Applied Ac Field Research Articles

Investigation of Gamma-Induced Changes to Screening Currents and AC Losses in Mono- Versus Multi-filamentary REBCO Coated Conductors Using DC and AC Magnetometry

REBCO (rare-earth barium copper oxide) coated conductor tapes are a highly attractive option for magnet materials in future tokamak fusion power plants. However, the threat of intense neutron and gamma radiation, together with AC losses during magnet coil ramping, has raised concerns around magnet coil lifetimes. Irradiation-induced changes to flux creep rate has been identified as a key performance-limiting factor in REBCO tapes at low temperatures and high fields post-irradiation with gamma rays; spontaneous flux creep contributes to hysteretic AC loss in REBCO cables under applied AC fields. Knowing that multi-filamentary tapes are under consideration for tokamaks as an AC loss mitigation, magnetic measurements and gamma irradiation experiments are presented here on striated and mono-filamentary YBCO tapes to investigate the differences in post-irradiation screening currents and AC losses. Reduction in AC losses improved magnetisation critical current density (Jc) retention after 1 MGy in the multi- relative to the mono-filamentary samples. After the 5 MGy dose, striations then made the multi-filamentary tape more susceptible to Jc degradation because of the thinner individual filament width. Scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis on an analogous GdYBCO mono-filamentary tape did not indicate the introduction of nm-scale amorphisation to the active GdYBCO layer after gamma irradiation. A potential theoretical explanation for the underlying mechanism altering the flux-pinning landscape across the REBCO layer surface in gamma-irradiated tapes is discussed. This work concluded that gamma effects on screening current capability should be considered in future tokamak REBCO tape qualification studies.

Investigation of structural and electrical properties of RLaLiTeO6 (R = Ca, Sr, and Ba) double perovskites

In this study, we synthesized RLaLiTeO6 compounds (R = Ca, Sr, and Ba) via a high-temperature solid-state reaction route and thoroughly investigated their structural, dielectric, and impedance properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to determine the crystal structure of the samples. Symmetry confirmation was achieved through Raman spectroscopy and further solidified through Rietveld refinement employing FullProf Suite software. Our results showed that CaLaLiTeO6 and SrLaLiTeO6 exhibited a monoclinic (P21/n) phase, while BaLaLiTeO6 displayed a tetragonal (I4/m) phase. Structural optimization was further carried out using the VESTA and GFourier programs, with microstrains and crystallite sizes assessed via the Williamson-Hall (W-H) plot. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) revealed a decrease in average grain size from 0.87 μm to 0.26 μm with increasing ionic radii from Ca to Ba. The dielectric properties, characterized by the variation of dielectric constant (ε′) and dielectric loss (tanδ) with frequency (0.1 Hz to 1 MHz) at specific temperatures, exhibited dispersive behavior at low frequencies and became independent at high frequencies. Furthermore, temperature-dependent dielectric constants and losses were investigated over 300 K to 625 K under fixed applied AC field values. The impedance study was assessed through Z′ vs. Z″ (Nyquist) plots at different temperatures, with the fitting performed at 583 K to provide insight into the grain and grain resistance values. The observed high dielectric constant suggests a promising potential for electronic applications such as capacitors or microwave resonators.

Sol-gel synthesis of Cobalt-Bismuth substituted strontium hexaferrites and insight into structural refinement, Microstructural, dielectric and spectroscopic properties

