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Among iron oxide phases, magnetite Fe3O4 is often the preferred one for nanotechnological and biomedical applications because of its high saturation magnetization and low toxicity. Although there are several synthetic routes that attempt to reach magnetite nanoparticles NPs , they are usually referred as IONPs iron oxide NPs due to the great difficulty in obtaining the monophasic and stoichiometric Fe3O4 phase. Added to this problem is the common increase of size shape polydispersity when larger NPs D gt; 20 nm are synthesized. An unequivocal correlation between a nanomaterial and its properties can only be achieved by the production of highly homogeneous systems, which, in turn, is only possible by the continuous improvement of synthesis methods. There is no doubt that solving the compositional heterogeneity of IONPs while keeping them monodisperse remains a challenge for synthetic chemistry. Herein, we present a methodical optimization of the iron oleate decomposition method to obtain Fe3O4 single nanocrystals without any trace of secondary phases and with no need of postsynthetic treatment. The average dimension of the NPs, ranging from 20 to 40 nm, has been tailored by adjusting the total volume and the boiling point of the reaction mixture. Mössbauer spectroscopy and DC magnetometry have revealed that the NPs present a perfectly stoichiometric Fe3O4 phase. The high saturation magnetization 93 2 A m2 kg at RT and the extremely sharp Verwey transition at around 120 K shown by these NPs have no precedent. Moreover, the synthesis method has been refined to obtain NPs with octahedral morphology and suitable magnetic anisotropy, which significantly improves the magnetic hyperthemia performance. The heating power of properly PEGylated nano octahedrons has been investigated by AC magnetometry, confirming that the NPs present negligible dipolar interactions, which leads to an outstanding magnetothermal efficiency that does not change when the NPs are dispersed in environments with high viscosity and ionic strength. Additionally, the heat production of the NPs within physiological media has been directly measured by calorimetry under clinically safe conditions, reasserting the excellent adequacy of the system for hyperthermia therapies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such bulklike magnetite NPs with minimal size shape polydispersity, minor agglomeration, and exceptional heating power are chemically synthesized

Novel high performing materials will dictate the pace of reinventing industrial chemical processes to attain desired carbon neutrality targets. Regarding the urgency of exploiting solar irradiation long range visible-light photoelectrocatalysts from abundant resources will play a key role in the aforementioned effort. Anionic doping via co-polymerization and pre-organization of precursors results in tuneable and extrinsic semiconductors, making this a highly attractive methodology. Triazole derivative-purpald, an unexplored precursor but sulfur (S) container, combined with melamine during one solid-state polycondensation reaction with two thermal steps leads to S-doped carbon nitrides (C3N4). The series of S-doped/C3N4-based materials demonstrated enhanced optical, electronic, structural, geometric, textural, and morphological properties and exhibited higher performance in organic benzylamine photooxidation, oxygen evolution, and similar storing energy (capacitor brief investigation) than references. Among the five composites, 50M-50P exhibited the highest photooxidation conversion yield (84±3%) of benzylamine to imine at 535 nm – green light for 48h, due to an extra discrete shoulder reaching ~700 nm, an unusual high sulfur content, preservation of crystal size, new intraband energy states, rare deep structural defects by layer distortion, hydrophobic surface, low porosity, and 10-16 nm pores. An in-depth analysis of S doping was investigated coupling x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, and elemental analysis, providing insights on bonds, distribution, and surface/bulk content. This work contributes to the development of amorphous photocatalysts with long-visible-light range for solar energy conversion and storage.

Two dimensional MXenes, with Ti3C2Tx being the most prominent member, show properties that make them promising for a manifold of applications, including electrodes in light emitting diodes, solar cells, and field effect transistors based on organic semiconductors. In these cases, the work function of MXenes plays an important role in the energy level alignment to the subsequently deposited organic layer, as it determines the electron and hole injection barriers. Therefore, methods for controlling the Ti3C2Tx work function should be developed. We demonstrate that, by using thin layers of metal organic donor acceptor molecules, the work function of Ti3C2Tx can be tuned over a range of gt;3 eV. This enables tuning the energy level alignment to a subsequently deposited organic semiconductor, all the way from intrinsic Fermi level pinning at the highest occupied molecular energy level minimal hole injection barrier to pinning at the lowest unoccupied level minimal electron injection barrier . Furthermore, it is shown that a predominantly oxygen terminated surface does not lead to an extraordinary high work function, in contrast to theoretical predictions. The proposed strategy may greatly expand the use of MXenes in conjunction with organic hole and electron transport layers in optoelectronic devices

The double ionization of molecular dopants enables the doping efficiency free charges per dopant molecule to rise above 100 . However, the current models of doped organic semiconductors based on Fermi Dirac statistics fail to explain the double ionization of dopants and also the analogous situation of bipolaron formation on a host polymer. Here, we address this shortcoming by considering the renormalization of the state energies upon electron transfer between host and p dopant. We vary the model parameters amp; 9472;the reorganization energy and evolutions of ionization energies and electron affinities upon charging amp; 9472;and plot the fractions of doubly ionized, singly ionized, and neutral species. The model shows good agreement with experimental measurements of doubly ionized p dopants and bipolarons on a p doped polymer. With these insights, we suggest that the state energy renormalization upon charging is the key parameter to be minimized for double ionization of dopants or maximized to avoid formation of bipolarons on the host

European Regional Development Fund (grant No. TK-141 HiTechDevices 2014-2020.4.01.15-0011 to University of Tartu; grant No. MAX-TEENUS 2014-2020.4.01.20-0278 to University of Tartu; grant No. Eesti Kiirekanal SLOFY11156T/1 to University of Tartu); Estonian Research Council (grant No. PRG-629 to University of Tartu); Jane & Aatos Erkko Foundation (grant No. SOFUS); Business Finland (grant No. 1464/31/2019); Academy of Finland (grant No. 319042; grant No. 326461; grant No. 326406; grant No. 320165); University of Oulu; University of Turku; Tampere University; University of Tartu., FinEstBeAMS (Finnish-Estonian Beamline for Atmospheric and Materials Sciences) is a multidisciplinary beamline constructed at the 1.5 GeV storage ring of the MAX IV synchrotron facility in Lund, Sweden. The beamline covers an extremely wide photon energy range, 4.5-1300 eV, by utilizing a single elliptically polarizing undulator as a radiation source and a single grazing-incidence plane grating monochromator to disperse the radiation. At photon energies below 70 eV the beamline operation relies on the use of optical and thin-film filters to remove higher-order components from the monochromated radiation. This paper discusses the performance of the beamline, examining such characteristics as the quality of the gratings, photon energy calibration, photon energy resolution, available photon flux, polarization quality and focal spot size. © 2021 International Union of Crystallography. All rights reserved. --//-- Chernenk, K., Kivimäki, A., Pärna, R., Wang, W., Sankari, R., Leandersson, M., . . . Huttula, M. (2021). Performance and characterization of the FinEstBeAMS beamline at the MAX IV laboratory. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 28, 1620-1630. doi:10.1107/S1600577521006032., ERDF TK-141 HiTechDevices 2014-2020.4.01.15-0011; MAX-TEENUS 2014-2020.4.01.20-0278; Eesti Kiirekanal SLOFY11156T/1; Estonian Research Council grant No. PRG-629; Jane & Aatos Erkko Foundation SOFUS; Business Finland 1464/31/2019; Academy of Finland 319042, 326461, 326406, 320165; University of Oulu; University of Turku; Tampere University; University of Tartu. Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2.

