Abstract: Nanoscale modifications of strain and magnetic anisotropy can open pathways to engineering magnetic domains for device applications. A periodic magnetic domain structure can be stabilized in sub‐200 nm wide linear as well as curved magnets, embedded within a flat non‐ferromagnetic thin film. The nanomagnets are produced within a non‐ferromagnetic B2‐ordered Fe60Al40 thin film, where local irradiation by a focused ion beam causes the formation of disordered and strongly ferromagnetic regions of A2 Fe60Al40. An anisotropic lattice relaxation is observed, such that the in‐plane lattice parameter is larger when measured parallel to the magnet short‐axis as compared to its length. This in‐plane structural anisotropy manifests a magnetic anisotropy contribution, generating an easy‐axis parallel to the short axis. The competing effect of the strain and shape anisotropies stabilizes a periodic domain pattern in linear as well as spiral nanomagnets, providing a versatile and geometrically controllable path to engineering the strain and thereby the magnetic anisotropy at the nanoscale.

Abstract: For the synthesis of gold-silver bimetallic nanoparticles, the Turkevich method has been the state-of-the-art method for several decades. It has been presumed that this procedure results in a homogeneous alloy, although this has been debatable for many years. In this work, it is shown that neither a full alloy, nor a perfect core-shell particle is formed but rather a core-shell-like particle with altering metal composition along the radial direction. In-depth wet-chemical experiments are performed in combination with advanced transmission electron microscopy, including EDX tomography, and Finite Element Method modeling to support the observations. From the electron tomography results, the core-shell structure could be clearly visualized and the spatial distribution of gold and silver atoms could be quantified. Theoretical simulations are performed to demonstrate that even though UV-Vis spectra show only one plasmon band, this still originates from core-shell type structures. The simulations also indicate that the core-shell morphology does not so much affect the location of the plasmon band, but mainly results in significant band broadening. Wet-chemistry experiments provide the evidence that the synthesis pathway starts with gold enriched alloy cores, and later on in the synthesis mainly silver is incorporated to end up with a silver enriched alloy shell.

Abstract: In recent years, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has been proposed as a novel method to enhance transdermal drug delivery, while avoiding tissue damage. However, the underlying mechanism for the increasing skin permeability upon CAP treatment is still undefined. We propose a mechanism in which CAP-generated reactive species induce cross-linking of skin lipids, leading to the generation of nanopores, thereby facilitating the permeation of drug molecules. Molecular dynamics simulations support this proposed mechanism. Furthermore, our results indicate that to achieve maximum enhancement of the permeability, the optimal treatment will depend on the exact lipid composition of the skin, as well as on the CAP source used.

Abstract: The utilization of solar radiation to trigger photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has gained interest for sustainable energy production. In this study, attention is focused on the development of ZnO–TiO2 nanocomposite photoanodes. The target systems are obtained by growing porous arrays of highly crystalline, elongated ZnO nanostructures on indium tin oxide (ITO) by chemical vapor deposition. Subsequently, the obtained nanodeposits are functionalized with TiO2 via radio frequency-sputtering for different process durations, and subjected to final annealing in air. Characterization results demonstrate the successful formation of high purity composite systems in which the surface of ZnO nanostructures is decorated by ultra-small amounts of amorphous titania, whose content can be conveniently tailored as a function of deposition time. Photocurrent density measurements in sunlight triggered water splitting highlight a remarkable performance enhancement with respect to single-phase zinc and titanium oxides, with up to a threefold photocurrent increase compared to bare ZnO. These results, mainly traced back to the formation of ZnO/TiO2 heterojunctions yielding an improved photocarrier separation, show that the target nanocomposites are attractive photoanodes for efficient PEC water splitting.

Abstract: Heterostructures of strongly correlated oxides demonstrate various intriguing and potentially useful interfacial phenomena. LaMnO3/SrMnO3 superlattices are presented showcasing a new high‐temperature ferromagnetic phase with Curie temperature, TC ≈360 K, caused by electron transfer from the surface of the LaMnO3 donor layer into the neighboring SrMnO3 acceptor layer. As a result, the SrMnO3 (top)/LaMnO3 (bottom) interface shows an enhancement of the magnetization as depth‐profiled by polarized neutron reflectometry. The length scale of charge transfer, λTF ≈2 unit cells, is obtained from in situ growth monitoring by optical ellipsometry, supported by optical simulations, and further confirmed by high resolution electron microscopy and spectroscopy. A model of the inhomogeneous distribution of electron density in LaMnO3/SrMnO3 layers along the growth direction is concluded to account for a complex interplay between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic layers in superlattices.

