Condensed Matter Physics Commons^™

An Evaluation Of Supercritical Drying And Peg/Freeze Drying Of Waterlogged Archaeological Wood, Eric Schindelholz, Robert Blanchette, Desmond C. Cook, Michael Drews, Steve Hand, Benjamin Held, Joel Jurgens, Betty Seifert

Physics Faculty Publications

This study was undertaken to evaluate the physical effects of drying waterlogged archaeological wood using supercritical carbon dioxide as compared to air drying and the popular polyethylene glycol (PEG)/freeze drying method. Previous studies have shown supercritical drying to be a potentially advantageous alternative to current methods of drying waterlogged wood through reduced processing time, minimal shrinkage, and increased success for reversibility. Samples in the form of blocks and planks of a few centimeters in size were prepared from two archaeological waterlogged wood sources and grouped into three treatment sets: one for air drying, one for PEG/freeze drying, and the other …

Hologram-Based Humidity Indicator For Domestic And Packaging Applications, Izabela Naydenova, Raghavendra Jallapuram, Vincent Toal, Suzanne Martin

Conference Papers

A passive indicator for Relative Humidity based on a photopolymer recorded hologram has been developed. The indicator works on the principle that the wavelength reconstructed by a reflection hologram is dependent on the spacing between the fringe planes of the hologram. As the Relative Humidity changes, the hologram swells or shrinks and the apparent colour of the reconstructed image changes. The response time, operational range and reversibility of the indicator have been studied in a controlled humidity environment. Response times from less than a minute to tens of minutes depending on the holograms physical properties have been measured. Indicators with …

Atomic Motion In Ferromagnetic Break Junctions: Comment And Response, S.-F. Shi, David C. Ralph, Andrei Sokolov, Chunjuan Zhang, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, Jody G. Redepenning, Bernard Doudin

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

Authors’ response

In their comment, Shi and Ralph emphasize that conductance of Ni point contacts produced by an electro-migration technique can occasionally exhibit two-level fluctuations (TLF), mimicking the discrete steps in the conductance of the point contacts as a function of the applied magnetic-field direction. They explain the nature of these steps in terms of atomic motion rather than intrinsic electronic effect. We emphasize in this reply that our results, obtained on a different magnetic material synthesized by a different method, do not show a

Harmonic Detection Of Resonance In Micro- And Nano- Cantilevers, Jay Gaillard

All Dissertations

Over the past decade there has been an explosion in the study of cantilevered beams on the micron and submicron dimension. The applications and research that involve these structures include state-of-the-art electronic components, sensors, and more recently, studies aimed at elucidating the mechanical properties of cantilevered carbon nanotubes and semiconducting nanowires. In nanoelectro-mechanical systems (NEMS), it is desirable to develop a capacitive readout method involving only two electrodes that are fully compliant with standard CMOS technology. However, the main drawback with this method is the ability to detect resonance in the presence of parasitic capacitance, which is due to the …

Assembly And Modification Of A Hyperthermal And Low Energy Ion Beamline For Detecting Electron-Hole Pair Production In Schottky Diodes, Matthew Ray

All Theses

A hyperthermal and low energy ion beamline to measure electron-hole pair production due to ion bombardment of Schottky diodes has been modified and assembled.
A brief overview of the instrument is given and the reason for operating the ion beamline in the hyperthermal and low energy regime is discussed. The capabilities of the ion beamline are unique and provide the means to measure quantities that offer insight into various energy exchange mechanisms that occur at surfaces. Combined with the ability to accept Schottky diode samples, the beamline is capable of measuring both charge transfer and electron-hole pair production caused by …

Decoherence And Recoherence In A Vibrating Rf Squid, Eyal Buks, M. P. Blencowe

Dartmouth Scholarship

We study an rf SQUID, in which a section of the loop is a freely suspended beam that is allowed to oscillate mechanically. The coupling between the rf SQUID and the mechanical resonator originates from the dependence of the total magnetic flux threading the loop on the displacement of the resonator. Motion of the latter affects the visibility of Rabi oscillations between the two lowest energy states of the rf SQUID. We address the feasibility of experimental observation of decoherence and recoherence, namely decay and rise of the visibility, in such a system.

