Making physics outreach more gender inclusive

“Diversity in the Cultures of Physics” was an Erasmus+ funded Strategic Partnership launching several key actions aimed at improving the gender balance in physics and its subfields. The Strategic Partnership consisted of six universities in four countries: Freie Universität Berlin in Germany, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Universitat de Barcelona in Spain, the University of Manchester and the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom and Uppsala Universitet in Sweden. This flyer provides recommendations and a checklist to make outreach activities in physics more gender inclusive. It is aimed at people already active in outreach activities for young people. The flyer indicates relevant examples of outreach projects, highlights diversity-relevant questions and topics for planning outreach activities and provides a checklist for how outreach events in physics can be made more gender inclusive

Engineering Transport in Manganites by Tuning Local Non-Stoichiometry in Grain Boundaries

Interface-dominated materials such as nanocrystalline thin films have emerged as an enthralling class of materials able to engineer functional properties of transition metal oxides widely used in energy and information technologies. In particular, it has been proved that strain-induced defects in grain boundaries of manganites deeply impact their functional properties by boosting their oxygen mass transport while abating their electronic and magnetic order. In this work, the origin of these dramatic changes is correlated for the first time with strong modifications of the anionic and cationic composition in the vicinity of strained grain boundary regions. We are also able to alter the grain boundary composition by tuning the overall cationic content in the films, which represents a new and powerful tool, beyond the classical space charge layer effect, for engineering electronic and mass transport properties of metal oxide thin films useful for a collection of relevant solid state devices

The impact of Mn nonstoichiometry on the oxygen mass transport properties of La0.8Sr0.2MnyO3±δ thin films

Oxygen mass transport in perovskite oxides is relevant for a variety of energy and information technologies. In oxide thin films, cation nonstoichiometry is often found but its impact on the oxygen transport properties is not well understood. Here, we used oxygen isotope exchange depth profile technique coupled with secondary ion mass spectrometry to study oxygen mass transport and the defect compensation mechanism of Mn-deficient La0.8Sr0.2Mn (y) O-3 +/-delta epitaxial thin films. Oxygen diffusivity and surface exchange coefficients were observed to be consistent with literature measurements and to be independent on the degree of Mn deficiency in the layers. Defect chemistry modeling, together with a collection of different experimental techniques, suggests that the Mn-deficiency is mainly compensated by the formation of La-x(Mn) antisite defects. The results highlight the importance of antisite defects in perovskite thin films for mitigating cationic nonstoichiometry effects on oxygen mass transport properties

3D Visualization of the Iron Oxidation State in FeO/Fe3O4 Core-Shell Nanocubes from Electron Energy Loss Tomography

The physicochemical properties used in numerous advanced nanostructured devices are directly controlled by the oxidation states of their constituents. In this work we combine electron energy-loss spectroscopy, blind source separation, and computed tomography to reconstruct in three dimensions the distribution of Fe and Fe ions in a FeO/FeO core/shell cube-shaped nanoparticle with nanometric resolution. The results highlight the sharpness of the interface between both oxides and provide an average shell thickness, core volume, and average cube edge length measurements in agreement with the magnetic characterization of the sample

TFG 2013/2014

Amb aquesta publicació, EINA, Centre universitari de Disseny i Art adscrit a la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, dóna a conèixer el recull dels Treballs de Fi de Grau presentats durant el curs 2013-2014. Voldríem que un recull com aquest donés una idea més precisa de la tasca que es realitza a EINA per tal de formar nous dissenyadors amb capacitat de respondre professionalment i intel·lectualment a les necessitats i exigències de la nostra societat. El treball formatiu s’orienta a oferir resultats que responguin tant a paràmetres de rigor acadèmic i capacitat d’anàlisi del context com a l’experimentació i la creació de nous llenguatges, tot fomentant el potencial innovador del disseny.Con esta publicación, EINA, Centro universitario de diseño y arte adscrito a la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, da a conocer la recopilación de los Trabajos de Fin de Grado presentados durante el curso 2013-2014. Querríamos que una recopilación como ésta diera una idea más precisa del trabajo que se realiza en EINA para formar nuevos diseñadores con capacidad de responder profesional e intelectualmente a las necesidades y exigencias de nuestra sociedad. El trabajo formativo se orienta a ofrecer resultados que respondan tanto a parámetros de rigor académico y capacidad de análisis, como a la experimentación y la creación de nuevos lenguajes, al tiempo que se fomenta el potencial innovador del diseño.With this publication, EINA, University School of Design and Art, affiliated to the Autonomous University of Barcelona, brings to the public eye the Final Degree Projects presented during the 2013-2014 academic year. Our hope is that this volume might offer a more precise idea of the task performed by EINA in training new designers, able to speak both professionally and intellectually to the needs and demands of our society. The educational task is oriented towards results that might respond to the parameters of academic rigour and the capacity for contextual analysis, as well as to considerations of experimentation and the creation of new languages, all the while reinforcing design’s innovative potential

