Abstract: We have studied the temperature and field dependencies of the critical current I(C) in the Nb-Fe(0.1)Si(0.9)-Nb Josephson junction with a tunneling barrier formed by a paramagnetic insulator. We demonstrate that in these junctions coexistence of both the 0 and the pi states within one tunnel junction occurs, and leads to the appearance of a sharp cusp in the temperature dependence I(C)(T), similar to the I(C)(T) cusp found for the 0-pi transition in metallic pi junctions. This cusp is not related to the 0-pi temperature-induced transition itself, but is caused by the different temperature dependencies of the opposing 0 and pi supercurrents through the barrier.

Abstract: The diffusive motion of metal nanoparticles Au and Ag on monolayer and between bilayer heterostructures of transition metal dichalcogenides and graphene are investigated in the framework of density functional theory. We found that the minimum energy barriers for diffusion and the possibility of cluster formation depend strongly on both the type of nanoparticle and the type of monolayers and bilayers. Moreover, the tendency to form clusters of Ag and Au can be tuned by creating various bilayers. Tunability of the diffusion characteristics of adatoms in van der Waals heterostructures holds promise for controllable growth of nanostructures. (C) 2014 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Abstract: We solve the linear GinzburgLandau (GL) equation in the presence of a uniform magnetic field with cylindrical symmetry and we find analytic expressions for the eigenfunctions in terms of the confluent hypergeometric functions. The discrete spectrum results from an implicit equation associated to the boundary conditions and it is resolved in analytic form using the continued fractions formalism. We study the dependence of the spectrum and the eigenfunctions on the sample size and the surface conditions for solid and hollow cylindrical superconductors. Finally, the solutions of the nonlinear GL formalism are constructed as expansions in the linear GL eigenfunction basis and selected by minimization of the free energy. We present examples of vortex states and their energies for different samples in enhancing/suppressing superconductivity surroundings.

Abstract: By focusing electrons on probes with a diameter of 50 pm, aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is currently crossing the border to probing subatomic details. A major challenge is the measurement of atomic electric fields using differential phase contrast (DPC) microscopy, traditionally exploiting the concept of a field- induced shift of diffraction patterns. Here we present a simplified quantum theoretical interpretation of DPC. This enables us to calculate the momentum transferred to the STEM probe from diffracted intensities recorded on a pixel array instead of conventional segmented bright- field detectors. The methodical development yielding atomic electric field, charge and electron density is performed using simulations for binary GaN as an ideal model system. We then present a detailed experimental study of SrTiO3 yielding atomic electric fields, validated by comprehensive simulations. With this interpretation and upgraded instrumentation, STEM is capable of quantifying atomic electric fields and high-contrast imaging of light atoms.

Abstract: Using a combination of high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy and atomically resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy at high energy resolution in an aberration-corrected electron microscope, we demonstrate the capability of coordination mapping in complex oxides. Brownmillerite compound Ca2FeCoO5, consisting of repetitive octahedral and tetrahedral coordination layers with Fe and Co in a fixed 3+ valency, is selected to demonstrate the principle of atomic resolution coordination mapping. Analysis of the Co-L2,3 and the Fe-L2,3 edges shows small variations in the fine structure that can be specifically attributed to Co/Fe in tetrahedral or in octahedral coordination. Using internal reference spectra, we show that the coordination of the Fe and Co atoms in the compound can be mapped at atomic resolution.

Abstract: An epitaxial PbTiO3 thin film grown on self-organized crystalline SrRuO3 nanowires deposited on a DyScO3 substrate with ordered DyO and ScO2 chemical terminations is investigated by transmission electron microscopy. In this PbTiO3/SrRuO3/DyScO3 heterostructure, the SrRuO3 nanowires are assumed to grow on only one type of substrate termination. Here, we report on the structure, morphology, and chemical composition analysis of this heterostructure. Electron energy loss spectroscopy reveals the exact termination sequence in this complex structure. The energy loss near-edge structure of the Ti-L-2,L-3, Sc-L-2,L-3, and O K edges shows intrinsic interfacial electronic reconstruction. Furthermore, PbTiO3 domain walls are observed to start at the end of the nanowires resulting in atomic steps on the film surface. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Abstract: Chimera state is a recently discovered dynamical phenomenon in arrays of nonlocally coupled oscillators, that displays a self-organized spatial pattern of coexisting coherence and incoherence. We discuss the appearance of the chimera states in networks of phase oscillators with attractive and with repulsive interactions, i.e. when the coupling respectively favors synchronization or works against it. By systematically analyzing the dependence of the spatiotemporal dynamics on the level of coupling attractivity/repulsivity and the range of coupling, we uncover that different types of chimera states exist in wide domains of the parameter space as cascades of the states with increasing number of intervals of irregularity, so-called chimera's heads. We report three scenarios for the chimera birth: (1) via saddle-node bifurcation on a resonant invariant circle, also known as SNIC or SNIPER, (2) via blue-sky catastrophe, when two periodic orbits, stable and saddle, approach each other creating a saddle-node periodic orbit, and (3) via homoclinic transition with complex multistable dynamics including an “eight-like” limit cycle resulting eventually in a chimera state.

