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Results for “electronic phase separation”

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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Phase-separated, epitaxial composite cap layers for electronic device applications and method of making the same

An electronic component that includes a substrate and a phase-separated layer supported on the substrate and a method of forming the same are disclosed. The phase-separated layer includes a first phase comprising lanthanum manganate (LMO) and a second phase selected from a metal oxide (MO), metal nitride (MN), a metal (Me), and combinations thereof. The phase-separated material can be an epitaxial layer and an upper surface of the phase-separated layer can include interfaces between the first phase and the second phase. The phase-separated layer can be supported on a buffer layer comprising a composition selected from the group consisting of IBAD MgO, LMO/IBAD-MgO, homoepi-IBAD MgO and LMO/homoepi-MgO. The electronic component can also include an electronically active layer supported on the phase-separated layer. The electronically active layer can be a superconducting material, a ferroelectric material, a multiferroic material, a magnetic material, a photovoltaic material, an electrical storage material, and a semiconductor material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

An investigation of low temperature electronic phase arrest in Sm{sub 0.55}Sr{sub 0.45}MnO{sub 3} phase separated manganite

The temperature dependence of electronic-transport and magneto-transport of polycrystalline Sm{sub 0.55}Sr{sub 0.45}MnO{sub 3} manganite at low temperatures has been investigated in detail. The low temperature resistivity data show a distinct minimum in the resistivity versus temperature plots for all fields. The low temperature resistivity upturn below this minimum has been fitted to an expression, which includes three terms, namely, residual resistivity, inelastic scattering, and electron-electron (e-e) interaction or Kondo effects. It has been found that the dominating mechanism is e-e interaction. The resistivity of the sample shows strong dependence on the magnetic field–temperature history. The electronic-transport property clearly confirms that the electronic phase of the sample gets arrested to a low resistive state during field cooling and cannot return to its original state even after the magnetic field is removed. The magnetoresistance of the sample also shows a strong irreversibility with respect to the sweeping of the magnetic field between its highest positive and negative values. Moreover, the resistivity of the sample is found to be time dependent. All the observed phenomena have been explained through the phase separation scenario and kinetic arrest of electronic phase.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1993

Gas flow-field induced director alignment in polymer dispersed liquid crystal microdroplets deposited on a glass substrate

Polymer dispersed liquid crystal thin films have been deposited on glass substrates by the processes of polymerization and solvent evaporation induced phase separation. The electron and the optical polarization microscopies of the films reveal that PDLC microdroplets formed during the process of phase separation near the top surface of the film remain exposed and respond to shear stress due to air or gas flow on the surface. Optical response of the film to an air flow-induced shear stress input on the free surface has been measured. Director orientation in the droplets changes with the applied shear stress leading to time varying transmitted light intensity. Director dynamics of the droplet for an applied step shear stress has been discussed from free energy considerations. Results on the measurement of light transmission as a function of the gas flow parameter unambiguously demonstrate the potential of these systems for use as boundary layer and gas flow sensors.

Parmar, D. S.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Roles of Interfacial Tension in Regulating Internal Organization of Low Bandgap Polymer Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells by Polymer Additives

The role of a tertiary polymer-based additive is investigated in increasing the efficiency of inverted low bandgap polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. Charge separation in polymer BHJ solar cells relies on the phase separation between electron accepting fullerene derivatives and photoactive polymers. Proper distribution of individual phases of suitable crystallinities within the active layer is a key factor for efficient charge transport/extraction and high photovoltaic performance. Here in this paper, it is demonstrated that the minor addition of a tertiary amorphous polymer, polystyrene (PS), with optimized molecular weights can increase the overall photovoltaic efficiency of poly[N-9-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4,7-di-2-thienyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)]:phenyl-C 61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCDTBT:PCBM) inverted BHJ solar cells, through the interfacial-tension-driven increase in crystallinities of photoactive phases and redistribution of PCBM molecules away from the top hole-collecting anode interface. Complementary studies correlating polymer interfacial tension, blend internal structure, charge transport, and photovoltaic characteristics show that tertiary, high molecular-weight polymers can serve as effective additives for improving the performance of low bandgap polymer solar cells.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Phase separated behavior in yttrium doped CaMnO{sub 3}