Transmission Electron Goniometry And Its Relation To Electron Tomography For Materials Science Apoplications, Peter Moeck, P. Fraundorf

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Aspects of transmission electron goniometry are discussed. Combined with high resolution phase contrast transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and atomic resolution scanning TEM (STEM) in the atomic number contrast (Z-STEM) or the phase contrast bright field mode, transmission electron goniometry offers the opportunity to develop dedicated methods for the crystallographic characterization of nanocrystals in three dimensions. The relationship between transmission electron goniometry and electron tomography for materials science applications is briefly discussed. Internet based java applets that facilitate the application of transmission electron goniometry for cubic crystals with calibrated tilt-rotation and double-tilt specimen holders/goniometers are mentioned. The so called cubic-minimalistic tilt …

Methods For High Resistivity Measurements Related To Spacecraft Charging, Jr Dennison, Jerilyn Brunson, Prasanna Swaminathan, Nelson Green, A Robb Frederickson

Journal Articles

A key parameter in modeling differential spacecraft charging is the resistivity of insulating materials. This parameter determines how charge will accumulate and redistribute across the spacecraft, as well as the time scale for charge transport and dissipation. ASTM constant voltage methods are shown to provide inaccurate resistivity measurements for materials with resistivities greater than ~10¹⁷ Ω-cm or with long polarization decay times such as are found in many polymers. These data have been shown to often be inappropriate for spacecraft charging applications, and have been found to underestimate charging effects by one to four orders of magnitude for many …

Atomic And Electronic Structure Of Cofeb/Mgo Interface From First Principles, John D. Burton, Sitaram S. Jaswal, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, O. G. Heinonen

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

First-principles calculations of the atomic and electronic structure of crystalline CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are performed to understand the effect of B on spin-dependent transport in these junctions. The authors find that it is energetically favorable for B atoms to reside at the crystalline CoFeB/MgO interface rather than remain in the bulk of the crystalline CoFeB electrode. The presence of B at the interfaces is detrimental to tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) because it significantly suppresses the majority-channel conductance through states of symmetry. Preventing B segregation to the interfaces during annealing should result in an enhanced TMR in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB MTJs.

Interlayer Exchange Coupling In Fe/Mgo/Fe Magnetic Tunnel Junctions, T. Katayama, S. Yuasa, Julian P. Velev, M. Ye. Zhuravlev, Sitaram S. Jaswal, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

Interlayer exchange coupling (IEC) in fully epitaxial Fe/MgO/Fe (001) tunnel junctions with wedge-shaped MgO layers is measured at room temperature from the unidirectional shift of the Kerr hysteresis loop. It is found that the IEC is antiferromagnetic for small MgO thickness but changes sign at 0.8 nm. Ab initio calculations of IEC show that this behavior can be explained by the presence of O vacancies in the MgO barrier which makes IEC antiferromagnetic for thin barriers. With increasing MgO thickness the resonance contribution to IEC from localized defect states is reduced resulting in the ferromagnetic coupling typical for perfect MgO …

Magnetic Moment Softening And Domain Wall Resistance In Ni Nanowires, John D. Burton, Renat F. Sabirianov, Sitaram S. Jaswal, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, O. N. Mryasov

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

We perform ab initio calculations of the electronic structure and conductance of atomic-size Ni nanowires with domain walls only a few atomic lattice constants wide. We show that the hybridization between noncollinear spin states leads to a reduction of the magnetic moments in the domain wall resulting in the enhancement of the domain wall resistance. Experimental studies of the magnetic moment softening may be feasible with modern techniques such as scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

Tunneling Across A Ferroelectric, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, Hermann Kohlstedt

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

Spontaneously polarized materials through which electrons pass by tunneling may be used in novel electronic devices and may reveal new basic physics at the nanometer scale.

