297 research outputs found
Experimental probing of the anisotropy of the empty p states near the Fermi level in MgB2
We have studied the Boron K-edge in the superconductor MgB2 by electron
energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and experimentally resolved the empty p states
at the Fermi level that have previously been observed within an energy window
of 0.8eV by soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Using angular resolved EELS, we
find that these states at the immediate edge onset have pxy character in
agreement with predictions from first-principle electronic structure
calculations.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
Local boron doping quantification in homoepitaxial diamond structures
The capability of transmission electronmicroscopy (TEM) using the high angle annular dark fieldmode (HAADF,also labelled Z-contrast) to quantify boron concentration, in the high doping range between 1019cm−3 and 1021cm−3, is demonstrated. Thanks to the large relative variation of atomic number Z between carbon and boron, doping concentration maps and profiles are obtained with a nanometer-scale resolution. A novel numerical simulation procedure allows the boron concentration quantification and demonstrates the high sensitivity and
spatial resolution of the technique.4 page
Direct observation of nm-scale Mg- and B-oxide phases at grain boundaries in MgB2
Here we describe the results of an atomic resolution study of the structure
and composition of both the interior of the grains, and the grain boundaries in
polycrystalline MgB2. We find that there is no oxygen within the bulk of the
grains but significant oxygen enrichment at the grain boundaries. The majority
of grain boundaries contain BOx phases smaller than the coherence length, while
others contain larger areas of MgO sandwiched between BOx layers. Such results
naturally explain the differences in connectivity between the grains observed
by other techniques
Conserved changes in dynamics of metabolic processes during fruit development and ripening across species
Computational analyses of molecular phenotypes traditionally aim at identifying biochemical components that exhibit differential expression under various scenarios (e.g. environmental and internal perturbations) in a single species. High-throughput metabolomics technologies allow the quantification of (relative) metabolite levels across developmental stages in different tissues, organs, and species. Novel methods for analyzing the resulting multiple data tables could reveal preserved dynamics of metabolic processes across species. The problem we address in this study is 2-fold. (1) We derive a single data table, referred to as a compromise, which captures information common to the investigated set of multiple tables containing data on different fruit development and ripening stages in three climacteric (i.e. peach [Prunus persica] and two tomato [Solanum lycopersicum] cultivars, Ailsa Craig and M82) and two nonclimacteric (i.e. strawberry [Fragaria × ananassa] and pepper [Capsicum chilense]) fruits; in addition, we demonstrate the power of the method to discern similarities and differences between multiple tables by analyzing publicly available metabolomics data from three tomato ripening mutants together with two tomato cultivars. (2) We identify the conserved dynamics of metabolic processes, reflected in the data profiles of the corresponding metabolites that contribute most to the determined compromise. Our analysis is based on an extension to principal component analysis, called STATIS, in combination with pathway overenrichment analysis. Based on publicly available metabolic profiles for the investigated species, we demonstrate that STATIS can be used to identify the metabolic processes whose behavior is similarly affected during fruit development and ripening. These findings ultimately provide insights into the pathways that are essential during fruit development and ripening across species.Fil: Klie, Sebastian. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology; AlemaniaFil: Osorio, Sonia. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea; EspañaFil: Tohge, Takayuki. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology; AlemaniaFil: Drincovich, Maria Fabiana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (i); ArgentinaFil: Fait, Aaron. Ben-Gurion University of the Negrev; IsraelFil: Giovannoni, Federico. Cornell University; Estados UnidosFil: Fernie, Alisdair R.. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology; AlemaniaFil: Nikoloski, Zoran. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology; Alemani
Direct measurement of the low-temperature spin-state transition in LaCoO3
