Bragg Peak Intensity Research Articles

Understanding the High-Temperature Deformation Behaviors in Additively Manufactured Al6061+TiC Composites via In Situ Neutron Diffraction

Aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) are designed to enhance the performance of conventional aluminum alloys for engineering applications at both room and elevated temperatures. However, the dynamic phase-specific deformation behavior and load-sharing mechanisms of AMCs at elevated temperatures have not been extensively studied and remain unclear. Here, in situ neutron diffraction experiments are employed to reveal the phase-specific structure evolution of additively manufactured Al6061+TiC composites under compressive loading at 250 °C. It is found that the addition of a small amount of nano-size TiC significantly alters the deformation behavior and increases the strength at 250 °C in comparison to the as-printed Al6061. Unlike the two-stage behavior observed in Al6061, the Al6061+TiC composites exhibit three stages during compression triggered by changes in the interphase stress states. Further analysis of Bragg peak intensity and broadening reveals that the presence of TiC alters the dislocation activity during deformation at 250 °C by influencing dislocation slip planes and promoting dislocation accumulation. These findings provide direct experimental observations of the phase-specific dynamic process in AMCs under deformation at an elevated temperature. The revealed mechanisms provide insights for the future design and optimization of high-performance AMCs.

Application of laboratory micro X-ray fluorescence devices for X-ray topography

It is demonstrated that high-resolution energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence mapping devices based on a micro-focused beam are not restricted to high-speed analyses of element distributions or to the detection of different grains, twins and subgrains in crystalline materials but can also be used for the detection of dislocations in high-quality single crystals. Si single crystals with low dislocation densities were selected as model materials to visualize the position of dislocations by the spatially resolved measurement of Bragg-peak intensity fluctuations. These originate from the most distorted planes caused by the stress fields of dislocations. The results obtained by this approach are compared with laboratory-based Lang X-ray topographs. The presented methodology yields comparable results and it is of particular interest in the field of crystal growth, where fast chemical and microstructural characterization feedback loops are indispensable for short and efficient development times. The beam divergence was reduced via an aperture management system to facilitate the visualization of dislocations for virtually as-grown, non-polished and non-planar samples with a very pronounced surface profile.

Evaluation of Antenna Pattern Measurement of HF Radar using Drone

The High-Frequency Radar (HFR) is an equipment designed to measure real-time surface ocean currents in broad maritime areas.It emits radio waves at a specific frequency (HF) towards the sea surface and analyzes the backscattered waves to measure surface current vectors (Crombie, 1955; Barrick, 1972).The Seasonde HF Radar from Codar, utilized in this study, determines the speed and location of radial currents by analyzing the Bragg peak intensity of transmitted and received waves from an omnidirectional antenna and employing the Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm. The generated currents are initially considered ideal patterns without taking into account the characteristics of the observed electromagnetic wave propagation environment. To correct this, Antenna Pattern Measurement (APM) is performed, measuring the strength of signals at various positions received by the antenna and calculating the corrected measured vector to radial currents.The APM principle involves modifying the position and phase information of the currents based on the measured signal strength at each location. Typically, experiments are conducted by installing an antenna on a ship (Kim et al., 2022). However, using a ship introduces various environmental constraints, such as weather conditions and maritime situations. To reduce dependence on maritime conditions and enhance economic efficiency, this study explores the possibility of using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for APM. The research conducted APM experiments using a high-frequency radar installed at Dangsa Lighthouse in Dangsa-ri, Wando County, Jeollanam-do. The study compared and analyzed the results of APM experiments using ships and drones, utilizing the calculated radial currents and surface current fields obtained from each experiment.

Development of 0.5 mm gauge size radial collimators for high-pressure neutron diffraction experiments at PLANET in J-PARC

Radial collimators with a 0.5 mm gauge size (GS) were specially designed for high-pressure neutron diffraction experiments. The performance and efficacy of these collimators, along with the 1.5 mm and 3.0 mm GS radial collimators, were investigated. The radial collimators with nominal GS of 0.75 mm, 1.5 mm, and 3.0 mm effectively exhibited GS of 0.50 mm, 1.07 mm, and 2.78 mm, respectively. The transmissions of all three radial collimators were deemed equivalent. The assessment using a Paris–Edinburgh (PE) press equipped with double-toroidal anvils and a diamond anvil cell (DAC) tailored for neutron diffraction revealed that the scattering intensity from the anvils was considerably minimized using the radial collimators and the sample-to-anvil signal ratio, as defined by the Bragg peak intensity ratio (IMgO220/IDiamond220), reached values of 0.5 and 2.0 for the PE press and DAC, respectively, when using the 0.5 mm GS radial collimators. These results indicate that the 0.5 mm GS radial collimators have been fabricated as intended and exhibit efficacy for the high-pressure-neutron diffraction experiments, specifically those exceeding 30 GPa, which cannot be reached with a PE press equipped with the standard double-toroidal anvils of a 1.5 mm cup diameter. Among those ever manufactured for neutron scattering experiments, the radial collimators display the smallest GS.

