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At least 1,549 records · Page 86

Gd5Si4-PVDF nanocomposite films and their potential for triboelectric energy harvesting applications

The triboelectric energy generators prepared using the combination of self-polarized, high β-phase nanocomposite films of Gd 5 Si 4 -PVDF and polyamide-6 (PA-6) films have generated significantly higher voltage of ~425 V, short-circuit current density of ~30 mA/m 2 and a charge density of ~116.7 μC/m 2 as compared to corresponding values of ~300 V, 30 mA/m 2 and 94.7 μC/m 2, respectively for the pristine PVDF-(PA-6) combination. The magnetic measurements of the Gd 5 Si 4 -PVDF films display a ferromagnetic behavior as compared to diamagnetic nature of pristine PVDF. The presence of magnetic nanoparticles in the polymeric matrix allows for some control over the microstructural properties during the preparation process. The results open new routes for multiferroic composite films to be suitable for multi-functional magnetic and triboelectric energy harvesting applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Observation of Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect and Exchange Interaction in Topological Insulator/Antiferromagnet Heterostructure

Integration of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator with a magnetically ordered material provides an additional degree of freedom through which the resulting exotic quantum states can be controlled. Here, an experimental observation is reported of the quantum anomalous Hall e?ect in a magnet-ically-doped topological insulator grown on the antiferromagnetic insulator Cr?O?. The exchange coupling between the two materials is investigated using ?eld-cooling-dependent magnetometry and polarized neutron re?ec-tometry. Both techniques reveal strong interfacial interaction between the antiferromagnetic order of the Cr?O? and the magnetic topological insulator, manifested as an exchange bias when the sample is ?eld-cooled under an out-of-plane magnetic ?eld, and an exchange spring-like magnetic depth pro?le when the system is magnetized within the ?lm plane. These results identify antiferromagnetic insulators as suitable candidates for the manipula-tion of magnetic and topological order in topological insulator ?lms.

Pan, Lei↗

Measurement, Control and Minimization of Thermal Shift in Superconducting Devices

Superconducting (SC) magnetic and SC radiofrequency (SRF) devices designed for use in particle accelerators present challenging alignment problems. These devices are assembled and aligned at room temperature but operate at 2-4 K with thermal offsets being large relative to the desired alignment tolerances. Unique solutions have been developed for controlling and minimizing the thermal shift including utilization of materials that expand under cooling to compensate for contraction and kinematic couplings. Measurement of the thermal shift within SC devices is performed using both optical telescope and laser instruments, typically through a parallel plate vacuum glass window. This paper presents techniques developed at Argonne National Laboratory for measuring, controlling and minimizing thermal shift in SC devices at both the Advanced Photon Source (APS) and the Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System (ATLAS).

Jansma, William G.↗

Spherical tokamak physics research in preparation for the operation of NSTX-U

The National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) is preparing to resume operation, representing a crucial step toward realizing compact, cost-effective fusion pilot plants. In advance of this, extensive modeling and data analysis have been conducted to advance the physics basis for low-aspect-ratio, high-performance plasma regimes, focusing on three core objectives: confinement and stability, power and particle handling, and steady-state operation. Significant progress has been made in understanding the electron temperature flattening in high-β plasmas, which is shown to be driven by a complex interplay of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities (e.g. non-resonant infernal modes), fast-ion-driven Alfvén eigenmodes, and electron and ion-scale micro-instabilities, particularly Kinetic Ballooning Modes (KBMs), whose destabilization is strongly dependent on parallel magnetic field fluctuations (δB ∥ ). Furthermore, a new gyrokinetic critical pedestal model was developed, accurately predicting pedestal structure by identifying KBMs as the primary stability limit, offering a critical constraint for future high-confinement scenarios. To address the challenge of high heat flux, novel liquid lithium plasma-facing components were modeled. The analysis confirmed that lithium vapor shielding is a self-regulating mechanism for heat mitigation, while also emphasizing that strong main ion parallel flow is essential to minimize core lithium contamination. Finally, progress toward steady-state operation was anchored by developing the required physics basis and control tools. This includes predictive modeling for reversed magnetic shear sustainment, demonstrating that magnetic island-induced bootstrap current reduction is negligible in STs, and advancing real-time control and disruption avoidance capabilities. The development of high-speed surrogate models (e.g. MMMNet) provides computationally efficient tools vital for non-inductive scenario optimization and integrated, low-disruptivity operations planned for NSTX-U.

