High-angle Diffraction Research Articles

Synthesis and in-depth structure determination of a novel metastable high-pressure CrTe3 phase

This study reports the synthesis and crystal structure determination of a novel CrTe3 phase using various experimental and theoretical methods. The average stoichiometry and local phase separation of this quenched high-pressure phase were characterized by ex situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and total scattering. Several structural models were obtained using simulated annealing, but all suffered from an imperfect Rietveld refinement, especially at higher diffraction angles. Finally, a novel stoichiometrically correct crystal structure model was proposed on the basis of electron diffraction data and refined against powder diffraction data using the Rietveld method. Scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) measurements verified the targeted 1:3 (Cr:Te) average stoichiometry for the starting compound and for the quenched high-pressure phase within experimental errors. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM)–EDX was used to examine minute variations of the Cr-to-Te ratio at the nanoscale. Precession electron diffraction (PED) experiments were applied for the nanoscale structure analysis of the quenched high-pressure phase. The proposed monoclinic model from PED experiments provided an improved fit to the X-ray patterns, especially after introducing atomic anisotropic displacement parameters and partial occupancy of Cr atoms. Atomic resolution STEM and simulations were conducted to identify variations in the Cr-atom site-occupancy factor. No significant variations were observed experimentally for several zone axes. The magnetic properties of the novel CrTe3 phase were investigated through temperature- and field-dependent magnetization measurements. In order to understand these properties, auxiliary theoretical investigations have been performed by first-principles electronic structure calculations and Monte Carlo simulations. The obtained results allow the observed magnetization behavior to be interpreted as the consequence of competition between the applied magnetic field and the Cr–Cr exchange interactions, leading to a decrease of the magnetization towards T = 0 K typical for antiferromagnetic systems, as well as a field-induced enhanced magnetization around the critical temperature due to the high magnetic susceptibility in this region.

Swift heavy ion irradiation induced modifications on the structure, optical and electrical properties of pulsed laser deposited anatase TiO2 thin films

The swift heavy ions of Ag7+ (100 MeV) were used to irradiate the anatase TiO2 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique on quartz substrates. The effect of ion fluences (1×1012, 1×1013 and 1×1014 ions/cm2) on the structure, surface morphology, optical and electrical properties are investigated through several analytical techniques such as XRD, Micro-Raman, FTIR, XPS, AFM, FESEM, UV–visible and Hall measurements. The analysis of XRD data shows a gradual shift in the (101) plane toward higher diffraction angle on increasing the ion fluence which increases the lattice strain in the films. The EDS spectra reveal a modest Ti-rich composition with a significant shift following irradiation for both as-grown and irradiated films. The development of hillocks at increased ion fluence and considerable grain splitting following irradiation are observed in SEM micrographs. AFM images exhibit increase in surface roughness with the increase in ion fluence. Moreover, there is a significant drop in the band gap of the irradiated thin films from 3.92 to 3.44 eV with the increase in ion fluence. The various electrical parameters such as carrier concentrations (n), Hall mobility (μ), electrical resistivity (ρ), Hall coefficient (RH), etc., are determined by the Hall measurements at room temperature. This study indicates that the SHI irradiation plays a significant role in tunning the physical properties of anatase TiO2 thin films.

Lattice distortion-driven band gap engineering and enhanced electrocatalytic activity of Mn-substituted nanostructured SrTiO3 materials: A comprehensive investigation

The lattice distortion and electrocatalytic activity are investigated by the mono-substituent of Mn with different concentrations to generate localized states in the electronic structure of SrTiO3. The sol-gel approach has been employed to fabricate SrTiO3 and SrTi1-xMnxO3 nanostructures (NSs). The structural analysis indicates Mn incorporation into Ti sites of SrTiO3, which shifts the lattice towards a higher diffraction angle with a single-phase cubic structure. The optical absorption spectra exhibit a decrease in band gap from 3.27 to 1.89 eV and reveal the shift in band edge positions towards the visible region. XPS analysis is carried out to confirm the formation of oxygen vacancies and valence band edge position. For SrTi0.88Mn0.12O3, OER and HER have the overpotential of 445 and 157 mV at a current density of 100 and 10 mA cm−2. Hence, the substitution of Mn (x = 0.12) into SrTiO3 lattice results in lattice distortion that enhances the electrochemical performance compared to SrTiO3. The current work manifestly established the optimal Mn composition (x = 0.12) in SrTiO3 lattice as desirable materials with defective valence states for required electrocatalytic redox potential as well as the acceleration of charge transfer kinetics towards water splitting applications.