4D Visualization of a Nonthermal Coherent Magnon in a Laser Heated Lattice by an X-ray Free Electron Laser.

Ultrafast optical manipulation of magnetic phenomena is an exciting achievement of mankind, expanding one's horizon of knowledge toward the functional nonequilibrium states. The dynamics acting on an extremely short timescale push the detection limits that reveal fascinating light-matter interactions for nonthermal creation of effective magnetic fields. While some cases are benchmarked by emergent transient behaviors, otherwise identifying the nonthermal effects remains challenging. Here, a femtosecond time-resolved resonant magnetic X-ray diffraction experiment is introduced, which uses an X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) to distinguish between the effective field and the photoinduced thermal effect. It is observed that a multiferroic Y-type hexaferrite exhibits magnetic Bragg peak intensity oscillations manifesting entangled antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) Fourier components of a coherent AFM magnon. The magnon trajectory constructed in 3D space and time domains is decisive to evince ultrafast field formation preceding the lattice thermalization. A remarkable impact of photoexcitation across the electronic bandgap is directly unraveled, amplifying the photomagnetic coupling that is one of the highest among AFM dielectrics. Leveraging the above-bandgap photoexcitation, this energy-efficient optical process further suggests a novel photomagnetic control of ferroelectricity in multiferroics.

The first polarized neutron diffraction experiment at the time-of-flight single crystal neutron diffractometer SENJU at J-PARC

The 3He spin filter has been developed to use pulsed neutrons effectively at J-PARC MLF. In this study, the 3He spin filter was installed in the single crystal neutron diffractometer (BL18 SENJU) at J-PARC MLF as a polarizer of the incident beam, and Half-polarized neutron diffraction experiments were performed. The 3He spin filter was used the ”drop-in cell” method with cells that had a relaxation time of 150 hours in the past experiments. The sample was a single crystal of Heusler crystal Cu2MnAl and the sample magnetic field was 0.3 T. The intensities of (111) Bragg peaks of Cu2MnAl were drastically changed with the polarity of the incident neutron beam, and the flipping ratio of 21.7 at 3.6 Å was observed. The experimental setup and the performance of the 3He spin filter used in this experiment are described in detail in this paper.

Effects of deposition temperature on the wear behavior and material properties of plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) titanium vanadium nitride thin films

This work investigates the effects of deposition temperature on the wear behavior and material properties of recently developed plasma enhanced atomic layer deposited (PEALD) TiVN films. ∼50–100 nm thick TixV1-xN (x ~ 0.5, hereto referred to as TiVN) films were deposited using PEALD on Si substrates with thermal oxide at a range of deposition temperatures (150 °C, 200 °C, 250 °C, 300 °C, 350 °C). Wear testing was performed on each film using a linearly reciprocating tribometer in a controlled humidity environment. Wear rates of the TiVN films varied with deposition temperature, with the 250 °C sample achieving ultralow wear(5.4 × 10−7 mm3/Nm), while the 150 °C sample wore through the film completely in early sliding cycles. Along with their low wear properties, these PEALD TiVN films were found to have low electrical resistivity when deposited above 150 °C. Film density and crystallite size increased with increasing deposition temperature up to 250 °C, where these properties plateaued. High compressive residual stresses were measured, ranging from 2.7 to 7.7 GPa. XRD Bragg peak intensities showed that films with increasing deposition temperatures had higher degrees of crystallinity. XPS indicated that above 150 °C deposition temperatures, impurities in the film were reduced by ∼4x. Higher deposition temperatures allow for increased adatom mobility, which can lead to higher densities and crystallinity, which are typically associated with lower wear rates. At deposition temperatures below 200 °C, precursor reactivity is sluggish and there is insufficient energy for complete surface reactions to occur, leading to film contamination and less dense films. The subtle differences in wear rates above 200 °C deposition temperature indicated that there are competing material properties that can either contribute to or detract from the wear behavior of the film, and a combination of desirable mechanical, physical, structural, and chemical properties are required for ultra-low wear rates to be achieved. The low wear and friction properties and low electrical resistivity of these films combined with the low deposition temperature, conformality, and atomic layer thickness control of PEALD make them potential candidates for applications such as thermally sensitive microelectronics and MEMS/NEMS.

