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Mu, Sai

Publications and source records attributed to Mu, Sai.

28 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Influence of local lattice distortions on electrical transport of refractory high entropy alloys

In this report we employ first-principles alloy theories to assess the influence of local lattice distortions on the electronic transport of six body-centered cubic high-entropy alloys. We find weak disorder smearing of bands in the ideal lattice due to the similar number of valence electrons among alloying elements. Allowing relaxation, we demonstrate that local distortions in NbMoTaW and VNbMoTaW are small while they are anomalously large in HfNbTiZr, HfNbTaTiZr, VCrZrNb and CrNbTiVZr. The Fermi surfaces of the latter are strongly smeared by local distortions, leading to nearly-saturated resistivities. These findings address the important local relaxation effect on the electronic structure of high-entropy alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Ferromagnetic Spin-1/2 Dimers with Strong Anisotropy in MoCl 5

The pentachloride MoCl 5 adopts several molecular crystal structures, all comprising isolated Mo 2 Cl 10 units with well-separated Mo–Mo magnetic dimers. Using magnetization measurements, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and first-principles calculations, we confirm ferromagnetism with strong anisotropy below a Curie temperature of 22 K in α-MoCl 5 , and report a fifth polymorph, ϵ-MoCl 5 , that we find to be ferromagnetic below 14 K. Magnetization measurements indicate unquenched orbital moments antialigned with the spins. This is confirmed by first-principles calculations, which also predict an unusually strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy in α-MoCl 5 arising from spin–orbit coupling. An anisotropy field near 80 T is calculated, while a smaller but still substantial anisotropy field exceeding 12 T is realized experimentally. Further, increased anisotropy and Curie temperature are predicted when W is substituted for Mo. Similarly, strong magnetism and anisotropy are predicted for isolated Mo 2 Cl 10 molecules, indicating the potential for true molecular magnetism. Altogether, these results identify Mo 1–x W x Cl 5 as novel molecular crystals that combine spin 1/2 with strong magnetic anisotropy and exhibit surprisingly high Curie temperatures, considering their molecular nature.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Phonons, magnons, and lattice thermal transport in antiferromagnetic semiconductor MnTe

The antiferromagnetic semiconductor MnTe has recently attracted attention for spintronics and high-performance thermoelectric applications. However, little is known about its vibrational and thermal transport properties and how these might relate to the electronic and magnetic structure, particularly as related to 3d Mn orbital correlations. Here, we calculate a physically justified Coulomb correlation parameter within the DFT+U framework. We couple this framework with the Heisenberg Hamiltonian and first-principles Boltzmann transport to understand the magnetic, vibrational, and phonon thermal transport properties of MnTe. We also perform inelastic neutron and nuclear inelastic x-ray scattering measurements of the total and partial phonon density of states, respectively. Very good agreement is obtained with the measured and calculated phonon density of states, and with available measurements for the band gap, local magnetic moments, Néel temperature, magnon dispersion, thermal conductivity, and phonon dispersion. Here, this study demonstrates that the vibrational and magnetic degrees of freedom are not strongly coupled in MnTe, and provides a more comprehensive picture of this technologically promising material.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Hidden Mn magnetic-moment disorder and its influence on the physical properties of medium-entropy NiCoMn solid solution alloys

In this work, the ab initio Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method combined with the coherent potential approximation (CPA) was employed to investigate the electronic, magnetic, and transport properties of medium-entropy face-centered-cubic (fcc) NiCoMn solid solution alloys. By comparing the CPA electronic structure with that from supercell calculations, we uncovered an unconventional CPA ground state, which correctly distinguishes two equally populated Mn CPA components—with large spin moments but opposite orientations. Using the spin spiral calculations, we further demonstrated that this ground state is most energetically favorable in the presence of spin noncollinearity, and no significant longitudinal spin fluctuation is observed, justifying the applicability of the Heisenberg model. The finite-temperature magnetism was further studied using different approximations based on the Heisenberg model, and we found the Mn moments to be fully disordered at low temperature due to a small net effective Weiss field on Mn. In addition, the magnetic effect on the electron scattering at finite temperatures was evaluated and compared with other scattering mechanisms. Since the magnetization-induced electron scattering is almost saturated in the ground state, (full) spin disorder only yields a small addition to the resistivity, whereas the thermal displacements increase it modestly. Finally, we elucidate the role of hydrostatic pressure on the magnetic and transport properties. In conclusion, these findings reflect the importance of the magnetic signatures on the physical properties of alloys, and they provide a window into magnetism-controlled electronic structure and energy dissipation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Uncovering electron scattering mechanisms in NiFeCoCrMn derived concentrated solid solution and high entropy alloys

