187 research outputs found
Selecting a single orientation for millimeter sized graphene sheets
We have used Low Energy Electron Microscopy (LEEM) and Photo Emission
Electron Microscopy (PEEM) to study and improve the quality of graphene films
grown on Ir(111) using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). CVD at elevated
temperature already yields graphene sheets that are uniform and of monatomic
thickness. Besides domains that are aligned with respect to the substrate,
other rotational variants grow. Cyclic growth exploiting the faster growth and
etch rates of the rotational variants, yields films that are 99 % composed of
aligned domains. Precovering the substrate with a high density of graphene
nuclei prior to CVD yields pure films of aligned domains extending over
millimeters. Such films can be used to prepare cluster-graphene hybrid
materials for catalysis or nanomagnetism and can potentially be combined with
lift-off techniques to yield high-quality, graphene based electronic devices
Violation of Boltzmann Equipartition Theorem in Angular Phonon Phase Space Slows down Nanoscale Heat Transfer in Ultrathin Heterofilms
Heat transfer through heterointerfaces is intrinsically hampered by a thermal boundary resistance originating from the discontinuity of the elastic properties. Here, we show that with shrinking dimensions the heat flow from an ultrathin epitaxial film through atomically flat interfaces into a single crystalline substrate is significantly reduced due to violation of Boltzmann equipartition theorem in the angular phonon phase space. For films thinner than the phonons mean free path, we find phonons trapped in the film by total internal reflection, thus suppressing heat transfer. Repopulation of those phonon states, which can escape the film through the interface by transmission and refraction, becomes the bottleneck for cooling. The resulting nonequipartition in the angular phonon phase space slows down the cooling by more than a factor of 2 compared to films governed by phonons diffuse scattering. These allow tailoring of the thermal interface conductance via manipulation of the interface
In situ observation of stress relaxation in epitaxial graphene
Upon cooling, branched line defects develop in epitaxial graphene grown at
high temperature on Pt(111) and Ir(111). Using atomically resolved scanning
tunneling microscopy we demonstrate that these defects are wrinkles in the
graphene layer, i.e. stripes of partially delaminated graphene. With low energy
electron microscopy (LEEM) we investigate the wrinkling phenomenon in situ.
Upon temperature cycling we observe hysteresis in the appearance and
disappearance of the wrinkles. Simultaneously with wrinkle formation a change
in bright field imaging intensity of adjacent areas and a shift in the moire
spot positions for micro diffraction of such areas takes place. The stress
relieved by wrinkle formation results from the mismatch in thermal expansion
coefficients of graphene and the substrate. A simple one-dimensional model
taking into account the energies related to strain, delamination and bending of
graphene is in qualitative agreement with our observations.Comment: Supplementary information: S1: Photo electron emission microscopy and
LEEM measurements of rotational domains, STM data of a delaminated bulge
around a dislocation. S2: Movie with increasing brightness upon wrinkle
formation as in figure 4. v2: Major revision including new experimental dat
Optical Stabilization of Fluctuating High Temperature Ferromagnetism in YTiO<sub>3</sub>
In quantum materials, degeneracies and frustrated interactions can have a profound impact on the emergence of long-range order, often driving strong fluctuations that suppress functionally relevant electronic or magnetic phases. Engineering the atomic structure in the bulk or at heterointerfaces has been an important research strategy to lift these degeneracies, but these equilibrium methods are limited by thermodynamic, elastic, and chemical constraints. Here, we show that all-optical, mode-selective manipulation of the crystal lattice can be used to enhance and stabilize high-temperature ferromagnetism in YTiO3, a material that exhibits only partial orbital polarization, an unsaturated low-temperature magnetic moment, and a suppressed Curie temperature, Tc = 27 K. The enhancement is largest when exciting a 9 THz oxygen rotation mode, for which complete magnetic saturation is achieved at low temperatures and transient ferromagnetism is realized up to Tneq> 80 K, nearly three times the thermodynamic transition temperature. First-principles and model calculations of the nonlinear phonon-orbital-spin coupling reveal that these effects originate from dynamical changes to the orbital polarization and the makeup of the lowest quasi-degenerate Ti t2g levels. Notably, light-induced high temperature ferromagnetism in YTiO3 is found to be metastable over many nanoseconds, underscoring the ability to dynamically engineer practically useful non-equilibrium functionalities
Optical Stabilization of Fluctuating High Temperature Ferromagnetism in YTiO
In quantum materials, degeneracies and frustrated interactions can have a
profound impact on the emergence of long-range order, often driving strong
fluctuations that suppress functionally relevant electronic or magnetic phases.