NSTX-U↗

Flux Balancing Control of Ungapped Nanocrystalline Core-Based Transformer in Dual Active Bridge Converters

Transformer flux dc bias is a critical issue, impacting the reliable operation of dual active bridge (DAB) converters especially when ungapped high permeability nanocrystalline core is used. Steady state current dc bias can easily saturate ungapped nanocrystalline transformers, and it is even more dangerous in transient conditions. A dc bias model is proposed to analyze steady state dc bias in different load conditions. The magnetizing current detection is necessary for closed-loop control of dc bias; conductors' position is shown to impact sensor noise, and it is analyzed in detail. To deal with both steady state and transient dc bias, a unified flux balancing control (UFBC) is proposed introducing a predictive bias suppression (PBS) method with closed-loop flux balancing control (CFBC). With the proposed PBS, both primary/secondary current balance and flux balance can be achieved within one switching cycle using UFBC. Power characteristics and interaction between power control and flux balancing control of DAB converters are analyzed, and the CFBC needs to work in a low bandwidth due to sensor bandwidth limitation and interaction between power control and flux balancing control. Lastly, the UFBC is verified on a 300-kW cascaded DAB converter prototype.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Magnetic rogue wave in a perpendicular anisotropic ferromagnetic nanowire with spin-transfer torque

We present the current controlled motion of a dynamic soliton embedded in spin wave background in ferromagnetic nanowire. With the stronger breather character we get the novel magnetic rogue wave and clarify its formation mechanism. The generation of magnetic rogue wave mainly arises from the accumulation of energy and magnons toward to its central part. We also observe that the spin-polarized current can control the exchange rate of magnons between the envelope soliton and the background, and the critical current condition is obtained analytically. Even more interesting is that the spin-transfer torque plays the completely opposite role for the cases below and above the critical value. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We get the current controlled motion of a dynamic soliton embedded in spin wave background. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We get the novel magnetic rogue wave and clarify its formation mechanism. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The generation of magnetic rogue wave arises from the accumulation of energy and magnons. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The spin-polarized current controls exchange rate of magnons between the envelope soliton and the background. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The spin-transfer torque plays the completely opposite role below and above the critical value.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Magnetic droplet solitons

Magnetic droplet solitons are dynamical magnetic textures that form due to an attractive interaction between spin waves in thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Spin currents and the spin torques associated with these currents enable their formation as they provide a means to excite non-equilibrium spin-wave populations and compensate their decay. Recent years have seen rapid advances in experiments that realize and study magnetic droplets. Important advances include the first direct x-ray images of droplets, determination of their threshold and sustaining currents, measurement of their generation and annihilation time, and evidence for drift instabilities, which can limit their lifetime. This perspective discusses these studies and contrasts these solitons to other types of spin-current excitations, such as spin-wave bullets, and static magnetic textures, including magnetic vortices and skyrmions. Magnetic droplet solitons can also serve as current controlled microwave frequency oscillators with potential applications in neuromorphic chips as nonlinear oscillators with memory.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Magnetic Reconnection in High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas

