields up to 3 T. Remarkably, we observe that interface superconductivity survives up to very high perpendicular fields, in excess of 40 T. Additionally, the critical magnetic field H m (T) reveals an upward divergence with decreasing temperature, in line with vortex melting as in bulk superconducting cuprates.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Phonon thermal conductance across GaN-AlN interfaces from first principles

The vibrational thermal conductances (G) across GaN-AlN interfaces are computed using a nonequilibrium Green's function formalism in the harmonic limit with bulk and interfacial interatomic force constants (IFCs) fully from density functional theory. Several numerical methods and supercell configurations are employed to examine the sensitivity of G to variances of IFCs. In particular, the effects of supercell size, the enforcement of symmetry constraints, and truncation of IFCs near the interface, and atomic relaxation on phonon transmission and conductance are explored. Our fully first-principles calculations are compared with common approximations and measured G values inferred from thermal conductivity measurements for GaN-AlN superlattices. Here, our calculated value, G~300MWm -2 K -1 , is nearly half that from measurements. This discrepancy is critically analyzed in terms of the physical assumptions of the calculations and the derivation of the experimental values. This work provides guidelines to determine “physically correct” sets of interfacial IFCs from first principles for thermal conductance calculations using minimal computational resources. It also contributes toward developing predictive calculations and a more complete picture of thermal conduction across interfaces, a step toward first-principles multiscale thermal transport.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Interfacing electron and neutrino quasielastic scattering cross sections with the spectral function in GENIE

Progress in neutrino-nucleus cross section models is being driven by the need for highly accurate predictions for the neutrino oscillation community. These sophisticated models are being developed within a microscopic description of the nucleus with the goal of encompassing all reaction modes relevant for the accelerator neutrino program. The disconnect between these microscopic models and the event generators that will be used in the next generation of experiments represents a critical obstacle that must be overcome in order to precisely measure the neutrino oscillation parameters. To this end we have developed a hadron tensor interface for lepton-nucleus quasielastic (QE) scattering within the GENIE event generator as a proof of principle, with the broader goal of creating an efficient pipeline for incorporating advanced theoretical models in event generators. As a demonstration of this interface we have implemented the spectral function model into GENIE by connecting theorist provided fortran code through the hadron tensor interface. The spectral function model offers a more complete description of the nuclear ground state, as well as the ability to provide quantifiable theoretical uncertainties. Finally, we validate this implementation and compare its predictions against data and against QE models already available in GENIE.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Interface learning of multiphysics and multiscale systems

Complex natural or engineered systems comprise multiple characteristic scales, multiple spatiotemporal domains, and even multiple physical closure laws. To address such challenges, we introduce an interface learning paradigm and put forth a data-driven closure approach based on memory embedding to provide physically correct boundary conditions at the interface. To enable the interface learning for hyperbolic systems by considering the domain of influence and wave structures into account, we put forth the concept of upwind learning toward a physics-informed domain decomposition. The promise of the proposed approach is shown for a set of canonical illustrative problems. Here, we highlight that high-performance computing environments can benefit from this methodology to reduce communication costs among processing units in emerging machine-learning-ready heterogeneous platforms toward exascale era.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics of Hydrate Growth on a Gas-Liquid Interface

We develop a continuum-scale phase-field model to study gas-liquid-hydrate systems far from thermodynamic equilibrium. We design a Gibbs free energy functional for methane-water mixtures that recovers the isobaric temperature-composition phase diagram under thermodynamic equilibrium conditions. The proposed free energy is incorporated into a phase-field model to study the dynamics of hydrate formation on a gas-liquid interface. We elucidate the role of initial aqueous concentration in determining the direction of hydrate growth at the interface, in agreement with experimental observations. Our model also reveals two stages of hydrate growth at an interface—controlled by a crossover in how methane is supplied from the gas and liquid phases—which could explain the persistence of gas conduits in hydratebearing sediments and other nonequilibrium phenomena commonly observed in natural methane hydrate systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Tuning the Pairing Interaction in a d -Wave Superconductor by Paramagnons Injected through Interfaces

