Lattice thermal conductivity in isotope diamond asymmetric superlattices

We study lattice thermal conductivity of isotope diamond superlattices consisting of 12C and 13C diamond layers at various superlattice periods. It is found that the thermal conductivity of a superlattice is significantly deduced from that of pure diamond because of the reduction of the phonon group velocity near the folded Brillouin zone. The results show that asymmetric superlattices with different number of layers of 12C and 13C diamonds exhibit higher thermal conductivity than symmetric superlattices even with the same superlattice period, and we find that this can be explained by the trade-off between the effects of phonon specific heat and phonon group velocity. Furthermore, impurities and imperfect superlattice structures are also found to significantly reduce the thermal conductivity, suggesting that these effects can be exploited to control the thermal conductivity over a wide range.

Transmission probability through zigzag monolayer phosphorene superlattice

The transportation of charge carriers for monolayer phosphorene superlattice has been investigated utilizing a transfer matrix method. Also, the efficacy of structural parameters has been studied on the transmission of charge carriers for the system. Our findings demonstrated that the barrier number at the superlattice structures performs an essential role in the transportation probability, that can be utilized in the design of nanoelectronic sets. Further, it can be comprehended that the transmission probability of one for the normal incident has occurred in twenty obstacles. On the other hand, the transmission probability of close to one has occurred in lower landing energies by increasing the obstacle number. As well, it has been understood the transmission probability of close to one by enhancing the barrier number can happen in barriers with a smaller width. According to the results, phosphorene can be used in the novel advances of two dimensional semiconductor devices in electronic applications.

Surface equilibration mechanism controls the molecular packing of glassy molecular semiconductors at organic interfaces

Glasses prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD) are anisotropic, and the average molecular orientation can be varied significantly by controlling the deposition conditions. While previous work has characterized the average structure of thick PVD glasses, most experiments are not sensitive to the structure near an underlying substrate or interface. Given the profound influence of the substrate on the growth of crystalline or liquid crystalline materials, an underlying substrate might be expected to substantially alter the structure of a PVD glass, and this near-interface structure is important for the function of organic electronic devices prepared by PVD, such as organic light-emitting diodes. To study molecular packing near buried organic–organic interfaces, we prepare superlattice structures (stacks of 5- or 10-nm layers) of organic semiconductors, Alq3 (Tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum) and DSA-Ph (1,4-di-[4-(N,N-diphenyl)amino]styrylbenzene), using PVD. Superlattice structures significantly increase the fraction of the films near buried interfaces, thereby allowing for quantitative characterization of interfacial packing. Remarkably, both X-ray scattering and spectroscopic ellipsometry indicate that the substrate exerts a negligible influence on PVD glass structure. Thus, the surface equilibration mechanism previously advanced for thick films can successfully describe PVD glass structure even within the first monolayer of deposition on an organic substrate.

Twin Roll Casting and Secondary Cooling of 6.0 wt.% Silicon Steel

Iron–silicon alloys with up to 6.5 wt.% Si offer an improvement of soft magnetic properties in electrical steels compared to conventional electrical steel grades. However, steels with high Si contents are very brittle and cannot be produced by cold rolling. In addition to solid solution hardening, it is assumed that the B2- and DO3-superlattice structures are responsible for the poor cold workability. In this work, two cast strips with 6.0 wt.% Si were successfully produced by the twin roll strip casting process and cooled differently by secondary cooling. The aim of the different cooling strategies was to suppress the formation of the embrittling superlattice structures and thus enable further processing by cold rolling. A comprehensive material characterization allows for the understanding of the influence of casting parameters and cooling strategies on segregation, microstructure and superlattice structure. The results show that both cooling strategies are not sufficient to prevent the formation of B2- and DO3-structures. Although the dark field images show a condition which is far from equilibrium, the achieved condition is not sufficient to ensure cold processing of the material.

Transmission probability through zigzag monolayer phosphorene superlattice

The transportation of charge carriers for monolayer phosphorene superlattice has been investigated utilizing a transfer matrix method. Also, the efficacy of structural parameters has been studied on the transmission of charge carriers for the system. Our findings demonstrated that the barrier number at the superlattice structures performs an essential role in the transportation probability, that can be utilized in the design of nanoelectronic sets. Further, it can be comprehended that the transmission probability of one for the normal incident has occurred in twenty obstacles. On the other hand, the transmission probability of close to one has occurred in lower landing energies by increasing the obstacle number. As well, it has been understood the transmission probability of close to one by enhancing the barrier number can happen in barriers with a smaller width. According to the results, phosphorene can be used in the novel advances of two dimensional semiconductor devices in electronic applications.

Charge order textures induced by non-linear couplings in a half-doped manganite

The self-organization of strongly interacting electrons into superlattice structures underlies the properties of many quantum materials. How these electrons arrange within the superlattice dictates what symmetries are broken and what ground states are stabilized. Here we show that cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy (cryo-STEM) enables direct mapping of local symmetries and order at the intra-unit-cell level in the model charge-ordered system Nd1/2Sr1/2MnO3. In addition to imaging the prototypical site-centered charge order, we discover the nanoscale coexistence of an exotic intermediate state which mixes site and bond order and breaks inversion symmetry. We further show that nonlinear coupling of distinct lattice modes controls the selection between competing ground states. The results demonstrate the importance of lattice coupling for understanding and manipulating the character of electronic self-organization and that cryo-STEM can reveal local order in strongly correlated systems at the atomic scale.

A Microstructural Analysis of 2D Halide Perovskites: Stability and Functionality

Recent observations have demonstrated that the photoelectric conversion properties of perovskite materials are intimately related to the presence of superlattice structures and other unusual nanoscale features in them. The low-dimensional or mixed-dimensional halide perovskite families are found to be more efficient materials for device application than three-dimensional halide perovskites. The emergence of perovskite solar cells has revolutionized the solar cell industry because of their flexible architecture and rapidly increased efficiency. Tuning the dielectric constant and charge separation are the main objectives in designing a photovoltaic device that can be explored using the two-dimensional perovskite family. Thus, revisiting the fundamental properties of perovskite crystals could reveal further possibilities for recognizing these improvements toward device functionality. In this context, this review discusses the material properties of two-dimensional halide perovskites and related optoelectronic devices, aiming particularly for solar cell applications.