Two data evaluation concepts are proposed for nondestructive and depth-resolved X-ray residual stress analysis by means of energy-dispersive diffraction on materials featuring cubic symmetry and a nearly single crystalline structure., Two evaluation concepts for nondestructive depth-resolved X-ray residual stress analysis in the near-surface region of materials with cubic symmetry and nearly single crystalline structure are introduced by simulated examples. Both concepts are based on the same data acquisition strategy, which consists in the determination of lattice-spacing depth profiles along the 〈hkl〉 poles by stepwise sample rotation around the scattering vector. Segmentation of these profiles parallel to the sample surface provides the lattice strain state as a function of depth. The first evaluation concept extends the crystallite group method developed for materials with pronounced crystallographic texture by the feature of depth resolution and can be applied to samples with arbitrary orientation. The second evaluation concept, which adapts the linear regression approach of the sin2ψ method for the case of single crystalline materials, is restricted to samples with (001) orientation. The influence of the strain-free lattice parameter a 0 on residual stress analysis using both evaluation concepts is discussed on the basis of explicitly derived relations.

We report on time- and angle-resolved transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect spectroscopy in the soft x-ray range that, by analysis via polarization-dependent magnetic scattering simulations, allows us to determine the spatio-temporal and element-specific evolution of femtosecond laser-induced spin dynamics in nanostructured magnetic materials. In a ferrimagnetic GdFe thin film system, we correlate a reshaping spectrum of the magneto-optical Kerr signal to depth-dependent magnetization dynamics and disentangle contributions due to non-equilibrium electron transport and nanoscale heat diffusion on their intrinsic time scales. Our work provides a quantitative insight into light-driven spin dynamics occurring at buried interfaces of complex magnetic heterostructures, which can be tailored and functionalized for future opto-spintronic devices.

The combination of brilliant liquid metal jet sources LMJS and polycapillary lenses yields substantial advantages in the excitation efficiency of traces of transition metals by micro X ray fluorescence spectroscopy amp; 956;XRF and confocal amp; 956;XRF in the laboratory. We show, that it is possible to especially adapt the parameters of polycapillary lenses to achieve an optimized performance in transmission and exit focal spot size. Furthermore, we demonstrate an energy dependent influence of the source spot size on the effective transmission of the lenses, which increases with decreasing field of view of the polycapillary lenses. A measurement on a mussel foot cross section using a amp; 956;XRF setup with a specially designed polycapillary lens in combination with the LMJS shows a significant increase of the excitation efficiency for vanadium. A 24 times higher net peak fluorescence intensity for V K radiation is achieved resulting in well defined and detailed vanadium structures compared to measurements performed with a state of the art amp; 956;XRF setup

The possibilities to perform serial synchrotron crystallography at BioMAX, the first macromolecular crystallography beamline at MAX IV Laboratory in Lund, Sweden, are described, together with case studies from the synchrotron X-ray crystallography user program., Over the last decade, serial crystallography, a method to collect complete diffraction datasets from a large number of microcrystals delivered and exposed to an X-ray beam in random orientations at room temperature, has been successfully implemented at X-ray free-electron lasers and synchrotron radiation facility beamlines. This development relies on a growing variety of sample presentation methods, including different fixed target supports, injection methods using gas-dynamic virtual-nozzle injectors and high-viscosity extrusion injectors, and acoustic levitation of droplets, each with unique requirements. In comparison with X-ray free-electron lasers, increased beam time availability makes synchrotron facilities very attractive to perform serial synchrotron X-ray crystallography (SSX) experiments. Within this work, the possibilities to perform SSX at BioMAX, the first macromolecular crystallography beamline at MAX IV Laboratory in Lund, Sweden, are described, together with case studies from the SSX user program: an implementation of a high-viscosity extrusion injector to perform room temperature serial crystallography at BioMAX using two solid supports – silicon nitride membranes (Silson, UK) and XtalTool (Jena Bioscience, Germany). Future perspectives for the dedicated serial crystallography beamline MicroMAX at MAX IV Laboratory, which will provide parallel and intense micrometre-sized X-ray beams, are discussed.

X-ray circular dichroism (XMCD), one of the main tools to study magnetism, benefits enormously from the capability of a fast alterable helicity of circularly polarized X-ray photons. Here we present a method for boosting the alternating frequency between right- and left-handed photons to the MHz regime, more than three orders of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art technologies. The method is based on a twin elliptical undulator installed in an electron storage ring being operated in a novel mode where the electron optics is tuned close to a resonance with electrons captured in transverse resonance island buckets. Propagating through the twin undulator, electrons from different islands emit photons of the same wavelength but of opposite helicity. These two helicity components can be alternated as fast as 2 ns. In a proof-of-principle experiment at BESSY II, we demonstrate XMCD at the L2,3 absorption edges of Ni with an 800 ns helicity flip. Rapidly switching the helicity of polarised x-rays is desirable for studying magnetic dynamics via circular dichroism spectroscopy, but has not yet been realised from synchrotron radiation sources. Here, switching between ultrafast emission of monoenergetic, circularly polarized x-rays with opposite helicity is shown within a few nanoseconds.