Influence of molar concentration on structural, morphological, optical and luminescence of polyvinyl alcohol-capped nanostructured ZnS films

Nanostructured ZnS films of various molar concentrations have been deposited using chemical bath deposition (CBD) method on glass substrates in the matrix of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Structural analysis of the samples with the help of X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the films are of cubic phase structure and diffraction peaks shift toward higher diffraction angle with the increase of molar concentration. Crystallite size is obtained using Scherrer’s formula, Williamson–Hall (WH) plot as well as size–strain plot (SSP), and reveals decrease in size with increasing molar concentration. Surface morphology and surface texture of the samples are observed with the help of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and high-resolution transmission electron microcopy (HRTEM) which exhibit the roughly spherical shape of the particles as well as formation of cluster by a large number of ZnS nanoparticles. Observation from selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern also confirms the cubic phase of nanostructured ZnS samples. Surface topographic study using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) also shows particle agglomeration forming nanoclusters and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy observation reveals that the films are composed of zinc and sulfur. With the increase of molar concentration, the optical bandgap energy increases whereas the refractive index as well as dielectric constant decrease, and in comparison to ZnS bulk counterpart, the samples are found to be blue-shifted. Samples exhibit blue emission photoluminescence (PL) band and second-order Raman scattering. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) technique is utilized to detect the presence of stabilizing agent.

Effect of Eu3+ doping on structural, optical and magnetic characteristics of doped CdS nanoparticles

Hydrothermal method has been used to synthesize Cd1-xEuxS (x = 0, 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03) nanoparticles. With Eu-doping the changes in optical, magnetic and structural properties has been confirmed by UV–visible spectroscopy, PL, VSM and XRD. The X-ray diffraction confirmed wurtzite phase and peak shifting towards higher diffraction angle with Eu-doping can be ascribed to the smaller Eu3+ ion as compared to that of Cd2+ ion. The band gap enhances varying from 2.44 eV to 2.52 eV. The magnetic study proved the presence of ferromagnetism in both the samples i.e. undoped and doped synthesized nanoparticles with increment in magnetization. This study proposes that both the optical band gap and magnetic behavior shall be improved by suitable Eu-doping.

Geometric Phase Flat Optical Gratings with High Diffraction Angle Based on Dual‐Frequency Nematic Liquid Crystal

AbstractDiffractive optical elements (DOEs) are increasingly used as lightweight and compact solutions in photonic devices. Steering of light and manipulation of the polarization can be efficiently obtained with the help of photo‐aligned liquid crystal (LC) devices. 1D LC diffraction gratings are studied that are based on the geometric phase principle and demonstrate that the optical functionality can be substantially broadened by using dual frequency LC. Switching between a highly efficient diffractive and a transmissive state is obtained by adjusting the frequency of the applied electric field. Compared to commonly studied 1D nematic LC diffraction gratings, the steering efficiency over large diffraction angles is strongly increased. By using an appropriate electric‐field treatment, the efficiency for first‐order diffraction of red light over an angle of 12.6° increases from 60% to 90%. Moreover, additional switching phenomena are observed at intermediate voltage treatments, leading to enhanced tunability of the DOEs. The origin of this behavior is explained with the help of finite element Q‐tensor simulations for the director configuration.

