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We present the electronic and structural properties of monolayer ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$ grown by pulsed-laser deposition on monolayer graphene (MLG) on SiC. The spin splitting in the ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$ valence band at $\overline{\mathrm{K}}$ was ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{\mathrm{SO}}=0.469\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.008$ eV, as determined by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Synchrotron-based grazing-incidence in-plane x-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed the in-plane lattice constant of monolayer ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$ to be ${a}_{{\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}}=3.2757\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0008$ \AA{}. This indicates a lattice compression of $\ensuremath{-}0.19$% relative to bulk ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$. By using the experimentally determined graphene lattice constant (${a}_{\mathrm{MLG}}=2.4575\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0007$ \AA{}), we found that a $3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}3$ unit cell of the slightly compressed ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$ is perfectly commensurate with a $4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4$ graphene lattice with a mismatch below 0.03%, which could explain why the monolayer ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$ is compressed on MLG. From XRD and first-principles calculations, we conclude that the observed size of strain will affect ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{\mathrm{SO}}$ only on the order of a few meV. In addition, angle-resolved, ultraviolet, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopies shed light on the band alignment between ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$ and MLG/SiC and indicate electron transfer from graphene to the ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$ monolayer. As further revealed by atomic force microscopy, the ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$ island size depends on the number of carbon layers on top of the SiC substrate. This suggests that the epitaxy of ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$ favors the weak van der Waals interactions with graphene, while it is perturbed by the influence of the SiC substrate and its carbon buffer layer.

A real-time synchrotron radiation study of the crystalline phase, texture formation and resulting surface roughness during deposition of thin La and LaN films is presented. For LaN, the theoretically predicted metastable wurtzite and zincblende structures were found, while La assumes the expected NaCl structure., Lanthanum and lanthanum nitride thin films were deposited by magnetron sputtering onto silicon wafers covered by natural oxide. In situ and real-time synchrotron radiation experiments during deposition reveal that lanthanum crystallizes in the face-centred cubic bulk phase. Lanthanum nitride, however, does not form the expected NaCl structure but crystallizes in the theoretically predicted metastable wurtzite and zincblende phases, whereas post-growth nitridation results in zincblende LaN. During deposition of the initial 2–3 nm, amorphous or disordered films with very small crystallites form, while the surface becomes smoother. At larger thicknesses, the La and LaN crystallites are preferentially oriented with the close-packed lattice planes parallel to the substrate surface. For LaN, the onset of texture formation coincides with a sudden increase in roughness. For La, the smoothing process continues even during crystal formation, up to a thickness of about 6 nm. This different growth behaviour is probably related to the lower mobility of the nitride compared with the metal. It is likely that the characteristic void structure of nitride thin films, and the similarity between the crystal structures of wurtzite LaN and La2O3, evoke the different degradation behaviours of La/B and LaN/B multilayer mirrors for off-normal incidence at 6.x nm wavelength.

Photothermal reactions of metallic nanostructures, such as gold nanorods show appealing structural relaxations, such as bubble formation or particle modification. We have employed a pump-probe method to record the structural relaxations of a suspension of gold nanorods upon femtosecond laser excitation by pulsed X-ray scattering both with wide-angle and small-angle sensitivity. Single-pulse reactions include transient bubble formation at 20 J m-2 and irreversible nanorod reshaping at 30 J m-2. Thus the window for reversible excitation is very narrow. Additionally we could map the time-domain and fluence behaviour in a wide range to characterize the relaxations comprehensively. The polarized laser pulse first selectively excites nanorods aligned with the laser electric field, but at higher fluence non-aligned rods are also transformed. At low fluence this transformation happens in the solid state, while at higher fluence the rods melt.

Transition metal oxides are promising candidates for thermoelectric applications, because they are stable at high temperature and because strong electronic correlations can generate large Seebeck coefficients, but their thermoelectric power factors are limited by the low electrical conductivity. We report transport measurements on Ca3Co4O9 films on various perovskite substrates and show that reversible incorporation of oxygen into SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 substrates activates a parallel conduction channel for p-type carriers, greatly enhancing the thermoelectric performance of the film-substrate system at temperatures above 450 {\deg}C. Thin-film structures that take advantage of both electronic correlations and the high oxygen mobility of transition metal oxides thus open up new perspectives for thermopower generation at high temperature.

Although nanoparticle synthesis by pulsed laser ablation in liquids (PLAL) is gaining wide applicability, the mechanism of particle formation, in particular size-quenching effects by dissolved anions, is not fully understood yet. It is well-known that the size of small primary particles (d ≤ 10 nm), secondary particles (spherical particles d > 10 nm), and agglomerates observed ex situ is effectively reduced by the addition of small amounts of monovalent electrolyte to the liquid prior to laser ablation. In this study, we focus on the particle formation and evolution inside the vapor filled cavitation bubble. This vapor phase is enriched with ions from the afore added electrolyte. By probing the cavitation bubbles’ interior by means of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), we are able to examine whether the size quenching reaction between nanoparticles and ions starts already during cavitation bubble confinement or if these reactions are subjected to the liquid phase. We find that particle size quenching oc...

