Intrinsic dead layer effects in relaxed epitaxial BaTiO3 thin film grown by pulsed laser deposition

MEM acknowledges a support from the Region of Haut de France and IPR the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (research project 3.1649.2017/PP).Epitaxial BaTiO3 (BT) thin film of about 400 nm thickness was grown on LaSr0.5Co0.5O3 (LSCO) coated (001)MgO using pulsed laser deposition. Ferroelectric properties of the BT thin film in Pt/BT/LSCO/MgO heterostructure capacitor configuration were investigated. Dynamic P-E hysteresis loops at room temperature showed ferroelectric behavior with Ps = 32 μC/cm2, Pr = 14 μC/cm2 and EC = 65 kV/cm. Static C-V measurements confirmed reversible switching with a coercive field EC = 15 kV/cm. Basing on a model taking into account an interface dead-layer we show that the capacitance-voltage “butterfly” loops imply only 25% switching of dipoles that inferred from dynamic polarization-field loops (~ 4 and ~ 16 kV/cm, respectively). Dielectric permittivity as a function of temperature revealed a first-order ferroelectric-to-paraelectric (FE-PE) phase transition in the BT film characterized by a maximum at TC ~ 130 °C. The very large (~ 126 K at 1 kHz) difference between TC and the extrapolated Curie-Weiss temperature T0 is attributed to the dead-layer effects.PostprintPeer reviewe

Accurate determination of the chiral indices of individual carbon nanotubes by combining electron diffraction and Resonant Raman spectroscopy

The experimental approach combining high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), electron diffraction (ED) and resonant Raman spectroscopy (RRS) on the same free-standing individual carbon nanotubes (CNT) is the most efficient method to determine unambiguously the intrinsic features of the Raman-active phonons. In this paper, we review the main results obtained by the approach regarding the intrinsic features of the phonons of single-walled (SWNT) and double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNT). First, we detail the different methods to identify the structure of SWNTs and DWNTs from the analysis of their electron diffraction patterns (EDP). In the following, we remind the principal features of the Raman response of SWNTs, unambiguously index-identified by ED. A special attention is devoted to the effect of the inter-layer interaction on the frequencies of the Raman-active phonons in index-identified DWNTs. The information obtained on index-identified SWNT and DWNT allows us to propose Raman criteria, which help identifying CNT when the ED fails to propose a single assignment. The efficiency of the Raman criteria as the complement to the ED information for the index-assignment of a few SWNTs and DWNTs is shown. The same approach to index-assign a triple-walled carbon nanotube (TWNT), by combining ED and RRS information, is reported

Boxnep - модульный подводный робот перспективных технологий

The article discusses the relevance of the underwater vehicles are able to solve a wide range of problems. The decision puts in a basis of the research is designing a modular underwater robot. It allows to make a mounting of various equipment and testing it in the water medium. The paper deals with the concept of the robot and its characteristics

Dynamic Chromatin Organization during Foregut Development Mediated by the Organ Selector Gene PHA-4/FoxA

Central regulators of cell fate, or selector genes, establish the identity of cells by direct regulation of large cohorts of genes. In Caenorhabditis elegans, foregut (or pharynx) identity relies on the FoxA transcription factor PHA-4, which activates different sets of target genes at various times and in diverse cellular environments. An outstanding question is how PHA-4 distinguishes between target genes for appropriate transcriptional control. We have used the Nuclear Spot Assay and GFP reporters to examine PHA-4 interactions with target promoters in living embryos and with single cell resolution. While PHA-4 was found throughout the digestive tract, binding and activation of pharyngeally expressed promoters was restricted to a subset of pharyngeal cells and excluded from the intestine. An RNAi screen of candidate nuclear factors identified emerin (emr-1) as a negative regulator of PHA-4 binding within the pharynx, but emr-1 did not modulate PHA-4 binding in the intestine. Upon promoter association, PHA-4 induced large-scale chromatin de-compaction, which, we hypothesize, may facilitate promoter access and productive transcription. Our results reveal two tiers of PHA-4 regulation. PHA-4 binding is prohibited in intestinal cells, preventing target gene expression in that organ. PHA-4 binding within the pharynx is limited by the nuclear lamina component EMR-1/emerin. The data suggest that association of PHA-4 with its targets is a regulated step that contributes to promoter selectivity during organ formation. We speculate that global re-organization of chromatin architecture upon PHA-4 binding promotes competence of pharyngeal gene transcription and, by extension, foregut development

