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Now showing 1 - 10 of 29
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    The influence of the in-plane lattice constant on the superconducting transition temperature of FeSe0.7Te0.3 thin films
    (New York : American Institute of Physics, 2017) Yuan, Feifei; Iida, Kazumasa; Grinenko, Vadim; Chekhonin, Paul; Pukenas, Aurimas; Skrotzki, Werner; Sakoda, Masahito; Naito, Michio; Sala, Alberto; Putti, Marina; Yamashita, Aichi; Takano, Yoshihiko; Shi, Zhixiang; Nielsch, Kornelius; Hühne, Ruben
    Epitaxial Fe(Se,Te) thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition on (La0.18Sr0.82)(Al0.59Ta0.41)O3 (LSAT), CaF2-buffered LSAT and bare CaF2 substrates, which exhibit an almost identical in-plane lattice parameter. The composition of all Fe(Se,Te) films were determined to be FeSe0.7Te0.3 by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, irrespective of the substrate. Albeit the lattice parameters of all templates have comparable values, the in-plane lattice parameter of the FeSe0.7Te0.3 films varies significantly. We found that the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of FeSe0.7Te0.3 thin films is strongly correlated with their a-axis lattice parameter. The highest Tc of over 19 K was observed for the film on bare CaF2 substrate, which is related to unexpectedly large in-plane compressive strain originating mostly from the thermal expansion mismatch between the FeSe0.7Te0.3 film and the substrate.
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    Site-controlled formation of single Si nanocrystals in a buried SiO2 matrix using ion beam mixing
    (Frankfurt am Main : Beilstein-Institut zur Förderung der Chemischen Wissenschaften, 2018) Xu, X.; Prüfer, T.; Wolf, D.; Engelmann, H.-J.; Bischoff, L.; Hübner, R.; Heinig, K.-H.; Möller, W.; Facsko, S.; von Borany, J.; Hlawacek, G.
    For future nanoelectronic devices - such as room-temperature single electron transistors - the site-controlled formation of single Si nanocrystals (NCs) is a crucial prerequisite. Here, we report an approach to fabricate single Si NCs via medium-energy Si+ or Ne+ ion beam mixing of Si into a buried SiO2 layer followed by thermally activated phase separation. Binary collision approximation and kinetic Monte Carlo methods are conducted to gain atomistic insight into the influence of relevant experimental parameters on the Si NC formation process. Energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy is performed to obtain quantitative values on the Si NC size and distribution in dependence of the layer stack geometry, ion fluence and thermal budget. Employing a focused Ne+ beam from a helium ion microscope, we demonstrate site-controlled self-assembly of single Si NCs. Line irradiation with a fluence of 3000 Ne+/nm2 and a line width of 4 nm leads to the formation of a chain of Si NCs, and a single NC with 2.2 nm diameter is subsequently isolated and visualized in a few nanometer thin lamella prepared by a focused ion beam (FIB). The Si NC is centered between the SiO2 layers and perpendicular to the incident Ne+ beam.
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    Plasma-assisted synthesis and high-resolution characterization of anisotropic elemental and bimetallic core-shell magnetic nanoparticles
    (Frankfurt, M. : Beilstein-Institut zur Förderung der Chemischen Wissenschaften, 2014) Hennes, M.; Lotnyk, A.; Mayr, S.G.
    Magnetically anisotropic as well as magnetic core-shell nanoparticles (CS-NPs) with controllable properties are highly desirable in a broad range of applications. With this background, a setup for the synthesis of heterostructured magnetic core-shell nanoparticles, which relies on (optionally pulsed) DC plasma gas condensation has been developed. We demonstrate the synthesis of elemental nickel nanoparticles with highly tunable sizes and shapes and Ni@Cu CS-NPs with an average shell thickness of 10 nm as determined with scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements. An analytical model that relies on classical kinetic gas theory is used to describe the deposition of Cu shell atoms on top of existing Ni cores. Its predictive power and possible implications for the growth of heterostructured NP in gas condensation processes are discussed.
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    A method for determination of length distributions of multiwalled carbon nanotubes before and after melt processing
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Pergamon Press, 2011) Krause, Beate; Boldt, Regine; Pötschke, Petra
    A relatively simple method to determine the length distribution of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) before and after melt processing was developed. This involves the selection of a suitable solvent for dispersing pristine CNTs as well as to dissolve the matrix of melt mixed composites and the choice of an appropriate nanotube concentration. The length of suitably individualized CNTs was visualized using transmission electron microscopy and length distributions were measured using image analysis. Examples are shown for Baytubes® C150HP and Nanocyl™ NC7000 and their melt mixed composites with polycarbonate where the same procedure was applied to both, measuring the initial length distribution and the distribution after recovering from the composites. These results indicated a significant shortening after melt processing up to 30% of the initial length. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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    Carboxylated nitrile butadiene rubber/hybrid filler composites
    (São Carlos : Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2012) Mousa, A.; Heinrich, G.; Simon, F.; Wagenknecht, U.; Stöckelhuber, K.-W.; Dweiri, R.
    The surface properties of the OSW and NLS are measured with the dynamic contact-angle technique. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of the OSW reveals that the OSW possesses various reactive functional groups namely hydroxyl groups (OH). Hybrid filler from NLS and OSW were incorporated into carboxylated nitrile rubber (XNBR) to produce XNBR hybrid composites. The reaction of OH groups from the OSW with COOH of the XNBR is checked by attenuated total reflectance spectra (ATR-IR) of the composites. The degree of curing ΔM (maximum torque-minimum torque) as a function of hybrid filler as derived from moving die rheometer (MDR) is reported. The stress-strain behavior of the hybrid composites as well as the dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) is studied. Bonding quality and dispersion of the hybrid filler with and in XNBR are examined using scanning-transmission electron microscopy (STEM in SEM).
