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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 1,657 records · Page 92
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Percolation network in resistive switching devices with the structure of silver/amorphous silicon/p-type silicon

Conducting pathway of percolation network was identified in resistive switching devices (RSDs) with the structure of silver/amorphous silicon/p-type silicon (Ag/a-Si/p-Si) based on its gradual RESET-process and the stochastic complex impedance spectroscopy characteristics (CIS). The formation of the percolation network is attributed to amounts of nanocrystalline Si particles as well as defect sites embedded in a-Si layer, in which the defect sites supply positions for Ag ions to nucleate and grow. The similar percolation network has been only observed in Ag-Ge-Se based RSD before. This report provides a better understanding for electric properties of RSD based on the percolation network.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Dipolar field effects on the critical current for spin transfer switch of iron and permalloy nanoelements

We report a theoretical study of dipolar effects on the switching current density of soft ferromagnetic elliptical nanoelements. Relevant changes on the critical current value are found according to the orientation of the magnetization and the spin polarization with the major axis. We show that the critical current density may be reduced by as much as 92% for thin nanoelements magnetized along the minor axis direction, using in-plane spin polarization parallel to the magnetization.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of chemical substitutions on photo-switching properties of 3-hydroxy-picolinic acid studied by ab initio methods

Effect of chemical substitutions to the molecular structure of 3-hydroxy-picolinic acid on photo-switching properties of the system operating on excited-state intramolecular double proton transfer (d-ESIPT) process [M. F. Rode and A. L. Sobolewski, Chem. Phys. 409, 41 (2012)] was studied with the aid of electronic structure theory methods. It was shown that simultaneous application of electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substitutions at certain positions of the molecular frame increases the height of the S{sub 0}-state tautomerization barrier (ensuring thermal stability of isomers) and facilitates a barrierless access to the S{sub 1}/S{sub 0} conical intersection from the Franck-Condon region of the S{sub 1} potential-energy surface. Results of study point to the conclusion that the most challenging issue for practical design of a fast molecular photoswitch based on d-ESIPT phenomenon are to ensure a selectivity of optical excitation of a given tautomeric form of the system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

The formation of iron aluminides on aluminum surface by using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

The formation and growth of Fe based aluminum diffusion layers at the Fe-Al interface have been investigated to improve the surface hardness. The diffusion of Fe into Al has been accomplished by focusing a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser on the modified surface. The variety of the layer depth is achieved based on the type of heating and quenching media. Microstructural characterization and mechanical properties of the modified surface were carried out via gas discharge spectrometer GDS, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Vickers Hardness tester. The results indicate that hardness at the interface of Fe-Al layer is increased. The optimum hardness achieved as 93 HV at corresponding critical energy density of 438 Jcm{sup −2}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of embedded metal nanocrystals on the resistive switching characteristics in NiN-based resistive random access memory cells

The metal nanocrystals (NCs) embedded-NiN-based resistive random access memory cells are demonstrated using several metal NCs (i.e., Pt, Ni, and Ti) with different physical parameters in order to investigate the metal NC's dependence on resistive switching (RS) characteristics. First, depending on the electronegativity of metal, the size of metal NCs is determined and this affects the operating current of memory cells. If metal NCs with high electronegativity are incorporated, the size of the NCs is reduced; hence, the operating current is reduced owing to the reduced density of the electric field around the metal NCs. Second, the potential wells are formed by the difference of work function between the metal NCs and active layer, and the barrier height of the potential wells affects the level of operating voltage as well as the conduction mechanism of metal NCs embedded memory cells. Therefore, by understanding these correlations between the active layer and embedded metal NCs, we can optimize the RS properties of metal NCs embedded memory cells as well as predict their conduction mechanisms.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electric field controlled reversible magnetic anisotropy switching studied by spin rectification

In this letter, spin rectification was used to study the electric field controlled dynamic magnetic properties of the multiferroic composite which is a Co stripe with induced in-plane anisotropy deposited onto a Pb(Mg{sub 1∕3}Nb{sub 2∕3})O{sub 3}-PbTiO{sub 3} substrate. Due to the coupling between piezoelectric and magnetoelastic effects, a reversible in-plane anisotropy switching has been realized by varying the history of the applied electric field. This merit results from the electric hysteresis of the polarization in the nonlinear piezoelectric regime, which has been proved by a butterfly type electric field dependence of the in-plane anisotropy field. Moreover, the electric field dependent effective demagnetization field and linewidth have been observed at the same time.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Fabrication of FeO{sub x} thin films and the modulation of transport and magnetic properties by resistance switching in Au/α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Pt heterostructure

