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At least 109 records · Page 6

Stability and transport of gyrokinetic critical pedestals

Abstract A gyrokinetic threshold model for pedestal width–height scaling prediction is applied to multiple devices. A shaping and aspect ratio scan is performed on National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) equilibria, finding Δ ped = 0.92 A 1.04 κ − 1.24 0.38 δ β θ , ped 1.05 for the wide-pedestal branch with pedestal width Δ ped , aspect ratio A , elongation κ , triangularity δ , and normalized pedestal height β θ , ped . The width–transport scaling is found to vary significantly if the pedestal height is varied either with a fixed density or fixed temperature, showing how fueling and heating sources affect the pedestal density and temperature profiles for the kinetic-ballooning-mode (KBM) limited profiles. For an NSTX equilibrium, at fixed density, the wide branch is Δ ped = 0.028 ( q e / Γ e − 1.7 ) 1.5 ∼ η e 1.5 and at fixed temperature Δ ped = 0.31 ( q e / Γ e − 4.7 ) 0.85 ∼ η e 0.85 , where q e and Γ e are turbulent electron heat and particle fluxes and η e = ∇ ln ⁡ T e / ∇ ln ⁡ n e for an electron temperature T e and density n e . Pedestals close to the KBM limit are shown to have modified turbulent transport coefficients compared to the strongly driven KBMs. The role of flow shear is studied as a width–height scaling constraint and pedestal saturation mechanism for a standard and lithiated wide pedestal discharge. Finally, the stability, transport, and flow shear constraints are combined and examined for an NSTX experiment.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Scrape-off layer transport and filament characteristics in high-density tokamak regimes

A detailed cross-device investigation on the role of filamentary dynamics in high-density regimes has been performed within the EUROfusion framework, comparing the ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) and TCV tokamaks. Both devices run density ramp experiments at different levels of plasma current, keeping the toroidal field or q 95 constant in order to disentangle the role of the parallel connection length and the current. During the scan at a constant toroidal field, in both devices the scrape-off layer (SOL) profiles tend to develop a clear SOL density shoulder at a lower edge density whenever the current is reduced. Different current behaviour is substantially reconciled in terms of the edge density normalized to the Greenwald fraction. During the scan at constant q 95 AUG exhibits similar behaviour, whereas in TCV no upstream profile modification signature has been observed at lower current levels. The latter behaviour has been ascribed to the lack of target density rollover. In this work, the relation between the upstream density profile modification and detachment condition has been investigated. For both devices the relation between blob size and the SOL density e-folding length is found independent of the plasma current, with the observation of a clear increase in blob size and the edge density normalized to a Greenwald fraction. ASDEX Upgrade has also explored filamentary behaviour in the H-mode. The experiments in AUG have focused on the role of neutrals, performing discharges with and without cryogenic pumps, highlighting how high neutral pressure, not only in the divertor but also at the midplane, is needed in order to develop an H-mode SOL profile shoulder in AUG.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Growth and structure of alpha-Ta films for quantum circuit integration

Tantalum films incorporated into superconducting circuits have exhibited low surface losses, resulting in long-lived qubit states. The remaining loss pathways originate in microscopic defects that manifest as two level systems (TLSs) at low temperatures. These defects limit performance, so careful attention to tantalum film structures is critical for optimal use in quantum devices. In this work, we investigate the growth of tantalum using magnetron sputtering on sapphire, Si, and photoresist substrates. In the case of sapphire, we present procedures for the growth of fully-oriented films with α-Ta [1 1 1]//Al2O3 [0 0 0 1] and α-Ta [1 −1 0]//Al2O3 [1 0 −1 0] orientational relationships and having residual resistivity ratio (RRR) ∼ 60 for 220 nm thick films. On Si, we find a complex grain texturing with Ta [1 1 0] normal to the substrate and RRR ∼ 30. We further demonstrate airbridge fabrication using Nb to nucleate α-Ta on photoresist surfaces. For the films on sapphire, resonators show TLS-limited quality factors of 1.3 ± 0.3 × 106 at 10 mK (for a waveguide gap and conductor width of 3 and 6 μm, respectively). Structural characterization using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, low temperature transport, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy reveal the dependence of residual impurities and screw dislocation density on processing conditions. The results provide practical insights into the fabrication of advanced superconducting devices including qubit arrays and guide future works on crystallographically deterministic qubit fabrication.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Electrolytic gold plating, stripping, and ion transport dynamics through a solid-state iodide perovskite