Search for octupolar order in NpO2 by neutron powder diffraction

The magnetic structure of neptunium dioxide (NpO2) remains a mystery despite decades of research. We revisited the search for magnetic ordering in NpO2 by performing a powder neutron diffraction experiment at low temperatures and relatively large values of Q. Diffraction data were collected for 300 ​mK, 15 ​K, and 35 ​K to understand the phase transition near 25 ​K. However, no significant changes in the neutron diffraction pattern were identified. Using the octupolar magnetic form factor j6, the maximum theoretical expected value of the magnetic moment (3.27 μB), the calculated magnetic Bragg peak intensities would not be observable in neutron powder diffraction data. This value is much larger than the previously estimated magnetic moment of ∼0.1 μB. Supported by experimental results, these calculations suggest that unpolarized neutron powder diffraction is unsuitable for measuring octupolar ordering in NpO2.

Magnetic structure of the swedenborgite compound CaBaMn2Fe2O7 derived by powder neutron diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy

We present a study combining neutron diffraction and $^{57}\mathrm{Fe}$ M\"ossbauer spectroscopy on a powder sample of ${\mathrm{CaBaMn}}_{2}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ belonging to the large family of swedenborgite compounds. The undistorted hexagonal crystal structure (space group $P{6}_{3}mc$) is preserved down to low temperatures, and all employed techniques reveal a transition into a magnetically long-range ordered phase at ${T}_{\mathrm{N}}$ = 205 K. The magnetic Bragg peak intensities from the powder diffraction patterns together with a symmetry analysis of the employed models unambiguously reveal the classical $\sqrt{3}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{3}$ magnetic structure on a hexagonal lattice with propagation vector $\mathbf{q}=(\frac{1}{3}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\frac{1}{3}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}0)$. The nuclear Bragg peak intensities allowed the statistical distribution of Fe and Mn ions on both trigonal and kagome sites of the complex swedenborgite structure to be analyzed which was considered to explain the complex shape of the M\"ossbauer spectra.

Determination of the interdiffusion coefficient at low temperature in Ni/NiCr nanometer-scale multilayers using X-ray reflectivity

The interdiffusion coefficient in the Ni/Cr system was determined at low temperature using Ni/Ni0.78Cr0.22 nanometer-scale multilayers with periods of 3.65 and 4.50 nm. X-ray reflectivity measurements were carried out to monitor the 1st Bragg peak intensity with annealing time, at both 400 and 450 °C temperatures. The obtained kinetics of the composition modulation decay allowed determining the interdiffusion coefficients of the uniform final solid solution, Ni0.89Cr0.11. Values in the order of 10−21 to 10-20 cm2.s−1 at 400 °C and 450 °C, respectively, were found, in line with extrapolations from data of Cr diffusion obtained at higher temperature.

Time-resolved structural dynamics of the out-of-equilibrium charge density wave phase transition in GdTe3.

We use ultrafast electron diffraction to study the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of the charge density wave (CDW) phase transition in GdTe3, a quasi-two-dimensional compound displaying a unidirectional CDW state. Experiments were conducted at different incident fluences and different initial sample temperatures below Tc. We find that following photo-excitation, the system undergoes a non-thermal ultrafast phase transition that occurs in out-of-equilibrium conditions. The intrinsic crystal temperature was estimated at each time delay from the atomic thermal motion, which affects each Bragg peak intensity via the Debye Waller factor. We find that the crystal temperature stabilizes with a 6 ps timescale in a quasi-equilibrium state at temperature . We then relate the recovery time of the CDW and its correlation lengths as a function of . The charge density wave is suppressed in less than a picosecond while its recovery time increases linearly with incident fluence and initial temperature. Our results highlight that the dynamics is strongly determined by the initial sample temperature. In addition, the transient CDW phase recently observed along the transverse direction in LaTe3 and CeTe3 is not observed in GdTe3.