Understanding the physics of collisionless, magnetized plasmas is key to unlocking a number of important problems in space and astrophysics. Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental mechanism which can explosively release stored magnetic energy, convert it to plasma heat and flows, and accelerate particles. In this project we developed technique and conducted experiments and simulations of magnetic reconnection in laser produces plasmas. Through this project, we also developed experimental techniques to generate magnetized collisionless shocks, and we therefore expanded the scope of the project to develop these experiments. These projects make fundamental progress on understanding the dynamics of magnetized laser-produced plasmas. In additional to plasma astrophysics, these results have broad interest for laboratory high energy density plasmas, since magnetic fields can be used to confine and control plasmas in many contexts and may offer new capabilities toward laboratory ignited plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Probing topological phases in a perturbed Kane-Mele model via RKKY interaction: Application to monolayer jacutingaite Pt 2 ⁢HgSe 3

Quantum spin Hall insulators (QSHIs) leverage strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) for efficient spin manipulation, making them promising for spintronics. Here, in this study, we investigate the noncollinear Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction between two magnetic impurities in a perturbed Kane-Mele model with strong SOC, relevant to monolayer jacutingaite Pt 2 ⁢HgSe 3 as a prominent QSHI. Following the previous studies that mainly focused on the model and its general applications, we provide a systematic examination of the effects of various perturbations and strong spin-orbit hybridizations, which drive phase transitions that have not been extensively explored before. By incorporating these perturbations into the model and accurately accounting for spin-orbit hybridizations through spin-space Green's functions and the RKKY interactions, we uncover distinct, relative (rather than absolute) signatures of different phase transitions. These phase transitions are induced by both static and dynamic perturbations on the magnetic impurities. Notably, we identify additional phases emerging from the interplay with the magnetic substrate. All these influence the switching between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic, as well as clockwise and counterclockwise magnetic interactions. Our results provide a practical way to track topological phases through magnetic properties, offering new insights into phase control and spin manipulation in QSHIs.

Kane-Mele model↗

Simulation-trained machine learning models for Lorentz transmission electron microscopy

Understanding the collective behavior of complex spin textures, such as lattices of magnetic skyrmions, is of fundamental importance for exploring and controlling the emergent ordering of these spin textures and inducing phase transitions. It is also critical to understand the skyrmion–skyrmion interactions for applications such as magnetic skyrmion-enabled reservoir or neuromorphic computing. Magnetic skyrmion lattices can be studied using in situ Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM), but quantitative and statistically robust analysis of the skyrmion lattices from LTEM images can be difficult. In this work, we show that a convolutional neural network, trained on simulated data, can be applied to perform segmentation of spin textures and to extract quantitative data, such as spin texture size and location, from experimental LTEM images, which cannot be obtained manually. This includes quantitative information about skyrmion size, position, and shape, which can, in turn, be used to calculate skyrmion–skyrmion interactions and lattice ordering. We apply this approach to segmenting images of Néel skyrmion lattices so that we can accurately identify skyrmion size and deformation in both dense and sparse lattices. The model is trained using a large set of micromagnetic simulations as well as simulated LTEM images. This entirely open-source training pipeline can be applied to a wide variety of magnetic features and materials, enabling large-scale statistical studies of spin textures using LTEM.

McCray, Arthur R. C. (ORCID:0000000160774698)↗

Efficient magnetic fields for supporting toroidal plasmas

The magnetic field that supports tokamak and stellarator plasmas must be produced by coils well separated from the plasma. However, the larger the separation, the more difficult it is to produce a given magnetic field in the plasma region, so plasma configurations should be chosen that can be supported as efficiently as possible by distant coils. The efficiency of an externally generated magnetic field is a measure of the field's shaping component magnitude at the plasma compared to the magnitude near the coils; the efficiency of a plasma equilibrium can be measured using the efficiency of the required external shaping field. Counterintuitively, plasma shapes with low curvature and spectral width may have low efficiency, whereas plasma shapes with sharp edges may have high efficiency. Two precise measures of magnetic field efficiency, which correctly identify such differences in difficulty, will be examined. These measures, which can be expressed as matrices, relate the externally produced normal magnetic field on the plasma surface to the either the normal field or current on a distant control surface. A singular value decomposition (SVD) of either matrix yields an efficiency ordered basis for the magnetic field distributions. Calculations are carried out for both tokamak and stellarator cases. For axisymmetric surfaces with circular cross-section, the SVD is calculated analytically, and the range of poloidal and toroidal mode numbers that can be controlled to a given desired level is determined. If formulated properly, these efficiency measures are independent of the coordinates used to parameterize the surfaces.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Nanostructure-enhanced Phase Change Materials (NePCM) and HRD

