Imaging moiré deformation and dynamics in twisted bilayer graphene

In ‘magic angle’ twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) a flat band forms, yielding correlated insulator behavior and superconductivity. In general, the moiré structure in TBG varies spatially, influencing the overall conductance properties of devices. Hence, to understand the wide variety of phase diagrams observed, a detailed understanding of local variations is needed. Here, we study spatial and temporal variations of the moiré pattern in TBG using aberration-corrected Low Energy Electron Microscopy (AC-LEEM). We find a smaller spatial variation than reported previously. Furthermore, we observe thermal fluctuations corresponding to collective atomic displacements over 70 pm on a timescale of seconds. Remarkably, no untwisting is found up to 600 ∘C. We conclude that thermal annealing can be used to decrease local disorder. Finally, we observe edge dislocations in the underlying atomic lattice, the moiré structure acting as a magnifying glass. These topological defects are anticipated to exhibit unique local electronic properties.

Pinning of dislocations in disordered alloys: effects of dislocation orientation

The current interest in compositionally complex alloys including so called high entropy alloys has caused renewed interest in the general problem of solute hardening. It has been suggested that this problem can be addressed by treating the alloy as an effective medium containing a random distribution of dilatation and compression centers representing the volumetric misfit of atoms of different species. The mean square stresses arising from such a random distribution can be calculated analytically, their spatial correlations are strongly anisotropic and exhibit long-range tails with third-order power law decay (Geslin and Rodney 2021; Geslin et al. 2021). Here we discuss implications of the anisotropic and long-range nature of the correlation functions for the pinning of dislocations of arbitrary orientation. While edge dislocations are found to follow the standard pinning paradigm, for dislocations of near screw orientation we demonstrate the co-existence of two types of pinning energy minima.

On the probability of formation of intermetallic compounds in dissimilar welded joints obtained by friction stir welding

The article describes the mechanisms and causes of the occurrence of intermetallic phases during friction stir welding of dissimilar joints. The nucleation and growth of intermetallic phases for a pair of dissimilar metals to be welded under comparatively favorable time and temperature conditions of the FSW is facilitated by the atomic-vacancy environment, which is responsible for the continuous atomic-structural bond and mass transfer of accumulated atoms in local regions of the welded joint with an equiaxial grain lamella-shear structure of the welded core. compounds with a concentration close to critical, combined with others in a superplastic state. In the process of forming a welded joint under the influence of a moving and rotating welding tool, the lamellae are subjected to bending and torsional stresses with simultaneous tension, causing them to generate point defects and especially a large number of various types of dislocations, triggering the formation of edge dislocations in the lamellae, which are lined up in the process into dislocation walls, dividing lamella grains into separate fragmentary subgrain boundaries, along which the processes of fragmentation and dispersion develop. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that the processes of fragmentation and dispersion of IMP lead to the composition of the nugget of the welded joint by fragments, often nano-sized fragments of various configurations, which act as hardeners of the weld nugget matrix.

Stability of supratransmission waves in a crystal of A3B stoichiometry upon interaction with single dislocations

Supratransmission waves are stable objects that can exist in different discrete environments. In this paper, we consider the interaction of such waves with single edge dislocations of various configurations in a crystal with A3B stoichiometry. The model was a Pt3Al crystal, the potential obtained by the embedded atom method was used to describe the interaction of its atoms. Quantitative characteristics of the wave were obtained before and after the interaction. It is found that the degree of energy dissipation by dislocations depends on the mutual orientation of the wave front and the extra plane of the dislocation. Numerical estimates are made for four different configurations. The results obtained can be useful in studying the propagation of soliton-type waves in defect crystals of various compositions.