The effect of the thickness on structural, optical limiting, and dielectric properties of hybrid coatings rhodamine B dye films on an epoxy polymeric substrate for display applications

Various thickness of Rhodamine B (RhB) laser dye was deposited on epoxy polymeric as a new dielectric organic substrate by spin coating method for the first time. This study focused on the newly considered RhB dye on an epoxy substrate for wide-scale applications. The thickness effect on structural, optical, and dielectric properties of the hybrid coating films was performed. The XRD patterns of the films indicated a large hump amorphous design and lack of Bragg peak intensity associated with the RhB laser dye, due to amorphous film concentration. From UV-Visible spectroscopy, the optical absorption edge shifts to the higher wavelengths direction (redshift) with the variation in RhB dye thicknesses. It was found that the energy band gap decreased when the RhB dye film thickness changed. The refractive index is an important parameter influencing the optical component design. Their values vary according to each relationship that extremely useful the films in optical devices. Laser power attenuation sensitivity of pure epoxy polymeric substrate and its coating films shows that under reducing the thicknesses of RhB dye, the laser power intensity effect increases. Several dielectric parameters are extracted from the series and parallel capacitance measurements. The present results offer new material films for luminescent energy solar concentrator applications.

Investigating Mechano-Electrochemical Coupling Phenomenon in Lithium-Ion Pouch Cells Using In-situ Neutron Diffraction

In lithium-ion battery electrode materials, internal mechanical strain is coupled to electrochemical processes. As a result, lithium-ion electrodes can be used for mechano-electrochemical energy harvesting. A promising way to investigate this mechano-electrochemical coupling is through neutron scattering, which can measure the lighter elements that compose battery anodes. In this paper, we conduct in-situ neutron diffraction studies on commercial lithium-ion pouch cells using the VULCAN diffractometer at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. By applying stress on these pouch cells, and examining the phase-specific lattice strains, Bragg peak intensities, and peak broadening, we can gain insight into the mechano-electrochemical correlation in lithium-ion electrodes. We measure a negative electrochemical lattice strain of the graphite electrode, indicating that stress causes lithium ions to leave the graphite structure.

An In Situ Film-to-Film Transformation Approach toward Highly Crystalline Covalent Organic Framework Films

An In Situ Film-to-Film Transformation Approach toward Highly Crystalline Covalent Organic Framework Films

Néel ordering in the distorted honeycomb pyrosilicate: C–Er2Si2O7

The rare-earth pyrosilicate family of compounds (RE2Si2O7) hosts a variety of polymorphs, some with honeycomb-like geometries of the rare-earth sublattices, and the magnetism has yet to be deeply explored in many of the cases. Here we report on the ground state properties of C–Er2Si2O7. C–Er2Si2O7 crystallizes in the C2/m space group and the Er3+ atoms form a distorted honeycomb lattice in the a–b plane. We have utilized specific heat, DC susceptibility, and neutron diffraction measurements to characterize C–Er2Si2O7. Our specific heat and DC susceptibility measurements show signatures of antiferromagnetic ordering at 2.3 K. Neutron powder diffraction confirms this transition temperature and the relative intensities of the magnetic Bragg peaks are consistent with a collinear Néel state in the magnetic space group C2’/m, with ordered moment of 6.61 μ B canted 13° away from the c-axis toward the a-axis. These results are discussed in relation to the isostructural quantum dimer magnet compound Yb2Si2O7.

Noncollinear antiferromagnetic order in the buckled honeycomb lattice of magnetoelectric Co4Ta2O9 determined by single-crystal neutron diffraction

Co4Ta2O9 exhibits a three-dimensional magnetic lattice based on the buckled honeycomb motif. It shows unusual magnetoelectric effects, including the sign change and non-linearity. These effects cannot be understood without the detailed knowledge of the magnetic structure. Herein, we report neutron diffraction and direction-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements on Co4Ta2O9 single crystals. Below 20.3 K, we find a long-range antiferromagnetic order in the alternating buckled and flat honeycomb layers of Co2+ ions stacked along the c axis. Within experimental accuracy, the magnetic moments lie in the ab plane. They form a canted antiferromagnetic structure with a tilt angle of ~ 14 degrees at 15 K in the buckled layers, while the magnetic moments in each flat layer are collinear. This is directly evidenced by a finite (0, 0, 3) magnetic Bragg peak intensity, which would be absent in the collinear magnetic order. The magnetic space group is C2'/c. It is different from the previously reported C2/c' group, also found in the isostructural Co4Nb2O9. The revised magnetic structure successfully explains the major features of the magnetoelectric tensor of Co4Ta2O9 within the framework of the spin-flop model.

Coherent Lattice Wobbling and Out-of-Phase Intensity Oscillations of Friedel Pairs Observed by Ultrafast Electron Diffraction.