Ni–Mn–Ga Heusler alloys are multifunctional materials that demonstrate macroscopic strain under an externally applied magnetic field through the motion of martensite twin boundaries within the microstructure. This study sought to comprehensively characterize the microstructural, mechanical, thermal, and magnetic properties near the solidus in binder-jet 3D printed 14M Ni50Mn30Ga20. Neutron diffraction data were analyzed to identify the martensite modulation and observe the grain size evolution in samples sintered at temperatures of 1080 °C and 1090 °C. Large clusters of high neutron-count pixels in samples sintered at 1090 °C were identified, suggesting Bragg diffraction of large grains (near doubling in size) compared to 1080 °C sintered samples. The grain size was confirmed through quantitative stereology of polished surfaces for differently sintered and heat-treated samples. Nanoindentation testing revealed a greater resistance to plasticity and a larger elastic modulus in 1090 °C sintered samples (relative density ~95%) compared to the samples sintered at 1080 °C (relative density ~80%). Martensitic transformation temperatures were lower for samples sintered at 1090 °C than 1080 °C, though a further heat treatment step could be added to tailor the transformation temperature. Microstructurally, twin variants ≤10 μm in width were observed and the presence of magnetic anisotropy was confirmed through magnetic force microscopy. This study indicates that a 10 °C sintering temperature difference can largely affect the microstructure and mechanical properties (including elastic modulus and hardness) while still allowing for the presence of magnetic twin variants in the resulting modulated martensite.

Full control of magnetic properties in exchange coupled systems requires a good understanding of 3D magnetic configuration with lateral and in-depth resolution. Here we show results from a soft X-ray tomographic reconstruction which allow determining, solely from the experimental data, a detailed description of the vector magnetic configuration of a ferrimagnetic Gd12Co88/Nd17Co83/Gd24Co76 trilayer with engineered competing anisotropy, exchange and magnetostatic interactions at different depths. The trilayer displays chevron patterns with a distorted closure structure. Near the top Gd24Co76 layer, local exchange springs with out-of-plane magnetization reversal, quasi-domains with ripple-like patterns and magnetic vortices and antivortices across the thickness are observed. The detailed analysis of the magnetic tomogram shows that the effective strength of the exchange spring at the NdCo/GdCo interface can be finely tuned by GdxCo1-x composition and anisotropy (determined by sample fabrication) and in-plane stripe orientation (adjustable), demonstrating the suitability of 3D magnetic visualization techniques in magnetic engineering research., Alba light source is funded by the Ministry of Research and Innovation of Spain, by the Generalitat de Catalunya and by European FEDER funds. This project has been supported by Spanish MICINN under grant PID2019-104604RB/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.

We recently introduced a versatile infrared laser ellipsometer for sub-decisecond spectroscopy [Opt. Lett. 44, 4387 (2019)10.1364/OL.44.004387] and 0.03 mm2 spot-sized hyperspectral imaging [Opt. Lett. 44, 4893 (2019)10.1364/OL.44.004893]. Here we report on the next device generation for thin-film sensitive simultaneous single-shot amplitude and phase measurements. The multi-timescale ellipsometer achieves 10 µs time resolution and long-term stability over hours at high spectral resolution (0.2 cm−1). We investigate the temporal stages (from minutes to milliseconds) of fatty acid thin-film formation upon solvent evaporation from acetone-diluted microliter droplets. Optical thickness variations, structure modifications, and molecular interactions are probed during the liquid-to-solid phase transition. Multi-timescale ellipsometry could greatly impact fields like in situ biosensing, microfluidics, and polymer analytics, but also operando applications in membrane research, catalysis, and studies of interface processes and surface reactions.

Preaging PA is an industrial routine that suppresses the deleterious effect of natural aging and enhances the final paint bake hardening of 6XXX aluminum alloys. In view of the different advantages of PA at high and low temperatures, the effects of performing PA in two steps at different temperatures, namely, 80 and 160 C, are explored. Various two step PA combinations are investigated, involving both the temperature orders and various aging times at both temperatures, while aiming at the same hardness after all PA treatments. These results are interpreted on the basis of cluster formation and vacancy evolution during two step PA. In particular, the first PA step is found to play a more important role than suggested by the durations of the two PA steps as the clusters formed in the first step can strongly influence the subsequent evolution of both clusters and vacancies in the second step. It is found that two step PA results in a compromise between the effects of one step PA at both temperatures, that is, the enhancement of natural secondary aging stability is accompanied by a reduced paint bake hardening or vice versa

We present a straightforward and easily interpretable multi scale infrared IR spectroscopic characterization of anisotropy and arrangement of polymer nanofibers. Direct spectral interpretation of fiber bundles and single fibers with respect to their anisotropic properties is possible by applying non invasive IR polarimetry at defined polarization states with spatial resolutions from the macroscale a few mm down to the nanoscale a few 10 nm . A vivid relation is shown to exist between vibrational bands in s polarized reflection and absorption associated photothermal spectra measured by the AFM IR technique. Such a relation is a prerequisite for detailed discussions of IR spectra with respect to complex fiber structures and materials

The phase shimming of an in-vacuum APPLE II undulator requests a precise slit adjustment between neighbouring magnet rows besides the conventional gap tuning such as in an in-vacuum undulator. In an out-of-vacuum APPLE II, the slit between the magnet rows is precisely defined via a stiff needle bearing, which is located closely to the critical volume. In the APPLE II design, the slit adjustment must be done from outside of the vacuum chamber far away from the electron beam. In this article, we discuss the tolerances of systematic phase errors of various types and their relaxation with emittance and energy spread. We developed specific transverse slides for the slit adjustment to achieve full flexibility in phase tuning. We discuss their capability in slit adjustment precision in the readily assembled and evacuated system. The discussions are based on spectral and FEM-simulations.

The chemical shift of core level binding energies makes electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) a workhorse analytical tool for science and industry. For some elements, close lying and overlapping spectral features within the natural life time broadening restrict applications. We establish how the core level binding energy chemical shift can be picked up experimentally by the additional selectivity through Auger electron photoelectron coincidence spectroscopy (APECS). Coincident measurement of Ni 3p photoemission with different MVV Auger regions from specific decay channels, narrows the 3p core-levels to a width of 1.2 eV, resolves the spin–orbit splitting of 1.6 eV and determines the chemical shift of Ni 3p levels of a Ni(111) single crystal and its oxidized surface layer to 0.6 eV.

