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Now showing 1 - 10 of 105
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    Anomalous transparency in photonic crystals and its application to point-by-point grating inscription in photonic crystal fibers
    (Berlin : Nature Publishing, 2018) Baghdasaryan, Tigran; Geernaert, Thomas; Chah, Karima; Caucheteur, Christophe; Schuster, Kay; Kobelke, Jens; Thienpont, Hugo; Berghmans, Francis
    It is common belief that photonic crystals behave similarly to isotropic and transparent media only when their feature sizes are much smaller than the wavelength of light. Here, we counter that belief and we report on photonic crystals that are transparent for anomalously high normalized frequencies up to 0.9, where the crystal’s feature sizes are comparable with the free space wavelength. Using traditional photonic band theory, we demonstrate that the isofrequency curves can be circular in the region above the first stop band for triangular lattice photonic crystals. In addition, by simulating how efficiently a tightly focused Gaussian beam propagates through the photonic crystal slab, we judge on the photonic crystal’s transparency rather than on isotropy only. Using this approach, we identified a wide range of photonic crystal parameters that provide anomalous transparency. Our findings indicate the possibility to scale up the features of photonic crystals and to extend their operational wavelength range for applications including optical cloaking and graded index guiding. We applied our result in the domain of femtosecond laser micromachining, by demonstrating what we believe to be the first point-by-point grating inscribed in a multi-ring photonic crystal fiber.
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    Soft-mode driven polarity reversal in ferroelectrics mapped by ultrafast x-ray diffraction
    (Melville, NY : AIP Publishing LLC, 2018) Hauf, Christoph; Hernandez Salvador, Antonio-Andres; Holtz, Marcel; Woerner, Michael; Elsaesser, Thomas
    Quantum theory has linked microscopic currents and macroscopic polarizations of ferroelectrics, but the interplay of lattice excitations and charge dynamics on atomic length and time scales is an open problem. Upon phonon excitation in the prototypical ferroelectric ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2SO4], we determine transient charge density maps by femtosecond x-ray diffraction. A newly discovered low frequency-mode with a 3 ps period and sub-picometer amplitudes induces periodic charge relocations over some 100 pm, a hallmark of soft-mode behavior. The transient charge density allows for deriving the macroscopic polarization, showing a periodic reversal of polarity.
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    High strength nanostructured Al-based alloys through optimized processing of rapidly quenched amorphous precursors
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Kim, S.-Y.; Lee, G.-Y.; Park, G.-H.; Kim, H.-A.; Lee, A.-Y.; Scudino, S.; Prashanth, K.G.; Kim, D.-H.; Eckert, J.; Lee, M.-H.
    We report the methods increasing both strength and ductility of aluminum alloys transformed from amorphous precursor. The mechanical properties of bulk samples produced by spark-plasma sintering (SPS) of amorphous Al-Ni-Co-Dy powders at temperatures above 673 K are significantly enhanced by in-situ crystallization of nano-scale intermetallic compounds during the SPS process. The spark plasma sintered Al84Ni7Co3Dy6 bulk specimens exhibit 1433 MPa compressive yield strength and 1773 MPa maximum strength together with 5.6% plastic strain, respectively. The addition of Dy enhances the thermal stability of primary fcc Al in the amorphous Al-TM -RE alloy. The precipitation of intermetallic phases by crystallization of the remaining amorphous matrix plays important role to restrict the growth of the fcc Al phase and contributes to the improvement of the mechanical properties. Such fully crystalline nano- or ultrafine-scale Al-Ni-Co-Dy systems are considered promising for industrial application because their superior mechanical properties in terms of a combination of very high room temperature strength combined with good ductility.
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    Rogue events in the group velocity horizon
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2012) Demircan, A.; Amiranashvili, S.; Brée, C.; Mahnke, C.; Mitschke, F.; Steinmeyer, G.
    The concept of rogue waves arises from a mysterious and potentially calamitous phenomenon of oceanic surfaces. There is mounting evidence that they are actually commonplace in a variety of different physical settings. A set of defining criteria has been advanced; this set is of great generality and therefore applicable to a wide class of systems. The question arises naturally whether there are generic mechanisms responsible for extreme events in different systems. Here we argue that under suitable circumstances nonlinear interaction between weak and strong waves results in intermittent giant waves with all the signatures of rogue waves. To obtain these circumstances only a few basic conditions must be met. Then reflection of waves at the so-called group-velocity horizon occurs. The connection between rogue waves and event horizons, seemingly unrelated physical phenomena, is identified as a feature common in many different physical systems.
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    A hybrid MBE-based growth method for large-area synthesis of stacked hexagonal boron nitride/graphene heterostructures
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2017) Wofford, Joseph M.; Nakhaie, Siamak; Krause, Thilo; Liu, Xianjie; Ramsteiner, Manfred; Hanke, Michael; Riechert, Henning; Lopes, J.; Marcelo, J.