The pronounced electrochemical reactivity between halide perovskites and metal electrodes can introduce mobile extrinsic metal ions which can cause device instability or enable novel functionalities. Here we systematically investigate the kinetics of gold cation (Au + ) migration in indium tin oxide (ITO)/methylammonium lead triiodide (MAPbI 3 )/Au model devices under long-term potentiostatic biasing. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and density functional theory (DFT) analyses reveal that Au + ions, electrochemically generated at the Au anode, traverse the perovskite layer with diffusion coefficients on the order of 10 −11 to 10 −10 cm 2 s −1 and are subsequently reduced at the cathode as Au 0 clusters, resembling metal plating behavior in electrolytic cells and solid-state batteries during charging. Furthermore, reversing the applied bias strips the plated Au 0 , revealing reversibility suitable for bipolar resistive switching devices and providing direct evidence of the electrochemical and ionic nature of Au transport within the perovskite matrix. Quantitatively determining diffusion coefficients and ion concentrations provides foundational inputs for future drift-diffusion modelling opportunities and allows us to relate our findings to implications on long term operation of devices like photovoltaic modules. These results clearly demonstrate the solid-state electrochemical nature of perovskite devices, highlight methods to be more quantitative about ion transport properties, provide and emphasize the importance of disentangling electro-, photo-, photoelectrochemical processes for understanding device performance and unlocking new functionalities.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Nanophotonic waveguide chip-to-world beam scanning

A seamless chip-to-world photonic interface enables broad advancements in optical ranging, display, communication, computation and quantum information science. The ideal solution enables two-dimensional scanning of a diffraction-limited beam from anywhere on a photonic integrated circuit to a large number of resolvable spots. Current beam-scanning technologies are limited by a fundamental trade-off: photonic-integrated-circuits with diffractive optics offer scalability but have poor mode quality, whereas inertially limited micromechanical scanners provide high-quality beams but lack scalable integration. Here we report a photonic ski-jump—a nanoscale waveguide monolithically integrated on a piezoelectric cantilever—to overcome these limitations. It passively curls ~90° out-of-plane within a less-than-0.1 mm 2 footprint, emits a submicrometre, broadband diffraction-limited beam, and exhibits kilohertz-rate mechanical resonances with quality factors of over 10,000. Fabricated in a volume complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) foundry, our device enables scalable two-dimensional beam scanning. Driven on-resonance at CMOS-level voltages, it achieves a footprint-adjusted spot rate of 68.6 mega spots s –1 mm–², exceeding state-of-the-art micro-electro-mechanical systems mirrors by more than 50-fold, which is sufficient for one million pixels at 100 Hz from an approximately 1.5 mm diameter footprint. We demonstrate full-colour image and video projection, and single-photon initialization and readout from silicon vacancy centres in diamond. Finally, by demonstrating uniformity across a 64 ski-jump array, we establish a pathway to achieving greater than one gigaspot resolution at kilohertz rates within a sub-5-cm-diameter footprint, creating a seamless optical pipeline between integrated photonic processors and the free-space world.

Displays↗

Tunable Synthesis of Hierarchical Superparamagnetic Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} Nanospheres by a Surfactant-Free Solvothermal Method

Hierarchical Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanospheres with superparamagnetism have been fabricated via a solvothermal method without any surfactants. The effect of reaction parameters like the types of the reagent, the reaction time, and the reagent concentration on the morphology and structure of the resultant samples are investigated. In this method, ferric chloride (FeCl{sub 3} ⋅ 6H{sub 2}O) is used as the iron source, and EG acts as both solvent and reducing agent. The presence of NaHCO{sub 3} or Na{sub 2}CO{sub 3} provides alkine condition and gaseous bubbles in the control over the size of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanospheres. The formation mechanism for Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanospheres is illustrated by an Ostwald ripening process. The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanospheres were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer (SQUID-VSM). The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanospheres exhibited a wider size distribution at the amount of 0.397 mol/L NaHCO{sub 3}, showing a high saturation magnetization close to 84.46 emu/g. The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanospheres soluble in deionized water is also investigated.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Enabling the Acquisition of Electron Beam-Induced Current (EBIC) Images in Conventional SEM and STEM Instruments