High-temperature anion and proton conduction in RE3NbO7 (RE = La, Gd, Y, Yb, Lu) compounds

International audienceThe oxide-ion and proton conduction properties of RE3NbO7 (RE = La, Gd, Y, Yb, Lu) compounds were investigated. For the bigger rare-earth cation, i.e. La3+, the compound crystallises in a weberite-type structure and the oxide-ion conductivity is low owing to the lack of intrinsic oxygen vacancies. Consequently, the resultant proton incorporation and conductivity in La3NbO7 are also low. For small rare-earth cations, i.e. from Gd3+ to Lu3+ and for RE = Y, materials adopt a fluorite-like structure confirmed from X-ray powder diffraction. In this latter case, materials include intrinsic oxygen vacancies leading to a higher oxygen conductivity. For these compounds, a proton incorporation takes place at low temperature under wet conditions giving rise to proton conductivity. Nevertheless, both oxygen and proton conductivities are low in these materials, which can be explained by the ordering of oxygen vacancies observed by Transmission Electron Microscopy

Heteroepitaxial growth of MgO(111) thin films on Al2O3(0001): Evidence of a wurtzite to rocksalt transformation

We report on a growth study of MgO films deposited on Al2O3(0001) substrates by magnetron sputtering. The films exhibited a preferred rocksalt MgO(111) orientation. Surprisingly, depending on the O2 gas flow ratio, a structure of graphiticlike wurtzite MgO(0001) has been revealed. The observed Mg-O perpendicular bond length reduction is accompanied by an atomically flat surface morphology for the development of MgO(111) films; the transition to the bulk rocksalt structure occurs in the 3-6 nm coverage range. Previously, relaxation of the electrostatic instability of MgO(111) films accompanied by an in-plane lattice increase has been suggested theoretically [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 205701 (2007)]. Here, relying on ab initio calculations, we infer that Mg vacancies facilitate the lattice match with the substrate. This mechanism suggests methods to engineer oxide heterostructures

Vielfalt in den Kulturen der Physik: ein europäisches Sommerschulcurriculum

“Diversity in the Cultures of Physics” was an Erasmus+ funded Strategic Partnership launching several key actions aimed at improving the gender balance in physics and its subfields. The Strategic Partnership consisted of six universities in four countries: Freie Universität Berlin in Germany, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Universitat de Barcelona in Spain, the University of Manchester and the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom and Uppsala Universitet in Sweden. One of the central activities of the transnational network was an annual international summer school series for female physicists transitioning from Undergraduate/Master programmes to a PhD study. This document presents the curriculum that has been developed for those summer schools and that has been used and evaluated in each round of the summer school series. Thus it is based on the insights and evaluation of all summer schools implemented. The curriculum consists of four core pillars of modules: 1) research stays at physics departments; 2) visits to physics research institutions; 3) empowerment and gender equality policy; 4) gender studies and physics. A transversal pillar is composed of sessions concerning group-building processes and group dynamics. For each pillar, a manifold variety of modules that pursue the learning objective of the respective pillar have been designed, planned and carried out. The curriculum describes aims and functions of the pillars and provides an overview of formats and designs of the modules that have been part of each pillar. For some prominent modules that have been carried out in almost every summer school and might also be practicable in future summer schools, more details are provided. It is pointed out which instructional recommendations are to be considered, what challenges are to be expected and how long the module typically lasts

Etude de couches minces ferroélectriques

International audienc

New Lead-Free α-La2WO6 Ferroelectric Thin Films

International audienc