    Van der Waals heterostructures combining hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and graphene offer many potential advantages, but remain difficult to produce as continuous films over large areas. In particular, the growth of h-BN on graphene has proven to be challenging due to the inertness of the graphene surface. Here we exploit a scalable molecular beam epitaxy based method to allow both the h-BN and graphene to form in a stacked heterostructure in the favorable growth environment provided by a Ni(111) substrate. This involves first saturating a Ni film on MgO(111) with C, growing h-BN on the exposed metal surface, and precipitating the C back to the h-BN/Ni interface to form graphene. The resulting laterally continuous heterostructure is composed of a top layer of few-layer thick h-BN on an intermediate few-layer thick graphene, lying on top of Ni/MgO(111). Examinations by synchrotron-based grazing incidence diffraction, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and UV-Raman spectroscopy reveal that while the h-BN is relaxed, the lattice constant of graphene is significantly reduced, likely due to nitrogen doping. These results illustrate a different pathway for the production of h-BN/graphene heterostructures, and open a new perspective for the large-area preparation of heterosystems combining graphene and other 2D or 3D materials.
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    Optical orbital angular momentum conservation during the transfer process from plasmonic vortex lens to light
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2013) Yu, H.; Zhang, H.; Wang, Y.; Han, S.; Yang, H.; Xu, X.; Wang, Z.; Petrov, V.; Wang, J.
    We demonstrate the optical orbital angular momentum conservation during the transfer process from subwavelength plasmonic vortex lens (PVLs) to light and the generating process of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Illuminating plasmonic vortex lenses with beams carrying optical orbital angular momentum, the SP vortices with orbital angular momentum were generated and inherit the optical angular momentum of light beams and PVLs. The angular momentum of twisting SP electromagnetic field is tunable by the twisted metal/dielectric interfaces of PVLs and angular momentum of illuminating singular light. This work may open the door for several possible applications of SP vortices in subwavelength region.
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    Evolution of the fine structure of magnetic fields in the quiet Sun: Observations from Sunrise/IMaX and extrapolations
    (Heidelberg : Springer, 2013) Wiegelmann, T.; Solanki, S.K.; Borrero, J.M.; Peter, H.; Barthol, P.; Gandorfer, A.; Martínez Pillet, V.; Schmidt, W.; Knölker, M.
    Observations with the balloon-borne Sunrise/Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment (IMaX) provide high spatial resolution (roughly 100 km at disk center) measurements of the magnetic field in the photosphere of the quiet Sun. To investigate the magnetic structure of the chromosphere and corona, we extrapolate these photospheric measurements into the upper solar atmosphere and analyze a 22-minute long time series with a cadence of 33 seconds. Using the extrapolated magnetic-field lines as tracer, we investigate temporal evolution of the magnetic connectivity in the quiet Sun’s atmosphere. The majority of magnetic loops are asymmetric in the sense that the photospheric field strength at the loop foot points is very different. We find that the magnetic connectivity of the loops changes rapidly with a typical connection recycling time of about 3±1 minutes in the upper solar atmosphere and 12±4 minutes in the photosphere. This is considerably shorter than previously found. Nonetheless, our estimate of the energy released by the associated magnetic-reconnection processes is not likely to be the sole source for heating the chromosphere and corona in the quiet Sun.
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    Curvature induced magnonic crystal in nanowires
    (Amsterdam : SciPost Foundation, 2019) Korniienko, Anastasiia; Kravchuk, Volodymyr P.; Pylypovskyi, Oleksandr V.; Sheka, Denis D.; van den Brink, Jeroen; Gaididei, Yuri
    A new type of magnonic crystals, curvature induced ones, is realized in ferromagnetic nanowires with periodically deformed shape. A magnon band structure of such crystal is fully determined by its curvature: the developed theory is well confirmed by simulations. An application to nanoscale spintronic devices with the geometrically tunable parameters is proposed, namely, to filter elements.
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    Determination of tip transfer function for quantitative MFM using frequency domain filtering and least squares method
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2019) Nečas, D.; Klapetek, P.; Neu, V.; Havlíček, M.; Puttock, R.; Kazakova, O.; Hu, X.; Zajíčková, L.
    Magnetic force microscopy has unsurpassed capabilities in analysis of nanoscale and microscale magnetic samples and devices. Similar to other Scanning Probe Microscopy techniques, quantitative analysis remains a challenge. Despite large theoretical and practical progress in this area, present methods are seldom used due to their complexity and lack of systematic understanding of related uncertainties and recommended best practice. Use of the Tip Transfer Function (TTF) is a key concept in making Magnetic Force Microscopy measurements quantitative. We present a numerical study of several aspects of TTF reconstruction using multilayer samples with perpendicular magnetisation. We address the choice of numerical approach, impact of non-periodicity and windowing, suitable conventions for data normalisation and units, criteria for choice of regularisation parameter and experimental effects observed in real measurements. We present a simple regularisation parameter selection method based on TTF width and verify this approach via numerical experiments. Examples of TTF estimation are shown on both 2D and 3D experimental datasets. We give recommendations on best practices for robust TTF estimation, including the choice of windowing function, measurement strategy and dealing with experimental error sources. A method for synthetic MFM data generation, suitable for large scale numerical experiments is also presented.
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    Low-dimensional behavior of Kuramoto model with inertia in complex networks
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2014) Ji, P.; Peron, T.K.D.M.; Rodrigues, F.A.; Kurths, J.
    Low-dimensional behavior of large systems of globally coupled oscillators has been intensively investigated since the introduction of the Ott-Antonsen ansatz. In this report, we generalize the Ott-Antonsen ansatz to second-order Kuramoto models in complex networks. With an additional inertia term, we find a low-dimensional behavior similar to the first-order Kuramoto model, derive a self-consistent equation and seek the time-dependent derivation of the order parameter. Numerical simulations are also conducted to verify our analytical results.