Bi and Co-substituted strontium (SrFe12O19) hexaferrites were synthesized using the auto-combustion sol–gel method. The structural, Rietveld refinement, microstructural, spectroscopic, and dielectric characterizations were analyzed with X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Dielectric analysis, respectively. The XRD investigation of Sr1-xBixFe12-yCoyO19 with (x = 0–0.5, y = 0–1.0) confirmed the single phase of M−type hexagonal ferrites. The change in the value of lattice constant ‘a’ in between 5.87 and 5.95 and ‘c’ 22.07 to 23.81 to be noted. The crystallite size of prepared specimens was determined in (20–29) nm range. The specific stretching vibrations in the FTIR results approves (Fe/Co-O and Bi-O) at three different positions 437.59, 549.94, and 587.53 cm−1. The existence of these band from 437 to 588 cm−1 confirmed the hexagonal structure of these ferrites. The force constants at octahedral sites increased from 1.75 to 2.02 (Dyne cm−1) x 105 and shows insignificant behavior at tetrahedral sites in between (3.33–3.54) Dyne cm−1 x 105 with Bi-Co substitution. The first band 582 cm−1 (ʋ1), is due to the maximum restoring force and vibrations at the tetrahedral site. The second band at a lower wavenumber of ∼ 402 cm−1 (ʋ 2) is due to the vibrations at the octahedral site. The microstructure of all synthesized samples of M−type hexagonal ferrites confirmed using the SEM analysis. The dielectric measurements in 0 to 3 GHZ frequency was done and effect of Bi-Co has been observed. The dielectric constant of all specimens shows the increasing trend from 1.5 GHz to 2.5 GHz with the frequency of the applied AC field. A slight increase was observed in the AC conductivity of these ferrites with the increasing concentration of Bi and Co ions.

X-ray-induced piezoresponse during X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy of PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3.

X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) holds strong promise for observing atomic-scale dynamics in materials, both at equilibrium and during non-equilibrium transitions. Here an in situ XPCS study of the relaxor ferroelectric PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3 (PMN) is reported. A weak applied AC electric field generates strong response in the speckle of the diffuse scattering from the polar nanodomains, which is captured using the two-time correlation function. Correlated motions of the Bragg peak are also observed, which indicate dynamic tilting of the illuminated volume. This tilting quantitatively accounts for the observed two-time speckle correlations. The magnitude of the tilting would not be expected solely from the modest applied field, since PMN is an electrostrictive material with no linear strain response to the field. A model is developed based on non-uniform static charging of the illuminated surface spot by the incident micrometre-scale X-ray beam and the electrostrictive material response to the combination of static and dynamic fields. The model qualitatively explains the direction and magnitude of the observed tilting, and predicts that X-ray-induced piezoresponse could be an important factor in correctly interpreting results from XPCS and nanodiffraction studies of other insulating materials under applied AC field or varying X-ray illumination.

Impedance Spectroscopy of Binary Mixtures of Dimethyl Silicone Fluid and Methyl Iso Butyl Ketone

A precision LCR metre was used to measure the parallel resistance (RP) and parallel capacitance (CP) of a capacitive cell filled with samples of binary mixes of methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) and dimethyl silicone fluid (DMSF), over the frequency range of 100 Hz to 2 MHz, at a temperature of 303.15 K. Using RP and CP, complex impedance Z*(ω) was computed. A four-element equivalent circuit model was used to fit the complex impedance data. The fitting provided the values of various circuit elements representing various electrical processes occurring in the capacitive measurement cell under the influence of an applied ac field. The Bode plot presentation of the complex impedance data confirmed the values of various circuit elements determined using the fitting process. Complex impedance formalism supports the observation of the electronic double-layer capacitance (EDLC) phenomena and ionic conduction relaxation phenomena.

Modeling structure–properties relations in compositionally disordered relaxor dielectrics at the nanoscale

The solid solution Ba1−xSrxTiO3 (BSTO) displays dielectric response that is highly tunable, while also exhibiting low losses in a broad frequency regime, including the microwave band. Therefore, there is a need for a better understanding of the influence of the BSTO microstructure on its relaxor properties and performance in a variety of technological applications. Since the local polarization in BSTO is strongly dependent on composition, so is its response to an applied AC field. In this work, we have adopted a phase field method to study the frequency-dependent dielectric response of this system while accounting for the local fluctuations in the solid-solution composition. By utilizing a thermodynamic potential that includes spatial dependence on the averaged Sr content, we connected relaxor-like features in the dielectric dispersion to local spatial inhomogeneities, such as average size of Sr- or Ba-rich regions, across a wide range of temperatures. These results show that the adopted simple coarse-grained approach to the relaxor problem is sensitive enough to reveal correlations between the frequency and temperature dependence of the dielectric response and modulations in the material morphology and microstructure.