Unconventional superconductivity and magnetism are intertwined on a microscopic level in a wide class of materials. A new approach to this most fundamental and hotly debated issue focuses on the role of interactions between superconducting electrons and bosonic fluctuations at the interface between adjacent layers in heterostructures. In this paper, we fabricate hybrid superlattices consisting of alternating atomic layers of the heavy-fermion superconductor ${\mathrm{CeCoIn}}_{5}$ and antiferromagnetic (AFM) metal ${\mathrm{CeRhIn}}_{5}$, in which the AFM order can be suppressed by applying pressure. We find that the superconducting and AFM states coexist in spatially separated layers, but their mutual coupling via the interface significantly modifies the superconducting properties. An analysis of upper critical fields reveals that, upon suppressing the AFM order by applied pressure, the force binding superconducting electron pairs acquires an extreme strong-coupling nature. Finally, this demonstrates that superconducting pairing can be tuned nontrivially by magnetic fluctuations (paramagnons) injected through the interface.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Control of Terahertz Emission by Ultrafast Spin-Charge Current Conversion at Rashba Interfaces

Here, we show that a femtosecond spin-current pulse can generate terahertz (THz) transients at Rashba interfaces between two nonmagnetic materials. Our results unambiguously demonstrate the importance of the interface in this conversion process that we interpret in terms of the inverse Rashba Edelstein effect, in contrast to the THz emission in the bulk conversion process via the inverse spin-Hall effect. Furthermore, we show that at Rashba interfaces the THz-field amplitude can be controlled by the helicity of the light. The optical generation of electric photocurrents by these interfacial effects in the femtosecond regime will open up new opportunities in ultrafast spintronics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Ferroelectric Control of Interface Spin Filtering in Multiferroic Tunnel Junctions

The electronic reconstruction occurring at oxide interfaces may be the source of interesting device concepts for future oxide electronics. Among oxide devices, multiferroic tunnel junctions are being actively investigated as they offer the possibility to modulate the junction current by independently controlling the switching of the magnetization of the electrodes and of the ferroelectric polarization of the barrier. In this Letter, we show that the spin reconstruction at the interfaces of a La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 /BaTiO 3 /La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 multiferroic tunnel junction is the origin of a spin filtering functionality that can be turned on and off by reversing the ferroelectric polarization. The ferroelectrically controlled interface spin filter enables a giant electrical modulation of the tunneling magnetoresistance between values of 10% and 1000%, which could inspire device concepts in oxides-based low dissipation spintronics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Observation of Zero-Field Transverse Resistance in AlO x / SrTi O 3 Interface Devices

Domain walls in AlO x =SrTiO 3 (AlO x =STO) interface devices at low temperatures give a rise to a new signature in the electrical transport of two-dimensional carrier gases formed at the surfaces or interfaces of STO-based heterostructures: a finite transverse resistance observed in Hall bars in zero external magnetic field. This transverse resistance depends on the local domain wall configuration and hence changes with temperature, gate voltage, thermal cycling, and position along the sample and can even change sign as a function of these parameters. The transverse resistance is observed below ≃70 K but grows and changes significantly below ≃40 K, the temperature at which the domain walls become increasingly polar. Surprisingly, the transverse resistance is much larger in (111) oriented heterostructures in comparison to (001) oriented heterostructures. Measurements of the capacitance between the conducting interface and an electrode applied to the substrate, which reflect the dielectric constant of the STO, indicate that this difference may be related to the greater variation of the temperature-dependent dielectric constant with electric field when the electric field is applied in the [111] direction. Further, the finite transverse resistance can be explained inhomogeneous current flow due to the preferential transport of current along domain walls that are askew to the nominal direction of the injected current.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Room-Temperature Ferromagnetism at an Oxide-Nitride Interface

Heterointerfaces have led to the discovery of novel electronic and magnetic states because of their strongly entangled electronic degrees of freedom. Single-phase chromium compounds always exhibit antiferromagnetism following the prediction of the Goodenough-Kanamori rules. So far, exchange coupling between chromium ions via heteroanions has not been explored and the associated quantum states are unknown. In this work, we report the successful epitaxial synthesis and characterization of chromium oxide (Cr 2 O 3 )-chromium nitride (CrN) superlattices. Room-temperature ferromagnetic spin ordering is achieved at the interfaces between these two antiferromagnets, and the magnitude of the effect decays with increasing layer thickness. First-principles calculations indicate that robust ferromagnetic spin interaction between Cr 3+ ions via anion-hybridization across the interface yields the lowest total energy. This work opens the door to fundamental understanding of the unexpected and exceptional properties of oxide-nitride interfaces and provides access to hidden phases at low-dimensional quantum heterostructures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Role of anisotropy in determining stability of electrodeposition at solid-solid interfaces

