Abstract: Ferroelectric domain formation is an essential feature in ferroelectric thin films. These domains and domain walls can be manipulated depending on the growth conditions. In rhombohedral BiFeO3 thin films, the ordering of the domains and the presence of specific types of domain walls play a crucial role in attaining unique ferroelectric and magnetic properties. In this study, controlled ordering of domains in BiFeO3 film is presented, as well as a controlled selectivity between two types of domain walls is presented, i.e., 71° and 109°, by modifying the substrate termination. The experiments on two different substrates, namely SrTiO3 and TbScO3, strongly indicate that the domain selectivity is determined by the growth kinetics of the initial BiFeO3 layers.

Abstract: By considering a cylindrically symmetric generalization of a plane wave, the first-order Born approximation of screened Coulomb scattering unfolds two new dimensions in the scattering problem: transverse momentum and orbital angular momentum of the incoming beam. In this paper, the elastic Coulomb scattering amplitude is calculated analytically for incoming Bessel beams. This reveals novel features occurring for wide-angle scattering and quantitative insights for small-angle vortex scattering. The result successfully generalizes the well-known Rutherford formula, incorporating transverse and orbital angular momentum into the formalism.

Abstract: In this paper we study two cold atmospheric pressure plasma jets, operating in Ar + 2% air, with a different electrode geometry but with the same power dissipated in the plasma. The density profiles of the biomedically active NO and O species throughout the plasma jet, previously obtained by laser diagnostics, are calculated by means of a zero-dimensional semi-empirical reaction kinetics model. A good agreement between the calculated and measured data is demonstrated. Furthermore, the most probable spatial power distribution in an RF driven plasma jet is obtained for the first time by comparing measured and calculated species density profiles. This was possible due to the strong effect of the power distribution on the NO and O density profiles. In addition the dominant reaction pathways for both the NO and the O species are identified. The model allows us to obtain key information on the reactive species production inside the jet, which is difficult to access by laser diagnostics in a coaxial geometry. Finally, we demonstrate that water impurities in the order of 100 ppm in the gas feed can have a significant effect on the spatial distribution of the NO and O density.

Abstract: We investigate theoretically quantum transport through graphene nanorings in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. Our theoretical results demonstrate that the graphene nanorings behave like a resonant tunneling device, contrary to the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations found in conventional semiconductor rings. The resonant tunneling can be tuned by the Fermi energy, the size of the central part of the graphene nanorings and the external magnetic field.

Abstract: Plasma catalysis is gaining increasing interest for various environmental applications, but the crucial question is whether plasma can be created inside catalyst pores and under which conditions. In practice, various catalytic support materials are used, with various dielectric constants. We investigate here the influence of the dielectric constant on the plasma properties inside catalyst pores and in the sheath in front of the pores, for various pore sizes. The calculations are performed by a two-dimensional fluid model for an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge in helium. The electron impact ionization rate, electron temperature, electron and ion density, as well as the potential distribution and surface charge density, are analyzed for a better understanding of the discharge behavior inside catalyst pores. The results indicate that, in a 100 μm pore, the electron impact ionization in the pore, which is characteristic for the plasma generation inside the pore, is greatly enhanced for dielectric constants below 300. Smaller pore sizes only yield enhanced ionization for smaller dielectric constants, i.e., up to εr = 200, 150, and 50 for pore sizes of 50, 30, and 10 μm. Thus, the most common catalyst supports, i.e., Al2O3 and SiO2, which have dielectric constants around εr = 8−11 and 4.2, respectively, should allow more easily that microdischarges can be formed inside catalyst pores, even for smaller pore sizes. On the other hand, ferroelectric materials with dielectric constants above 300 never seem to yield plasma enhancement inside catalyst pores, not even for 100 μm pore sizes. Furthermore, it is clear that the dielectric constant of the material has a large effect on the extent of plasma enhancement inside the catalyst pores, especially in the range between εr = 4 and εr = 200. The obtained results are explained in detail based on the surface charge density at the pore walls,
and the potential distribution and electron temperature inside and above the pores. The results obtained with this model are
important for plasma catalysis, as the production plasma species in catalyst pores might affect the catalyst properties, and thus
improve the applications of plasma catalysis.