Electron beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging is a well-established scanning electron microscope (SEM) technique used to analyze the behavior of microelectronic devices including solar cells. Recently, the application of EBIC imaging in an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) has been demonstrated and offers great potential for the in situ study of electronic materials, correlating charge transport properties to atomic structural and elemental information. Here, this work presents two ways to implement EBIC imaging in conventional SEM and STEM systems: one relying on the instrument's inherent scanning and imaging electronics and the other involving third-party systems usually available in electron microscopes. The implementation of lock-in EBIC in systems equipped with a fast beam blanker is also described. In addition, this work shows and discusses the different mechanisms at play in EBIC imaging and their dependence on beam energy, sample impedance, and electrical measurement configuration, providing researchers with the basic information needed to apply the technique to their research.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Photo-Crosslinkable Naphthalene Diimide Polymer for Solution-Processed n – i – p Perovskite Solar Cells

We copolymerize a norbornene monomer bearing a pendant naphthalene diimide with a norbornene bearing a cinnamate pendant moiety to synthesize a crosslinkable electron-transporting polymer and study its use in solution-processed n–i–p perovskite solar cells. The crosslinked material exhibits over 90% transparency in the visible region and higher thermal stability (>300 °C) and lower surface energy than the corresponding homopolymer of the naphthalene diimide functionalized norbornene. Coating an ITO surface with the photo-crosslinked copolymer yields a slightly lower work function than homopolymer-coated ITO. We show that the morphologies of the perovskite films deposited on both polymers are similar (~300 nm features) based upon scanning electron microscopy. Our solar-cell device results show that the crosslinked naphthalene diimide polymer gives a higher open-circuit voltage (1.08 vs 1.05 V), fill factor (average 64.43 vs 58.77%), and stabilized power conversion efficiency (12.28 vs 10.33%) compared to its non-crosslinked homopolymer counterpart, as well as reduced hysteresis. As a result, we attribute the improved performance to decreased work function, reduced nonradiative recombination, and higher shunt resistance.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

2024 roadmap on magnetic microscopy techniques and their applications in materials science

Considering the growing interest in magnetic materials for unconventional computing, data storage, and sensor applications, there is active research not only on material synthesis but also characterisation of their properties. In addition to structural and integral magnetic characterisations, imaging of magnetisation patterns, current distributions and magnetic fields at nano- and microscale is of major importance to understand the material responses and qualify them for specific applications. In this roadmap, we aim to cover a broad portfolio of techniques to perform nano- and microscale magnetic imaging using superconducting quantum interference devices, spin centre and Hall effect magnetometries, scanning probe microscopies, x-ray- and electron-based methods as well as magnetooptics and nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging. The roadmap is aimed as a single access point of information for experts in the field as well as the young generation of students outlining prospects of the development of magnetic imaging technologies for the upcoming decade with a focus on physics, materials science, and chemistry of planar, three-dimensional and geometrically curved objects of different material classes including two-dimensional materials, complex oxides, semi-metals, multiferroics, skyrmions, antiferromagnets, frustrated magnets, magnetic molecules/nanoparticles, ionic conductors, superconductors, spintronic and spinorbitronic materials.

2D materials↗

Shear-free mixing to achieve accurate temporospatial nanoscale kinetics through scanning-SAXS: ion-induced phase transition of dispersed cellulose nanocrystals

Time-resolved in situ characterization of well-defined mixing processes using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is usually challenging, especially if the process involves changes of material viscoelasticity. In specific, it can be difficult to create a continuous mixing experiment without shearing the material of interest; a desirable situation since shear flow both affects nanoscale structures and flow stability as well as resulting in unreliable time-resolved data. Here, we demonstrate a flow-focusing mixing device for in situ nanostructural characterization using scanning-SAXS. Given the interfacial tension and viscosity ratio between core and sheath fluids, the core material confined by sheath flows is completely detached from the walls and forms a zero-shear plug flow at the channel center, allowing for a trivial conversion of spatial coordinates to mixing times. With this technique, the time-resolved gel formation of dispersed cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) was studied by mixing with a sodium chloride solution. It is observed how locally ordered regions, so called tactoids, are disrupted when the added monovalent ions affect the electrostatic interactions, which in turn leads to a loss of CNC alignment through enhanced rotary diffusion. The demonstrated flow-focusing scanning-SAXS technique can be used to unveil important kinetics during structural formation of nanocellulosic materials. However, the same technique is also applicable in many soft matter systems to provide new insights into the nanoscale dynamics during mixing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Abstract for CRADA between NETL and the University of Massachusetts Lowell (AGMT-1275)