Dynamic resistance and voltage response of a REBCO bifilar stack under perpendicular DC-biased AC magnetic fields

The dynamic resistance of REBCO (REBa2Cu3O7-d, RE stands for rare earth), coated conductors (CCs) is a key parameter in many high-temperature superconductor applications where CCs carry DC currents exposed to AC and DC magnetic fields, such as field-triggered persistent current switches, flux pumps, and fault current limiters. In this work, dynamic resistance and dynamic voltage have been studied via experiments and finite element method (FEM) simulations in a REBCO bifilar stack at 77 K, under combined AC and DC magnetic fields with different magnitudes, frequencies, and waveforms. Our results show some distinct features of dynamic resistance and voltage from those under pure AC magnetic fields. With an increasing DC magnetic field, the dynamic resistance exhibits an obvious linearity with the applied AC magnetic field, and becomes less dependent on the AC field frequency. The fundamental frequency of the dynamic voltage under a DC magnetic field becomes the same as that of the applied AC field, which completely differs from the pure AC field case where the fundamental frequency doubles. For the first time, instantaneous threshold field (B th) values are obtained from the dynamic voltage, which are substantially different in the field-increasing and field-decreasing processes. These key differences are attributed to the dominant role of DC magnetic fields in determining the critical current of the superconductor, which significantly dwarfs the influence of AC fields. These new discoveries may help researchers better understand the electromagnetism of superconductors and be useful for relevant applications.

Vortex dynamics induced by scanning SQUID susceptometry

We measured the local magnetic response of a niobium thin film by applying a millitesla-scale AC magnetic field using a micron-scale field coil and detecting the response with a micron-scale pickup loop in a scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) susceptometry measurement. Near the film's critical temperature, we observed a step-like nonlinear and dissipative magnetic response due to the dynamics of a small number of vortex-antivortex pairs induced in the film by the local applied AC field. We modeled the dynamics of the measurement using a combined two-dimensional London-Maxwell and time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau approach, allowing us to construct a detailed real-space picture of the vortex motion causing the observed dissipative response. This work pushes scanning SQUID susceptometry of two-dimensional superconductors beyond the regime of linear response and lays the foundation for microscopic studies of vortex dynamics and pinning in superconducting devices and more exotic materials systems.

Enhanced electroseismic coupling at charged interfaces

Published field-scale studies of electroseismic (ES) surveying have detected harmonics of the source frequency in the recorded seismic signal. At the time the data were collected, the cause of these high frequencies was unknown. We have found that electric fields applied to lithologic interfaces create harmonics of the source frequency. At these interfaces, there are gradients in ionic concentrations in pore fluids and in situ electric fields associated with gradients in the electrochemical (EC) potential. When an electric field is applied to the junction in the direction of the internal field, the internal voltage gradient decreases and the resistivity decreases. When the applied field opposes the internal field, the internal field increases and the resistivity is high. Harmonics of the applied AC field occur when the amplitude of the applied electric field is comparable to the internal field. We use the sandstone/limestone interface as an illustrative example. An analytical model of rock interfaces predicts the wavelet response to an applied field. The theoretically predicted signal characteristics agree with the laboratory data. The model predicts that the distortion of the electric field induces strains on the rock matrix that are qualitatively similar to field measurements of the ES conversion. The estimated response from an EC junction is substantially larger than the electrokinetic conversion associated with the displacement of the pore-surface dipole layers.