Highlights: • Electron doped manganite. • Magnetic phase separation observed. • Structural transition coupled with magnetic transition. - Abstract: The effect of electron doping on the structural, transport, and magnetic properties of Mn (IV)—rich Ca{sub 1−x}Y{sub x}MnO{sub 3} (x ≤ 0.2) samples have been investigated using neutron diffraction, neutron depolarization, magnetization and resistivity techniques. The temperature dependence of resistivity follows the small polaron model and the activation energy exhibits a minimum for x = 0.1 sample. A phase separated magnetic ground state consisting of ferromagnetic domains (∼7 μm) embedded in G-type antiferromagnetic matrix is observed in the sample, x = 0.1. The transition to the long-range magnetically ordered state in this sample is preceded by a Griffith’s phase. On lowering temperature below 300 K a structural transition from orthorhombic structure (Pnma) to a monoclinic structure (P2{sub 1}/m) is observed in the case of x = 0.2 sample. The ferromagnetic behavior in this case is suppressed and the antiferromagnetic ordering is described by coexisting C-type and G-type magnetic structures corresponding to the monoclinic and orthorhombic phases, respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1990

Phase separation in the t-J model

A detailed understanding of the motion of 'holes' in an antiferromagnet is of fundamental importance for the theory of high-temperature superconductors. It is shown here that, for the t-J model, dilute holes in an antiferromagnet are unstable against phase separation into a hole-rich and a no-hole phase. When the spin-exchange interaction J exceeds a critical value Jc, the hole-rich phase has no electrons. It is proposed that, for J slightly less than Jc, the hole-rich phase is a low-density superfluid of electron pairs. Phase separation in related models is briefly discussed.

Emery, V. J.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Development and Structure/Property Relationship of New Electron Accepting Polymers Based on Thieno[2',3':4,5]pyrido[2,3- g ]thieno[3,2- c ]quinoline-4,10-dione for All-Polymer Solar Cells

Several electron accepting polymers having weak accepting–strong accepting (WA-SA) and strong accepting–strong accepting (SA-SA) monomer alternation were synthesized for studies of structure/property relationship in all-polymer solar cells. Two kinds of cyclic amide monomers, 4,10-bis(2-butyloctyl)-thieno[2',3':5,6]pyrido[3,4-g]thieno-[3,2-c]isoquinoline-5,11-dione (TPTI) and 5,11-bis(2-butyloctyl)-thieno[2',3':4,5]pyrido[2,3-g]thieno[3,2-c]quinoline-4,10-dione (TPTQ), were synthesized as weak accepting monomers (WA). Difluorinated TPTQ (FTPTQ) and well-known perylene diimide (PDI) monomers were synthesized as strong electron accepting monomers (SA). By using 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) as a cosolvent, the morphology of the polymer blended films can be finely tuned to achieve better ordering toward face-on mode and favorable phase separation between electron donor and acceptor, resulting in significant enhancement of short circuit current (Jsc) and fill factor (FF). The fluorination in the TPTQ unit reduced the dipole moment of the D–A complex and gave a negative effect on a polymer system. PFP showed worse electron accepting property with lower electron mobility than PQP. It is reasoned that the internal polarization plays an important role in the design of electron accepting polymers. As a result, PQP having TPTQ monomer exhibited the best photovoltaic performance with power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.52% (Voc = 0.71 V, Jsc = 8.57 mA/cm2, FF = 0.58) at a weight ratio of PTB7-Th:PQP = 1:1, under AM 1.5G.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

IONIZATION IN ATMOSPHERES OF BROWN DWARFS AND EXTRASOLAR PLANETS. II. DUST-INDUCED COLLISIONAL IONIZATION

Observations have shown that continuous radio emission and also sporadic H{alpha} and X-ray emission are prominent in singular, low-mass objects later than spectral class M. These activity signatures are interpreted as being caused by coupling of an ionized atmosphere to the stellar magnetic field. What remains a puzzle, however, is the mechanism by which such a cool atmosphere can produce the necessary level of ionization. At these low temperatures, thermal gas processes are insufficient, but the formation of clouds sets in. Cloud particles can act as seeds for electron avalanches in streamers that ionize the ambient gas, and can lead to lightning and indirectly to magnetic field coupling, a combination of processes also expected for protoplanetary disks. However, the precondition is that the cloud particles are charged. We use results from DRIFT-PHOENIX model atmospheres to investigate collisional processes that can lead to the ionization of dust grains inside clouds. We show that ionization by turbulence-induced dust-dust collisions is the most efficient kinetic process. The efficiency is highest in the inner cloud where particles grow quickly and, hence, the dust-to-gas ratio is high. Dust-dust collisions alone are not sufficient to improve the magnetic coupling of the atmosphere inside the cloud layers, but the charges supplied either on grains or within the gas phase as separated electrons can trigger secondary nonlinear processes. Cosmic rays are likely to increase the global level of ionization, but their influence decreases if a strong, large-scale magnetic field is present as on brown dwarfs. We suggest that although thermal gas ionization declines in objects across the fully convective boundary, dust charging by collisional processes can play an important role in the lowest mass objects. The onset of atmospheric dust may therefore correlate with the anomalous X-ray and radio emission in atmospheres that are cool, but charged more than expected by pure thermal ionization.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Boosting photovoltaic performance of ternary organic solar cells by integrating a multi-functional guest acceptor