Here, we investigate the stability of electrodeposition at solid-solid interfaces for materials exhibiting an anisotropic mechanical response. The stability of electrodeposition or resistance to the formation of dendrites is studied within a linear stability analysis. The deformation and stress equations are solved using the Stroh formalism and faithfully recover the boundary conditions at the interface. The stability parameter is used to quantify the stability of different solid-solid interfaces incorporating the full anisotropy of the elastic tensor of the two materials. Our results show a high degree of variability in the stability parameter depending on the crystallographic orientation of the solids in contact, and point to opportunities for exploiting this effect in developing Li metal anodes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Mapping hidden space-charge distributions across crystalline metal oxide/group IV semiconductor interfaces

The electronic structures of semiconducting heterojunctions are critically dependent on composition including the presence and concentrations of dopants, both intended and unintended. Dopant profiles in the interfacial region can have major effects on band energies which in turn drive transport properties. Here, in this study, we use core-level photoelectron line shapes excited with hard x rays to extract information about electric fields resulting from internal charge transfer in epitaxial La 0.03 Sr 0.97 Zr x Ti 1–x O 3 /Ge(001) (0.1≤x≤0.7) heterostructures. Experiments were carried out for heterojunctions involving both n- and p-type Ge substrates. These heterojunctions were not amenable to electronic characterization of all regions by transport measurements because the doped substrates act as electrical shunts, precluding probing the more resistive films and masking interface conductivity. However, the core-level line shapes were found to be a rich source of information on built-in potentials that exist throughout the heterostructure, and yielded valuable insight into the impact of band bending on band alignment at the buried interfaces. The electronic effects expected for Ge with uniform n- and p-type doping are eclipsed by those of unintended oxygen dopants in the Ge near the interface. This study illustrates the power of hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and related modeling to determine electronic structure in material systems for which insight from traditional transport measurements is limited.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Magnetoelectric properties at the Co/AlN(0001) interface

AlN nitride is a large-band-gap polar material that has gained interest due to its ability to become ferroelectric and its compatibility with Si- and GaN-based technologies. This compound could, therefore, be a good candidate to design new artificial multiferroics if combined with a ferromagnetic electrode. For this work, we performed first-principles calculations to investigate the set up of the magnetoelectric coupling at the Co/AlN(0001) interface. Our results describe a complex interfacial atomic structure with variable local magnetic properties as a function of the atom alignment. We predict an average variation of interface spin magnetization, when the polarization is reversed, of 3.83 𝜇B nm −2 , close to the values already reported in the literature at metal/oxide interfaces. This confirms the potential of this AlN-based ferroelectric compound to be used in future voltage-controlled spintronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Sirepo : an open-source cloud-based software interface for X-ray source and optics simulations

Sirepo , a browser-based GUI for X-ray source and optics simulations, is presented. Such calculations can be performed using SRW ( Synchrotron Radiation Workshop ), which is a physical optics computer code, allowing simulation of entire experimental beamlines using the concept of a `virtual beamline' with accurate treatment of synchrotron radiation generation and propagation through the X-ray optical system. SRW is interfaced with Sirepo by means of a Python application programming interface. Sirepo supports most of the optical elements currently used at beamlines, including recent developments in SRW . In particular, support is provided for the simulation of state-of-the-art X-ray beamlines, exploiting the high coherence and brightness of modern light source facilities. New scientific visualization and reporting capabilities have been recently implemented within Sirepo , as well as automatic determination of electron beam and undulator parameters. Publicly available community databases can be dynamically queried for error-free access to material characteristics. These computational tools can be used for the development and commissioning of new X-ray beamlines and for testing feasibility and optimization of experiments. The same interface can guide simulation on a local computer, a remote server or a high-performance cluster. Sirepo is available online and also within the NSLS-II firewall, with a growing number of users at other light source facilities. Our open source code is available on GitHub.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Study of interface reaction in a B 4 C/Cr mirror at elevated temperature using soft X-ray reflectivity