The demand for printed electronics over conventional electronics is growing each year due to their low costs, low material waste during manufacturing, and compatibility with flexible substrates. The development of inks for printed electronics is a challenge because each printing technology requires different viscosities and curing behaviors to create devices with controlled structures at the micron scale, or smaller. Carbon is a great candidate for fabricating printed electronics devices because it is inexpensive and earth abundant, easily functionalized to impart miscibility with solvent systems, and has electrical properties that can be tuned from insulating to conducting. Despite these advantages, carbons are rarely used for printed electronics because there is a scarcity of inks available for non-contact printing technologies. To address these challenges, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will collaborate with the University of Massachusetts Lowell (Participant) through its Printed Electronics Research Collaborative (PERC) to develop engineered carbons and ink formulations optimized specifically for printing radio- and microwave-frequency electronic devices using ink jet, aerosol jet, syringe dispensing, and other additive manufacturing techniques. NETL will process coal, petroleum, and other carbon feedstocks to make engineered carbons with the appropriate composition, microstructure, surface functionalization, and particle morphologies needed to stabilize ink suspensions and impart useful electronic properties to printed devices. The University of Massachusetts Lowell will utilize these engineered carbons to determine which solvent systems and ink additives are needed to achieve the appropriate viscosity, stability, and printability to make useful ink formulations. The University of Massachusetts Lowell will then utilize these inks to manufacture printed resistors and conductors using inkjet, aerosol jet, and syringe dispensing printing methods and will characterize device performance using four-point probe resistivity measurements, contact angle measurements to assess wettability, adhesion evaluation to various substrates, and focused ion beam and scanning electron microscopy for surface and density investigations of printed devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

In Situ Study of the Impact of Aberration-Corrected Electron-Beam Lithography on the Electronic Transport of Suspended Graphene Devices

The implementation of aberration-corrected electron beam lithography (AC-EBL) in a 200 keV scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) is a novel technique that could be used for the fabrication of quantum devices based on 2D atomic crystals with single nanometer critical dimensions, allowing to observe more robust quantum effects. In this work we study electron beam sculpturing of nanostructures on suspended graphene field effect transistors using AC-EBL, focusing on the in situ characterization of the impact of electron beam exposure on device electronic transport quality. When AC-EBL is performed on a graphene channel (local exposure) or on the outside vicinity of a graphene channel (non-local exposure), the charge transport characteristics of graphene can be significantly affected due to charge doping and scattering. While the detrimental effect of non-local exposure can be largely removed by vigorous annealing, local-exposure induced damage is irreversible and cannot be fixed by annealing. We discuss the possible causes of the observed exposure effects. Our results provide guidance to the future development of high-energy electron beam lithography for nanomaterial device fabrication.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Autonomous hybrid optimization of a SiO 2 plasma etching mechanism

Computational modeling of plasma etching processes at the feature scale relevant to the fabrication of nanometer semiconductor devices is critically dependent on the reaction mechanism representing the physical processes occurring between plasma produced reactant fluxes and the surface, reaction probabilities, yields, rate coefficients, and threshold energies that characterize these processes. The increasing complexity of the structures being fabricated, new materials, and novel gas mixtures increase the complexity of the reaction mechanism used in feature scale models and increase the difficulty in developing the fundamental data required for the mechanism. This challenge is further exacerbated by the fact that acquiring these fundamental data through more complex computational models or experiments is often limited by cost, technical complexity, or inadequate models. In this paper, we discuss a method to automate the selection of fundamental data in a reduced reaction mechanism for feature scale plasma etching of SiO 2 using a fluorocarbon gas mixture by matching predictions of etch profiles to experimental data using a gradient descent (GD)/Nelder–Mead (NM) method hybrid optimization scheme. These methods produce a reaction mechanism that replicates the experimental training data as well as experimental data using related but different etch processes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Tungsten Blister Formation Kinetic as a Function of Fluence, Ion Energy and Grain Orientation Dependence Under Hydrogen Plasma Environment

This work deals with the formation kinetic of tungsten (W) blisters under smooth plasma conditions, i.e. low hydrogen flux and energy in order to analyze the first stages of their formation. In addition, we focus on determining the W grain orientation where blisters grow preferentially. For this purpose, mirror-polished polycrystalline tungsten samples were exposed to hydrogen plasma under fixed hydrogen flux of 2.2 × 10{sup 20} m{sup −2} s{sup −1}, with a fluence in the range of ~ 10{sup 24} m{sup −2}, ion energy of ~ 20, 120 and 220 eV, and sample surface temperature of ~ 500 K. The formation of blisters at the surface was investigated using SEM, AFM and EBSD to determine the size, the distribution and the orientation of grain where blisters are formed, respectively. The critical fluence for initiating blisters was established around 2.3 × 10{sup 24} m{sup −2}. The evolution of blister size distribution and density is discussed as function of fluence and ion energy. At lower ion energy, i.e. 20 eV, only nanoblisters (less than 150 nm) are observed whatever the fluence value (1.5 and 2.3 × 10{sup 24} m{sup −2}). At higher ion energy i.e. 120 and 220 eV, micrometric (~ few to tens of µm) blisters are observed and their density highly depends on fluence. We show that blisters can also be formed on (001) oriented grains contrarily to previous results from the literature where the (111) orientation seemed more favorable. Such information is of importance for tungsten based fusion tokamak operation and design.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Study on mechanically alloyed tin telluride screen-printed films for optoelectronic device applications