Predicted Magnetoelectric Effect In Fe/Batio3 Multilayers: Ferroelectric Control Of Magnetism, Chun-Gang Duan, Sitaram S. Jaswal, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

An unexplored physical mechanism which produces a magnetoelectric effect in ferroelectricferromagnetic multilayers is studied based on first-principles calculations. Its origin is a change in bonding at the ferroelectric-ferromagnet interface that alters the interface magnetization when the electric polarization reverses. Using Fe/BaTiO₃ multilayers as a representative model, we show a sizable difference in magnetic moments of Fe and Ti atoms at the two interfaces dissimilar by the orientation of the local electric dipole moments. The predicted magnetoelectric effect opens a new direction to control magnetic properties of thin-film layered structures by electric fields.

Holographic Recording In Nanoparticle-Doped Photopolymer, Izabela Naydenova, Hosam Sherif, Svetlana Mintova, Suzanne Martin, Vincent Toal

Conference Papers

A nanoparticle-doped acrylic photopolymer is characterised as a material for holographic recording. The influence of nanoparticles on the photopolymer dynamic range, dynamics of recording, temporal stability and mechanical stability in terms of shrinkage has been studied. The dynamics of recording and the temporal stability are investigated by real time monitoring of the build up of diffraction gratings of spatial frequencies of 200 to 2000 l/mm. The shrinkage has been characterised by recording slanted transmission gratings and observation of the change in the Bragg angle.

Laser-Powered Thermoelectric Generators Operating At Cryogenic Temperatures, S. R. Harutyunyan, V. H. Vardanyan, A. S. Kuzanyan, V. R. Nikoghosyan, S. Kunii, K. Winzer, K. S. Wood, Armen Gulian

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

A thermoelectric generator, operating in a cryostat at liquid helium temperatures, is described. Energy to the generator is supplied via an external laser beam. For this prototype device the associated heat load at permanent operation is comparable with the heat load associated with power delivery via metallic wires. Estimates indicate that still better performance can be enabled with existing thermoelectric materials, thereby far exceeding efficiency of traditional cryostat wiring. We used a prototype generator to produce electric power for measuring critical currents in Nb₃Sn-films at 4K.

Kinetic Evaluation Of Human Cloned Coproporphyrinogen Oxidase Using A Ring Isomer Of The Natural Substrate, Marjorie A. Jones, Christopher L. Cooper, Timothy D. Lash

Faculty Publications – Chemistry

Background: The enzyme coproporphyrinogen oxidase (copro'gen oxidase) converts coproporphyrinogen-Ill (GIII) to protoporphyrinogen-IX via an intermediary monovinyl porphyrinogen. The A ring isomer coproporphyrinogen-IV (C-IV) has previously been shown to be a substrate for copro'gen oxidase derived from avian erythrocytes. In contrast to the authentic substrate (GIII) where only a small amount of the monovinyl intermediate is detected, C-IV gives rise to a monovinyl intermediate that accumulates before being converted to an isomer of protoporphyrinogen-IX. No kinetic studies have been carried out using the purified human copro'gen oxidase to evaluate its ability to process both the authentic substrate as well as analogs. …

Investigation Of The Superconducting Properties Of Niobium Radio-Frequency Cavities, Gianluigi Ciovati

Physics Theses & Dissertations

Radio-frequency (rf) superconducting cavities are widely used to increase the energy of a charged particle beam in particle accelerators. The maximum gradients of cavities made of bulk niobium have constantly improved over the last ten years and they are approaching the theoretical limit of the material. Nevertheless, rf tests of niobium cavities are still showing some "anomalous" losses (so-called "Q-drop"), characterized by a marked increase of the surface resistance at high rf fields, in absence of field emission. A low temperature "in-situ" baking under ultra-high vacuum has been successfully applied by several laboratories to reduce those losses and …

Pulsed System For Optical Discharge Of Thin-Film Insulators, Jared Otterstrom, Ryan C. Hoffman, Jr Dennison

Senior Theses and Projects

Much research is being performed in order to characterize the charging of spacecraft materials. The importance and applications of this research is numerous and especially useful to the development of satellites¹. The USU Materials Physics group is currently performing research in this field related to electron emission for spacecraft materials¹. This includes testing sample material in an ultra high vacuum chamber. A problem encountered in this testing is that negative charge can build up on the sample material and modify the electron emission measurements². To remedy this problem, my senior project was to develop, …