It was found that by using the same α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} target in fabrication process, an oxygen-deficient and an oxygen-sufficient atmosphere facilitated the formation of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} and α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}, respectively. The Au/α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Pt heterostructure showed a memristive bipolar resistance switching. A clear difference was observed in the transport and magnetic properties between the two resistance states. The enhanced conductivity and magnetization in the Au/α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Pt heterostructure are believed to result from an enhanced electron hopping between Fe{sup 3+}-Fe{sup 2+} pairs and Fe{sup 3+}-O-Fe{sup 2+} double exchange coupling effect. The enhanced Fe{sup 2+} comes from a redox transition between two phases (one behaves like Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} and the other like α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}), due to the electrochemical migration of oxygen vacancies.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Role of interface structure and chemistry in resistive switching of NiO nanocrystals on SrTiO{sub 3}

Nickel oxide (NiO) nanocrystals epitaxially grown on (001) strontium titanate (SrTiO{sub 3}) single crystal substrates were characterized to investigate interface morphology and chemistry. Aberration corrected high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals the interface between the NiO nanocrystals and the underlying SrTiO{sub 3} substrate to be rough, irregular, and have a lower average atomic number than the substrate or the nanocrystal. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy confirm both chemical disorder and a shift of the energy of the Ti L{sub 2,3} peaks. Analysis of the O K edge profiles in conjunction with this shift, implies the presence of oxygen vacancies at the interface. This sheds light into the origin of the previously postulated minority carriers’ model to explain resistive switching in NiO [J. Sullaphen, K. Bogle, X. Cheng, J. M. Gregg, and N. Valanoor, Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 203115 (2012)].

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electrical switching effect of a single-unit-cell CrO{sub 2} layer on rutile TiO{sub 2} surface

Rutile CrO{sub 2} is the most important half-metallic material with nearly 100% spin polarization at the Fermi level, and rutile TiO{sub 2} is a wide-gap semiconductor with many applications. Here, we show through first-principles investigation that a single-unit-cell CrO{sub 2} layer on rutile TiO{sub 2} (001) surface is ferromagnetic and semiconductive with a gap of 0.54 eV, and its electronic state transits abruptly to a typical metallic state when an electrical field is applied. Consequently, this makes an interesting electrical switching effect which may be useful in designing spintronic devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Hybrid plasmonic nanodevices: Switching mechanism for the nonlinear emission

Control of the light emission at the nanoscale is of central interest in nanophotonics due to the many applications in very different fields, ranging from quantum information to biophysics. Resonant excitation of surface plasmon polaritons in metal nanoparticles create nanostructured and enhanced light fields around those structures, which produce their strong interaction in a hybrid nanodevice with other plasmonic or non-plasmonic objects. This interaction may in turn also modulate the far field with important consequences in the applications. We show in this paper that the nonlinear emission from semiconductor quantum dots is strongly affected by the close presence of metal nanoparticles, which are resonantly excited. Using a pulsed laser, optical second harmonic is generated in the quantum dot, and it is highly enhanced when the laser is tuned around the nanoparticle plasmon resonance. Even more interesting is the demonstration of a switching mechanism, controlled by an external continuous-wave field, which can enhance or extinguish the SH signal, even when the pulsed laser is always on. Experimental observations are in excellent agreement with the theoretical calculations, based on the dipole-dipole near-field coupling of the objects forming the hybrid system.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Single- and bi-layer memristive devices with tunable properties using TiO{sub x} switching layers deposited by reactive sputtering

The authors systematically studied reactive sputtering deposition of TiO{sub x} thin films using a mixture of Ar and O{sub 2} gases under different ratios of O{sub 2} flow. As directly revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the deposition changed from a metallic Ti target mode to an oxide target mode when the O{sub 2} flow ratio was beyond 40%, resulting in TiO{sub x} thin films with different chemical compositions. Consequently, metal/oxide/metal devices with a single TiO{sub x} layer exhibited a broad spectrum of electrical characteristics such as Ohmic, rectifying, and memristive behavior. The reactive sputtering deposited TiO{sub x} thin films were also used in a bilayer memristive device structure, and a transition from bipolar to unipolar switching behavior was observed for devices based on thin films prepared with different oxygen flow.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Accurate modeling of switched reluctance machine based on hybrid trained WNN

