Materials Science
Ultrafast Sintering Enables Metastable Zirconia Retention in Fine-Grained Copper Cermets
This work introduces an ultrafast high-temperature sintering (UHS) strategy to overcome the classic trade-off in cermets between retaining metastable ceramic phases and maintaining a fine-grained microstructure. By applying rapid Joule heating at ~100°C/s to 900°C with only a 20-second hold, the aut…
Compositional Grading Enables Ferroelectric Scaling in Ultrathin AlScN Films
Compositional grading within AlN-AlScN heterostructures mitigates the thickness-scaling limitations of ferroelectric AlScN by distributing structural and polarization discontinuities across the film, reducing defect formation and electric field concentration. A 20 nm graded structure demonstrates 21…
Conditional Spinodal Decomposition Enables Dendrite-Resistant Li-Mg Anodes
Li-Mg alloy anodes for lithium metal batteries undergo spinodal decomposition that creates ordered B2 phases alongside η-BCC phases, forming interconnected chemical gradients that accelerate Li diffusion. This microstructural arrangement provides fast pathways for lithium transport while suppressing…
In-Situ Structural Analysis Reveals Dual-Stage Crystallization in Amorphous Tantala Thin Films
This study investigated the in-situ structural evolution of amorphous ion-beam sputtered tantala thin films during annealing using synchrotron radiation scattering. Key findings reveal a two-stage crystallization process: initial rapid formation of a cation backbone followed by progressive oxygen en…
Bi-S Network Governs Stability and Optoelectronics in Disordered AgBiS2
This work reveals the critical role of the three-dimensional Bi-S network in stabilizing the cation-disordered AgBiS2 phase and dictating its optoelectronic properties. Analysis combining machine learning potentials and deep learning Hamiltonians shows that this network preserves dispersive band edg…
Iron-Rhodium's AFM-FM Coupling Enables Robust Antiferromagnetic Memory at Room Temperature
This paper demonstrates a working antiferromagnetic (AFM) magnetic memory scheme using patterned iron-rhodium (FeRh) thin films, imaged under ambient conditions via quantum diamond microscopes (QDMs). The key mechanistic finding is that pinned uncompensated magnetic moments (UMMs) in the FeRh struct…
Weyl Semimetal/Topological Insulator Heterostructures Restore Topological Transport via Interface Hybridization
A Mn₃₊ₓSn₁₋ₓ/Bi₀.₈₅Sb₀.₁₅ heterostructure demonstrates that a hybridized topological state at the WSM/TI interface can restore Weyl node magnetotransport suppressed by ferromagnetic defect phases in the WSM layer. Ferromagnetic disorder in Mn₃₊ₓSn₁₋ₓ films eliminates the anomalous Hall effect signat…
Composition Controls Phase Purity, Texture, and Transport in Layered FeMN₂ Nitride Thin Films
Layered ternary iron nitrides FeWN₂ and FeMoN₂ can be synthesized as thin films via reactive sputtering followed by NH₃ annealing, but their structural and electronic responses to composition variation are fundamentally different. FeWN₂ tolerates a wide composition range with high phase purity and s…
LaNiSb₃ Single Crystals Reveal Anisotropic Multiband Transport and Topological Semimetal Candidacy
Single crystals of LaNiSb₃, grown via Sn flux and confirmed in the orthorhombic Pbcm space group, exhibit metallic resistivity from 3–300 K alongside anisotropic, positive magnetoresistance reaching ~8% for H∥b. Hall resistivity and Kohler's scaling violation together indicate multiband (electron- a…
STM Current Pulses Enable Reversible Nanoscale Ferroelectric Switching in WTe₂
Researchers demonstrate that scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) current pulses can write, reposition, and erase persistent nanometer-scale structural patterns on the surface of WTe₂ — a Weyl semimetal and ferroelectric material. The induced patterns manifest as picometer-scale in-plane and out-of-p…
MX2 Monolayers Exhibit Non-Monotonic Friction-Load Dependence on Au/Ag Substrates, Breaking Amontons' Law
Classical MD simulations with ML force fields reveal non-monotonic friction force vs. normal load in MX2 (Mo/W-S/Se) monolayers on Au(111)/Ag(111) slid by Si tip, violating Amontons' law. Lateral force signals and Fourier analysis identify coexisting sliding modes—longitudinal, lateral slip, zig-zag…
Quantified Grain Growth Kinetics in High-Entropy (Cr,Mo,Ta,V,W)C1-δ Carbides via Spark Plasma Sintering
Spark plasma sintering of single-phase (Cr,Mo,Ta,V,W)C1-δ high-entropy carbides at 1750–1950 °C for 10 min reveals temperature-driven grain growth, lattice expansion, and Ta desegregation while preserving rock salt structure. Normal grain growth model with n=3 yields Arrhenius activation energy of 6…
Phonon Properties and Anharmonicity in Hexagonal Silicon and Germanium Allotropes for Quantum Device Optimization
This study employs meta-GGA functionals, DFPT, and first-principles DFT to analyze electronic structures, Raman-active phonon modes, lifetimes, scattering rates, and Gruneisen parameters in hexagonal allotropes of silicon and germanium. Key findings include frequency- and temperature-dependent anhar…
Strain-Mediated Lattice Reconstruction Elevates Ferromagnetism in 2D Heterostructures
Cr2Ge2Te6/WTe2 van der Waals heterostructures demonstrate enhanced ferromagnetism in Cr2Ge2Te6 (CGT), exhibiting a more than twofold increase in Curie temperature and significantly enhanced coercive fields. This phenomenon is attributed to interfacial charge transfer making CGT conductive and proxim…
Xe Bubble Re-solution Rates in U-10Mo Fuel Quantified via BCA and MD Simulations
BCA and MD simulations quantify Xe gas bubble re-solution in U-10Mo nuclear fuel, driven by fission fragment nuclear stopping while electronic stopping contributes negligibly. Re-solution rates range from 4.4e-26 m³/fission for large bubbles to 8.8e-25 m³/fission for small ones at equilibrium pressu…
ELECTRAFI Achieves State-of-the-Art Periodic Charge Density Prediction with 633x Speedup via Analytic Gaussian Transforms
ELECTRAFI models periodic charge densities in crystals using anisotropic Gaussians in real space, leveraging closed-form Fourier transforms and Poisson summation for analytic plane-wave coefficients. This enables full density reconstruction via single inverse FFT, bypassing grid probing, periodic su…
Microwave Resonant Magnetic Induction Tomography Images Spin-Wave Modes in Millimeter Ferromagnetic Spheres
Researchers demonstrate structural imaging of magnetostatic spin-wave modes in millimeter-sized ferromagnetic spheres using resonant magnetic induction tomography at microwave frequencies. This technique identifies non-trivial modes by resolving their azimuthal and polar dependencies, filling a gap …