Most electrical sensor and biosensor elements require reliable transducing elements to convert small potential changes into easy to read out current signals. Offering inherent signal magnification and being operable in many relevant environments field-effect transistors (FETs) are the element of choice in many cases. In particular, using electrolyte gating, numerous sensors and biosensors have been realized in aqueous environments. Over the past years, electrolyte-gated FETs have been fabricated using a variety of semiconducting materials, including graphene, ZnO, as well as conjugated molecules and polymers. Above all, using conducting polymers top-performing devices have been achieved. Herein, an approach to use a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC)-based monolayer device as a transducing element is presented. Using MoS2 monolayers, it is shown that such electrolyte-gated devices may be regarded as very promising transducing elements for sensor and biosensor applications, enabled by their high sensitivity for environmental changes and the possibility of using the naturally occurring sulfur vacancies as grafting points of biorecognition layers. Furthermore, the behavior of such a device under prolonged operation in a dilute biologically relevant electrolyte such as phosphate buffered saline solution (PBS) is reported.

Structural dynamics 8(3), 034305 (1-9) (2021). doi:10.1063/4.0000109, During the last two decades, a variety of models have been developed to explain the ultrafast quenching of magnetization following femtosecond optical excitation. These models can be classified into two broad categories, relying either on a local or a non-local transfer of angular momentum. The acquisition of the magnetic depth profiles with femtosecond resolution, using time-resolved x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity, can distinguish local and non-local effects. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of this technique in a pump–probe geometry using a custom-built reflectometer at the FLASH2 free-electron laser (FEL). Although FLASH2 is limited to the production of photons with a fundamental wavelength of 4 nm (≃310 eV), we were able to probe close to the Fe $L_3$ edge (706.8 eV) of a magnetic thin film employing the third harmonic of the FEL. Our approach allows us to extract structural and magnetic asymmetry signals revealing two dynamics on different time scales which underpin a non-homogeneous loss of magnetization and a significant dilation of 2 Å of the layer thickness followed by oscillations. Future analysis of the data will pave the way to a full quantitative description of the transient magnetic depth profile combining femtosecond with nanometer resolution, which will provide further insight into the microscopic mechanisms underlying ultrafast demagnetization, Published by AIP Publishing LLC, Melville, NY

We outline our achievements in developing electron transparent, leak-tight membranes required for environmental photoelectron spectroscopy (PES). We discuss the mechanical constraints limiting the achievable membrane size and review the development of growth protocols for the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of single-crystalline graphene on highly (111) textured Cu foils serving as membrane material. During CVD growth, Cu tends to develop a mesoscopic staircase morphology consisting of alternating inclined surface planes, irrespective of whether the covering graphene film or the substrate are single-crystalline. This morphology remains imprinted even when converting the film into freestanding graphene, which affects its mechanical properties. Determining the number of carbon layers in freestanding graphene, we show that membranes reported to suspend over distances larger than 20 µm most likely consist of few-layer graphene. The Raman band signature often used to confirm monolayer graphene rather relates to graphene with turbostratic stacking. The vertical corrugation of freestanding graphene was shown to be almost absent for tri- and four-layer-thick graphene but substantial for bilayer and especially for monolayer graphene. The corrugation is reduced when mechanically straining the freestanding graphene through thermal expansion of the supporting frame, especially flattening membrane areas with imprinted staircase morphology. The electron signal attenuation through supported and freestanding graphene was determined as a function of the electron kinetic energy, verifying that large-area graphene-based electron windows have sufficient electron transparency required for environmental PES. Meanwhile, we managed to cover 100 µm-sized single holes by few-layer graphene up to a coverage fraction of over 99.9998%, as deduced when applying 10 mbar air on one side of the sealing membrane without detecting any measurable pressure increase on its ultrahigh vacuum side. The reported achievements will pave the way toward the development of laboratory-based environmental PES.

Nickel(Ni)/aluminium(Al) hybrid foams are Al base foams coated with Ni by electrodeposition. Hybrid foams offer an enhanced energy absorption capacity. To ensure a good adhering Ni coating, necessary for a shear resistant interface, the influence of a chemical pre-treatment of the base foam was investigated by a combination of an interface morphology analysis by focused ion beam (FIB) tomography and in situ mechanical testing. The critical energy for interfacial decohesion from these microbending fracture tests in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) were contrasted to and the results validated by depth-resolved measurements of the evolving stresses in the Ni coating during three-point bending tests at the energy-dispersive diffraction (EDDI) beamline at the synchrotron BESSY II. Such a multi-method assessment of the interface decohesion resistance with respect to the interface morphology provides a reliable investigation strategy for further improvement of the interface morphology.

The preparation of fumed silica based anisometric supraparticles with well defined catalytically active patches suitable for self propulsion is presented here. These sub millimeter sized particles can self propel as they contain Pt covered magnetite Fe3O4 nanoparticles, where the Pt can decompose catalytically a fuel like H2O2 and thereby propel the supraparticles. By their magnetic properties, the catalytically active nanoparticles can be concentrated in patches on the supraparticle surface. The goal is to obtain robust supraparticles with well defined patchiness and long time stability during self propulsion through evaporation induced self assembly EISA on a superhydrophobic surface. The latter is a major issue as oxygen evolution can lead to the disintegration of the supraparticles. Therefore, enhanced mechanical stability is sought using a number of different additives, where the best results are obtained by incorporating polystyrene microspheres followed by heat treatment or reinforcement with microfibrillated cellulose MFC and sodium trisilicate Na2SiO3 . The detailed internal structure of the different types of particles is investigated by confocal micro X ray fluorescence spectroscopy CMXRF , which allows for precisely locating the catalytic Fe3O4 Pt nanoparticles within the supraparticles with a resolution in the m range. The insights on the supraparticle structure, together with their long time stability, allow fabricating optimized patchy supraparticles for potential applications in propulsion enhanced catalysis

A method is presented to manually determine the lattice parameters of commensurate hexagonal moiré structures resolved by STM. It solves the problem that lattice parameters of moiré structures usually cannot be determined by inspection of an STM image, so that computer‐based analyses are required. The lattice vector of a commensurate moiré structure is a sum of integer multiples both of the two basis vectors of the substrate and of the adsorbed layer. The method extracts the two factors with respect to the adsorbed layer from an analysis of the Fourier transform of an STM image. These two factors are related to the two factors with respect to the substrate layer. Using the cell augmentation method, six possible moiré structures are identified by algebra. When the orientation and lattice constant of the substrate are roughly known, this information is usually sufficient to determine a unique moiré structure and its lattice parameters., Manual analysis: A method is presented to analyze STM images of commensurate, hexagonal moiré structures on surfaces. Precise lattice constants and rotational angles can usually not be derived by simple inspection. However, the equations describing moiré structures can be solved analytically, from which a step‐by‐step recipe is developed that gives exact lattice parameters. Trial‐and‐error approaches as well as numerical computations are avoided. The method makes use of the Fourier transform, as illustrated for the simulated data in the table of content image.