Development and characterization of high aspect-ratio nanostructures tailored for dramatic improvements of thermal conductivity of phase change materials is proposed. This DOE renewal project builds upon a proven research record on development of a number of stable and functionality-proven colloids of metal oxide and metallic nanoparticles (avg. diameters less than 10 nm). These efforts followed original conceptualization and synergistic activities on promoting nanostructure-enhanced phase change materials (NePCM) and their utilization for thermal energy storage, waste heat recovery, thermal comfort, etc. Given this background, availability of promising preliminary results for the proposed target materials and formation of a new team of researchers, the investigators will focus on development of nanoadditives of metallic nanorods, functionalized carbon nanotubes, Graphene, graphite nanoplatelets, nanocomposites combining graphene with metal/metal oxide nanostructures and self-assembling carbon nanofiber-based nanomaterials. Specifically, the chemical synthesis group will identify procedures leading to nanorods of copper, copper oxide, silver and graphitic carbon exhibiting long-term stability against precipitation when dispersed in hydrocarbon solvents suitable for PCM applications. Important goals are to achieve nanorods with dimensions, including aspect ratio, that induce significant enhancements in thermal conductivity and also to control instabilities against rod precipitation during solvent freezing and melting. Another group will focus on developing complex nanoarchitectured nanocomposites through utilizing heterostructures that combine graphene with metal or metal oxide nanostructures. These heterostructures will be mixed with paraffin, fatty acids, or stearyl alcohol to realize novel NePCM. Fundamental studies will be performed by conducting materials and thermal characterization methods and structure-processing-properties relationships will be derived. In addition, growth mechanisms for the proposed heterostructures will be evaluated. Another research team will undertake a variety of approaches to functionalize the surfaces of nanostructured carbon-based materials, i.e. carbon nanotubes, Graphene and graphite nanoplatelets. The proposed techniques include both surfactant- and polymer-assisted dispersion of carbon nanotubes, Graphene and graphite nanoplatelets, in addition to microwave-initiated carbon nanotube growth to produce 3-D nanocarbon fillers for NePCM. Functionalized and pristine carbon nanotubes will also be subjected to a strong magnetic field to explore the effect of controlled alignment on the improved thermal conductivity. Microwave-initiated nanotube growth on the surfaces of the voids of graphite foam will be attempted to extend the previous work on thermal conductivity improvement of PCM that are impregnated into porous highly-conductive structures. Refinements of continuum modeling of colloids and most importantly, molecular dynamics-based mechanistic studies for carbon nanotubes and Graphene-based multi-component systems will be pursued. Finally, self-assembling carbon nanofiber-based NePCM will be investigated by another group. A highly-conductive carbon nanofiber network, which is created by a self-assembling approach, will host the PCM and enhance the thermal conductivity by several folds. Furthermore, the inert and relatively stable carbon nanofiber will be further utilized for creating low-mid range temperature NePCM and high-temperature NePCM by filling the porous space inside the self-assembling carbon nanofiber network with paraffin-based or salt-based PCM, respectively. Improved thermal energy charge/discharge performance and stable phase change temperature control features exhibited by this new generation of self-assembling carbon nanofiber-based NePCM will potentially impact many applications including solar energy storage systems.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Hard–Soft Core–Shell Architecture Formation from Cubic Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles

