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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Presynthetic Redox Gated Metal-to-Insulator Transition and Photothermoelectric Properties in Nickel Tetrathiafulvalene-Tetrathiolate Coordination Polymers

Photothermoelectric (PTE) materials are promising candidates for solar energy harvesting and photodetection applications, especially for near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Although the processability and tunability of organic materials are highly advantageous, examples of organic PTE materials are comparatively rare and their PTE performance is typically limited by poor photothermal (PT) conversion. Here, we report the use of redox-active Sn complexes of tetrathiafulvalene-tetrathiolate (TTFtt) as transmetalating agents for the synthesis of presynthetically redox tuned NiTTFtt materials. Unlike the neutral material NiTTFtt, which exhibits n-type glassy-metallic conductivity, the reduced materials Li 1.2 Ni 0.4 [NiTTFtt] and [Li(THF) 1.5 ] 1.2 Ni 0.4 [NiTTFtt] (THF = tetrahydrofuran) display physical characteristics more consistent with p-type semiconductors. The broad spectral absorption and electrically conducting nature of these TTFtt-based materials enable highly efficient NIR-thermal conversion and good PTE performance. Furthermore, in contrast to conventional PTE composites, these NiTTFtt coordination polymers are notable as single-component PTE materials. As a result, the presynthetically tuned metal-to-insulator transition in these NiTTFtt systems directly modulates their PT and PTE properties.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Zero-field edge plasmons in a magnetic topological insulator [Zero-field edge magnetoplasmons in a magnetic topological insulator]

Incorporating ferromagnetic dopants into three-dimensional topological insulator thin films has recently led to the realisation of the quantum anomalous Hall effect. These materials are of great interest since they may support electrical currents that flow without resistance, even at zero magnetic field. To date, the quantum anomalous Hall effect has been investigated using low-frequency transport measurements. However, transport results can be difficult to interpret due to the presence of parallel conductive paths, or because additional non-chiral edge channels may exist. Here we move beyond transport measurements by probing the microwave response of a magnetised disk of Cr-(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 . We identify features associated with chiral edge plasmons, a signature that robust edge channels are intrinsic to this material system. Finally, our results provide a measure of the velocity of edge excitations without contacting the sample, and pave the way for an on-chip circuit element of practical importance: the zero-field microwave circulator.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electron lone pair distortion facilitated metal-insulator transition in β-Pb{sub 0.33}V{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanowires

The electronic structure of β-Pb{sub 0.33}V{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanowires has been studied with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. The recent synthesis of defect-free β-Pb{sub 0.33}V{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanowires resulted in the discovery of an abrupt voltage-induced metal insulator transition. First principle calculations predicted an additional V-O-Pb hybridized “in-gap” state unique to this vanadium bronze playing a significant role in facilitating the transition. We confirm the existence, energetic position, and orbital character of the “in-gap” state. Moreover, we reveal that this state is a hybridized Pb 6s–O 2p antibonding lone pair state resulting from the asymmetric coordination of the Pb{sup 2+} ions.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Cu impurity in insulators and in metal-insulator-metal structures: Implications for resistance-switching random access memories

We present numerical results from atomistic simulations of Cu in SiO{sub 2} and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, with an emphasis on the thermodynamic, kinetic, and electronic properties. The calculated properties of Cu impurity at various concentrations (9.91 × 10{sup 20 }cm{sup −3} and 3.41 × 10{sup 22 }cm{sup −3}) in bulk oxides are presented. The metal-insulator interfaces result in up to a ∼4 eV reduction in the formation energies relative to the crystalline bulk. Additionally, the importance of Cu-Cu interaction in lowering the chemical potential is introduced. These concepts are then discussed in the context of formation and stability of localized conductive paths in resistance-switching Random Access Memories (RRAM-M). The electronic density of states and non-equilibrium transmission through these localized paths are studied, confirming conduction by showing three orders of magnitude increase in the electron transmission. The dynamic behavior of the conductive paths is investigated with atomistic drift-diffusion calculations. Finally, the paper concludes with a molecular dynamics simulation of a RRAM-M cell that attempts to combine the aforementioned phenomena in one self-consistent model.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Determination of band diagram for a p-n junction between Mott insulator LaMnO{sub 3} and band insulator Nb:SrTiO{sub 3}