Boron carbide is a prominent material for high-brilliance synchrotron optics as it remains stable up to very high temperatures. The present study shows a significant change taking place at 550°C in the buried interface region formed between the Cr adhesive layer and the native oxide layer present on the silicon substrate. An in situ annealing study is carried out at the Indus-1 Reflectivity beamline from room temperature to 550°C (100°C steps). The studied sample is a mirror-like boron carbide thin film of 400 Å thickness deposited with an adhesive layer of 20 Å Cr on a silicon substrate. The corresponding changes in the film structure are recorded using angle-dependent soft X-ray reflectivity measurements carried out in the region of the boron K-edge after each annealing temperature. Analyses performed using the Parratt recursive formalism reveal that the top boron carbide layer remains intact but interface reactions take place in the buried Cr–SiO2 region. After 300°C the Cr layer diffuses towards the substrate. At higher temperatures of 500°C and 550°C the Cr reacts with the native oxide layer and tends to form a low-density compound of chromium oxysilicide (CrSiOx). Depth profiling of Si and Cr distributions obtained from secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements corroborate the layer model obtained from the soft X-ray reflectivity analyses. Details of the interface reaction taking place near the substrate region of boron carbide/Cr sample are discussed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Opportunities and new developments for the study of surfaces and interfaces in soft condensed matter at the SIRIUS beamline of Synchrotron SOLEIL

The SIRIUS beamline of Synchrotron SOLEIL is dedicated to X-ray scattering and spectroscopy of surfaces and interfaces, covering the tender to mid-hard X-ray range (1.1–13 keV). The beamline has hosted a wide range of experiments in the field of soft interfaces and beyond, providing various grazing-incidence techniques such as diffraction and wide-angle scattering (GIXD/GIWAXS), small-angle scattering (GISAXS) and X-ray fluorescence in total reflection (TXRF). SIRIUS also offers specific sample environments tailored for in situ complementary experiments on solid and liquid surfaces. Recently, the beamline has added compound refractive lenses associated with a transfocator, allowing for the X-ray beam to be focused down to 10 µm × 10 µm while maintaining a reasonable flux on the sample. This new feature opens up new possibilities for faster GIXD measurements at the liquid–air interface and for measurements on samples with narrow geometries.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Proteolysis of truncated hemolysin A yields a stable dimerization interface

Wild-type and variant forms of HpmA265 (truncated hemolysin A) from Proteus mirabilis reveal a right-handed, parallel β-helix capped and flanked by segments of antiparallel β-strands. The low-salt crystal structures form a dimeric structure via the implementation of on-edge main-chain hydrogen bonds donated by residues 243–263 of adjacent monomers. Surprisingly, in the high-salt structures of two variants, Y134A and Q125A-Y134A, a new dimeric interface is formed via main-chain hydrogen bonds donated by residues 203–215 of adjacent monomers, and a previously unobserved tetramer is formed. In addition, an eight-stranded antiparallel β-sheet is formed from the flap regions of crystallographically related monomers in the high-salt structures. This new interface is possible owing to additional proteolysis of these variants after Tyr240. The interface formed in the high-salt crystal forms of hemolysin A variants may mimic the on-edge β-strand positioning used in template-assisted hemolytic activity.

Novak, Walter R. P.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Endogenous Interface Pricing for Consistent Transmission–Distribution Co-Optimization With Discrete Distribution Controls

This paper proposes an endogenous interface pricing model for day-ahead transmission–distribution co-optimization that co-determines the interface locational marginal price (LMP) and the transmission–distribution exchange, ensuring price–dispatch consistency while optimally scheduling discrete distribution controls. The formulation couples a DC optimal power flow (OPF) with a branch-flow AC OPF that schedules distributed energy resources (DERs), tap-changer settings, capacitor banks (CBs), and multi-period energy storage systems (ESSs) under feeder voltage and current limits, and is solved as a mixed-integer second-order cone program (MISOCP). In a T14–D33 system, coordinated device scheduling recovers about 90% of the distribution-to-transmission export achievable in a reference case that ignores distribution network (DN) limits, while satisfying a 1.05 p.u. voltage upper bound. In a T39–D34/D37/D123 system, a sequential decoupled benchmark produces interface LMP distortions up to 12.5% and a 7.28% mismatch in net export energy, whereas the proposed model removes these distortions and the associated settlement mismatches. Second-order cone (SOC) relaxation gaps remain below $10^{-3}$ in all cases.

Noh, Seung-Gil↗