Ultrashort circularly polarised light pulses from free electron lasers offer a route for exploring chiral molecules and their dynamics, but remain challenging to harness. Here, X ray pump probe experiments enable a site specific photoelectron circular dichroism measurement on a dissociating chiral molecule. Short wavelength free electron lasers with their ultrashort pulses at high intensities have originated new approaches for tracking molecular dynamics from the vista of specific sites. X ray pump X ray probe schemes even allow to address individual atomic constituents with a trigger event that preludes the subsequent molecular dynamics while being able to selectively probe the evolving structure with a time delayed second X ray pulse. Here, we use a linearly polarized X ray photon to trigger the photolysis of a prototypical chiral molecule, namely trifluoromethyloxirane C3H3F3O , at the fluorine K edge at around 700 eV. The created fluorine containing fragments are then probed by a second, circularly polarized X ray pulse of higher photon energy in order to investigate the chemically shifted inner shell electrons of the ionic mother fragment for their stereochemical sensitivity. We experimentally demonstrate and theoretically support how two color X ray pump X ray probe experiments with polarization control enable XFELs as tools for chiral recognition

Laboratory based laser driven short pulse X ray sources like laser produced plasmas LPP and high harmonic generation HHG exhibit a great potential for spectroscopy in the soft X ray range. These sources are complementary to large scale facilities like synchrotrons or free electron lasers. For applications of LPP or HHG sources for time resolved X ray absorption spectroscopy in the water window or beyond a high photon flux is crucial. The available photon flux strongly depends on energy, pulse duration and repetition rate of the pump laser. Depending on the experimental needs in time resolved experiments pulse durations of the X ray pulse ranging from nanoseconds to sub femtoseconds are required. In our contribution we will present a highly brilliant LPP source emitting soft X rays in the photon energy range between 50 and 1500 eV based on CPA and thin disk laser technology as well as the high average power thin disk laser based OPCPA system for high photon flux HHG. In addition we present a new generation of reflection zone plates on spherical substrates, that promises a remarkable high resolution over a wide spectral range making it an ideal and highly efficient diffractive optic for time resolved NEXAFS experiments in the lab

Funder: FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (FP7 Ideas); Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011199; Grant(s): 320750, 312284, Funder: NASA Solar Systems Workings program, Funder: The Geological Society, Funder: Mineralogical Society of Great Britain, Funder: Mineral Physics Group of Great Britain, Funder: Jesus College Cambridge, Funder: Royal Astronomical Society; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000698, Several paleomagnetic studies have been conducted on five Main Group pallasites: Brenham, Marjalahti, Springwater, Imilac, and Esquel. These pallasites have distinct cooling histories, meaning that their paleomagnetic records may have been acquired at different times during the thermal evolution of their parent body. Here, we compile new and existing data to present the most complete time‐resolved paleomagnetic record for a planetesimal, which includes a period of quiescence prior to core solidification as well as dynamo activity generated by compositional convection during core solidification. We present new paleomagnetic data for the Springwater pallasite, which constrains the timing of core solidification. Our results suggest that in order to generate the observed strong paleointensities (∼65–95 μT), the pallasites must have been relatively close to the dynamo source. Our thermal and dynamo models predict that the Main Group pallasites originate from a planetesimal with a large core (>200 km) and a thin mantle (

Soft X ray spectroscopy is invaluable for gaining insights into quantum materials. However, it is typically conducted in a spatially averaging way, making it blind towards inhomogeneity in samples. Here, we demonstrate how we couple imaging with a spatial resolution..

The crystal and magnetic structures in R 2Ni1.78In (R = Ho, Er and Tm) have been studied by neutron diffraction. The compounds crystallize in a tetragonal crystal structure of the Mo2FeB2 type (space group P4/mbm). At low temperatures, the magnetic moments, localized solely on the rare earth atoms, form antiferromagnetic structures described by the propagation vector k = [kx , kx , ½], with kx equal to ¼ for R = Er and Tm or 0.3074 (4) for R = Ho. The magnetic moments are parallel to the c axis for R = Ho or lie within the (001) plane for R = Er and Tm. The obtained magnetic structures are discussed on the basis of symmetry analysis. The rare earth magnetic moments, determined from neutron diffraction data collected at 1.6 K, are 6.5 (1) μB (Er) and 6.09 (4) μB (Tm), while in the incommensurate modulated magnetic structure in Ho2Ni1.78In the amplitude of modulation of the Ho magnetic moment is 7.93 (8) μB. All these values are smaller than those expected for the respective free R 3+ ions. A symmetry analysis of the magnetic structure in Tb2Ni1.78In is also included, as such information is missing from the original paper [Szytuła, Baran, Hoser, Kalychak, Penc & Tyvanchuk (2013). Acta Phys. Pol. A, 124, 994–997]. In addition, the results of magnetometric measurements are reported for Tm2Ni1.78In. The compound shows antiferromagnetic ordering below the Néel temperature of 4.5 K. Its magnetic properties are found to originate from magnetic moments localized solely on the thulium atoms (the nickel atoms remain non-magnetic in Tm2Ni1.78In). The reduction of rare earth magnetic moments in the ordered state in R 2Ni1.78In (R = Tb, Ho, Er and Tm) and the change in direction of the moments indicate the influence of the crystalline electric field (CEF) on the stability of the magnetic order in the investigated compounds.