Improved electrical and mechanical properties of highly stretchable polymeric films prepared by blending DMF with the mixed solution of PEDOT:PSS and PVA

Stretchable conducting films of polymeric composite are prepared by mixing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in presence of polar organic solvent N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and their structural, morphological, and improved electrical and mechanical responses are investigated. In presence of DMF, X-ray diffraction pattern exhibits the shifting of the crystalline peak of PEDOT:PSS/PVA film towards higher diffraction angle and 10 wt% DMF blended film shows highest crystallinity of 52.9%. DMF transforms PEDOT conformation from benzoid to quinoid structure. FTIR and UV–vis spectroscopy confirm the formation of hydrogen bonds among PSS, PVA and DMF components, whereas AFM images show the increase in surface roughness with DMF concentration. The composite films exhibit non-linear current (I) - voltage (V) characteristics which follow the Poole-Frenkel charge transport mechanism. 10 wt% DMF blended film exhibits highest electrical response (nearly 7 times higher at 5 V). At higher DMF concentration, films become highly stretchable and 10 wt% DMF film has elongation at break around 333.0 ± 17% which is almost 2 times higher. With increasing number of loading-unloading cycle, irreversible damage occurs in the film. The optimum concentration of DMF in this polymeric composite is highly effective for its use as a stretchable conducting film.

Deposition of Sol-Gel ZnO:Mg Films and Investigation of Their Structural and Optical Properties.

This work presents a facile sol-gel method for the deposition of ZnO and ZnO:Mg films. The films are spin coated on silicon and quartz substrates. The impact of magnesium concentrations (0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 wt%) and post-annealing treatments (300-600 °C) on the film's structural, vibrational and optical properties is investigated. Undoped ZnO films crystallize in the wurtzite phase, with crystallite sizes ranging from 9.1 nm (300 °C) to 29.7 nm (600 °C). Mg doping deteriorates the film crystallization and shifting of 002 peak towards higher diffraction angles is observed, indicating the successful incorporation of Mg into the ZnO matrix. ZnO:Mg films (2 wt%) possess the smallest crystallite size, ranging from 6.2 nm (300 °C) to 25.2 nm (600 °C). The highest Mg concentration (3 wt%) results into a segregation of the MgO phase. Lattice constants, texture coefficients and Zn-O bond lengths are discussed. The diminution of the c lattice parameter is related to the replacement of Zn2+ by Mg2+ in the ZnO host lattice. The vibrational properties are studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. IR lines related to Mg-O bonds are found for ZnO:Mg films with dopant concentrations of 2 and 3 wt%. The optical characterization showed that the transmittance of ZnO:Mg thin films increased from 74.5% (undoped ZnO) to about 89.1% and the optical band gap energy from 3.24 to 3.56 eV. Mg doping leads to a higher refractive index compared to undoped ZnO films. The FESEM (field emission scanning electron microscopy) technique is used for observation of the surface morphology modification of ZnO:Mg films. The doped ZnO films possess a smoother grained surface structure, opposite to the wrinkle-type morphology of undoped sol-gel ZnO films. The smoother surface leads to improved transparency of ZnO:Mg films.

Sensor fusion in ptychography

Ptychography is a lensless, computational imaging method that utilises diffraction patterns to determine the amplitude and phase of an object. In transmission ptychography, the diffraction patterns are recorded by a detector positioned along the optical axis downstream of the object. The light scattered at the highest diffraction angle carries information about the finest structures of the object. We present a setup to simultaneously capture a signal near the optical axis and a signal scattered at high diffraction angles. Moreover, we present an algorithm based on a shifted angular spectrum method and automatic differentiation that utilises this recorded signal. By jointly reconstructing the object from the resulting low and high diffraction angle images, the resolution of the reconstructed image is improved remarkably. The effective numerical aperture of the compound sensor is determined by the maximum diffraction angle captured by the off axis sensor.

Structural and optical properties of copper-doped ZnO thin films at different weight percentage

ZnO thin films have been synthesized by chemical vapor deposition technique at substrate temperature 400˚C and doped with Cu at (1,3,5 wt.%). The morphologies of pure and doped ZnO films were investigated by SEM and the grain size was become larger by increasing the amount of Cu doped. From X-ray diffraction measurements, the maximum intensity peak was (002) for ZnO:Cu films at diffraction angle 34.4˚ and crystallized of hexagonal phase. Based on XPS Measurements on the surface of ZnO:Cu films, it has been found that the peak was shift to higher diffraction angle and full width half maximum of the films were become wider with increasing Cu doping. The band gap of ZnO film was 3.3 eV and it was decreased as an increasing of Cu dopant.

