Perfect match between borophene and aluminium in AlB3 heterostructure with covalent Al-B bonds, multiple Dirac points and high fermi velocity

By performing swarm-intelligent global structure search combined with first-principles calculations, a stable two-dimensional (2D) AlB3 heterostructure with directed, covalent Al-B bond forms due to a nearly perfect lattice match between...

Geometry optimization for tunable band gap and wave guiding in periodic grid structures

A proper lattice structure consisting of homogeneous material is designed in this paper to investigate the maximum bandwidth of perfect lattice structures and tunable property of waveguide with linear geometric defect by means of selecting optimal geometric lattice cell. A simulation model based on finite element method is used to calculate dispersion curves and transmission spectrums of lattice structures with different geometric parameters. Meanwhile, a simplified theoretical model of unit cell, which considers the mass of grid bar and stiffness of node area, is applied to validate the accuracy of simulation result and may provide an effective approach for prediction of band gap lower boundary. Then, the validated numerical results show different orders of widest band gap that can be realized by different optimal geometric structures. Moreover, waveguide property can be effectively controlled and manipulated by changing defect parameters. The present study may establish theoretical and simulation foundation to control and manipulate band structures and other acoustic propagation characteristics of waveguide devices.

Quantitative insights into the dislocation source behavior of twin boundaries suggest a new dislocation source mechanism

Pop-in statistics from nanoindentation with spherical indenters are used to determine the stress required to activate dislocation sources in twin boundaries (TBs) in copper and its alloys. The TB source activation stress is smaller than that needed for bulk single crystals, irrespective of the indenter size, dislocation density and stacking fault energy. Because an array of pre-existing Frank partial dislocations is present at a TB, we propose that dislocation emission from the TB occurs by the Frank partials splitting into Shockley partials moving along the TB plane and perfect lattice dislocations, both of which are mobile. The proposed mechanism is supported by recent high resolution transmission electron microscopy images in deformed nanotwinned (NT) metals and may help to explain some of the superior properties of nanotwinned metals (e.g. high strength and good ductility), as well as the process of detwinning by the collective formation and motion of Shockley partial dislocations along TBs. Graphic abstract

Influence of Carrier Gases on the Quality of Epitaxial Corundum-Structured α-Ga2O3 Films Grown by Mist Chemical Vapor Deposition Method

This report systematically investigates the influence of different carrier gases (O2, N2, and air) on the growth of gallium oxide (Ga2O3) thin films on c-plane sapphire substrates by using the mist-CVD method. Although XRD and Raman measurements show that the pure corundum-structured α-Ga2O3 with single (0006) plane orientation was successfully obtained for all three different carrier gases, the crystal quality could be greatly affected by the carrier gas. When O2 is used as the carrier gas, the smallest full-width at half maximum (FWHM), the very sharp absorption cutoff edge, the perfect lattice structure, the highest growth rate, and the smooth surface can be obtained for the epitaxial α-Ga2O3 film as demonstrated by XRD, UV-VIS, TEM, AFM (Atomic Force Microscope), and SEM measurements. It is proposed that the oxygen content in carrier gas should be responsible for all of these results. XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) analysis also confirms that more oxygen elements can be included in epitaxial film when O2 is used as the carrier gas and thus help improve the crystal quality. The proper carrier gas is essential for the high quality α-Ga2O3 growth.