Abstract: The metallic interface between two oxide insulators, such as LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (LAO/STO), provides new opportunities for electronics and spintronics. However, due to the presence of multiple orbital populations, tailoring the interfacial properties such as the ground state and metal-insulator transitions remains challenging. Here, an unforeseen tunability of the phase diagram of LAO/STO is reported by alloying LAO with a ferromagnetic LaMnO3 insulator without forming lattice disorder and at the same time without changing the polarity of the system. By increasing the Mn-doping level, x, of LaAl1-xMnxO3/STO (0 <= x <= 1), the interface undergoes a Lifshitz transition at x = 0.225 across a critical carrier density of n(c) = 2.8 x 10(13) cm(-2), where a peak T-SC approximate to 255 mK of superconducting transition temperature is observed. Moreover, the LaAl1-xMnxO3 turns ferromagnetic at x >= 0.25. Remarkably, at x = 0.3, where the metallic interface is populated by only d(xy) electrons and just before it becomes insulating, a same device with both signatures of superconductivity and clear anomalous Hall effect (7.6 x 10(12) cm(-2) < n(s) <= 1.1 x 10(13) cm(-2)) is achieved reproducibly. This provides a unique and effective way to tailor oxide interfaces for designing on-demand electronic and spintronic devices.

Abstract: A topological insulating phase has theoretically been predicted for the thermodynamically unstable perovskite phase of YBiO3. Here, it is shown that the crystal structure of the Y-Bi-O system can be controlled by using a BaBiO3 buffer layer. The BaBiO3 film overcomes the large lattice mismatch of 12% with the SrTiO3 substrate by forming a rocksalt structure in between the two perovskite structures. Depositing an YBiO3 film directly on a SrTiO3 substrate gives a fluorite structure. However, when the Y-Bi-O system is deposited on top of the buffer layer with the correct crystal phase and comparable lattice constant, a single oriented perovskite structure with the expected lattice constants is observed.

Abstract: Climate change, environmental pollution control, and resource utilization efficiency, as well as food security, sustainable agriculture, and water supply are among the main challenges facing society today. Expertise across different academic fields, technologies,anddisciplinesisneededtogeneratenewideastomeetthesechallenges. This “white paper” aims to provide a written summary by describing the main aspects and possibilities of the technology. It shows that plasma science and technology can make significant contributions to address the mentioned issues. The paper also addresses to people in the scientific community (inside and outside plasma science) to give inspiration for further work in these fields.

Abstract: Recent advances in biomedical research in cancer immunotherapy have identified the use of an oxidative stress-based approach to treat cancers, which works by inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD) in cancer cells. Since the anti-cancer effects of non-thermal plasma (NTP) are largely attributed to the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that are delivered to and generated inside the target cancer cells, it is reasonable to postulate that NTP would be an effective modality for ICD induction. NTP treatment of tumors has been shown to destroy cancer cells rapidly and, under specific treatment regimens, this leads to systemic tumorspecific immunity. The translational benefit of NTP for treatment of cancer relies on its ability to enhance the interactions between NTP-exposed minor cells and local immune cells which initiates subsequent protective immune responses. This review discusses results from recent investigations of NTP application to induce ICD in cancer cells. With further optimization of clinical devices and treatment protocols, NTP can become an essential part of the therapeutic armament against cancer.