Recovering the second moment of the strain distribution from neutron Bragg edge data

Point by point strain scanning is often used to map the residual stress (strain) in engineering materials and components. However, the gauge volume and, hence, spatial resolution are limited by the beam defining apertures and can be anisotropic for very low and high diffraction (scattering) angles. Alternatively, wavelength resolved neutron transmission imaging has a potential to retrieve information tomographically about residual strain induced within materials through measurement in transmission of Bragg edges—crystallographic fingerprints whose locations and shapes depend on microstructure and strain distribution. In such a case, the spatial resolution is determined by the geometrical blurring of the measurement setup and the detector point spread function. Mathematically, reconstruction of the strain tensor field is described by the longitudinal ray transform; this transform has a non-trivial null-space, making direct inversion impossible. A combination of the longitudinal ray transform with physical constraints was used to reconstruct strain tensor fields in convex objects. To relax physical constraints and generalize reconstruction, a recently introduced concept of histogram tomography can be employed. Histogram tomography relies on our ability to resolve the distribution of strain in the beam direction, as we discuss in the paper. More specifically, Bragg edge strain tomography requires extraction of the second moment (variance about zero) of the strain distribution, which has not yet been demonstrated in practice. In this paper, we verify experimentally that the second moment can be reliably measured for a previously well characterized aluminum ring and plug sample. We compare experimental measurements against numerical calculation and further support our conclusions by rigorous uncertainty quantification of the estimated mean and variance of the strain distribution.

A double-walled sapphire single-crystal gas-pressure cell (type III) for in situ neutron diffraction.

In situ neutron diffraction is an important characterization technique for the investigation of many functional materials, e.g. for hydrogen uptake and release in hydrogen storage materials. A new sapphire single-crystal gas-pressure cell for elastic neutron scattering has been developed and evaluated; it allows conditions of 298 K and 9.5 MPa hydrogen pressure and 1110 K at ambient pressure. The pressure vessel consists of a sapphire single-crystal tube of 35 mm radius and a sapphire single-crystal crucible as sample holder. Heating is realized by two 100 W diode lasers. It is optimized for the D20 diffractometer, ILL, Grenoble, France, and requires the use of a radial oscillating collimator. Its advantages over earlier sapphire single-crystal gas-pressure cells are higher maximum temperatures and lower background at low and high diffraction angles. The deuterium uptake in palladium was followed in situ for validation, proving the potential of the type-III gas-pressure cell for in situ neutron diffraction on solid-gas reactions.

Emission-tunable Ba2Y1–xScxNbO6:Bi3+ (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) phosphors for white LEDs

Here, we report a series of Bi3+-doped Ba2Y1–xScxNbO6 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0 mol) phosphors by using the traditional high temperature solid-state reaction. To achieve the structural and photoluminescent (PL) information, several experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations were carried out, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rietveld refinement, UV-visible diffuse reflectance and PL spectra, temperature dependent PL spectra, and density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations. The XRD results show that the Bi3+-doped Ba2Y1–xScxNbO6 samples belong to the double-perovskite phase with a cubic space group of Fm3̅m, and the diffraction positions shift toward high diffraction angle when the larger Y3+ ions are gradually replaced by the smaller Sc3+ ions. In addition, the refined XRD findings show that the Bi3+ ions tend to substitute the Y3+ and Sc3+ sites in the Bi3+-doped Ba2Y1–xScxNbO6 (0 <x < 1.0 mol) solid solutions. The PL spectra show that the emission positions of the solid solution samples tune from 446 to 497 nm with the increase of Sc3+ content, which can be attributed to the modification of crystal field strength around Bi3+ ions. Moreover, there is energy transfer from the Ba2YNbO6 host to Bi3+ ions, which is dominated by a resonant type via a dipole-quadrupole (d-q) interaction. The Ba2Y0.6Sc0.4NbO6:0.02 molBi3+ shows the strongest PL intensity under 365 nm excitation, with the best quantum efficiency (QE) of 68%, and it keeps 60% of the room temperature emission intensity when the temperature increases to 150 °C, meaning that the Ba2Y0.6Sc0.4NbO6:Bi3+ features excellent thermal quenching of luminescence. By combining this optimal sample with a commercial red-emitting Sr2Si5N8:Eu2+ phosphor, and a commercial 365 nm UV LED chip, a white LED device, with the color temperature (CT) of 3678 K, color rendering index (CRI) of 67.9, and CIE coordinates at (0.371, 0.376), is achieved.