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    Phase and grain size engineering in Ge-Sb-Te-O by alloying with La-Sr-Mn-O towards improved material properties
    (Oxford : Elsevier Science, 2020) Kraft, Nikolas; Wang, Guoxiang; Bryja, Hagen; Prager, Andrea; Griebel, Jan; Lotnyk, Andriy
    Ge-Sb-Te alloys are promising materials for non-volatile memory applications. Alloying of the materials with various elements is considered as prospective approach to enhance material properties. This work reports on the preparation and characterization of pure Ge-Sb-Te-O (GSTO) and alloyed with La-Sr-Mn-O (LSMO) thin films. Thermal heating of amorphous thin films to different temperatures show distinct crystallization behavior. A general trend is the decrease in the size of GSTO crystallites and the suppression in the formation of stable trigonal GSTO phase with increasing content of LSMO. Microstructural studies by transmission electron microscopy show the formation of metastable GSTO nanocrystallites dispersed in the amorphous matrix. Analysis of local chemical bonding by X-ray spectroscopy reveal the presence of different oxides in the GSTO-LSMO composites. Moreover, the composites with a high LSMO content exhibit higher crystallization temperature and significant larger sheet resistance in amorphous and crystalline phase, while a memory device made of GSTO-LSMO alloy reveals bipolar switching and synaptic behavior. In addition, the amount of LSMO in GSTO-LSMO thin films influences their optical properties and band gap. Overall, the results of this work reveal the highly promising potential of GSTO-LSMO nanocomposites for data storage and reconfigurable photonic applications as well as neuro-inspired computing.
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    Structural evolution and strain induced mixing in Cu-Co composites studied by transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography
    (Amsterdam : Elsevier, 2015) Bachmaier, Andrea; Aboulfadl, H.; Pfaff, Marina; Mücklich, Frank; Motz, Christian
    A Cu–Co composite material is chosen as a model system to study structural evolution and phase formations during severe plastic deformation. The evolving microstructures as a function of the applied strain were characterized at the micro-, nano-, and atomic scale-levels by combining scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy including energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. The amount of intermixing between the two phases at different strains was examined at the atomic scale using atom probe tomography as complimentary method. It is shown that Co particles are dissolved in the Cu matrix during severe plastic deformation to a remarkable extent and their size, number, and volume fraction were quantitatively determined during the deformation process. From the results, it can be concluded that supersaturated solid solutions up to 26 at.% Co in a fcc Cu–26 at.% Co alloy are obtained during deformation. However, the distribution of Co was found to be inhomogeneous even at the highest degree of investigated strain.
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    Direct observation of nanocrystal-induced enhancement of tensile ductility in a metallic glass composite
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2021) Gammer, Christoph; Rentenberger, Christian; Beitelschmidt, Denise; Minor, Andrew M.; Eckert, Jürgen
    Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) have attracted wide interest, but their successful application is hindered by their low ductility at room temperature. Therefore, the use of composites of a BMG matrix with crystalline secondary phases has been proposed to overcome this drawback. In the present work we demonstrate the fabrication of a tailored BMG nanocomposite containing a high density of monodisperse nanocrystals with a size of around 20 nm using a combination of mechanical and thermal treatment of Cu36Zr48Al8Ag8 well below the crystallization temperature. Direct observations of the interaction of the nanocrystals with a shear band during in situ deformation in a transmission electron microscope demonstrate that the achieved nanocomposite has the potential to inhibit catastrophic fracture in tension. This demonstrates that a sufficient number of nanoscale structural heterogeneities can be a route towards BMG composites with superior mechanical properties.
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    Characterization of L21 order in Co2FeSi thin films on GaAs
    (Bristol : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2013) Jenichen, B.; Hentschel, T.; Herfort, J.; Kong, X.; Trampert, A.; Zizak, I.
    Co2FeSi/GaAs(110) and Co2FeSi/GaAs(-1-1-1)B hybrid structures were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The films contain inhomogeneous distributions of ordered L21 and B2 phases. The average stoichiometry could be determined by XRD for calibration of the MBE sources. Diffusion processes lead to inhomogeneities, influencing long-range order. An average L21 ordering of up to 65% was measured by grazing-incidence XRD. Lateral inhomogeneities of the spatial distribution of long-range order in Co2FeSi were imaged using dark-field TEM with superlattice reflections and shown to correspond to variations of the Co/Fe ratio.
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    GaN-based radial heterostructure nanowires grown by MBE and ALD
    (Bristol : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2013) Lari, L.; Ross, I.M.; Walther, T.; Black, K.; Cheze, C.; Geelhaar, L.; Riechert, H.; Chalker, P.R.
    A combination of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) was adopted to fabricate GaN-based core/shell NW structures. ALD was used to deposit a HfO2 shell of onto the MBE grown GaN NWs. Electron transparent samples were prepared by focussed ion beam methods and characterized using state-of-the-art analytical transmission and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The polycrystalline coating was found to be uniform along the whole length of the NWs. Photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy analysis confirms that the HfO2 ALD coating does not add any structural defect when deposited on the NWs.