Cubic bi-magnetic hard–soft core–shell nanoarchitectures were prepared starting from cobalt ferrite nanoparticles, prevalently with cubic shape, as seeds to grow a manganese ferrite shell. The combined use of direct (nanoscale chemical mapping via STEM-EDX) and indirect (DC magnetometry) tools was adopted to verify the formation of the heterostructures at the nanoscale and bulk level, respectively. The results showed the obtainment of core–shell NPs (CoFe 2 O 4 @MnFe 2 O 4 ) with a thin shell (heterogenous nucleation). In addition, manganese ferrite was found to homogeneously nucleate to form a secondary nanoparticle population (homogenous nucleation). This study shed light on the competitive formation mechanism of homogenous and heterogenous nucleation, suggesting the existence of a critical size, beyond which, phase separation occurs and seeds are no longer available in the reaction medium for heterogenous nucleation. These findings may allow one to tailor the synthesis process in order to achieve better control of the materials’ features affecting the magnetic behaviour, and consequently, the performances as heat mediators or components for data storage devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Behavior of thermally quenched topological defects in quasicrystal artificial spin ices

We report that understanding the formation of topological defects in connected magnetic nanowires such as in artificial spin ices (ASIs) is critical to controlling their behavior. Moreover, emergent frustration behavior of these defects can be expected due to complex underlying lattice geometry of the ASIs. We have explored in situ thermalization and quenching of quasicrystalline ASIs, which exhibit additional frustration due to aperiodicity from near the Curie temperature, and we observe the formation of two sets of topological vortex defects: within the magnetic bars and within the vertices at which the bars meet. By varying the laser fluence, we show that the number of defects in the vertices varies as the quenching rate changes following a power law relation, which we interpret as being related to the ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic phase transition. Conversely, the defects formed within the bars are metastable states related to the spontaneous magnetization reversal of the magnetic bars and are therefore strongly dependent on underlying lattice geometry. These results provide insight into the emergence and control of topological defects in confined frustrated magnetic systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Novel motor design for rotating anode x-ray tubes operating in the fringe field of a magnetic resonance imaging system

Purpose: Using hybrid x-ray/MR (XMR) systems for image guidance during interventional procedures could enhance the diagnosis and treatment of neurologic, oncologic, cardiovascular, and other disorders. The authors propose a close proximity hybrid system design in which a C-arm fluoroscopy unit is placed immediately adjacent to the solenoid magnet of a MR system with a minimum distance of 1.2 m between the x-ray and MR imaging fields of view. Existing rotating anode x-ray tube designs fail within MR fringe field environments because the magnetic fields alter the electron trajectories in the x-ray tube and act as a brake on the induction motor, reducing the rotation speed of the anode. In this study the authors propose a novel motor design that avoids the anode rotation speed reduction. Methods: The proposed design replaces the permanent magnet stator found in brushed dc motors with the radial component of the MR fringe field. The x-ray tube is oriented such that the radial component of the MR fringe field is orthogonal to the cathode-anode axis. Using a feedback position sensor and the support bearings as electrical slip rings, the authors use electrical commutation to eliminate the need for mechanical brushes and commutators. A vacuum compatible prototype of the proposed motor design was assembled, and its performance was evaluated at various operating conditions. The prototype consisted of a 3.1 in. diameter anode rated at 300 kHU with a ceramic rotor that was 5.6 in. in length and had a 2.9 in. diameter. The material chosen for all ceramic components was MACOR, a machineable glass ceramic developed by Corning Inc. The approximate weight of the entire assembly was 1750 g. The maximum rotation speed, angular acceleration, and acceleration time of the motor design were investigated, as well as the dependence of these parameters on rotor angular offset, magnetic field strength, and field orientation. The resonance properties of the authors' assembly were also evaluated to determine its stability during acceleration, and a pulse width modulation algorithm was implemented to control the rotation speed of the motor. Results: At a magnetic flux density of 41 mT orthogonal to the axis of rotation (on the lower end of the expected flux density in the MR suite) the maximum speed of the motor was found to be 5150 revolutions per minute (rpm). The acceleration time necessary to reach 3000 rpm was found to be approximately 10 s at 59 mT. The resonance frequency of the assembly with the anode attached was 1310 rpm (21.8 Hz) which is far below the desired operating speeds. Pulse width modulation provides an effective method to control the speed of the motor with a resolution of 100 rpm. Conclusions: The proposed design can serve as a direct replacement to the conventional induction motor used in rotating anode x-ray tubes. It does not suffer from a reduced rotation speed when operating in a MR environment. The presence of chromic steel bearings in the prototype prevented testing at the higher field strengths, and future iterations of the design could eliminate this shortcoming. The prototype assembly demonstrates proof of concept of the authors' design and overcomes one of the major obstacles for a MR compatible rotating anode x-ray tube.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