The inspection of Friedel's law in ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) is important to gain a comprehensive understanding of material atomic structure and its dynamic response. Here, monoclinic gallium telluride (GaTe), as a low-symmetry, layered crystal in contrast to many other 2D materials, is investigated by mega-electronvolt UED. Strong out-of-phase oscillations of Bragg peak intensities are observed for Friedel pairs, which does not obey Friedel's law. As evidenced by the preserved mirror symmetry and supported by both kinematic and dynamic scattering simulations, the intensity oscillations are provoked by the lowest-order longitudinal acoustic breathing phonon. Our results provide a generalized understanding of Friedel's law in UED and demonstrate that by designed misalignment of surface normal and primitive lattice vectors, coherent lattice wobbling and effective shear strain can be generated in crystal films by laser pulse excitation, which is otherwise hard to achieve and can be further utilized to dynamically tune and switch material properties.

Universal behavior of the band gap as a function of the atomic mean-square displacement in laser-excited silicon

Abstract We performed systematic ab-initio molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of fs-laser-excited silicon (Si) using the T e-dependent density functional theory (DFT). We considered the case in which the potential energy surface (PES) is strongly modified by the laser excitation, so that nonthermal melting occurs. We analyzed the correlation between the time dependence of electronic properties like the band gap and the laser-induced atomic motion. Surprisingly, we found that the indirect electronic band gap decreases as a universal function of the atomic mean-square displacement (MSD) almost independently of the electronic temperature (laser fluence) and that the dependence is linear for a wide range of MSDs. We also found that a universal dependence is also present when analyzing the band gap as a function of the relative Bragg peak intensities, which can be directly measured in experiments.

Estimation and correction of Cerenkov-light on luminescence image of water for carbon-ion therapy dosimetry

PurposeThe luminescence images of water during the irradiation of carbon-ions provide useful information such as the ranges and the widths of carbon-ion beams. However, measured luminescence images show higher intensities in shallow depths and wider lateral profiles than those of the dose distributions. These differences prevent the luminescence imaging of water from being applied to a quality assurance for carbon-ion therapy. We assumed that the differences were due to the contaminations of Cerenkov-light from the secondary electrons of carbon-ions as well as the prompt gamma photons in the measured image. In this study, we applied a correction method to a luminescence image of water during the irradiation of carbon-ion beams. MethodsWe estimated the distribution of the Cerenkov-light in water during the irradiation of carbon-ions by Monte Carlo simulation and subtracted the simulated Cerenkov-light from the depth and lateral profiles of the measured luminescence image for 241.5 MeV/u-carbon-ions. ResultsWith these corrections, we successfully obtained depth and lateral profiles whose distributions are almost identical to the dose distributions of carbon-ions. The high intensities in the shallow depth areas decreased and the Bragg peak intensity increased. The beam widths of the measured images approached those of the ionization chamber. ConclusionsThese results indicate that the luminescence imaging of water with our proposed correction has potential to be used for dose distribution measurements for carbon-ion therapy dosimetry.

Unconventional magnetic field response of the hyperhoneycomb Kitaev magnet β−Li2IrO3

We present a unified description of the response of the hyperhoneycomb Kitaev magnet $\beta$-$\text{Li}_2\text{IrO}_3$ to applied magnetic fields along the orthorhombic directions ${\bf a}$, ${\bf b}$ and ${\bf c}$. This description is based on the minimal nearest-neighbor $J$-$K$-$\Gamma$ model and builds on the idea that the incommensurate counter-rotating order observed experimentally at zero field can be treated as a long-distance twisting of a nearby commensurate order with six spin sublattices. The results reveal that the behavior of the system for ${\bf H}\parallel{\bf a}$, ${\bf H}\parallel{\bf b}$ and ${\bf H}\parallel{\bf c}$ share a number of qualitative features, including: i) a strong intertwining of the modulated, counter-rotating order with a set of uniform orders; ii) the disappearance of the modulated order at a critical field $H^\ast$, whose value is strongly anisotropic with $H_{\bf b}^\ast\!<\!H_{\bf c}^\ast\!\ll\!H_{\bf a}^\ast$; iii) the presence of a robust zigzag phase above $H^\ast$; and iv) the fulfillment of the Bragg peak intensity sum rule. It is noteworthy that the disappearance of the modulated order for ${\bf H}\parallel{\bf c}$ proceeds via a `metamagnetic' first-order transition which does not restore all broken symmetries. This implies the existence of a second finite-$T$ phase transition at higher magnetic fields. We also demonstrate that quantum fluctuations give rise to a significant reduction of the local moments for all directions of the field. The results for the total magnetization for ${\bf H}\parallel{\bf b}$ are consistent with available data and confirm a previous assertion that the system is very close to the highly-frustrated $K$-$\Gamma$ line in parameter space. Our predictions for the magnetic response for fields along ${\bf a}$ and ${\bf c}$ await experimental verification.