Abstract: In materials science, high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy is often used for tomography at the nanometer scale. In this work, it is shown that a thickness dependent, non-linear damping of the recorded intensities occurs. This results in an underestimated intensity in the interior of reconstructions of homogeneous particles, which is known as the cupping artifact. In this paper, this non-linear effect is demonstrated in experimental images taken under common conditions and is reproduced with a numerical simulation. Furthermore, an analytical derivation shows that these non-linearities can be inverted if the imaging is done quantitatively, thus preventing cupping in the reconstruction.

Abstract: Unlike other 3d transition metal monoxides (MnO, FeO, CoO, and NiO), CuO is found in a low-symmetry distorted monoclinic structure rather than the rocksalt structure. We report here of the growth of ultrathin CuO films on SrTiO3 substrates; scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to show the stabilization of a tetragonal rocksalt structure with an elongated c-axis such that c/a similar to 1.34 and the Cu-O-Cu bond angle similar to 180 degrees, pointing to metastable six-fold coordinated Cu. X-ray absorption spectroscopy demonstrates that the hole at the Cu site for the CuO is localized in 3d(x2-y2) orbital unlike the well-studied monoclinic CuO phase. The experimental confirmation of the tetragonal structure of CuO opens up new avenues to explore electronic and magnetic properties of six-fold coordinated Cu. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2014

Abstract: Quantitative annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF STEM) has become a powerful technique to characterise nano-particles on an atomic scale. Because of their limited size and beam sensitivity, the atomic structure of such particles may become extremely challenging to determine. Therefore keeping the incoming electron dose to a minimum is important. However, this may reduce the reliability of quantitative ADF STEM which will here be demonstrated for nano-particle atom-counting. Based on experimental ADF STEM images of a real industrial catalyst, we discuss the limits for counting the number of atoms in a projected atomic column with single atom sensitivity. We diagnose these limits by combining a thorough statistical method and detailed image simulations.

Abstract: Quantitative structural and chemical information can be obtained from high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF STEM) images when using statistical parameter estimation theory. In this approach, we assume an empirical parameterized imaging model for which the total scattered intensities of the atomic columns are estimated. These intensities can be related to the material structure or composition. Since the experimental probe profile is assumed to be known in the description of the imaging model, we will explore how the uncertainties in the probe profile affect the estimation of the total scattered intensities. Using multislice image simulations, we analyze this effect for Cs corrected and non-Cs corrected microscopes as a function of inaccuracies in cylindrically symmetric aberrations, such as defocus and spherical aberration of third and fifth order, and non-cylindrically symmetric aberrations, such as 2-fold and 3-fold astigmatism and coma.

Abstract: From the theory of many-electron states in atoms, we know that there exists a strong Coulomb repulsion, which results in the electronic term structure of atoms and is responsible for Hunds rules. By expanding the Coulomb on-site repulsion into a multipolar series, we derive this interaction and show that it is also present in solids as a correlation effect, which means that the interaction requires a multideterminant version of the Hartree-Fock method. Of particular interest is the case where this interaction couples states of localized ( f) and delocalized ( s) electrons. We show that the interaction is bilinear in the creation/annihilation operators for localized electrons and bilinear in the operators for conduction electrons. To study the coupling, we consider a simple model in the framework of an effective limited configuration interaction method with one localized f-electron and one itinerant s-electron per crystal site. The on-site multipole interaction between the f- and s-electrons is explicitly taken into account. It is shown that depending on the low-lying excitation spectrum imposed by the crystal electric field, the model can lead not only to ferromagnetism but also to a nonmagnetic state. The model is relevant for solids with localized and itinerant electron states.

Abstract: Biomedical nanomagnetic carriers are getting a higher impact in therapy and diagnosis schemes while their constraints and prerequisites are more and more successfully confronted. Such particles should possess a well-defined size with minimum agglomeration and they should be synthesized in a facile and reproducible high-yield way together with a controllable response to an applied static or dynamic field tailored for the specific application. Here, we attempt to enhance the heating efficiency in magnetic particle hyperthermia treatment through the proper adjustment of the core-shell morphology in ferrite particles, by controlling exchange and dipolar magnetic interactions at the nanoscale. Thus, core-shell nanoparticles with mutual coupling of magnetically hard (CoFe2O4) and soft (MnFe2O4) components are synthesized with facile synthetic controls resulting in uniform size and shell thickness as evidenced by high resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging, excellent crystallinity and size monodispersity. Such a magnetic coupling enables the fine tuning of magnetic anisotropy and magnetic interactions without sparing the good structural, chemical and colloidal stability. Consequently, the magnetic heating efficiency of CoFe2O4. and MnFe2O4 core-shell nanoparticles is distinctively different horn that of their counterparts, even though all these nanocrystals were synthesized under similar conditions. For better understanding of the AC magnetic hyperthermia response and its correlation with magnetic-origin features we study the effect of the volume ratio of magnetic hard and soft phases in the bimagnetic core-shell nanocrystals. Eventually, such particles may be considered as novel heating carriers that under further biomedical functionalization may become adaptable multifunctional heat-triggered nanoplatforms. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.