Strain driven phase transition and mechanism for Fe/Ir(111) films

By way of introducing heterogeneous interfaces, the stabilization of crystallographic phases is critical to a viable strategy for developing materials with novel characteristics, such as occurrence of new structure phase, anomalous enhancement in magnetic moment, enhancement of efficiency as nanoportals. Because of the different lattice structures at the interface, heterogeneous interfaces serve as a platform for controlling pseudomorphic growth, nanostructure evolution and formation of strained clusters. However, our knowledge related to the strain accumulation phenomenon in ultrathin Fe layers on face-centered cubic (fcc) substrates remains limited. For Fe deposited on Ir(111), here we found the existence of strain accumulation at the interface and demonstrate a strain driven phase transition in which fcc-Fe is transformed to a bcc phase. By substituting the bulk modulus and the shear modulus and the experimental results of lattice parameters in cubic geometry, we obtain the strain energy density for different Fe thicknesses. A limited distortion mechanism is proposed for correlating the increasing interfacial strain energy, the surface energy, and a critical thickness. The calculation shows that the strained layers undergo a phase transition to the bulk structure above the critical thickness. The results are well consistent with experimental measurements. The strain driven phase transition and mechanism presented herein provide a fundamental understanding of strain accumulation at the bcc/fcc interface.

3D and 4D Printing of Multistable Structures

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a new paradigm in customized manufacturing and allows the fabrication of complex structures that are difficult to realize with other conventional methods. Four-dimensional (4D) printing adds active, responsive functions to 3D-printed components, which can respond to various environmental stimuli. This review introduces recent ideas in 3D and 4D printing of mechanical multistable structures. Three-dimensional printing of multistable structures can enable highly reconfigurable components, which can bring many new breakthroughs to 3D printing. By adopting smart materials in multistable structures, more advanced functionalities and enhanced controllability can also be obtained in 4D printing. This could be useful for various smart and programmable actuators. In this review, we first introduce three representative approaches for 3D printing of multistable structures: strained layers, compliant mechanisms, and mechanical metamaterials. Then, we discuss 4D printing of multistable structures that can help overcome the limitation of conventional 4D printing research. Lastly, we conclude with future prospects.

Investigation of Phosphorus In-Diffusion and Strain in GaAsP/GaAs Using High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy

We report our experiments based on the interfaces of a 5-period superlattice, containing GaAsP(3Å)/GaAs (190Å) heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The atomic arrangement at the interfaces of GaAsP/GaAs is investigated using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Our results indicate that the superlattice was grown coherently with strained layers. We propose that the atomic arrangement at the interface is GaP, assuming that phosphorus incorporation occurs primarily via substitution due to desorption of arsenic at the surface for substrate temperatures above 500°C. The incorporation of phosphorus has been investigated using fast Fourier transform (FFT) patterns and shows a form of strain distribution near the heterointerface. The FFT patterns of the superlattice reveal that strain distributes mostly near the interface and gradually decreases along the direction of growth. Phosphorus diffused into a GaAs layer changes the lattice constant in the growth direction, which reduces strain in the superlattice.