SYNTHESIS OF COBALT FERRITE NANOPARTICLES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN HYPERTHERMIA THERAPY

Co-ferrite nanoparticles have been prepared by wet chemical route using micelles. Two sets of particles with sizes of⁓100 nm and ⁓200 nm were obtained by varying the concentration of micelles. The morphological and crystallographicstudy of the particles was performed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and x-ray diffractometer respectively. Tocheck the suitability of the co-ferrite nanoparticles in magnetic hyperthermia therapy, various magnetic measurementswere carried out in presence of AC and DC magnetic fields. To investigate the suitability of the particles in hyperthermiatherapy hysteresis loss of the particles under the application of AC magnetic field with various frequencies has beencarried out. The parabolic nature of power loss with the frequency of the applied AC field has been verified fromexperimental data. From various measurements, it appeared that the particles with an average size ~100 nm have betterefficiency in view of hyperthermia therapy. A large value of the specific absorption rate (SAR) was found from the achysteresis of the particles.

Nanocrystalline solid slabs of pure and CdS added KCl–KBr for energy storage application: Preparation and properties

The present study illustrates, for the first time, the possibility of preparing nanocrystalline solid slabs of pure and CdS (5 wt%) added KCl1−xBrx(with x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0) with good quality by using a melt quenching process. The ten samples prepared have been found to exhibit the halite crystal structure with reduced crystal grain size (average crystallite sizes observed in the range 43 to 97 nm), homogeneous morphology (cuboid shape) and phase purity. Optical measurements (absorption/reflectance and photoluminescence) show a significant difference between the melt quenched samples, precursors and ball milled samples (prepared for comparison); CdS addition leads to an extra photoluminescent peak at around 280 nm. The melt quenched samples exhibit much higher dielectric constants (indicating that they can be used as efficient energy storage materials) than the bulk (single/ poly) crystalline KCl–KBr (simple and mixed) systems, which could be due to their lower crystal grain/ crystallite sizes; for example, the ɛr value observed for the CdS added KCl0.5Br0.5 (with an applied AC field frequency of 1 kHz) increases from 2075 at 30 °C to 6188 at 190 °C, which is very interesting.

AC/DC Electric-Field-Assisted Growth of ZnO Nanowires for Gas Discharge

Using ZnO nanowires as needle anodes in gas discharge is helpful for maintaining continuous discharge with a relatively low voltage. It is necessary that the ZnO nanowires are far enough apart to guarantee no electric field weakening and that the nanowire anodes are easy to assemble together with the discharging devices. An AC/DC electric-field-assisted wet chemical method is proposed in this paper. It was used to grow ZnO nanowires directly on discharging devices. The nanowires covered the whole electrode in the case in which only a DC field was applied. Moreover, the tips of the nanowires were scattered, similar to the results observed under the application of AC fields. The average distance between the tips of the highest nanowires was approximately equal to 4 μm, which almost meets the requirement of gas discharge. The research concerning growing ZnO nanowires directly on PCBs shown that, at the current time, ZnO nanowires on PCBs did not meet the requirements of gas discharge; however, in this study, the parameters regarding ZnO nanowire growth were established.

Aerosol jet printing polymer dispersed liquid crystals on highly curved optical surfaces and edges

We demonstrate a new technique for producing Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) devices utilising aerosol jet printing (AJP). PDLCs require two substrates to act as scaffold for the Indium Tin Oxide electrodes, which restricts the device geometries. Our approach precludes the requirement for the second substrate by printing the electrode directly onto the surface of the PDLC, which is also printed. The process has the potential to be precursory to the implementation of non-contact printing techniques for a variety of liquid crystal-based devices on non-planar substrates. We report the demonstration of direct deposition of PDLC films onto non-planar optical surfaces, including a functional device printed over the 90° edge of a prism. Scanning Electron Microscopy is used to inspect surface features of the polymer electrodes and the liquid crystal domains in the host polymer. The minimum relaxation time of the PDLC was measured at 1.3 ms with an 800 Hz, 90 V, peak-to-peak (Vpp) applied AC field. Cross-polarised transmission is reduced by up to a factor of 3.9. A transparent/scattering contrast ratio of 1.4 is reported between 0 and 140 V at 100 Hz.

