Related papers: Stress-induced omega phase transition in Nb thin f…
We report a study of the strain state of epitaxial MnSi films on Si(111) substrates in the thick film limit (100-500~\AA) as a function of film thickness using polarization-dependent extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). All…
Significative enhance in magnetocaloric effect due to finite size and surface effects is reported in Terbium(Tb) thin films in the helimagnetic phase (corresponding to a temperature range from $T_C$=219 K to $T_N$=231 K), for external…
One of many challenges for niobium (Nb) based superconducting devices is the improvement over the surface morphology and superconducting properties as well as the reduction of defects. We employed a novel deposition technique, i.e. biased…
In recent years, it has been pointed out that the maximum accelerating gradient of a superconducting RF cavity can be increased by coating the inner surface of the cavity with a multilayer thin-film structure consisting of alternating…
A Langmuir film is a molecularly thin film on the surface of a fluid; we study the evolution of a Langmuir film with two co-existing fluid phases driven by an inter-phase line tension and damped by the viscous drag of the underlying…
The effect of deposition oxygen pressure (P$_{O}$) on phase separation (PS) induced in epitaxial La$_{0.67}$Ca$_{0.33}$MnO$_{3}$/NdGaO$_{3}$(001) films was investigated. Fully oxygenated films grown at high P$_{O}$ are anisotropically…
We performed an extensive investigation on the correlations among superconductivity, structural instability and band filling in Nb1-xB2 materials. Structural measurements reveal that a notable phase transformation occurs at x=0.2,…
Uncapped InN nanostructures undergo a deleterious natural aging process at ambient conditions by oxygen incorporation. The phases involved in this process and their localization is mapped by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) related…
A surprisingly strong variation of resistance with perpendicular magnetic field, and a peak in the resistance vs. field, R(B) has been found in insulating films of a sequence of homogeneous, quench-condensed films of amorphous Bi undergoing…
We have carried out a systematic experimental investigation to address the question why thin films of Fe$_3$O$_4$ (magnetite) generally have a very broad Verwey transition with lower transition temperatures as compared to the bulk. We…
A closed-form model is developed to evaluate the band-edge shift caused by quantum confinement for a two-dimensional non-parabolic carrier-pocket. Based on this model, the symmetries and the band-shifts of different carrier-pockets are…
We present an analytically solvable theory of BCS-type superconductivity in good metals which are confined along one of the three spatial directions, such as thin films. Closed-form expressions for the dependence of the superconducting…
We report superconductivity in epitaxial PtSb(0001) thin films grown on SrF2(111). Electrical transport measurements reveal a superconducting transition at $T_{\mathrm c}=1.72$ K. The field-induced broadening of the transition and the…
We have found a new mean field solution in the BCS theory of superconductivity. This unconventional solution indicates the existence of superconducting phase transitions of third order in thin films, or in bulk matter with a layered…
Transition metal aluminum nitrides are a technologically important class of multifunctional ceramics, however, the HfAlN system remains largely unexplored. We investigate phase stability, nanostructure design, and mechanical behavior of…
Relativistic density-functional-theory calculations of Bi(111) thin films are performed to revisit their band structure and that of macroscopic samples. The band structure of a our 39-bilayer film ($\sim$~15~nm) shows that (1) $\sim$9-nm…
We report the evidence of the formation of niobium hydride phase within niobium films on silicon substrates in superconducting qubits fabricated at Rigetti Computing. For this study, we combined complementary techniques, including…
Quantum confinement and interference often generate exotic properties in nanostructures. One recent highlight is the experimental indication of a magnetic phase transition in zigzag-edged graphene nanoribbons at the critical ribbon width of…
Titanium (Ti), due to its excellent properties, is widely exploited in thin film technology that usually leads to the production of {\alpha}-phase (hcp) Ti films. In this work, we investigate the phase evolution of Ti films deposited by…
In a manganite film without quenched disorder, we show texturing in the form of insulating and metallic stripes above and below Curie temperature (Tc), respectively, by high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS).…