Constructing ternary structure is one of the most effective design strategies to break the efficiency ceiling of traditional binary organic solar cells (OSCs). Here, a new Y-series non-fullerene acceptor (Y-T) featuring 1,3-diethyl-2-thiobarbituric acid (DTBA) end groups is developed as a third component for the classical PM6:Y6 binary system. The champion power conversion efficiency of ternary OSCs is increased from 15.64% to 17.37% via incorporating 10 wt% Y-T, with the simultaneously enhanced open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.865 V, a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 26.90 mA/cm 2 , and a fill factor (FF) of 74.97%. The positive contribution of Y-T in the ternary blend can be ascribed to the improved spectroscopic complementarity and enhanced exciton utilization ratio due to the additional energy transfer process. Moreover, Y-T guest acceptor plays a critical role in adjusting the active layer morphology and facilitating three-dimension phase separation, resulting in a balanced charge transport and enhanced FF of ternary OSCs. Overall, this work provides insight into the molecular design of non-fullerene acceptor and suggest guidelines to rationally select guest component for ternary OSCs.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Thermodynamic and electron transport properties of Ca 3 Ru 2 O 7 from first-principles phonon calculations and Boltzmann transport theory

Here, this work demonstrates a first-principles-based approach to obtaining finite temperature thermal and electronic transport properties which can be employed to model and understand mesoscale structural evolution during electronic, magnetic, and structural phase transitions. A computationally tractable model was introduced to estimate electron relaxation time and its temperature dependence. The model is applied to Ca 3 Ru 2 O 7 with a focus on understanding its electrical resistivity across the electronic phase transition at 48 K. A quasiharmonic phonon approach to the lattice vibrations was employed to account for thermal expansion while the Boltzmann transport theory including spin-orbit coupling was used to calculate the electron-transport properties, including the temperature dependence of electrical conductivity.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Spin-carrier coupling induced ferromagnetism and giant resistivity peak in EuCd 2 P 2

EuCd 2 P 2 is notable for its unconventional transport: upon cooling the metallic resistivity changes slope and begins to increase, ultimately 100-fold, before returning to its metallic value. Surprisingly, this giant peak occurs at 18 K, well above the Néel temperature (T N ) of 11.5 K. Here, using a suite of sensitive probes of magnetism, including resonant x-ray scattering and magneto-optical polarimetry, we have discovered that ferromagnetic order onsets above T N in the temperature range of the resistivity peak. The observation of inverted hysteresis in this regime shows that ferromagnetism is promoted by coupling of localized spins and itinerant carriers. The resulting carrier localization is confirmed by optical conductivity measurements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development of Lattice-Mismatched GaInAsP for Radiation Hardness

We develop lattice-mismatched GaInAsP as an alternative alloy to pure As-based alloys currently used in III-V multijunction solar cells. Increasing the alloy phosphorous and indium content while maintaining an optimal bandgap may allow high efficiency multijunction devices with increased radiation hardness. Here, 1.0-eV GaInAsP is developed and implemented into single and multijunction solar cell devices. The lattice-mismatched GaInAsP must be grown strain free, and the subcell thickness must be maintained below the thickness where surface-driven phase separation occurs. As observed in transmission electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence imaging, phase separation strengthens in the GaInAsP layer and leads to interfacial defect formation when the cell thickness is too great. We show single junction 1.0-eV Ga 0.5 In 0.5 As 0.7 P 0.3 with excellent carrier collection and a bandgap-voltage offset of 0.40 V. This material quality approaches that of 1.0-eV Ga 0.7 In 0.3 As used in inverted metamorphic multijunction devices, but has increased phosphorus content and consequently is expected to have a higher radiation resistance. We incorporate the 1.0-eV GaInAsP subcell into a 3-junction inverted metamorphic solar cell to test the performance of the subcell in a multijunction. No additional loss is observed upon integration into a multijunction cell: both the carrier collection and voltage of the GaInAsP subcell are unchanged from single junction devices. While further materials development and radiation testing is still required, these preliminary results indicate that lattice-mismatched GaInAsP can be effectively used in multijunction solar cells to replace radiation-soft materials.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Foundry-compatible high-resolution patterning of vertically phase-separated semiconducting films for ultraflexible organic electronics