Abstract: The bandgap behavior of 2D-GaAs and graphene have been investigated with van der Waals heterostructured into a yet unexplored graphene/GaAs bilayer, under both uniaxial stress along c axis and different planar strain distributions. The 2D-GaAs bandgap nature changes from Gamma-K indirect in isolated monolayer to Gamma-Gamma direct in graphene/GaAs bilayer. In the latter, graphene exhibits a bandgap of 5 meV. The uniaxial stress strongly affects the graphene electronic bandgap, while symmetric in-plane strain does not open the bandgap in graphene. Nevertheless, it induces remarkable changes on the GaAs bandgap-width around the Fermi level. However, when applying asymmetric in-plane strain to graphene/GaAs, the graphene sublattice symmetry is broken, and the graphene bandgap is open at the Fermi level to a maximum width of 814 meV. This value is much higher than that reported for just graphene under asymmetric strain. The Gamma-Gamma direct bandgap of GaAs remains unchanged in graphene/ GaAs under different types of applied strain. The analyses of phonon dispersion and the elastic constants yield the dynamical and mechanical stability of the graphene/GaAs system, respectively. The calculated mechanical properties for bilayer heterostructure are better than those of their constituent monolayers. This finding, together with the tunable graphene bandgap not only by the strength but also by the direction of the strain, enhance the potential for strain engineering of ultrathin group-III-V electronic devices hybridized by graphene.

Abstract: We investigate the energy levels and persistent currents of MoS2 quantum rings having different shapes and edge types in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field by means of the tight-binding approach. We find states localized at the inner and outer boundaries of the ring. These energy levels exhibit different magnetic field dependences for the inner and outer ring states due to their different localization properties. They both exhibit the usual Aharanov-Bohm oscillations but with different oscillation periods. In the presence of spin-orbit coupling, we show distinct spin and charge persistent currents for inner and outer ring states. We find well-defined spin currents with negligibly small charge currents. This is because the local currents of spin-up and -down states flow in opposite directions.

Abstract: Strain has a strong effect on the properties of materials and the performance of electronic devices. Their ever shrinking size translates into a constant demand for accurate and precise measurement methods with a very high spatial resolution. In this regard, transmission electron microscopes are key instruments thanks to their ability to map strain with a subnanometer resolution. Here, we present a method to measure strain at the nanometer scale based on the diffraction of electron Bessel beams. We demonstrate that our method offers a strain sensitivity better than 2.5 × 10−4 and an accuracy of 1.5 × 10−3, competing with, or outperforming, the best existing methods with a simple and easy to use experimental setup.

Abstract: The electronic and transport properties of a three-dimensional (3D) Dirac system are investigated theoretically, which is motivated by recent experimental measurements on quantum and transport mobilities in the 3D Dirac semimetal Na3Bi by J. Xiong et al. [Science 350, 413 (2015); Europhys. Lett. 114, 27002 (2016)]. The electron Hamiltonian is taken from a simplified k center dot p approach. From the obtained electronic band structure and the Fermi energy, we explain why the anomalous effect induced by the chiral anomaly and the Berry curvature in the energy band can be observed experimentally in magnetotransport coefficients in both low-and high-density samples. Moreover, the quantum and transport mobilities are calculated on the basis of the momentum-balance equation derived from a semiclassical Boltzmann equation with the electron-impurity interaction. The quantum and transport mobilities obtained from this study agree both qualitatively and quantitatively with those measured experimentally. We also examine the electron mobilities along different crystal directions in Na3Bi and find them largely anisotropic. The theoretical findings from this work can be helpful in gaining an in-depth understanding of the experimental results and of the basic electronic and transport properties of newly developed 3D Dirac systems.

Abstract: By employing first-principles calculations within the framework of density functional theory, we investigated the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of graphene and various two-dimensional carbon-nitride (2DNC) nanosheets. The different 2DCN gives rise to diverse electronic properties such as metals (C3N2), semimetals (C4N and C9N4), half-metals (C4N3), ferromagnetic-metals (C9N7), semiconductors (C2N, C3N, C3N4, C6N6, and C6N8), spin-glass semiconductors (C10N9 and C14N12), and insulators (C2N2). Furthermore, the effects of adsorption and substitution of hydrogen atoms as well as N-vacancy defects on the electronic and magnetic properties are systematically studied. The introduction of point defects, including N vacancies, interstitial H impurity into graphene and different 2DCN crystals, results in very different band structures. Defect engineering leads to the discovery of potentially exotic properties that make 2DCN interesting for future investigations and emerging technological applications with precisely tailored properties. These properties can be useful for applications in various fields such as catalysis, energy storage, nanoelectronic devices, spintronics, optoelectronics, and nanosensors. Published under license by AIP Publishing.