According to the strong nonlinear electromagnetic characteristics of switched reluctance machine (SRM), a novel accurate modeling method is proposed based on hybrid trained wavelet neural network (WNN) which combines improved genetic algorithm (GA) with gradient descent (GD) method to train the network. In the novel method, WNN is trained by GD method based on the initial weights obtained per improved GA optimization, and the global parallel searching capability of stochastic algorithm and local convergence speed of deterministic algorithm are combined to enhance the training accuracy, stability and speed. Based on the measured electromagnetic characteristics of a 3-phase 12/8-pole SRM, the nonlinear simulation model is built by hybrid trained WNN in Matlab. The phase current and mechanical characteristics from simulation under different working conditions meet well with those from experiments, which indicates the accuracy of the model for dynamic and static performance evaluation of SRM and verifies the effectiveness of the proposed modeling method.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Screening effects in ferroelectric resistive switching of BiFeO{sub 3} thin films

We investigate ferroelectric resistive switching in BiFeO{sub 3} thin films by performing local conductivity measurements. By comparing conduction characteristics at artificially up-polarized domains with those at as-grown down-polarized domains, the change in resistance is attributed to the modification of the electronic barrier height at the interface with the electrodes, upon the reversal of the electrical polarization. We also study the effect of oxygen vacancies on the observed conduction and we propose the existence of a different screening mechanism for up and down polarized domains.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Total ionizing dose effect of γ-ray radiation on the switching characteristics and filament stability of HfOx resistive random access memory

The total ionizing dose (TID) effect of gamma-ray (γ-ray) irradiation on HfOx based resistive random access memory was investigated by electrical and material characterizations. The memory states can sustain TID level ∼5.2 Mrad (HfO{sub 2}) without significant change in the functionality or the switching characteristics under pulse cycling. However, the stability of the filament is weakened after irradiation as memory states are more vulnerable to flipping under the electrical stress. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was performed to ascertain the physical mechanism of the stability degradation, which is attributed to the Hf-O bond breaking by the high-energy γ-ray exposure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Negative differential resistance and resistance switching behaviors in BaTiO{sub 3} thin films

The polycrystalline BaTiO{sub 3} (BTO) thin films were grown on F-doped SnO{sub 2} substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The devices show a rectification at a small voltage, while bipolar resistive switching (RS) and negative differential resistance (NDR) appear at a large voltage. Furthermore, RS remains and NDR disappears when no positive bias is applied, while both RS and NDR behaviors improve when increasing the positive bias. The electrons trapped/detrapped by interface states at Au/BTO interface are proposed to understand the above behaviors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Voltage-controlled switching and thermal effects in VO{sub 2} nano-gap junctions

Voltage-controlled switching in lateral VO{sub 2} nano-gap junctions with different gap lengths and thermal properties was investigated. The effect of Joule heating on the phase transition was found to be strongly influenced by the device geometry, the contact material, and the current. Our results indicate that the VO{sub 2} phase transition was likely initiated electronically, which was sometimes followed by a secondary thermally induced transition.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Magnetization switching of rare earth orthochromite CeCrO{sub 3}

We report the synthesis of single phase rare earth orthochromite CeCrO{sub 3} and its magnetic properties. A canted antiferromagnetic transition with thermal hysteresis at T = 260 K is observed, and a magnetic compensation (zero magnetization) near 133 K is attributed to the antiparallel coupling between Ce{sup 3+} and Cr{sup 3+} moments. At low temperature, field induced magnetization reversal starting from 43 K for H = 1.2 kOe reveals the spin flip driven by Zeeman energy between the net moments and the applied field. These findings may find potential uses in magnetic switching devices such as nonvolatile magnetic memory which facilitates two distinct states of magnetization.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Bipolar resistance switching in Pt/CuO x /Pt via local electrochemical reduction

We investigated the local changes in copper oxidation state and the corresponding resistance changes in Pt/CuO x /Pt nanoscale heterostructures using x-ray nanoprobe spectro-microscopy and current-voltage characterization. After gentle electroforming, during which the current-voltage behavior remains non-linear, the low resistance state was reached, and we also observed regions of 160 nm width that show an increase in Cu K-alpha fluorescence intensity, indicative of partial reduction of the CuO x . Analysis of the current voltage curves showed that the dominant conduction mechanism is Schottky emission and that the resistance state is correlated with the Schottky barrier height. We also propose that the reversible resistivity change in these Pt/CuO x /Pt heterostructures occurs through local electrochemical reduction leading to change of the Schottky barrier height at the interface between Pt and the reduced CuO x layers and to change of the CuO x resistivity within laterally confined portions of the CuO x layer. Our experiments reveal important insights into the mechanism of resistance switching of Pt/CuO x /Pt performed in a current and voltage regime that does not create a metallic conduction path.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