Microscopic Theory Of The Low Frequency Raman Modes In Germanium Nanocrystals, Shang-Fen Ren, Peter Y. Yu

Faculty publications – Physics

We have studied the Raman intensities of low-frequency phonon modes in germanium (Ge) nanocrystals (NC) with varying sizes by using a microscopic valence force field model. The results are compared with the predictions of the continuum model of Lamb using a projection method. We found that the l=0 spheroidal Lamb modes are Raman active in the parallel polarization scattering geometry, while the l=2 spheroidal Lamb modes are active in the crossed polarization geometry. This result agrees with the group theory prediction that the torsional Lamb modes are not Raman active, but is in disagreement with the identification of torsional Lamb …

The Effects Of Humidity On The Dielectric Response In Ferroelectric Polymer Films Made By Langmuir-Blodgett Deposition, Kristin L. Kraemer, Alexander V. Sorokin, Christina M. Othon, Stephen Ducharme, Vladimir M. Fridkin

Stephen Ducharme Publications

No abstract provided.

Measurement Of Magnetic Moments Of Free BiNMnM Clusters, Shuangye Yin, Xiaoshan Xu, Ramiro Moro, Walt A. De Heer

Xiaoshan Xu Papers

Magnetic properties of free Bi_NMn_M clusters (N=2–20, M=0–7) are determined from Stern-Gerlach deflections at low temperature (46.5 K). Pure bismuth clusters with odd number of atoms exhibit paramagnetic deflections. The addition of manganese atoms produces a ferromagnetic response which is strongly size dependent. Certain combinations have very large magnetic moments such as Bi₅Mn₃, Bi₉ Mn₄, Bi₁₀Mn₅, and Bi₁₂Mn₆.

Specification Of Jecp/Holz, An Interactive Computer Program For Simulation Of Holz Pattern, Xingzhong Li

Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience: Faculty Publications

1. Purpose of the program 2. Graphic user interface and program design 3. Formulas for calculating the positions of the HOLZ lines 4. System requirement 5. Installation and user instruction 6. How to contact the author 7. References

1. Purpose of the program JECP/HOLZ (Li, 2005a) is one computer program in the Java Electron Crystallography Package (JECP), which is designed and written by Dr. XingZhong Li. The package is developed for quantitative electron diffraction and image processing purpose, JECP/HOLZ is an interactive program for simulation of the higher-order Laue zone (HOLZ) lines using kinematical approximation and a first-order dynamic correction. …

Condensation On (002) Graphite Of Liquid Bismuth Far Below Its Bulk Melting Point, M. K. Zayed, H. E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Condensation of thermally evaporated Bi on (002) graphite, at temperatures of 300-523K, was studied using in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and room temperature ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). For deposition at temperatures below 415±5K, transmission RHEED patterns of Bi appeared at an average thickness of ∼0.5 monolayer (ML). AFM images showed that the film consisted of crystallites in the shape of triangular step pyramids with step heights corresponding to single and double Bi layers in the [111] direction. This morphology indicates crystallization from the vapor. For deposition at higher temperatures, diffuse RHEED patterns appeared independent of the …

Characterisation Of An Acrylamide-Based Photopolymer For Data Storage Utilizing Holographic Angular Multiplexing, Hosam Sherif, Izabela Naydenova, Suzanne Martin, Colm Mcginn, Vincent Toal

Articles

An acrylamide-based photopolymer formulated in the Centre for Industrial and Engineering Optics has been investigated with a view to further optimisation for holographic optical storage. Series of 18 to 30 gratings were angularly multiplexed in a volume of photopolymer layer at a spatial frequency of 1500 lines/mm. Since the photopolymer is a saturable material, an exposure scheduling method was used to exploit the entire dynamic range of the material and allow equal strength holographic gratings to be recorded. This investigation yielded the photopolymer M/# for moderately thin layers. Photopolymer temporal stability was also studied by measuring variations of material shrinkage, …

Magnetic Moments And Adiabatic Magnetization Of Free Cobalt Clusters, Xiaoshan Xu, Shuangye Yin, Ramiro Moro, Walt A. De Heer