The authors report on the band diagram of epitaxial p-n junctions between the Mott insulator with “p-type carriers” LaMnO{sub 3} and the n-type semiconductor Nb-doped SrTiO{sub 3} (Nb:STO) using x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. By changing the donor concentration in Nb:STO from 0.1 at. % to 1.0 at. %, the value of the built-in potential for the Nb:STO side (V{sub bn}) is reduced from 0.55 ± 0.05 eV to 0.25 ± 0.05 eV. The modulation of V{sub bn} is well described in the framework of the conventional p-n junction model. These results suggest that the characteristics of perovskite oxide p-n junctions can be predicted and designed using the transport properties of the constituent oxides, irrespective of their strongly correlated electronic nature.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Numerical simulation of cathode plasma dynamics in magnetically insulated vacuum transmission lines

A novel algorithm for the simulation of cathode plasmas in particle-in-cell codes is described and applied to investigate cathode plasma evolution in magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs). The MITL electron sheath is modeled by a fully kinetic electron species. Electron and ion macroparticles, both modeled as fluid species, form a dense plasma which is initially localized at the cathode surface. Energetic plasma electron particles can be converted to kinetic electrons to resupply the electron flux at the plasma edge (the “effective” cathode). Using this model, we compare results for the time evolution of the cathode plasma and MITL electron flow with a simplified (isothermal) diffusion model. Simulations in 1D show a slow diffusive expansion of the plasma from the cathode surface. But in multiple dimensions, the plasma can expand much more rapidly due to anomalous diffusion caused by an instability due to the strong coupling of a transverse magnetic mode in the electron sheath with the expanding resistive plasma layer.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effective Hamiltonians for correlated narrow energy band systems and magnetic insulators: Role of spin-orbit interactions in metal-insulator transitions and magnetic phase transitions

Using a second-quantized many-electron Hamiltonian, we obtain (a) an effective Hamiltonian suitable for materials whose electronic properties are governed by a set of strongly correlated bands in a narrow energy range and (b) an effective spin-only Hamiltonian for magnetic materials. The present Hamiltonians faithfully include phonon and spin-related interactions as well as the external fields to study the electromagnetic response properties of complex materials and they, in appropriate limits, reduce to the model Hamiltonians due to Hubbard and Heisenberg. With the Hamiltonian for narrow-band strongly correlated materials, we show that the spin-orbit interaction provides a mechanism for metal-insulator transition, which is distinct from the Mott-Hubbard (driven by the electron correlation) and the Anderson mechanism (driven by the disorder). Next, with the spin-only Hamiltonian, we demonstrate the spin-orbit interaction to be a reason for the existence of antiferromagnetic phase in materials which are characterized by a positive isotropic spin-exchange energy. This is distinct from the Néel-VanVleck-Anderson paradigm which posits a negative spin-exchange for the existence of antiferromagnetism. We also find that the Néel temperature increases as the absolute value of the spin-orbit coupling increases.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Nonvolatile Solid-State Charged-Polymer Gating of Topological Insulators into the Topological Insulating Regime

We demonstrate the ability to reduce the carrier concentration of thin films of the topological insulator (TI) B i2 Se 3 by utilizing a nonvolatile electrostatic gating via corona charging of electret polymers. Sufficient electric field can be imparted to a polymer-TI bilayer to result in significant electron density depletion, even without the continuous connection of a gate electrode or the chemical modification of the TI. We show that the Fermi level of B i2 Se 3 is shifted toward the Dirac point with this method. Using terahertz spectroscopy, we find that the surface chemical potential is lowered into the bulk band gap (approximately 50 meV above the Dirac point and 170 meV below the conduction-band minimum), and it is stabilized in the intrinsic regime while enhancing electron mobility. The mobility of surface state electrons is enhanced to a value as high as approximately 1600 cm 2 /Vs at 5 K.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