Elemental Distribution and Structural Characterization of GaN/InGaN Core-Shell Single Nanowires by Hard X-ray Synchrotron Nanoprobes

Improvements in the spatial resolution of synchrotron-based X-ray probes have reached the nano-scale and they, nowadays, constitute a powerful platform for the study of semiconductor nanostructures and nanodevices that provides high sensitivity without destroying the material. Three complementary hard X-ray synchrotron techniques at the nanoscale have been applied to the study of individual nanowires (NWs) containing non-polar GaN/InGaN multi-quantum-wells. The trace elemental sensitivity of X-ray fluorescence allows one to determine the In concentration of the quantum wells and their inhomogeneities along the NW. It is also possible to rule out any contamination from the gold nanoparticle catalyst employed during the NW growth. X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption near edge-structure probe long- and short-range order, respectively, and lead us to the conclusion that while the GaN core and barriers are fully relaxed, there is an induced strain in InGaN layers corresponding to a perfect lattice matching with the GaN core. The photoluminescence spectrum of non-polar InGaN quntum wells is affected by strain and the inhomogeneous alloy distribution but still exhibits a reasonable 20% relative internal quantum efficiency.

Distortion analysis of crystalline and locally quasicrystalline 2D photonic structures with grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering

In this study, grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) is used to collect statistical information on dimensional parameters in an area of 20 × 15 mm on photonic structures produced by nanoimprint lithography. The photonic structures are composed of crystalline and locally quasicrystalline two-dimensional patterns with structure sizes between about 100 nm and 10 µm to enable broadband visible light absorption for use in solar-energy harvesting. These first GISAXS measurements on locally quasicrystalline samples demonstrate that GISAXS is capable of showing the locally quasicrystalline nature of the samples while at the same time revealing the long-range periodicity introduced by the lattice design. The scattering is described qualitatively in the framework of the distorted-wave Born approximation using a hierarchical model mirroring the sample design, which consists of a rectangular and locally quasicrystalline supercell that is repeated periodically to fill the whole surface. The nanoimprinted samples are compared with a sample manufactured using electron-beam lithography and the distortions of the periodic and locally quasiperiodic samples are quantified statistically. Owing to the high sensitivity of GISAXS to deviations from the perfect lattice, the misalignment of the crystallographic axes was measured with a resolution of 0.015°, showing distortions of up to ±0.15° in the investigated samples.

Lattice discontinuities affecting the generation and annihilation of diffusible hydrogen and vice versa

Lattice discontinuities include lattice defects and surfaces both providing traps for hydrogen atoms. It will be discussed under which conditions discontinuities of a given distribution either release trapped hydrogen to become diffusible or capture diffusible H-atoms to become trapped. It will be shown that for any distribution, the self-diffusion coefficient of hydrogen is determined by the product of the H-diffusion in the perfect lattice times the fraction of hydrogen being diffusible. In this context, the quantities diffusible hydrogen, lattice hydrogen, thermodynamic activity of hydrogen and chemical potential of hydrogen are interchangeable in a general way. New discontinuities are generated during hydrogen embritllement (fracture surfaces, voids, dislocations) and dislocations move by kink pair formation. The production rate of these discontinuities depends on the chemical potential of hydrogen within the defactant concept or the generalized Gibbs adsorption isotherm. Thus, the chemical potential of hydrogen determines both the amount of trapping and the defect generation rate. For a crack propagating by dislocations generation, the chemical potential affects its velocity independent of the accompanying concentration enhancement in front of the crack tip or the related adsorption on the freshly generated crack surface. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The challenges of hydrogen and metals’.

Growing timescales and lengthscales characterizing vibrations of amorphous solids

Low-temperature properties of crystalline solids can be understood using harmonic perturbations around a perfect lattice, as in Debye’s theory. Low-temperature properties of amorphous solids, however, strongly depart from such descriptions, displaying enhanced transport, activated slow dynamics across energy barriers, excess vibrational modes with respect to Debye’s theory (i.e., a boson peak), and complex irreversible responses to small mechanical deformations. These experimental observations indirectly suggest that the dynamics of amorphous solids becomes anomalous at low temperatures. Here, we present direct numerical evidence that vibrations change nature at a well-defined location deep inside the glass phase of a simple glass former. We provide a real-space description of this transition and of the rapidly growing time- and lengthscales that accompany it. Our results provide the seed for a universal understanding of low-temperature glass anomalies within the theoretical framework of the recently discovered Gardner phase transition.