Giant increase of ferroelectric phase transition temperature in highly strained ferroelectric

We report epitaxial strain effects in the lead-free ferroelectric/paraelectric superlattice (SL) $[{\text{BaTiO}}_{3}]_{0.7\Lambda}/[{\text{BaZrO}}_{3}]_{0.3\Lambda}$ for a modulation period Λ of about 100 Å. We have demonstrated that the large strain in SL induces ferroelectricity in BaZrO3 layers, a material that is paraelectric at any temperature in the bulk form. The induced polar axis in BaZrO3 layers is perpendicular to the plane of the substrate while BaTiO3 layers exhibit in-plane polar orientation. Raman spectroscopy revealed a lattice ordering in SL due to the misfit strain generated by the large lattice mismatch between the alternating BaZrO3 and BaTiO3 layers. Such strain induces a huge upward frequency shift of the lowest E(1TO) soft mode from $60\ \text{cm}^{-1}$ in the BaTiO3 single film to $207\ \text{cm}^{-1}$ in the SL. The temperature of the ferroelectric phase transition in the SL was found to be upshifted by about $300\ ^{\circ}\text{C}$ with respect to the BaTiO3 single crystal

Low-wavenumber dynamics of L-alanine

L-Alanine is one of the simplest amino acids, the building block for many polypeptides and proteins. A previous Raman scattering study showed an anomalous temperature dependence of the intensity of the two lowest Raman modes, attributed to dynamic localization of vibrational energy. The present Raman data, collected in the b(cc)b scattering geometry, were aimed at understanding the dynamics of the low-wavenumber modes in connection with the reported anomalies in other physical properties. Our study shows that the energy and intensity of the observed external modes show unusual behaviour in the temperature range similar to 150-250 K. The anomalous temperature dependence of the peak of the NH3+ torsional mode is confirmed. Its wavenumber has a singularity around similar to 220 K and its full width at half-maximum does not increase linearly with temperature. The CH3 torsion and CO2- rock undergo similar discontinuities below similar to 250 K. The intensity of the two lowest wavenumbers librons at 42 and 48 cm(-1) shows an anomalous temperature dependence and vary in an opposite way from that reported for the c(bb)a scattering geometry. The nature of the subtle symmetry breaking occuring below similar to 250 K is discussed. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Highly constrained ferroelectric [BaTiO3](1−x)Λ/[BaZrO3]xΛ superlattices: X-Ray Diffraction and Raman Spectroscopy

International audience[No abstract

Intrinsic dead layer effects in relaxed epitaxial BaTiO₃ thin film grown by pulsed laser deposition

Epitaxial BaTiO3 (BT) thin film of about 400 nm thickness was grown on LaSr0.5Co0.5O3 (LSCO) coated (001)MgO using pulsed laser deposition. Ferroelectric properties of the BT thin film in Pt/BT/LSCO/MgO heterostructure capacitor configuration were investigated. Dynamic P-E hysteresis loops at room temperature showed ferroelectric behavior with Ps = 32 μC/cm2, Pr = 14 μC/cm2 and EC = 65 kV/cm. Static C-V measurements confirmed reversible switching with a coercive field EC = 15 kV/cm. Basing on a model taking into account an interface dead-layer we show that the capacitance-voltage “butterfly” loops imply only 25% switching of dipoles that inferred from dynamic polarization-field loops (~ 4 and ~ 16 kV/cm, respectively). Dielectric permittivity as a function of temperature revealed a first-order ferroelectric-to-paraelectric (FE-PE) phase transition in the BT film characterized by a maximum at TC ~ 130 °C. The very large (~ 126 K at 1 kHz) difference between TC and the extrapolated Curie-Weiss temperature T0 is attributed to the dead-layer effects