170 research outputs found
Unusual behaviour of the ferroelectric polarization in PbTiO/SrTiO superlattices
Artificial PbTiO/SrTiO superlattices were constructed using
off-axis RF magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction and piezoelectric atomic
force microscopy were used to study the evolution of the ferroelectric
polarization as the ratio of PbTiO to SrTiO was changed. For
PbTiO layer thicknesses larger than the 3-unit cells SrTiO
thickness used in the structure, the polarization is found to be reduced as the
PbTiO thickness is decreased. This observation confirms the primary role
of the depolarization field in the polarization reduction in thin films. For
the samples with ratios of PbTiO to SrTiO of less than one a
surprising recovery of ferroelectricity that cannot be explained by
electrostatic considerations was observed
Quantitative determination of zero-gravity effects on electronic materials processing germanium crystal growth with simultaneous interface demarcation experiment MA-060, section 5
The crystal growth and segregation characteristics of a melt in a directional solidification configuration under near zero g conditions were investigated. The germanium (doped with gallium) system was selected because it was extensively studied on Earth and because it lends itself to a very detailed macroscopic and microscopic characterization. An extensive study was performed of the germanium crystals grown during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission. It was found that single crystal growth was achieved and that the interface demarcation functioned successfully. On the basis of the results obtained to date, there is no indication that convection driven by thermal or surface tension gradients was present in the melt. The gallium segregation, in the absence of gravity, was found to be fundamentally different in its initial and its subsequent stages from that of the ground based tests. None of the existing theoretical models for growth and segregation can account for the observed segregation behavior in the absence of gravity
Ferroelectric domains in epitaxial PbxSr1-xTiO3 thin films investigated using X-ray diffraction and piezoresponse force microscopy
We present a detailed study of compressively strained PbxSr1−xTiO3 thin films grown by off-axis radio frequency magnetron sputtering on (001)-oriented Nb-doped SrTiO3 substrates. Film tetragonality and the ferroelectric critical temperatures are measured for samples of different composition and thickness and compared with a phenomenological Landau-Devonshire model. 180∘ ferroelectric domains are observed using both X-ray diffraction and piezoresponse force microscopy and domain sizes obtained by the two techniques are compared and discussed
Direct evidence for ferroelectric polar distortion in ultrathin lead titanate perovskite films
X-ray photoelectron diffraction is used to directly probe the intra-cell
polar atomic distortion and tetragonality associated with ferroelectricity in
ultrathin epitaxial PbTiO3 films. Our measurements, combined with ab-initio
calculations, unambiguously demonstrate non-centro-symmetry in films a few unit
cells thick, imply that films as thin as 3 unit cells still preserve a
ferroelectric polar distortion, and also show that there is no thick
paraelectric dead layer at the surface
Are there static texture?
We consider harmonic maps from Minkowski space into the three sphere. We are
especially interested in solutions which are asymptotically constant, i.e.
converge to the same value in all directions of spatial infinity. Physical
3-space can then be compactified and can be identified topologically (but not
metrically!) with a three sphere. Therefore, at fixed time, the winding of the
map is defined. We investigate whether static solutions with non-trivial
winding number exist. The answer which we can proof here is only partial: We
show that within a certain family of maps no static solutions with non-zero
winding number exist. We discuss the existing static solutions in our family of
maps. An extension to other maps or a proof that our family of maps is
sufficiently general remains an open problem.Comment: 12 page Latex file, 1 postscript figure, submitted to PR
Ferroelectric Dead Layer Driven by a Polar Interface
Based on first-principles and model calculations we investigate the effect of
polar interfaces on the ferroelectric stability of thin-film ferroelectrics. As
a representative model, we consider a TiO2-terminated BaTiO3 film with LaO
monolayers at the two interfaces that serve as doping layers. We find that the
polar interfaces create an intrinsic electric field that is screened by the
electron charge leaking into the BaTiO3 layer. The amount of the leaking charge
is controlled by the boundary conditions which are different for three
heterostructures considered, namely Vacuum/LaO/BaTiO3/LaO, LaO/BaTiO3, and
SrRuO3/LaO/BaTiO3/LaO. The intrinsic electric field forces ionic displacements
in BaTiO3 to produce the electric polarization directed into the interior of
the BaTiO3 layer. This creates a ferroelectric dead layer near the interfaces
that is non-switchable and thus detrimental to ferroelectricity. Our
first-principles and model calculations demonstrate that the effect is stronger
for a larger effective ionic charge at the interface and longer screening
length due to a stronger intrinsic electric field that penetrates deeper into
the ferroelectric. The predicted mechanism for a ferroelectric dead layer at
the interface controls the critical thickness for ferroelectricity in systems
with polar interfaces.Comment: 33 Pages, 5 figure
Pulmonary Surfactant Proteins are Inhibited by IgA Autoantibodies in Severe COVID-19
Rationale: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome with fatal outcomes. Evidence suggests that dysregulated immune responses, including autoimmunity, are key pathogenic factors.
Objectives: To assess whether IgA autoantibodies target lung-specific proteins and contribute to disease severity.
Methods: We collected 147 blood, 9 lung tissue, and 36 bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from three tertiary hospitals in Switzerland and one in Germany. Severe COVID-19 was defined by the need to administer oxygen. We investigated the presence of IgA autoantibodies and their effects on pulmonary surfactant in COVID-19 using the following methods: immunofluorescence on tissue samples, immunoprecipitations followed by mass spectrometry on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays on blood samples, and surface tension measurements with medical surfactant.
Measurements and main results: IgA autoantibodies targeting pulmonary surfactant proteins B and C were elevated in patients with severe COVID-19, but not in patients with influenza or bacterial pneumonia. Notably, pulmonary surfactant failed to reduce surface tension after incubation with either plasma or purified IgA from patients with severe COVID-19.
Conclusions: Our data suggest that patients with severe COVID-19 harbor IgA against pulmonary surfactant proteins B and C and that these antibodies block the function of lung surfactant, potentially contributing to alveolar collapse and poor oxygenation. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
X-ray photoelectron diffraction study of ultrathin PbTiO3 films
Abstract.: Full hemispherical X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) experiments have been performed to investigate at the atomic level ultrathin epitaxial c-axis oriented PbTiO3 (PTO) films grown on Nb-doped SrTiO3 substrates. Comparison between experiment and theory allows us to identify a preferential ferroelectric polarization state in a 60 Ã… -thick PTO film. Multiple scattering theory based on a cluster-model [ Phys. Rev. B , 075404 (2001)] is used to simulate the experiment
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