We report a systematic lattice dynamics study of EuSi_{2} films and nanoislands by in situ nuclear inelastic scattering on ^{151}Eu and ab initio theory. The Eu-partial phonon density of states of the nanoislands exhibits anomalous excess of phonon states at low and high energies, not present in the bulk and at the EuSi_{2}(001) surface. We demonstrate that atomic vibrations along the island-substrate interface give rise to phonon states both at low and high energies, while atomic vibrations across the island-island interface result in localized high-energy phonon modes.

The kinetics of phase transitions during formation of small-scale systems are essential for many applications. However, their experimental observation remains challenging, making it difficult to elucidate the underlying fundamental mechanisms. Here, we combine in situ and real-time synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray reflectivity (XRR) experiments with substrate curvature measurements during deposition of nanoscale Mo and Mo1–xSix films on amorphous Si (a-Si). The simultaneous measurements provide direct evidence of a spontaneous, thickness-dependent amorphous-to-crystalline (a–c) phase transition, associated with tensile stress build-up and surface roughening. This phase transformation is thermodynamically driven, the metastable amorphous layer being initially stabilized by the contributions of surface and interface energies. A quantitative analysis of the XRD data, complemented by simulations of the transformation kinetics, unveils an interface-controlled crystallization process. This a–c phas...

Pulsed laser ablation in liquids (PLAL) is a multiscale process, involving multiple mutually interacting phenomena. In order to synthesize nanoparticles with well-defined properties it is important to understand the dynamics of the underlying structure evolution. We use visible-light stroboscopic imaging and X-ray radiography to investigate the dynamics occurring during PLAL of silver and gold on a macroscopic scale, whilst X-ray small angle scattering is utilized to deepen the understanding on particle genesis. By comparing our results with earlier reports we can elucidate the role of the cavitation bubble. We find that symmetry breaking at the liquid-solid interface is a critical factor for bubble motion and that the bubble motion acts on the particle distribution as confinement and retraction force to create secondary agglomerates.

We establish strain engineering of ruthenium oxides as a method to controllably induce phase transitions between electronic ground states with vastly different electrical and magnetic properties. Specifically, we show that the epitaxial strain acting on Ca2RuO4 thin films on NdCaAlO4 (110), LaAlO3 (100), and LaSrAlO4 (001) substrates induces a transition from the Mott-insulating phase of bulk Ca2RuO4 into a metallic phase. Magnetometry and spin-polarized neutron reflectometry reveal a low-temperature, small-moment ferromagnetic state in Ca2RuO4 films on LaAlO3 (100) and LaSrAlO4(001). Thin-film structures may open up new ways to investigate and utilize the electronic response of ruthenates to lattice modification.

Atomically thin films of WSe2 from one monolayer up to 8 layers were deposited on an Al2O3 r-cut ( 11¯02) substrate using a hybrid-Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) system where a laser ablation of pure W is combined with a flux of Se. Specular X-ray reflectivities of films were analysed and were consistent with the expected thickness. Raman measurement and atomic force microscopy confirmed the formation of a WSe2 monolayer and its spatial homogeneity over the substrate. Grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction uncovered an in-plane texture in which WSe2 [ 101¯0] preferentially aligned with Al2O3 [ 112¯0]. These results present a potential to create 2D transition metal dichalcogenides by PLD, where the growth kinetics can be steered in contrast to common growth techniques like chemical vapor deposition and molecular beam epitaxy.

The formation of nanoparticles within the laser-induced cavitation bubble is studied in situ using small angle X-ray scattering with high spatiotemporal resolution. Directly after laser ablation, two different particle fractions consisting of compact primary particles of 8–10 nm size and agglomerates of 40–60 nm size are formed. The abundance of these species is strongly influenced by the dynamics of the oscillating cavitation bubble. Primary particle mass is most abundant during maximal expansion of the first bubble and reappears a little weaker in the rebound. In contrast to this, the mass abundance of agglomerates is relatively low in the first bubble but strongly increases during first bubble collapse and following rebound. Although most of the ablated material is trapped inside the bubble and follows its oscillation, a minor fraction of both species could be detected outside the cavitation bubble even before its final collapse.

We investigated nanoparticle formation after pulsed laser ablation in liquid using time-resolved small angle x-ray scattering. Laser ablation of a gold target in water induces a cavitation bubble in which two different particle species could be identified at maximum bubble extension: (i) primary particles of about 8–10 nm diameter, which show a smooth concentration gradient starting from the target and can also be found outside the cavitation bubble in the free liquid and (ii) secondary particles in the range of 45 nm diameter which have highest concentration in the upper part of the cavitation bubble but do not penetrate into the liquid.