Optical metasurfaces for waveguide couplers with uniform efficiencies at RGB wavelengths.

Optical metasurfaces hold great potential for near-eye display applications with high optical efficiency, light-weight and compactness. Taking advantage of optical resonances in subwavelength features, metasurfaces can diffract optical beams at RGB primary colors efficiently, forming superimposed virtual images over a real-world scene with merely a single glass substrate in augmented realities (AR) applications. We report for the first time a metasurface with double or triple nano-beams in each period for high angle diffraction with a uniform efficiency at RGB wavelengths. An efficiency as high as 30-40% of the first diffraction order is obtained across field of view, allowing a single piece of AR glass for light in-coupling to deliver image uniformly. The underlying physics is investigated through systematic full-vector numerical simulations. It is found that strong resonances inside the nano-beams with different sizes are the main reason for the deflection of wavefront as well as the Poynting vectors, leading to an efficient coupling of the incident light into the first-order diffraction. The resonances also manipulate the light absorption among the RGB colors for uniform efficiency. This work provides a new understanding of optimal metasurface structure for waveguide couplers using multiple nano-beams.

On the relationship between the plasma characteristics, the microstructure and the optical properties of reactively sputtered TiO2 thin films

A titanium target was reactively sputtered in an Ar/O2 atmosphere by (i) conventional direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS), (ii) high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS), and (iii) bipolar HiPIMS (BPH) discharges for the deposition of titanium dioxide thin films without intentional heating and biasing. In the HiPIMS and BPH cases, the peak current density was set to either 0.32 A cm−2 or 0.86 A cm−2. The time-averaged power density delivered to the plasma was set to ≈1.2 W cm−2 in each case. For the BPH discharge, a positive pulse of +300 V was applied after the negative pulse to accelerate the positive ions toward the substrate. Energy-resolved mass spectrometry analysis has shown a low-energy peak for DCMS while a high energy tail extending in the range of several tens of eV was observed with HiPIMS. In the BPH discharge, the energy reached ≈300 eV for Ti+ ions, which is in agreement with the applied positive potential. According to the x-ray diffraction patterns, amorphous coatings were obtained with DCMS, while rutile TiO2 was obtained with both HiPIMS and BPH. However, in the BPH case, diffractograms were characterized by more intense high-angle diffraction peaks highlighting a modification of the growth process for these conditions. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry analysis has shown that a higher amount of argon atoms were incorporated into the TiO2 films which are found to be slightly understoichiometric for the BPH discharge. It was also found that the refractive index, n, varied as a function of the sputtering regime with the highest value obtained in the HiPIMS case (n = 2.73 at 550 nm). Finally, the experimentally determined optical data were compared to the ones extracted from NASCAM simulations which are found in good agreement except for the BPH case.

Double-layer metasurface for enhanced photon up-conversion

We present a double-layer dielectric metasurface obtained by stacking a silicon nanodisk array and a silicon photonic crystal slab with equal periodicity on top of each other. We focus on the investigation of electric near-field enhancement effects occurring at resonant excitation of the metasurface and study its optical properties numerically and experimentally. We find that the major difference in multi-layer metasurfaces when compared to conventional single-layer structures appears to be in Rayleigh–Wood anomalies: they are split into multiple different modes, which are themselves spectrally broadened. As a proof of concept, we cover a double-layer metasurface with a lanthanide-doped up-conversion particle layer and study its interaction with a 1550 nm photoexcitation. We observe a 2.7-fold enhanced up-conversion photoluminescence by using the stacked metasurface instead of a planar substrate, although only around 1% of the up-conversion material is exposed to enhanced near fields. Two mechanisms are identified explaining this behavior: First, enhanced near fields when exciting the metasurface resonantly, and second, light trapping by total internal reflection in the particle layer when the metasurface redirects light into high angle diffraction orders. These results pave the way for low-threshold and, in particular, broadband photon up-conversion in future solar energy and biosensing applications.

Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of nano-particles γ-Al2O3

The study of hydrothermal treatment on the phase formation and the crystallites of gamma-alumina (γ-Al2O3) was performed. Different reaction time and temperature of hydrothermal treatment were investigated. The preparation of γ-Al2O3 includes precipitation of aluminum nitrate nonahydrate by ammonia, aging, washing, transferred the gel into the hydrothermal reactor, drying, and calcination at 600 °C. The precipitation was stopped at pH equals 7.5. The reaction times of hydrothermal treatment were 1 – 2 hours, and the temperatures were 140 – 200 °C. X-Ray Diffraction analysis was used to investigate the phase formation and the particle size. The results show all the samples represented pure nano γ-Al2O3. The examination of hydrothermal treatment of y-Al2O3 reveals as the reaction time longer, the crystallite grows bigger, as well as the higher temperature applied. The smallest γ-Al2O3 obtained based on the Scherrer equation is 4 nm and the biggest is 6.5 nm. Interestingly, the peaks of the γ-Al2O3 prepared by hydrothermal treatment at the longest time and the highest temperature have shifted into a higher diffraction angle. In the case of this sample, the peaks shifted into a higher diffraction angle. That is means there is a change in the lattice structure of γ-Al2O3 probably was affected by the lattice of hydroxyl content.

A Novel Multi-Functional Crystal: Self-Acousto- Optic Q-Switch Raman Laser Based on α-BaTeMo2O9 Crystal

A new multi-functional crystal has been implemented by combining the acousto-optic (A/O) modulation with Raman laser output, which has never reported before. Notably, the α-BTM displaying an adequate A/O figure of merit of 10.18 × 10 -18 s 3 /g using the comparison method is originally tailored to fabricate an A/O modulator that exhibits a high diffraction angle and diffraction efficiency of 1.432° and 82.1% at 1064 nm, respectively, which can be competitive with that of TeO 2 . Pumped by a pulsed laser, sequentially, the self-Q-switch Raman laser working at 1178.1 nm is successfully realized based on α-BTM crystal. A maximum output power of 86 mW operating at 1178.1 nm and the repetition frequency of 15 kHz were obtained with the pump power of 27 W. Our works not only enrich the family of A/O materials, but also opens up a viable route towards exploiting the design of multi-functional crystal.

Development of indium (In) doped SnSe thin films for photovoltaic application

The undoped and indium doped SnSe (In-SnSe) thin films were successfully prepared by the two-stage process (sputtering and rapid thermal annealing process). The physical properties of the prepared thin films were investigated. Crystallographic patterns of the undoped and doped SnSe thin films showed the single-phase orthorhombic-SnSe. The diffraction peaks slightly shifted towards the higher diffraction angles as well as Raman peaks also shifted towards higher Raman shift by doping of indium. Morphology of the In-SnSe films changed significantly by changing the indium percentage. The optical bandgap of SnSe and In-SnSe films was varied in between 1.06 eV and 1.50 eV, and the electrical properties of In-SnSe films were significantly changed with dopant concentration. The obtained physical properties of In-SnSe thin films are suitable for solar cell device fabrication.

The effect of heavy deformation on the precipitation in an Al-1.3Cu-1.0Mg-0.4Si wt.% alloy

This work has investigated the effect of the combination of natural ageing and 80% pre-deformation after solution heat treatment on precipitation during subsequent artificial ageing in an Al-1.3Cu-1.0Mg-0.4Si wt.% alloy. It was found that a combined use of atomic resolution aberration corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy and scanning precession electron diffraction enabled a detailed characterisation of precipitates in heavy pre-deformed materials. The dominant phase in the undeformed condition was the L phase. L was also found to be nucleated in the undistorted regions of the Al matrix in the pre-deformed conditions. Two phases with high aspect ratios were nucleated on dislocations: The C phase and a previously reported phase, which we named here the ‘E phase’. The crystal structure of E was solved experimentally as monoclinic with core composition Mg6Al2Si2Cu4, supported by density functional theory calculations. It was determined that the order of pre-deformation and natural ageing had an influence on the relative fractions of the aforementioned phases formed during artificial ageing. An increased fraction of C+E relative to L was found in the condition where the pre-deformation was applied after natural ageing as compared to the condition where the pre-deformation was applied before natural ageing.