Solution processability of polymer semiconductors becomes an unfavorable factor during the fabrication of pixelated films since the underlying layer is vulnerable to subsequent solvent exposure. A foundry-compatible patterning process must meet requirements including high-throughput and high-resolution patternability, broad generality, ambient processability, environmentally benign solvents, and, minimal device performance degradation. However, known methodologies can only meet very few of these requirements. Here, a facile photolithographic approach is demonstrated for foundry-compatible high-resolution patterning of known p- and n-type semiconducting polymers. This process involves crosslinking a vertically phase-separated blend of the semiconducting polymer and a UV photocurable additive, and enables ambient processable photopatterning at resolutions as high as 0.5 μm in only three steps with environmentally benign solvents. The patterned semiconducting films can be integrated into thin-film transistors having excellent transport characteristics, low off-currents, and high thermal (up to 175 °C) and chemical (24 h immersion in chloroform) stability. Moreover, these patterned organic structures can also be integrated on 1.5 μm-thick parylene substrates to yield highly flexible (1 mm radius) and mechanically robust (5,000 bending cycles) thin-film transistors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Role of Structurally and Magnetically Modified Nanoclusters in Colossal Magnetoresistance

It is generally accepted that electronic and magnetic phase separation is the origin of many of exotic properties of strongly correlated electron materials, such as colossal magnetoresistance (CMR), an unusually large variation in the electrical resistivity under applied magnetic field. In the simplest picture, the two competing phases are those associated with the material state on either side of the phase transition. Those phases would be paramagnetic insulator and ferromagnetic metal for the CMR effect in doped manganites. It has been speculated that a critical component of the CMR phenomenon is nanoclusters with quite different properties than either of the terminal phases during the transition. However, the role of these nanoclusters in the CMR effect remains elusive because the physical properties of the nanoclusters are hard to measure when embedded in bulk materials. Here we show the unexpected behavior of the nanoclusters in the CMR compound La{sub 1-x}Ca{sub x}MnO{sub 3} (0.4 {le} x < 0.5) by directly correlating transmission electron microscopy observations with bulk measurements. The structurally modified nanoclusters at the CMR temperature were found to be ferromagnetic and exhibit much higher electrical conductivity than previously proposed. Only at temperatures much below the CMR transition, the nanoclusters are antiferromagnetic and insulating. These findings substantially alter the current understanding of these nanoclusters on the material's functionality and would shed light on the microscopic study on the competing spin-lattice-charge orders in strongly correlated systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS2002

Design and Synthesis of Novel Block Copolymers for Efficient Opto-Electronic Applications

It has been predicted that nano-phase separated block copolymer systems containing electron rich donor blocks and electron deficient acceptor blocks may facilitate the charge carrier separation and migration in organic photovoltaic devices due to improved morphology in comparison to polymer blend system. This paper presents preliminary data describing the design and synthesis of a novel Donor-Bridge-Acceptor (D-B-A) block copolymer system for potential high efficient organic optoelectronic applications. Specifically, the donor block contains an electron donating alkyloxy derivatized polyphenylenevinylene (PPV), the acceptor block contains an electron withdrawing alkyl-sulfone derivatized polyphenylenevinylene (PPV), and the bridge block contains an electronically neutral non-conjugated aliphatic hydrocarbon chain. The key synthetic strategy includes the synthesis of each individual block first, then couple the blocks together. While the donor block stabilizes and facilitates the transport of the holes, the acceptor block stabilizes and facilitates the transport of the electrons, the bridge block is designed to hinder the probability of electron-hole recombination. Thus, improved charge separation and stability are expected with this system. In addition, charge migration toward electrodes may also be facilitated due to the potential nano-phase separated and highly ordered block copolymer ultra-structure.

Sun, Sam-Shajing↗
NASA NTRS1982

Spheres of the metallic glass Au55 Pb22.5 Sb22.5 and their surface characteristics

Spheres of the metallic glass Au55 Pb22.5 Sb22.5 have been formed up to a size of approximately 1.5 mm in diameter. X-ray diffraction was used to establish the glassy nature of the samples and to provide evidence of two phase-separated glass regions. Scanning electron microscopy provided a direct visual observation of the two-phase amorphous network on the surface of the sphere. The physical dimensions of the phase-separated regions were observed to be cooling-rate sensitive. Energy dispersive spectroscopy indicated that the compositions of these two glassy phases were Au-rich and Pb-rich, respectively, confirming the results of Kim and Johnson (1981). In addition, the spheres exhibited an unusual surface smoothness of better than + or - 250 A

Lee, M. C.↗