Narrow band gap semiconductor tin telluride (SnTe) was synthesized by mechanical alloying and its film was deposited on glass substrates by the economically and commercially feasible screen-printing technique. Deposition of the film was followed by sintering. Different analytical techniques were utilized to study the structure, surface morphology, elemental, optical and electrical characteristics of the film. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms that the film is polycrystalline in nature and exhibits rock salt type structure with preferred orientation of grains along (200) direction. EDAX spectrum confirms the presence of Sn and Te elements in the film. SEM image shows that the film exhibits uniform surface. The energy band gap of the film was determined by reflection spectra. The film is found to have a direct band gap of 0.37 eV. The dark electrical conductivity and activation energy of the film were measured in temperature range 300–380 K. Hall Effect measurement indicates that the film has p-type electrical conductivity.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Construction of Eu2+ doped H3Sr6(PO4)5·2H2O with novel cruciate multilayer microarchitectures: facile hydrothermal synthesis, growth mechanism, and luminescence properties

Highlights: • H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} phosphors were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method. • H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} showed novel cruciate multilayer microarchitectures. • Phase and morphology were depended on the optimization of the reaction conditions. • H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} exhibited intense characteristic blue emission of Eu{sup 2+}. - Abstract: A series of monodisperse cruciate multilayer H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} microarchitectures assembled by crossed nanorods have been successfully synthesized via a facile surfactant-assisted hydrothermal route. XRD and FT-IR confirmed the existence of crystalline water in the phosphor. The FE-SEM images revealed that the phase and morphology of resulting samples were strongly depended on the optimization of the reaction conditions, especially the pH value and the molar ratio of citric acid (CA)/Cations. Furthermore, the possible growth mechanism of H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} microarchitectures was proposed in detail. Under near-ultraviolet excitation of 365 nm, the as-obtained H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:0.05Eu{sup 2+} sample exhibited intense wide characteristic blue emission of Eu{sup 2+}, which could be decomposed by Gaussian fitting into two peaks corresponding to different Eu{sup 2+} luminous centers. The present results demonstrated that the morphology-tunable H{sub 3}Sr{sub 6}(PO{sub 4}){sub 5}·2H{sub 2}O:Eu{sup 2+} microarchitecture could be used as a potential candidate for future optoelectronic device applications.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Exploring leakage in dielectric films via automated experiments in scanning probe microscopy

Here electronic conduction pathways in dielectric thin films are explored using automated experiments in scanning probe microscopy (SPM). In this study, we use large field of view scanning to identify the position of localized conductive spots and develop an SPM workflow to probe their dynamic behavior at higher spatial resolution as a function of time, voltage, and scanning process in an automated fashion. Using this approach, we observe the variable behaviors of the conductive spots in a 20-nm-thick ferroelectric Hf 0.54 Zr 0.48 O 2 film, where conductive spots disappear and reappear during continuous scanning. There are also fresh conductive spots that develop during scanning. The automated workflow is universal and can be integrated into a wide range of microscopy techniques, including SPM, electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and chemical imaging.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Constraints on a split superconducting transition under uniaxial strain in Sr 2 RuO 4 from scanning SQUID microscopy

More than two decades after the discovery of superconductivity in Sr 2 RuO 4 , it is still unclear whether the order parameter has a single component or two degenerate components. For any two-component scenario, application of uniaxial strain is expected to lift the degeneracy, generating two distinct phase transitions. The presence of a second (lower-temperature) transition may be observable by probes that are sensitive to changes in the London penetration depth, λ, as a function of temperature, T. Furthermore, we use scanning SQUID microscopy combined with a uniaxial strain device to test for a second transition under strain. We only observe a single transition. Within the temperature range where a second transition has been suggested by μSR measurements, we further place a tight upper bound of less than 1% on the change in the zero temperature superfluid density n s ∝ λ –2 (0) due to a second transition, suggesting that such a transition does not occur. These results constrain theories of the order parameter in Sr 2 RuO 4 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