LaCoO(3) exhibits an anomaly in its magnetic susceptibility around 80 K associated with a thermally excited transition of the Co(3+)-ion spin. We show that electron energy-loss spectroscopy is sensitive to this Co(3+)-ion spin-state transition, and that the O K edge prepeak provides a direct measure of the Co(3+) spin state in LaCoO(3) as a function of temperature. Our experimental results are confirmed by first-principles calculations, and we conclude that the thermally excited spin-state transition occurs from a low to an intermediate spin state, which can be distinguished from the high-spin state
Inversion of two-band superconductivity at the critical electron doping of (Mg,Al)B-2
Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) was combined with heat capacity measurements to probe changes of electronic structure and superconductivity in Mg(1-x)AlxB2. A simultaneous decrease of EELS intensity from sigma-band hole states and the magnitude of the sigma gap was observed with increasing x, thus verifying that band filling results in the loss of strong superconductivity. These quantities extrapolated to zero at x approximate to 0.33 as inferred from the unit cell volume. However, superconductivity was not quenched completely, but persisted with T-c< 7 K up to about x approximate to 55. Only the pi band had detectable density of states for 0.33 less than or similar to x less than or similar to 0.55, implying an inversion of the two-band hierarchy of MgB2 in that regime. Since pi-band superconductivity is active in other materials such as intercalated graphite, implications for new materials with high T-c are discussed
Aluminum Oxide Layers as Possible Components for Layered Tunnel Barriers
We have studied transport properties of Nb/Al/AlOx/Nb tunnel junctions with
ultrathin aluminum oxide layers formed by (i) thermal oxidation and (ii) plasma
oxidation, before and after rapid thermal post-annealing of the completed
structures at temperatures up to 550 deg C. Post-annealing at temperatures
above 300 deg C results in a significant decrease of the tunneling conductance
of thermally-grown barriers, while plasma-grown barriers start to change only
at annealing temperatures above 450 deg C. Fitting the experimental I-V curves
of the junctions using the results of the microscopic theory of direct
tunneling shows that the annealing of thermally-grown oxides at temperatures
above 300 deg C results in a substantial increase of their average tunnel
barriers height, from ~1.8 eV to ~2.45 eV, versus the practically unchanged
height of ~2.0 eV for plasma-grown layers. This difference, together with high
endurance of annealed barriers under electric stress (breakdown field above 10
MV/cm) may enable all-AlOx and SiO2/AlOx layered "crested" barriers for
advanced floating-gate memory applications.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Nanoscale-SiC doping for enhancing Jc and Hc2 in the Superconducting MgB2
The effect of nanoscale-SiC doping of MgB2 was investigated using transport
and magnetic measurements. It was found that there is a clear correlation
between the critical temperature Tc, the resistivity r, the residual
resistivity ratio, RRR = R(300K)/R(40K), the irreversibility field H* and the
alloying state in the samples. SiC-doping introduced many nano-scale
precipitates, provoking an increase of r(40K) from 1 mW-cm (RRR = 15) for the
clean limit sample to 300 mW-cm (RRR = 1.75) for the SiC-doped sample, leading
to significant enhancement of Hc2 and H* with only minor effect on Tc. EELS
analysis revealed a number of nano-scale impurity phases: Mg2Si, MgO, MgB4,
BOx, SixByOz, BC and unreacted SiC in the doped sample. TEM study showed an
extensive domain structure of 2-4nm domains induced by SiC doping. The Jc for
the 10% nano-SiC doped sample increased substantially at all fields and
temperatures compared to the undoped samples, due to the strong increase in Hc2
and H* produced by SiC doping
Observation of coherent oxide precipitates in polycrystalline MgB2
Here we describe the results of an atomic resolution study of oxygen
incorporation into bulk MgB2. We find that ~20-100 nm sized precipitates are
formed by ordered substitution of oxygen atoms onto boron lattice sites, while
the basic bulk MgB2 crystal structure and orientation is preserved. The
periodicity of the oxygen ordering is dictated by the oxygen concentration in
the precipitates and primarily occurs in the (010) plane. The presence of these
precipitates correlates well with an improved critical current density and
superconducting transition behavior, implying that they act as pinning centers.Comment: Submitted to Applied Physics Letters, 6 pages, 3 figure
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