Quantifying Order during Field-Driven Alignment of Colloidal Semiconductor Nanorods.

Aligning large populations of colloidal nanorods (NRs) into ordered assemblies provides a strategy for engineering macroscopic functional materials with strong optical anisotropy. The bulk optical properties of such systems depend not only on the individual NR building blocks but also on their meso- and macroscale ordering, in addition to more complex interparticle coupling effects. Here, we investigate the dynamic alignment of colloidal CdSe/CdS NRs in the presence of AC electric fields by measuring concurrent changes in optical transmission. Our work identifies two distinct scales of interaction that give rise to the field-driven optical response: (1) the spontaneous mesoscale self-assembly of colloidal NRs into structures with increased optical anisotropy and (2) the macroscopic ordering of NR assemblies along the direction of the applied AC field. By modeling the alignment of NR ensembles using directional statistics, we experimentally quantify the maximum degree of order in terms of the average deviation angle relative to the field axis. Results show a consistent improvement in alignment as a function of NR concentration─with a minimum average deviation of 36.2°─indicating that mesoscale assembly helps facilitate field-driven alignment of colloidal NRs.

Coupling behavior of Bi2Sr2−xInxCaCu2O8+d

The interplay between intrinsic grain and inter-grain effects at the superconducting state defines the behavior of bulk high-temperature superconductors. In this work, we use DC resistivity and AC magnetic susceptibility measurements to show how the intrinsic and inter-grain properties influence the intergrain phase coherence and flux dynamics of Bi2Sr2−xInxCaCu2O8+d. High In-doped samples, x ≥ 0.4, have broad resistive and diamagnetic superconducting transitions due to weak intergrain coupling caused by segregated impurities. Low doping levels, x ≤ 0.3, have sharp superconducting resistive and diamagnetic transitions, with higher transition temperature TC attributed to an increase superconducting pair density. This results to enhanced intergrain coupling and strong diamagnetic screening of intergrain void networks. An applied AC field of 0.77 mT amplitude deteriorates the intergrain diamagnetic screening at x = 0.2 through AC flux slip between grains.

A Composite of (95%) La2CoMnO6+ (5%) Ba0.5Na0.5TiO3 : Study of Structural and Dielectric Properties

This project work reports synthesis, structural and dielectric nature of composite of the type (95%) La2CoMnO6+ (5%) Ba0.5Na0.5TiO3. The composite was characterized at room temperature for structural and dielectric properties. The structural characterization X-ray diffraction was carried for structural confirmation. The XRD data study convey the sample is dual phase in nature evident from the corresponding diffraction peaks. Monoclinic phase was acquired by La2CoMnO6 and the space groupof the phase is P 1 21/n whereas Ba0.5Na0.5TiO3 phase has acquired cubic structure with space group Pm-3m. The frequency dependent dielectric constant examined reveals high dielectric constant which decreases with increase in applied ac field values. Dielectric loss calculated shows the behaviour like dielectric constant which initially decreases abruptly with applied field and later attains frequency independent values. However, the ac conductivity was observed higher in the as synthesized.

Parametric study of coaxial dielectric barrier discharge in atmospheric pressure argon

A parametric study of the characteristics of coaxial dielectric barrier discharge sustained in atmospheric pressure argon is carried out. The numerical model is based on the drift-diffusion theory of gas discharges. The integral characteristics of the discharge, such as the root mean square of the discharge current, the period average dissipated power, and the efficiency of the power deposition, are explored in the parameter space spanned by the voltage amplitude and frequency of the applied AC field, the barrier dielectric constant, and the gas gap width.

Analysis of Temperature-Jump Boundary Conditions on Heat Transfer for Heterogeneous Microfluidic Immunosensors.