Physical review / A 103(2), 022832 (2021). doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.103.022832, We report angle-resolved measurements on photoelectrons emitted upon near-threshold two-photon double ionization (TPDI) of Kr irradiated by free-electron laser (FEL) pulses. These photoelectron angular distributions (PADs) are compared with the results of semirelativistic R-matrix calculations. As reported by Augustin et al. [Phys. Rev. A 98, 033408 (2018)], it is found that the presence of autoionizing resonances within the bandwidth of the exciting FEL pulse strongly influences the PADs. In contrast to measurements on lower-Z targets such as Ne and Ar, the larger spin-orbit interaction, inherent in 4p-subshell hole states of Kr, permits us to resolve and study PADs associated with some of the fine-structure components of the Kr$^+$ and Kr$^{2+}$ ions., Published by Inst., Woodbury, NY

Residual strain measurements were conducted on an Alloy 600/82 weld on five diffractometers, and two different approaches were used to analyse the data and estimate the stresses. The large body of data enabled estimation of the Bayesian mean of the residual stress distribution and a statistically robust estimation of the residual stress uncertainty associated with the method., This paper describes in detail two neutron diffraction residual stress measurements, performed on the ENGIN-X neutron scattering instrument at the ISIS facility in the UK and on the SALSA instrument at the Institut Laue–Langevin in Grenoble, France. The measurements were conducted as part of the NeT Task Group 6 (TG6) international measurement round robin on an Alloy 600/82 multi-pass weldment – a slot in an Alloy 600 plate filled with three Alloy 82 weld beads, simulating a repair weld. This alloy/weld combination is considered challenging to measure, due to the large grain size and texture in the weld, and large gradients in the stress-free lattice parameter between the parent and weld metal. The basic principles of the neutron diffraction technique are introduced and issues affecting the reliability of residual stress characterization are highlighted. Two different analysis strategies are used for estimation of residual stresses from the raw data. Chemical composition studies are used to measure the mixing of parent and weld metal and highlight the steep lattice parameter gradients that arise as a consequence. The inferred residual stresses are then compared with three sets of measurements performed on the same plate by other NeT partners on E3 at the HZB in Berlin, STRESS-SPEC at the FRM II in Munich and KOWARI in Sydney. A robust Bayesian estimation average is calculated from the combined five-instrument data set, allowing reliable best estimates of the residual stress distribution in the vicinity of the weldment. The systematic uncertainties associated with the residual stress measurements are determined separately in the weld and parent materials, and compared with those in the NeT TG4 benchmark. This is a three-pass slot-welded plate fabricated from American Iron and Steel Institute AISI 316L(N) austenitic stainless steel, and is normally considered less challenging to measure using diffraction techniques than all nickel welds. The uncertainties in the stress measurements by neutron diffraction for these two weldments seem to be comparable.

The ambient-pressure endstation of the VerSoX beamline (B07) of Diamond Light Source provides a versatile facility for soft X-ray absorption and photoemission measurements in the mbar pressure range. A selection of typical data demonstrates the capability of the instrument to analyse details of the surface composition of solid samples and the environment gas under ambient-pressure conditions., The ambient-pressure endstation and branchline of the Versatile Soft X-ray (VerSoX) beamline B07 at Diamond Light Source serves a very diverse user community studying heterogeneous catalysts, pharmaceuticals and biomaterials under realistic conditions, liquids and ices, and novel electronic, photonic and battery materials. The instrument facilitates studies of the near-surface chemical composition, electronic and geometric structure of a variety of samples using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy in the photon energy range from 170 eV to 2800 eV. The beamline provides a resolving power hν/Δ(hν) > 5000 at a photon flux > 1010 photons s−1 over most of its energy range. By operating the optical elements in a low-pressure oxygen atmosphere, carbon contamination can be almost completely eliminated, which makes the beamline particularly suitable for carbon K-edge NEXAFS. The endstation can be operated at pressures up to 100 mbar, whereby XPS can be routinely performed up to 30 mbar. A selection of typical data demonstrates the capability of the instrument to analyse details of the surface composition of solid samples under ambient-pressure conditions using XPS and NEXAFS. In addition, it offers a convenient way of analysing the gas phase through X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Short XPS spectra can be measured at a time scale of tens of seconds. The shortest data acquisition times for NEXAFS are around 0.5 s per data point.

We have generated isolated attosecond pulses and performed attosecond streaking measurements using a two-colour synthesized laser field consisting of a strong near-infrared few-cycle pulse and a weaker multi-cycle pulse centred at 400 nm. An actively stabilized interferometer was used to coherently combine the two pulses. Using attosecond streaking we characterised the electric fields of the two pulses and accurately retrieved the spectrum of the multi-cycle pulse. We demonstrated a two-fold increase in the flux of isolated attosecond pulses produced and show that their duration was minimally affected by the presence of the weaker field due to spectral filtering by a multilayer mirror.

Holography is a powerful method for achieving 3D images of objects. Extending this method to short wavelengths potentially offers significantly higher resolution than visible light holography. However, current X-ray holography setups employ nanoscale pinholes to form the reference wave. This approach is relatively inefficient and limited to very small sample size. Here, we propose a new setup for X-ray holography based on a binary diffractive optical element (DOE), which forms at the same time the object illumination and the reference wave. This optic is located separately from the sample plane, which permits investigation of larger sample areas. Using an extended test sample, we demonstrate a resolution of 90 nm (half-pitch) at an undulator beamline at BESSY II. The new holography setup can be directly transferred to free electron laser sources enabling time-resolved nanoscale imaging for ultra-fast processes.

Cryogenically-cooled permanent-magnet-based undulators (CPMUs) have been developed and built at several places around the world in the last decade. They currently operate successfully at many synchrotron radiation facilities, and they are planned as radiators in compact light sources based on laser plasma accelerated electrons. CPMUs have become the undulators of choice at medium energy storage rings. In the past few years, the performance of CPMUs has been brought closer to the physical limit; future incremental improvements will allow the limit to be reached. Superconducting undulators (SCUs), however, despite having a longer history than CPMUs, had not attracted the same level of investment. SCU programs have only relatively recently been given significant funding priority at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). The investment at APS has resulted in the construction of the specialized SCU facility, and in the design and fabrication of several SCUs which are currently operating on the APS ring. KIT invested in the development of a cold vacuum chamber (COLDDIAG) for beam heat load studies, in a precise horizontal conduction cooled magnetic characterization facility as well as in a strong collaboration with the industrial partner Bilfinger Noell. This led to the production of two undulators successfully tested in the KIT synchrotron light source. The combination of mature CPMU technology and developing SCU technology will provide significant flexibility in the choice of advanced undulators for new and upgraded light source facilities. This review paper covers the status of operations and development of CPMUs and SCUs.

Knowing the distribution of a magnetic field in bulk materials is important for understanding basic phenomena and developing functional magnetic materials. Microscopic imaging techniques employing X-rays, light, electrons, or scanning probe methods have been used to quantify magnetic fields within planar thin magnetic films in 2D or magnetic vector fields within comparable thin volumes in 3D. Some years ago, neutron imaging has been demonstrated to be a unique tool to detect magnetic fields and magnetic domain structures within bulk materials. Here, we show how arbitrary magnetic vector fields within bulk materials can be visualized and quantified in 3D using a set of nine spin-polarized neutron imaging measurements and a novel tensorial multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (TMART). We first verify the method by measuring the known magnetic field of an electric coil and then investigate the unknown trapped magnetic flux within the type-I superconductor lead., Mapping the distribution of magnetic fields inside bulk materials is challenging but crucial to understand and develop functional magnetic materials. Here the authors demonstrate the capability to visualize 3D vector magnetic fields inside materials using spin-polarized neutron tomography and tensorial reconstruction techniques.

