Unified character of correlation effects in unconventional Pu-based superconductors and \delta-Pu

Electronic structure calculations combining the local-density approximation with an exact diagonalization of the Anderson impurity model show an intermediate 5f^5-5f^6-valence ground state and delocalization of the 5f^5 multiplet of the Pu atom 5f-shell in PuCoIn_5, PuCoGa_5, and \delta-Pu. The 5f-local magnetic moment is compensated by a moment formed in the surrounding cloud of conduction electrons. For PuCoGa_5 and \delta-Pu the compensation is complete and the Anderson impurity ground state is a singlet. For PuCoIn_5 the compensation is partial and the Pu ground state is magnetic. We suggest that the unconventional d-wave superconductivity is likely mediated by the 5f-states antiferromagnetic fluctuations in PuCoIn_5, and by valence fluctuations in PuCoGa_5.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Strengthening of AA5754 aluminum alloy by DRECE process followed by annealing response investigation

In this study, a dual rolls equal channel extrusion (DRECE) process has been applied for improving the mechanical properties of the 5754 alloy. Supplementary experiments involving metallography, electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), and XRD tests were carried out to evaluate the effect of the DRECE process. XRD analysis showed that the maximum dislocation density was achieved after six DRECE passes, which were accompanied by the formation that is typical for low-strain structures. The increasing dislocation density, as well as grain refinement throughout DRECE deformation, resulted in an increase in the mechanical properties. Annealing of the as-deformed sample resulted in grain growth and strength reduction.Web of Science132art. no. 30

Application examples for the different measurement modes of electrical properties of the solar cells

The aim of the paper was to apply the newly developed instruments ‘Corescan’ and ‘Sherescan’ in order to measure the essential parameters of producing solar cells in comparison with the standard techniques. The standard technique named the Transmission Line Method (TLM) is one way to monitor contacting process to measure contact resistance locally between the substrate and metallization. Nowadays, contact resistance is measured over the whole photovoltaic cell using Corescanner instrument. The Sherescan device in comparison with standard devices gives a possibility to measure the sheet resistance of the emitter of silicon wafers and determine of both P/N recognition and metal resistance. The Screen Printing (SP) method is the most widely used contact formation technique for commercial silicon solar cells. The contact resistance of manufactured front metallization depends of both the paste composition and co-firing conditions. Screen printed front side metallization and next to co-fired in the infrared conveyor furnace was carried out at various temperature from 770°C to 920°C. The silver paste used in the present paper is commercial. The investigations were carried out on monocrystalline silicon wafers. The topography of co-fired in the infrared belt furnace front metallization was investigated using the atomic force microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). There were researched also cross sections of front contacts using SEM microscope. Front contacts of the solar cells were formed on non-textured silicon surface with coated antireflection layer. On one hand, based on electrical properties investigations using Sherescan instrument it was obtained the knowledge of the emitter sheet resistance across the surface of a wafer, what is essential in optimizing the emitter diffusion process. On the other hand, it was found using Corescan instrument that the higher temperature apparently results in a strongly decreased contact resistance.Web of Science59125224

Lessons from the harmonic oscillator -- a reconciliation of the Frequency-Resolved Frozen Phonon Multislice Method with other theoretical approaches

We compare the Frequency-Resolved Frozen Phonon Multislice (FRFPMS) method, introduced in Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 025501 (2020), with other theoretical approaches used to account for the inelastic scattering of high energy electrons, namely the first-order Born approximation and the quantum excitation of phonons model. We show, that these theories lead to similar expressions for the single inelastically scattered intensity as a function of momentum transfer for an anisotropic quantum harmonic oscillator in a weak phase object approximation of the scattered waves, except for a too small smearing of the scattering potential by the effective Debye-Waller factor (DWF) in the FRFPMS method. We propose that this issue can be fixed by including an explicit DWF smearing into the potential and demonstrate numerically, that in any realistic situation, a FRFPMS approach revised in this way, correctly accounts for the single inelastically scattered intensity and the correct elastic scattering intensity. Furthermore our simulations illustrate that the only requirement for such a revised FRFPMS method is the smallness of mean squared displacements for all atomic species in all frequency bins. The analytical considerations for the FRFPMS method also explain the $1/\omega^2$-scaling of FRFPMS spectra observed in Phys. Rev. B 104, 104301 (2021) by the use of classical statistics in the molecular dynamics simulation. Moreover, we find that the FRFPMS method inherently adds the contributions of phonon loss and gain within each frequency bin. Both of these issues related to the frequency-scaling can be fixed by a system-independent post-processing step

Electronic structure theory of the hidden order material URu2_2Si2_2

We report a comprehensive electronic structure investigation of the paramagnetic (PM), the large moment antiferromagnetic (LMAF), and the hidden order (HO) phases of URu$_2$Si$_2$. We have performed relativistic full-potential calculations on the basis of the density functional theory (DFT), employing different exchange-correlation functionals to treat electron correlations within the open $5f$-shell of uranium. Specifically, we investigate---through a comparison between calculated and low-temperature experimental properties---whether the $5f$ electrons are localized or delocalized in URu$_2$Si$_2$. We also performed dynamical mean field theory calculations (LDA+DMFT) to investigate the temperature evolution of the quasi-particle states at 100~K and above, unveiling a progressive opening of a quasi-particle gap at the chemical potential when temperature is reduced. A detailed comparison of calculated properties with known experimental data demonstrates that the LSDA and GGA approaches, in which the uranium $5f$ electrons are treated as itinerant, provide an excellent explanation of the available low-temperature experimental data of the PM and LMAF phases. We show furthermore that due to a materials-specific Fermi surface instability a large, but partial, Fermi surface gapping of up to 750 K occurs upon antiferromagnetic symmetry breaking. The occurrence of the HO phase is explained through dynamical symmetry breaking induced by a mode of long-lived antiferromagnetic spin-fluctuations. This dynamical symmetry breaking model explains why the Fermi surface gapping in the HO phase is similar but smaller than that in the LMAF phase and it also explains why the HO and LMAF phases have the same Fermi surfaces yet different order parameters. Suitable derived order parameters for the HO are proposed to be the Fermi surface gap or the dynamic spin-spin correlation function.Comment: 23 pages, 20 figure