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- ItemConfined crystals of the smallest phase-change material(Washington, DC : American Chemical Society, 2013) Giusca, C.E.; Stolojan, V.; Sloan, J.; Börrnert, F.; Shiozawa, H.; Sader, K.; Rümmeli, M.H.; Büchner, B.; Silva, S.R.P.The demand for high-density memory in tandem with limitations imposed by the minimum feature size of current storage devices has created a need for new materials that can store information in smaller volumes than currently possible. Successfully employed in commercial optical data storage products, phase-change materials, that can reversibly and rapidly change from an amorphous phase to a crystalline phase when subject to heating or cooling have been identified for the development of the next generation electronic memories. There are limitations to the miniaturization of these devices due to current synthesis and theoretical considerations that place a lower limit of 2 nm on the minimum bit size, below which the material does not transform in the structural phase. We show here that by using carbon nanotubes of less than 2 nm diameter as templates phase-change nanowires confined to their smallest conceivable scale are obtained. Contrary to previous experimental evidence and theoretical expectations, the nanowires are found to crystallize at this scale and display amorphous-to-crystalline phase changes, fulfilling an important prerequisite of a memory element. We show evidence for the smallest phase-change material, extending thus the size limit to explore phase-change memory devices at extreme scales.
- ItemStudying nanostructure gradients in injection-molded polypropylene/ montmorillonite composites by microbeam small-angle x-ray scattering(Abingdon : Taylor & Francis, 2014) Stribeck, N.; Schneider, K.; Zeinolebadi, A.; Li, X.; Sanporean, C.-G.; Vuluga, Z.; Iancu, S.; Duldner, M.; Santoro, G.; Roth, S.V.The core-shell structure in oriented cylindrical rods of polypropylene (PP) and nanoclay composites (NCs) from PP and montmorillonite (MMT) is studied by microbeam small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). The structure of neat PP is almost homogeneous across the rod showing regular semicrystalline stacks. In the NCs the discrete SAXS of arranged crystalline PP domains is limited to a skin zone of 300 μm thickness. Even there only frozen-in primary lamellae are detected. The core of the NCs is dominated by diffuse scattering from crystalline domains placed at random. The SAXS of the MMT flakes exhibits a complex skin-core gradient. Both the direction of the symmetry axis and the apparent perfection of flake-orientation are varying. Thus there is no local fiber symmetry, and the structure gradient cannot be reconstructed from a scan across the full rod. To overcome the problem the rods are machined. Scans across the residual webs are performed. For the first time webs have been carved out in two principal directions. Comparison of the corresponding two sets of SAXS patterns demonstrates the complexity of the MMT orientation. Close to the surface (< 1 mm) the flakes cling to the wall. The variation of the orientation distribution widths indicates the presence of both MMT flakes and grains. The grains have not been oriented in the flowing melt. An empirical equation is presented which describes the variation from skin to core of one component of the inclination angle of flake-shaped phyllosilicate filler particles.
- ItemNanoscale magneto-structural coupling in as-deposited and freestanding single-crystalline Fe7Pd3 ferromagnetic shape memory alloy thin films(Abingdon : Taylor & Francis, 2013) Landgraf, A.; Jakob, A.M.; Ma, Y.; Mayr, S.G.Ferromagnetic shape memory alloys are characterized by strong magneto-mechanical coupling occurring at the atomic scale causing large magnetically inducible strains at the macroscopic level. Employing combined atomic and magnetic force microscopy studies at variable temperature, we systematically explore the relation between the magnetic domain pattern and the underlying structure for as-deposited and freestanding single-crystalline Fe7Pd3 thin films across the martensite-austenite transition. We find experimental evidence that magnetic domain appearance is strongly affected by the presence and absence of nanotwinning. While the martensite-austenite transition upon temperature variation of as-deposited films is clearly reflected in topography by the presence and absence of a characteristic surface corrugation pattern, the magnetic domain pattern is hardly affected. These findings are discussed considering the impact of significant thermal stresses arising in the austenite phase. Freestanding martensitic films reveal a hierarchical structure of micro- and nanotwinning. The associated domain organization appears more complex, since the dominance of magnetic energy contributors alters within this length scale regime.
- ItemMagnetization Dynamics of an Individual Single-Crystalline Fe-Filled Carbon Nanotube(Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2019) Lenz, Kilian; Narkowicz, Ryszard; Wagner, Kai; Reiche, Christopher F.; Körner, Julia; Schneider, Tobias; Kákay, Attila; Schultheiss, Helmut; Weissker, Uhland; Wolf, Daniel; Suter, Dieter; Büchner, Bernd; Fassbender, Jürgen; Mühl, Thomas; Lindner, JürgenThe magnetization dynamics of individual Fe-filled multiwall carbon-nanotubes (FeCNT), grown by chemical vapor deposition, are investigated by microresonator ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and Brillouin light scattering (BLS) microscopy and corroborated by micromagnetic simulations. Currently, only static magnetometry measurements are available. They suggest that the FeCNTs consist of a single-crystalline Fe nanowire throughout the length. The number and structure of the FMR lines and the abrupt decay of the spin-wave transport seen in BLS indicate, however, that the Fe filling is not a single straight piece along the length. Therefore, a stepwise cutting procedure is applied in order to investigate the evolution of the ferromagnetic resonance lines as a function of the nanowire length. The results show that the FeCNT is indeed not homogeneous along the full length but is built from 300 to 400 nm long single-crystalline segments. These segments consist of magnetically high quality Fe nanowires with almost the bulk values of Fe and with a similar small damping in relation to thin films, promoting FeCNTs as appealing candidates for spin-wave transport in magnonic applications. © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
- ItemInvestigation of changes in crystalline and amorphous structure during deformation of nano-reinforced semi-crystalline polymers by space-resolved synchrotron saxs and waxs(Amsterdam : Elsevier, 2009) Schneider, K.; Schone, A.; Jun, T.-S.; Korsunsky, A.M.Complex structural changes occur in semi-crystalline polymers during deformation. In (nano-)filled systems the situation becomes even more complicated, since not only phase changes may take place, but also local (interfacial) failure between phases may occur. To help identify specific processes taking place within these systems, simultaneous small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) measurements were performed using synchrotron radiation during in situ deformation. Using a highly focused beam, spatially resolved local information can be extracted by scanning the beam across the deformed/damaged region within the sample. The characteristic changes in the different phases are presented and discussed. While the study of WAXS patterns gives insight into the orientation and dimensions of the crystallites, SAXS provides information about the mutual arrangement of phases and the interfacial failure phenomena. Based on the analysis of the results obtained in our experiments it will be shown that the first changes in the crystalline phase appear long before macroscopic yielding of the sample is reached, i.e. the onset of irreversible deformation takes place. In the post-yield regime radical changes are observed in both the long- and short-range structures. It is concluded that the presence of nano-fillers exerts a strong influence on the establishment of microcrystalline structure, and hence also on the deformation behaviour at the microscopic scale.