Journal of synchrotron radiation 25(1), 138 - 144 (2018). doi:10.1107/S1600577517013066 special issue: "Photondiag2017 workshop", The extreme-ultraviolet double-stage imaging Raman spectrometer is a permanent experimental endstation at the plane-grating monochromator beamline branch PG1 at FLASH at DESY in Hamburg, Germany. This unique instrument covers the photon energy range from 20 to 200 eV with high energy resolution of about 2 to 20 meV (design values) featuring an efficient elastic line suppression as well as effective stray light rejection. Such a design enables studies of low-energy excitations like, for example, phonons in solids close to the vicinity of the elastic line. The Raman spectrometer effectively operates with four reflective off-axial parabolic mirrors and two plane-grating units. The optics quality and their precise alignment are crucial to guarantee best performance of the instrument. Here, results on a comprehensive investigation of the quality of the spectrometer diffraction gratings are presented. The gratings have been characterized by ex situ metrology at the BESSY-II Optics Laboratory, employing slope measuring deflectometry and interferometry as well as atomic force microscopy studies. The efficiency of these key optical elements has been measured at the at-wavelength metrology laboratory using the reflectometer at the BESSY-II Optics beamline. Also, the metrology results are discussed with respect to the expected resolving power of the instrument by including them in ray-tracing studies of the instrument., Published by IUCr, Chester

Apart from density and alloy composition, the structure of solid metallic foams determines their mechanical performance. Herein, the effect of ambient pressure on the foaming behavior of AlSi6Cu4 precursors is studied. In situ X ray radioscopy is applied while foaming in a furnace chamber pressurized up to 40 amp; 8201;bar. The content of the blowing agent TiH2 is varied for each of the pressures chosen. The foam density and morphology are analyzed quantitatively using time resolved X ray radioscopy sequences and postsolidification X ray tomography data. The optimal content of blowing agent as well as the pore sizes and distributions is found to depend strongly on the ambient pressure. At high pressures very small, round, and uniformly distributed pores are formed and crack formation is avoided during the gas nucleation stage, which helps to prevent structural defects. Adjusting the ambient pressure allows for better control of the foam structure and density, which is relevant for commercial production and application

Optics letters 45(19), 5591-5594 (2020). doi:10.1364/OL.402264, Direct 2D spatial-coherence measurements are increasingly gaining importance at synchrotron beamlines, especially due to present and future upgrades of synchrotron facilities to diffraction-limited storage rings. We present a method to determine the 2D spatial coherence of synchrotron radiation in a direct and particularly simple way by using the Fourier-analysis method in conjunction with curved gratings. Direct photon-beam monitoring provided by a curved grating circumvents the otherwise necessary separate determination of the illuminating intensity distribution required for the Fourier-analysis method. Hence, combining these two methods allows for time-resolved spatial-coherence measurements. As a consequence, spatial-coherence degradation effects caused by beamline optics vibrations, which is one of the key issues of state-of-the-art X-ray imaging and scattering beamlines, can be identified and analyzed., Published by OSA, Washington, DC

Etalon features in infrared spectra of stratified samples, their influence on the interpretation, and methods to circumvent their presence in infrared spectra have been in discussion for decades. This paper focuses on the application of a method originally developed to remove interference fringes in the mid-infrared spectra for far-infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy on thin polymer films. We show that the total transmittance reflectance technique, commonly used for mid-infrared, also works successfully in the far-infrared spectral range where other approaches fail. Experimental spectra obtained by such technique are supported by model calculations and reveal the possibility and limits to obtain almost undisturbed far-infrared spectra which are suitable to determine low-energy vibrations of ionomer salts under certain sample conditions.

Phenothiazine PTZ based materials have recently received considerable interest owing to their intriguing optoelectronic properties, low cost, versatility of functionalization, and commercial availability. The advent of molecular engineering concepts in amp; 960; conjugated organic materials, such as the donor acceptor approach, propelled the synthesis of a large number of PTZ derivatives with tailored properties like low bandgap, tunable energy levels, and reversible redox properties. This resulted in the promising application of PTZs as electron donors or acceptors in organic solar cells or as hole transporting materials in organic light emitting diodes and perovskite solar cells. In this review, we discuss the recent and most appealing design strategies of PTZ based materials for optoelectronics, with emphasis on the impact of the structural modifications on the fundamental physicochemical properties absorption, emission, Frontier energy levels, charge carrier mobility . We also highlight the key achievements in the development of solar cells, light emitting diodes, and batteries employing PTZ core semiconductors. Our final goal is to underpin the reasons that still limit the performance of PTZ based optoelectronics and to outline future research directions for the next generation PTZ materials with ever enhanced properties

We present a simple and precise method to minimize aberrations of mirror-based, wavelength-dispersive spectrometers for the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and soft x-ray domain. The concept enables an enhanced resolving power E / Δ E , in particular, close to the diffraction limit over a spectral band of a few percent around the design energy of the instrument. Our optical element, the “diffractive wavefront corrector” (DWC), is individually shaped to the form and figure error of the mirror profile and might be written directly with a laser on a plane and even strongly curved substrates. Theory and simulations of various configurations, like Hettrick–Underwood or compact, highly efficient all-in-one setups for T i O 2 spectroscopy with E / Δ E ∼ x < 4.5 × 10 4 , are addressed, as well as aspects of their experimental realization.

Al-Mg-Si alloys with total solute contents ranging from 0.8 to 1.4 wt % were solutionized, quenched, and then artificially aged (AA) at $180{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}\mathrm{C}$, after which positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy was applied to obtain information about precipitation and vacancy evolution during the preceding ageing step. Hardness and electrical resistivity measurements were carried out to complement these measurements. AA was carried out in four different heating media, which allowed for varying the average heating rate from 2.4 to $170\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. The main result of the study is that there is a competition between vacancy losses and precipitation. Any precipitation taking place during quenching or during heating to the AA temperature helps to prevent vacancies from going to sinks and allows them to assist in solute clustering. Higher solute content, slower heating to $180{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}\mathrm{C}$, and natural preageing before AA were found to have a comparable effect.