Engineering the atomic structure in the bulk or at heterointerfaces has been an
important research strategy to lift these degeneracies, but these equilibrium
methods are limited by thermodynamic, elastic, and chemical constraints. Here,
we show that all-optical, mode-selective manipulation of the crystal lattice
can be used to enhance and stabilize high-temperature ferromagnetism in
YTiO, a material that exhibits only partial orbital polarization, an
unsaturated low-temperature magnetic moment, and a suppressed Curie
temperature, = 27 K. The enhancement is largest when exciting a 9 THz
oxygen rotation mode, for which complete magnetic saturation is achieved at low
temperatures and transient ferromagnetism is realized up to 80 K,
nearly three times the thermodynamic transition temperature. First-principles
and model calculations of the nonlinear phonon-orbital-spin coupling reveal
that these effects originate from dynamical changes to the orbital polarization
and the makeup of the lowest quasi-degenerate Ti levels. Notably,
light-induced high temperature ferromagnetism in YTiO is found to be
metastable over many nanoseconds, underscoring the ability to dynamically
engineer practically useful non-equilibrium functionalities.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
Optically induced lattice deformations, electronic structure changes, and enhanced superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O6.48
Resonant optical excitation of apical oxygen vibrational modes in the normal
state of underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+x induces a transient state with optical
properties similar to those of the equilibrium superconducting state. Amongst
these, a divergent imaginary conductivity and a plasma edge are transiently
observed in the photo-stimulated state. Femtosecond hard x-ray diffraction
experiments have been used in the past to identify the transient crystal
structure in this non-equilibrium state. Here, we start from these
crystallographic features and theoretically predict the corresponding
electronic rearrangements that accompany these structural deformations. Using
density functional theory, we predict enhanced hole-doping of the CuO2 planes.
The empty chain Cu dy2-z2 orbital is calculated to strongly reduce in energy,
which would increase c-axis transport and potentially enhance the interlayer
Josephson coupling as observed in the THz-frequency response. From these
calculations, we predict changes in the soft x-ray absorption spectra at the Cu
L-edge. Femtosecond x-ray pulses from a free electron laser are used to probe
these changes in absorption at two photon energies along this spectrum, and
provide data consistent with these predictions.Comment: 20 pages with 6 figure
Vicinal Surface with Langmuir Adsorption: A Decorated Restricted Solid-on-solid Model
We study the vicinal surface of the restricted solid-on-solid model coupled
with the Langmuir adsorbates which we regard as two-dimensional lattice gas
without lateral interaction. The effect of the vapor pressure of the adsorbates
in the environmental phase is taken into consideration through the chemical
potential. We calculate the surface free energy , the adsorption coverage
, the step tension , and the step stiffness by
the transfer matrix method combined with the density-matrix algorithm. Detailed
step-density-dependence of and is obtained. We draw the roughening
transition curve in the plane of the temperature and the chemical potential of
adsorbates. We find the multi-reentrant roughening transition accompanying the
inverse roughening phenomena. We also find quasi-reentrant behavior in the step
tension.Comment: 7 pages, 12 figures (png format), RevTeX 3.1, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Model of surface instabilities induced by stress
We propose a model based on a Ginzburg-Landau approach to study a strain
relief mechanism at a free interface of a non-hydrostatically stressed solid,
commonly observed in thin-film growth. The evolving instability, known as the
Grinfeld instability, is studied numerically in two and three dimensions.
Inherent in the description is the proper treatment of nonlinearities. We find
these nonlinearities can lead to competitive coarsening of interfacial
structures, corresponding to different wavenumbers, as strain is relieved. We
suggest ways to experimentally measure this coarsening.Comment: 4 pages (3 figures included
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