12 research outputs found
Magnetic skyrmions and skyrmion clusters in the helical phase of CuOSeO
Skyrmions are nanometric spin whirls that can be stabilized in magnets
lacking inversion symmetry. The properties of isolated skyrmions embedded in a
ferromagnetic background have been intensively studied. We show that single
skyrmions and clusters of skyrmions can also form in the helical phase and
investigate theoretically their energetics and dynamics. The helical background
provides natural one-dimensional channels along which a skyrmion can move
rapidly. In contrast to skyrmions in ferromagnets, the skymion-skyrmion
interaction has a strong attractive component and thus skyrmions tend to form
clusters with characteristic shapes. These clusters are directly observed in
transmission electron microscopy measurements in thin films of CuOSeO.
Topological quantization, high mobility and the confinement of skyrmions in
channels provided by the helical background may be useful for future
spintronics devices.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 4 pages supplemen
Dynamics of Size-Selected Gold Nanoparticles Studied by Ultrafast Electron Nanocrystallography
We report the studies of ultrafast electron nanocrystallography on
size-selected Au nanoparticles (2-20 nm) supported on a molecular interface.
Reversible surface melting, melting, and recrystallization were investigated
with dynamical full-profile radial distribution functions determined with
sub-picosecond and picometer accuracies. In an ultrafast photoinduced melting,
the nanoparticles are driven to a non-equilibrium transformation, characterized
by the initial lattice deformations, nonequilibrium electron-phonon coupling,
and upon melting, the collective bonding and debonding, transforming
nanocrystals into shelled nanoliquids. The displasive structural excitation at
premelting and the coherent transformation with crystal/liquid coexistence
during photomelting differ from the reciprocal behavior of recrystallization,
where a hot lattice forms from liquid and then thermally contracts. The degree
of structural change and the thermodynamics of melting are found to depend on
the size of nanoparticle.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
The development and applications of ultrafast electron nanocrystallography
We review the development of ultrafast electron nanocrystallography as a
method for investigating structural dynamics for nanoscale materials and
interfaces. Its sensitivity and resolution are demonstrated in the studies of
surface melting of gold nanocrystals, nonequilibrium transformation of graphite
into reversible diamond-like intermediates, and molecular scale charge
dynamics, showing a versatility for not only determining the structures, but
also the charge and energy redistribution at interfaces. A quantitative scheme
for three-dimensional retrieval of atomic structures is demonstrated with
few-particle (< 1000) sensitivity, establishing this nanocrystallographic
method as a tool for directly visualizing dynamics within isolated
nanomaterials with atomic scale spatio-temporal resolution.Comment: 33 pages, 17 figures (Review article, 2008 conference of ultrafast
electron microscopy conference and ultrafast sciences
Direct observation of optically induced transient structures in graphite using ultrafast electron crystallography
We use ultrafast electron crystallography to study structural changes induced
in graphite by a femtosecond laser pulse. At moderate fluences of ~< 21mJ/cm^2,
lattice vibrations are observed to thermalize on a time scale of ~8ps. At
higher fluences approaching the damage threshold, lattice vibration amplitudes
saturate. Following a marked initial contraction, graphite is driven
nonthermally into a transient state with sp^3-like character, forming
interlayer bonds. Using ab initio density functional calculations, we trace the
governing mechanism back to electronic structure changes following the
photo-excitation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Photovoltage Dynamics of the Hydroxylated Si(111) Surface Investigated by Ultrafast Electron Diffraction
We present a novel method to measure transient photovoltage at nanointerfaces
using ultrafast electron diffraction. In particular, we report our results on
the photoinduced electronic excitations and their ensuing relaxations in a
hydroxyl-terminated silicon surface, a standard substrate for fabricating
molecular electronics interfaces. The transient surface voltage is determined
by observing Coulomb refraction changes induced by the modified space-charge
barrier within a selectively probed volume by femtosecond electron pulses. The
results are in agreement with ultrafast photoemission studies of surface state
charging, suggesting a charge relaxation mechanism closely coupled to the
carrier dynamics near the surface that can be described by a drift-diffusion
model. This study demonstrates a newly implemented ultrafast diffraction method
for investigating interfacial processes, with both charge and structure
resolution.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Technical developments for light and high frequency applications in transmission electron microscopy
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Magnetic skyrmions are promising candidates as information carriers in logic or storage devices thanks to their robustness, guaranteed by the topological protection, and their nanometric size. Currently, little is known about the influence of parameters such as disorder, defects, or external stimuli on the long-range spatial distribution and temporal evolution of the skyrmion lattice. Here, using a large (7.3×7.3 μm2) single-crystal nanoslice (150 nm thick) of Cu2OSeO3, we image up to 70,000 skyrmions by means of cryo-Lorentz transmission electron microscopy as a function of the applied magnetic field. The emergence of the skyrmion lattice from the helimagnetic phase is monitored, revealing the existence of a glassy skyrmion phase at the phase transition field, where patches of an octagonally distorted skyrmion lattice are also discovered. In the skyrmion phase, dislocations are shown to cause the emergence and switching between domains with different lattice orientations, and the temporal fluctuation of these domains is filmed. These results demonstrate the importance of direct-space and real-time imaging of skyrmion domains for addressing both their long-range topology and stability