Optics express 28(5), 7282 - (2020). doi:10.1364/OE.382608, We present a systematic 2D spatial-coherence analysis of the soft-X-ray beamline P04 at PETRA III for various beamline configurations. The influence of two different beam-defining apertures on the spatial coherence properties of the beam is discussed and optimal conditions for coherence-based experiments are found. A significant degradation of the spatial coherence in the vertical direction has been measured and sources of this degradation are identified and discussed. The Fourier-analysis method, which gives fast and simple access to the 2D spatial coherence function of the X-ray beam, is used for the experiment. Here, we exploit the charge scattering of a disordered nanodot sample allowing the use of arbitrary X-ray photon energies with this method., Published by Soc., Washington, DC

X ray optics, desired for beamlines at free electron laser and diffraction limited storage ring x ray light sources, must have almost perfect surfaces, capable of delivering light to experiments without significant degradation of brightness and coherence. To accurately characterize such optics at an optical metrology lab, two basic types of surface slope profilometers are used the long trace profilers LTPs and nanometer optical measuring NOM like angular deflectometers, based on electronic autocollimator AC ELCOMAT 3000. The inherent systematic errors of the instrument s optical sensors set the principle limit to their measuring performance. Where autocollimator of a NOM like profiler may be calibrated at a unique dedicated facility, this is for a particular configuration of distance, aperture size, and angular range that does not always match the exact use in a scanning measurement with the profiler. Here we discuss the developed methodology, experimental set up, and numerical methods of transferring the calibration of one reference AC to the scanning AC of the Optical Surface Measuring System OSMS , recently brought to operation at the ALS Xray Optics Laboratory. We show that precision calibration of the OSMS performed in three steps, allows us to provide high confidence and accuracy low spatial frequency metrology and not print into measurements the inherent systematic error of tool in use. With the examples of the OSMS measurements with a state of the art x ray aspherical mirror, available from one of the most advanced vendors of X ray optics, we demonstrate the high efficacy of the developed calibration procedure. The results of our work are important for obtaining high reliability data, needed for sophisticated numerical simulations of beamline performance and optimization of beamline usage of the optics. This work was supported by the U. S. Department of Energy under contract number DE AC02 05CH11231

We discuss the concept of an IR spectrograph suitable for linear array detection. The dispersive element of the spectrograph is based on an arrangement of commercially available low-cost prisms. The dispersion is such that the whole spectral bandwidth of interest is distributed along the linear array of detector pixels in such a way to achieve an optimum for the spectral resolution. The concept is exemplarily shown for the design of a spectrograph working in the range between 5000 and 2500 wavenumbers spread onto a linear 128-pixel array detector.

Spin chains with symmetry-protected edge modes are promising candidates to realize intrinsically robust physical qubits that can be used for the storage and processing of quantum information. In any experimental realization of such physical systems, weak perturbations in the form of induced interactions and disorder are unavoidable and can be detrimental to the stored information. At the same time, the latter may in fact be beneficial; for instance by deliberately inducing disorder which causes the system to localize. In this work, we explore the potential of using an $XZX$ cluster Hamiltonian to encode quantum information into the local edge modes and comprehensively investigate the influence of both many-body interactions and disorder on their stability over time, adding substance to the narrative that many-body localization may stabilize quantum information. We recover the edge state at each time step, allowing us to reconstruct the quantum channel that captures the locally constrained out of equilibrium time evolution. With this representation in hand, we analyze how well classical and quantum information are preserved over time as a function of disorder and interactions. We find that the performance of the edge qubits varies dramatically between disorder realizations. Whereas some show a smooth decoherence over time, a sizeable fraction are rapidly rendered unusable as memories. We also find that the stability of the classical information -- a precursor for the usefulness of the chain as a quantum memory -- depends strongly on the direction in which the bit is encoded. When employing the chain as a genuine quantum memory, encoded qubits are most faithfully recovered for low interaction and high disorder., 10 pages, 9 figures, v2: Reordered figures

We combine ultrafast X-ray diffraction (UXRD) and time-resolved Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect (MOKE) measurements to monitor the strain pulses in laser-excited TbFe2/Nb heterostructures. Spatial separation of the Nb detection layer from the laser excitation region allows for a background-free characterization of the laser-generated strain pulses. We clearly observe symmetric bipolar strain pulses if the excited TbFe2 surface terminates the sample and a decomposition of the strain wavepacket into an asymmetric bipolar and a unipolar pulse, if a SiO2 glass capping layer covers the excited TbFe2 layer. The inverse magnetostriction of the temporally separated unipolar strain pulses in this sample leads to a MOKE signal that linearly depends on the strain pulse amplitude measured through UXRD. Linear chain model simulations accurately predict the timing and shape of UXRD and MOKE signals that are caused by the strain reflections from multiple interfaces in the heterostructure., Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe, 706

We demonstrate the key features of an interference cathode using both simulations and experiments. We deposit Cs3Sb photocathodes on Ag to produce an interference enhanced photocathode with 2–5× quantum efficiency (QE) enhancement using a robust procedure that requires only a smooth metal substrate and QE monitoring during growth. We grow both an interference cathode (Ag substrate) and a typical photocathode (Si reference substrate) simultaneously to confirm that the effects are due to optical interactions with the substrate rather than photocathode composition or surface electron affinity differences. Growing the cathodes until the QE converges shows both the characteristic interference peaks during growth and the identical limiting case where the cathode is “infinitely thick,” in agreement with simulations. We also grow a cathode until the QE on Ag peaks and then stop the growth, demonstrating broadband QE enhancement.

The stress behavior and the associated microstructure evolution of industrial Ti(C,N)/α-Al2O3 coatings subjected to thermal cycling are investigated by in situ energy dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Temperature-dependent stresses and changes in microstructural parameters (domain size and microstrain) are analyzed by in situ measurements at different temperatures between 25 and 800 °C, both in the heating up and cooling down step, including several thermal cycles. Transmission electron microscopy is used to evaluate defects before and after the thermal treatment. The introduction of high compressive stresses in α-Al2O3 by top-blasting is connected to a high defect density at the basal planes of the alumina layer. The stress relaxation of the alumina layer at high temperatures is associated with a successive annihilation of defects until a reversible temperature-dependent stress condition is set. Top-blasting does not change the initial microstructure and residual stress of the Ti(C,N) layer. Ti(C,N) shows a cyclic stress behavior associated with the heat treatment and an elastic deformation behavior in the temperature range investigated.