The objective of the current study is to analyze numerically the effect of the temperature-jump boundary condition on heterogeneous microfluidic immunosensors under electrothermal force. A three-dimensional simulation using the finite element method on the binding reaction kinetics of C-reactive protein (CRP) was performed. The kinetic reaction rate was calculated with coupled Laplace, Navier−Stokes, energy, and mass diffusion equations. Two types of reaction surfaces were studied: one in the form of a disc surrounded by two electrodes and the other in the form of a circular ring, one electrode is located inside the ring and the other outside. The numerical results reveal that the performance of a microfluidic biosensor is enhanced by using the second design of the sensing area (circular ring) coupled with the electrothermal force. The improvement factor under the applied ac field 15 Vrms was about 1.2 for the first geometry and 3.6 for the second geometry. Furthermore, the effect of temperature jump on heat transfer rise and response time was studied. The effect of two crucial parameters, viz. Knudsen number (Kn) and thermal accommodation coefficient (σT) with and without electrothermal effect, were analyzed for the two configurations.

Effect of easy axis alignment on dynamic magnetization of immobilized and suspended magnetic nanoparticles

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been widely studied for use in biomedical applications such as magnetic particle imaging and magnetic hyperthermia. We studied the effect of easy axis alignment on dynamic magnetization of both immobilized and suspended MNPs. For immobilized samples, easy axes of magnetization were aligned by applying a dc field during immobilization. For suspended samples, the applied ac field was set so that the alignment of the easy axes was caused by the ac field. Magnetization (M–H) curves of MNPs with different degrees of easy axis alignment were measured with an applied ac field. We found that the easy axis alignment of MNPs considerably affects their M–H curve and harmonic spectra, which indicates the importance of this alignment for their biomedical applications. The experimental results were quantitatively explained with numerical simulation that took account of easy axis alignment and core size distribution in the sample. We can express the degree of easy axis alignment using a distribution function of the easy axis angle for both immobilized and suspended cases. The distribution function will be useful for quantitatively evaluating MNP performance in biomedical applications.

How size, shape and assembly of magnetic nanoparticles give rise to different hyperthermia scenarios.

The use of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to locally increase the temperature at the nanoscale under the remote application of alternating magnetic fields (magnetic particle hyperthermia, MHT) has become an important subject of nanomedicine multidisciplinary research, focusing among other topics on the optimization of the heating performance of MNPs and their assemblies under the effect of the magnetic field. We report experimental data of heat released by MNPs using a wide range of anisometric shapes and their assemblies in different media. We outline a basic theoretical investigation, which assists the interpretation of the experimental data, including the effect of the size, shape and assembly of MNPs on the MNPs' hysteresis loops and the maximum heat delivered. We report heat release data of anisometric MNPs, including nanodisks, spindles (elongated nanoparticles) and nanocubes, analysing, for a given shape, the size dependence. We study the MNPs either acting as individuals or assembled through a magnetic-field-assisted method. Thus, the physical geometrical arrangement of these anisometric particles, the magnetization switching and the heat release (by means of the determination of the specific adsorption rate, SAR values) under the application of AC fields have been analysed and compared in aqueous suspensions and after immobilization in agar matrix mimicking the tumour environment. The different nano-systems were analysed when dispersed at random or in assembled configurations. We report a systematic fall in the SAR for all anisometric MNPs randomly embedded in a viscous environment. However, certain anisometric shapes will have a less marked, an almost total preservation or even an increase in SAR when embedded in a viscous environment with certain orientation, in contrast to the measurements in water solution. Discrepancies between theoretical and experimental values reflect the complexity of the systems due to the interplay of different factors such as size, shape and nanoparticle assembly due to magnetic interactions. We demonstrate that magnetic assembly holds great potential for producing materials with high functional and structural diversity, as we transform our nanoscale building blocks (anisometric MNPs) into a material displaying enhanced SAR properties.