Xiaoshan Xu Papers

Magnetizations and magnetic moments of free cobalt clusters CoN (12< N <200) in a cryogenic (25 K ≤ T ≤ 100 K) molecular beam were determined from Stern-Gerlach deflections. All clusters preferentially deflect in the direction of the increasing field and the average magnetization resembles the Langevin function for all cluster sizes even at low temperatures. We demonstrate in the avoided crossing model that the average magnetization may result from adiabatic processes of rotating and vibrating clusters in the magnetic field and that spin relaxation is not involved. This resolves a longstanding problem in the interpretation of cluster beam deflection experiments with implications for nanomagnetic systems in …

Investigation Of Ferroelectricity In Newly Synthesized Nitrile Polymer Systems, Matt Poulsen, Stephen Ducharme, Alexander V. Sorokin, Sahadeva Reddy, James M. Takacs, Y. Wen, Jihee Kim, Shireen Adenwalla

Stephen Ducharme Publications

The ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of newly synthesized polymer systems have been studied. To date PVDF and its copolymers P(VDF-TrFE) have provided the bulk of the knowledge pertaining to ferroelectricity in polymers. Recently, ultrathin ferroelectric films of P(VDF-TrFE) 70:30 have been fabricated using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique [4]. In this study, various new polymers have been synthesized by chemically altering the PVDF structure. This alteration was performed in order to enhance the amphiphilic nature of the polymer and thus improve the LB film quality and control. Various chemical groups have been used to replace the electropositive hydrogen and electronegative fluorine found …

Boron-Rich Semiconducting Boron Carbide Neutron Detector, Andrew D. Harken, Ellen E. Day, Brian W. Robertson, Shireen Adenwalla

Shireen Adenwalla Papers

Data on the neutron detection capabilities of a variety of boron carbide/Si heterojunction diodes is presented. The pulse height spectra are compared with previously measured conversion layer devices and the variations in shape and position of the peaks are discussed.

Femtosecond Spectrotemporal Magneto-Optics, J.-Y. Bigot, L. Guidoni, E. Beaurepaire, Peter N. Saeta

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

A new method to measure and analyze the time and spectrally resolved polarimetric response of magnetic materials is presented. It allows us to study the ultrafast magnetization dynamics of a CoPt₃ ferromagnetic film. The analysis of the pump-induced rotation and ellipticity detected by a broad spectrum probe beam shows that magneto-optical signals predominantly reflect the spin dynamics in ferromagnets.

Qvd Sensors As Focal Plane Instruments For X-Ray Timing Applications, Kent S. Wood, Armen Gulian, Paul S. Ray

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

“QVD” detectors are based on thermoelectric heat‐to‐voltage (Q→V) conversion and digital (V→D) readout. For spectroscopic applications, the theoretical performance limits are competitive with superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) detectors and transition edge sensor (TES) devices. We discuss theoretical and demonstrated timing performance of QVD detectors with different design architectures. Detectors with lanthanum‐cerium hexaboride sensors can be very fast, up to 100 MHz/pixel counting rates. They can serve as focal plane detectors for X‐ray timing, in situations where very large apertures are used to gather X‐ray photons at high event rates. Practical implementation of thermoelectric (QVD) detectors requires cryogenic thermoelectric sensors with …

Microscopic Investigation Of Phonon Modes In Sige Alloy Nanocrystals, Shang-Fen Ren, Wei Cheng, Peter Y. Yu

Faculty publications – Physics

Phonon modes in spherical silicon germanium alloy (SiGe) nanocrystals containing up to 1147 atoms (3.6 nm) have been investigated as a function of the Si concentration. Microscopic details of phonon modes, including phonon frequencies and vibrational amplitudes, phonon density-of-states are calculated directly from the dynamic matrices. In particular, the dependence of phonon frequency on the configuration (such as a different ratio of Si to Ge atoms), and location (surface or interior) of clusters of atoms in SiGe alloy nanocrystals have been investigated. Low frequency surface phonons that are related to the spheroidal and torsional modes of a continuum sphere are …