RF breakdown of 805 MHz cavities in strong magnetic fields

Ionization cooling of intense muon beams requires the operation of high-gradient, normal-conducting RF structures in the presence of strong magnetic fields. We have measured the breakdown rate in several RF cavities operating at several frequencies. Cavities operating within solenoidal magnetic fields B > 0.25 T show an increased RF breakdown rate at lower gradients compared with similar operation when B = 0 T. Ultimately, this breakdown behavior limits the maximum safe operating gradient of the cavity. Beyond ionization cooling, this issue affects the design of photoinjectors and klystrons, among other applications. We have built an 805 MHz pillbox-type RF cavity to serve as an experimental testbed for this phenomenon. This cavity is designed to study the problem of RF breakdown in strong magnetic fields using various cavity materials and surface treatments, and with precise control over sources of systematic error. We present results from tests in which the cavity was run with all copper surfaces in a variety of magnetic fields.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Hidden non-collinear spin-order induced topological surface states

Abstract Rare-earth monopnictides are a family of materials simultaneously displaying complex magnetism, strong electronic correlation, and topological band structure. The recently discovered emergent arc-like surface states in these materials have been attributed to the multi-wave-vector antiferromagnetic order, yet the direct experimental evidence has been elusive. Here we report observation of non-collinear antiferromagnetic order with multiple modulations using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. Moreover, we discover a hidden spin-rotation transition of single-to-multiple modulations 2 K below the Néel temperature. The hidden transition coincides with the onset of the surface states splitting observed by our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements. Single modulation gives rise to a band inversion with induced topological surface states in a local momentum region while the full Brillouin zone carries trivial topological indices, and multiple modulation further splits the surface bands via non-collinear spin tilting, as revealed by our calculations. The direct evidence of the non-collinear spin order in NdSb not only clarifies the mechanism of the emergent topological surface states, but also opens up a new paradigm of control and manipulation of band topology with magnetism.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Crossover from 2D Ferromagnetic Insulator to Wide Band Gap Quantum Anomalous Hall Insulator in Ultrathin MnBi 2 Te 4

Intrinsic magnetic topological insulators offer low disorder and large magnetic band gaps for robust magnetic topological phases operating at higher temperatures. By controlling the layer thickness, emergent phenomena such as the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect and axion insulator phases have been realized. Furthermore, these observations occur at temperatures significantly lower than the Néel temperature of bulk MnBi 2 Te 4 , and measurement of the magnetic energy gap at the Dirac point in ultrathin MnBi 2 Te 4 has yet to be achieved. Critical to achieving the promise of this system is a direct measurement of the layer-dependent energy gap and verification of a temperature-dependent topological phase transition from a large band gap QAH insulator to a gapless TI paramagnetic phase. Here we utilize temperature-dependent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to study epitaxial ultrathin MnBi 2 Te 4 . We directly observe a layer-dependent crossover from a 2D ferromagnetic insulator with a band gap greater than 780 meV in one septuple layer (1 SL) to a QAH insulator with a large energy gap (>70 meV) at 8 K in 3 and 5 SL MnBi 2 Te 4 . The QAH gap is confirmed to be magnetic in origin, as it becomes gapless with increasing temperature above 8 K.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