Abstract Whilst it has long been known that disorder profoundly affects transport properties, recent measurements on a series of solid solution 3d -transition metal alloys reveal two orders of magnitude variations in the residual resistivity. Using ab initio methods, we demonstrate that, while the carrier density of all alloys is as high as in normal metals, the electron mean-free-path can vary from ~10 Å (strong scattering limit) to ~10 3 Å (weak scattering limit). Here, we delineate the underlying electron scattering mechanisms responsible for this disparate behavior. While site-diagonal, spin dependent, potential scattering is always dominant, for alloys containing only Fe, Co, and Ni the majority-spin channel experiences negligible disorder scattering, thereby providing a short circuit, while for Cr/Mn containing alloys both spin channels experience strong disorder scattering due to an electron filling effect. Somewhat surprisingly, other scattering mechanisms—including displacement, or size effect, scattering which has been shown to strongly correlate with such diverse properties as yield strength—are found to be relatively weak in most cases.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Decoupling carrier concentration and electron-phonon coupling in oxide heterostructures observed with resonant inelastic x-ray scattering

In this paper, we report the observation of multiple phonon satellite features in ultra thin superlattices of form n SrIrO 3 / m SrTiO 3 using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. As the values of n and m vary the energy loss spectra show a systematic evolution in the relative intensity of the phonon satellites. Using a closed-form solution for the RIXS cross section, we extract the variation in the electron-phonon coupling strength as a function of n and m . Combined with the negligible carrier doping into the SrTiO 3 layers, these results indicate that tuning of the electron-phonon coupling can be effectively decoupled from doping. In conclusion, this work showcases both a feasible method to extract the electron-phonon coupling in superlattices and unveils a potential route for tuning this coupling which is often associated with superconductivity in SrTiO 3 -based systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Temperature dependent electronic transport in concentrated solid solutions of the 3 d -transition metals Ni, Fe, Co and Cr from first principles

An approach previously developed for the calculation of transport coefficients via the Mott relations is applied to the calculation of finite temperature transport properties of disordered alloys—electrical resistivity and the electronic part of thermal conductivity. The coherent-potential approximation is used to treat chemical disorder as well as other sources of electron scattering, i.e., temperature induced magnetic moment fluctuations and lattice vibrations via the alloy analogy model. This approach, which treats all forms of disorder on an equal first-principles footing, is applied to the calculation of transport properties of a series of fcc concentrated solid solutions of the 3d -transition metals Ni, Fe, Co, and Cr. For the nonmagnetic alloys Ni 0.8 Cr 0.2 and Ni 0.33 Co 0.33 Cr 0.3 , the combined effects of chemical disorder and electron-lattice vibrations scattering result in a monotonic increase in the resistivity as a function of temperature from an already large, T = 0, residual resistivity. For magnetic Ni 0.5 Co 0.5, Ni 0.5 Fe 0.5 , and Ni 0.33 Fe 0.33 Co 0.33 , the residual resistivity of which is small, additional electron scattering from temperature induced magnetic moment fluctuations results in a further rapid increase of the resistivity as a function of temperature. The electronic part of the thermal conductivity in nonmagnetic Ni 0.8 Cr 0.2 and Ni 0.33 Co 0.33 Cr 0.33 monotonically increases with temperature. This behavior is a result of the competition between a reduction in the conductivity due to electron-lattice vibrations scattering and temperature induced increase in the number of carriers. In the magnetic alloys, electron scattering from magnetic fluctuations leads to an initial rapid decrease in thermal conductivity until this is overcome by an increasing number of carriers at temperatures slightly below the Curie temperature. As a result, similar to the resistivity above T C , the electronic parts of the thermal conductivities are close to each other in all alloys studied.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Error controlling of the combined Cluster-Expansion and Wang–Landau Monte-Carlo method and its application to FeCo

Simulating order–disorder phase transitions in magnetic materials requires the accurate treatment of both the atomic and magnetic interactions, which span a vast configuration space. Taking FeCo as a prototype system, we demonstrate that this can be accurately and efficiently addressed by the combined Cluster-Expansion method and Wang–Landau algorithm. All involved key parameters in this method are carefully tested. Based on these tests, error controlling approaches are also developed. Furthermore our method is readily applicable to the study of similar second-order phase transitions in other binary and multi-component systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Electronic transport and phonon properties of maximally disordered alloys: From binaries to high-entropy alloys

Recent discoveries of multicomponent concentrated solid-solution alloys hold promise for enhanced properties—such as enhanced mechanical properties, radiation tolerance, high temperature strength, corrosion resistance and some novel functional properties, provide a new strategy for alloy design using extreme disorder. Yet, deep understanding of these intriguing properties is complicated by the very effects of disorder that make them interesting. All the desirable properties of these alloys ultimately originate from the disorder-induced properties of underlying electronic structure, lattice dynamics, and thermodynamics. Therefore, understanding the disorder-induced fundamental physical properties is prerequisite for the science-based design of this class of alloys for practical applications. Furthermore, we elucidate the role of extreme (maximal) substitutional disorder plays in the fundamental physics of disordered alloys and review the recently developed theoretical methodologies in modeling the basic physical properties, particularly electronic structure, magnetism, electrical transport, and lattice vibrations in multicomponent concentrated solid-solution alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