New class of planar ferroelectric Mott insulators via first-principles design

which is not common in known materials. Here we use first-principles calculations to design layered double perovskite oxides AABBO6 which achieve the aforementioned properties in the context of Mott insulators. In our design rules, the gap is dictated by B/B electronegativity difference in a Mott state, while the polarization is obtained via nominal d0 filling on the B-site, A-type cations bearing lone-pair electrons, and A = A size mismatch. Successful execution is demonstrated in BaBiCuVO6, BaBiNiVO6, BaLaCuVO6, and PbLaCuVO6.

Kim, Chanul↗
DOE OSTI2017

Ballistic magnon heat conduction and possible Poiseuille flow in the helimagnetic insulator Cu 2 OSeO 3

Herein we report on the observation of magnon thermal conductivity κ m ~ 70 W/mK near 5 K in the helimagnetic insulator Cu 2 OSeO 3 , exceeding that measured in any other ferromagnet by almost two orders of magnitude. Ballistic, boundary-limited transport for both magnons and phonons is established below 1 K, and Poiseuille flow of magnons is proposed to explain a magnon mean-free path substantially exceeding the specimen width for the least defective specimens in the range 2 K < T < 10 K. These observations establish Cu 2 OSeO 3 as a model system for studying long-wavelength magnon dynamics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Pressure-Resistant Intermediate Valence in the Kondo Insulator SmB 6

Resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy was used to determine the pressure dependence of the f-electron occupancy in the Kondo insulator SmB 6 . Applied pressure reduces the f occupancy, but surprisingly, the material maintains a significant divalent character up to a pressure of at least 35 GPa. Thus, the closure of the resistive activation energy gap and onset of magnetic order are not driven by stabilization of an integer valent state. In conclusion, over the entire pressure range, the material maintains a remarkably stable intermediate valence that can in principle support a nontrivial band structure.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Spinon Fermi Surface in a Cluster Mott Insulator Model on a Triangular Lattice and Possible Application to 1 T –TaS 2

1T-TaS 2 is a cluster Mott insulator on the triangular lattice with 13 Ta atoms forming a star of David cluster as the unit cell. We derive a two-dimensional XXZ spin-1/2 model with a four-spin ring exchange term to describe the effective low energy physics of a monolayer 1T-TaS 2 , where the effective spin-1/2 degrees of freedom arises from the Kramers degenerate spin-orbital states on each star of David. Here, a large scale density matrix renormalization group simulation is further performed on this effective model and we find a gapless spin liquid phase with a spinon Fermi surface at a moderate to large strength region of the four-spin ring exchange term. All peaks in the static spin structure factor are found to be located on the “2k F ” surface of a half-filled spinon on the triangular lattice. Experiments to detect the spinon Fermi surface phase in 1T-TaS 2 are discussed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Chiral Majorana fermion modes in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator–superconductor structure

Majorana fermion is a hypothetical particle that is its own antiparticle. We report transport measurements that suggest the existence of one-dimensional chiral Majorana fermion modes in the hybrid system of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator thin film coupled with a superconductor. As the external magnetic field is swept, half-integer quantized conductance plateaus are observed at the locations of magnetization reversals, giving a distinct signature of the Majorana fermion modes. This transport signature is reproducible over many magnetic field sweeps and appears at different temperatures. This finding may open up an avenue to control Majorana fermions for implementing robust topological quantum computing.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Imaging orbital ferromagnetism in a moiré Chern insulator

Capturing exotic magnetism Ferromagnetism is associated with the breaking of time-reversal symmetry, most frequently by the spin degree of freedom. Although the orbital motion of electrons can also contribute to ferromagnetism, in most materials, it is small relative to the spin contribution. Tschirhart et al. showed that the reverse is true in an unusual magnetic state hosted by twisted bilayer graphene. Their scanning magnetometry measurements were consistent with ferromagnetism of predominantly orbital origin. Science , abd3190, this issue p. 1323

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