Lithium mapping in a Mg-9Li-4Al-1Zn alloy using electron energy-loss spectroscopy

Magnesium-lithium alloys with high lithium content have been attracting significant attention because of their low density,high formability and corrosion resistance.These properties are dependent on the distribution of lithium,which is difficult to map in the presence of magnesium.In this work,a ratio spectrum-imaging method with electron energy-loss spectroscopy(EELS)is demonstrated,which enables the mapping of lithium.In application to LAZ941(Mg-9Li-4Al-1Zn in wt.%),this technique revealed that a key precipitate in the microstructure,previously thought by some to be Mg_(17)Al_(12),is in fact rich in lithium.This result was corroborated with a structural investigation by high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy(HAADF-STEM),showing this phase to be Al_(1-x)Zn_(x)Li,with x<<1.This work indicates the potential offered by this technique for mapping lithium in materials.

Large energy-loss straggling of swift heavy ions in ultra-thin active silicon layers

Monte Carlo simulations reveal considerable straggling of energy loss by the same ions with the same energy in fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator （FDSOI） devices with ultra-thin sensitive silicon layers down to 2.5 rim. The absolute straggling of deposited energy decreases with decreasing thickness of the active silicon layer. While the relative straggling increases gradually with decreasing thickness of silicon films and exhibits a sharp rise as the thickness of the silicon film descends below a threshold value of 50 nm, with the dispersion of deposited energy ascending above ~10%. Ion species and energy dependence of the energy-loss straggling are also investigated. For a given beam, the dispersion of deposited energy results in large uncertainty on the actual linear energy transfer （LET） of incident ions, and thus single event effect （SEE） responses, which pose great challenges for traditional error rate prediction methods.

Relativistic Distorted-Wave Calculations of Electron Impact Excitation Cross Sections of Be-Like C2＋ Ions

A fully relativistic distorted-wave program is developed based on the Grasp92 and Ratip packages to calculate electron impact excitation （EIE） cross sections. As a first application of the program, the EIE cross sections of Be-like C^α＋ ions from the metastable 1s^22s2p^3 p to 1s^22p^2 ^3 p excitation and the inner-shell excitations are calculated systematically. Meanwhile, the correlation effects of target states are discussed. It is found that the correlation effects play an important role in the low energy EIE cross sections. An excellent agreement is found when the results are compared with previous calculations and recent measurements.

Study on Band Structure of YbB_6 and Analysis of Its Optical Conductivity Spectrum

The electronic structure of YbB6 crystal was studied by means of density functional （GGA ＋ U） method. The calculations were performed by FLAPW method. The high accurate band structure was achieved. The correlation between the feature of the band structure and the Yb-B6 bonding in YbB6 was analyzed. On this basis, some optical constants of YbB6 such as reflectivity, dielectric function, optical conductivity, and energy-loss function were calculated. The results are in good agreement with the experiments. The real part of the optical conductivity spectrum and the energy-loss function spectrum were analyzed in detail. The assignments of the spectra were carried out to correlate the spectral peaks with the interband electronic transitions, which justify the reasonable part of previous empirical assignments and renew the missed or incorrect ones.

Chemical structure of grain-boundary layer in SrTiO_3 and its segregation-induced transition: A continuum interface approach

Grain-boundary（GB） structures are commonly imaged as discrete atomic columns, yet the chemical modifications are gradual and extend into the adjacent lattices, notably the space charge, hence the two-dimensional defects may also be treated as continuum changes to extended interfacial structure. This review presents a spatially-resolved analysis by electron energy-loss spectroscopy of the GB chemical structures in a series of SrTiO3 bicrystals and a ceramic, using analytical electron microscopy of the pre-Cs-correction era. It has identified and separated a transient layer at the model Σ5 grain-boundaries（GBs） with characteristic chemical bonding, extending the continuum interfacial approach to redefine the GB chemical structure. This GB layer has evolved under segregation of iron dopant, starting from subtle changes in local bonds until a clear transition into a distinctive GB chemistry with substantially increased titanium concentration confined within the GB layer in 3-unit cells, heavily strained, and with less strontium. Similar segregated GB layer turns into a titania-based amorphous film in SrTiO3 ceramic, hence reaching a more stable chemical structure in equilibrium with the intergranular Ti2O3 glass also. Space charge was not found by acceptor doping in both the strained Σ5 and amorphous GBs in SrTiO3 owing to the native transient nature of the GB layer that facilitates the transitions induced by Fe segregation into novel chemical structures subject to local and global equilibria. These GB transitions may add a new dimension into the structure–property relationship of the electronic materials.

Heating, Efficacy and Dose of Local Hyperthermia

Hyperthermia in oncology needs a definite dose which fixes well the clinical protocols. The temperature is far not a dose, it is mass independent. The half of the mass has the same temperature in equilibrium, so the basic criteria of the dose mass-dependence are lost. The energy could be a great option for dosing, (like it is in radiation therapies by Gy) but it has numerous drawbacks. These are discussed in this paper, trying to unify the dosing of ionizing and non-ionizing radiations.

Stellar energy loss rates associated with photoneutrino processes in the minimal extension of the standard model

Using the minimal extension of the standard model and considering the charge radius and the anapole moments of a neutrino,we derive analytical expressions for the stellar energy loss rates associated with the production of a neutrino pair e+γ→ve+ve νein hot plasma under three limiting regimes(nondegenerate,intermediate,and degenerate electrons)of the temperature,electron chemical potential,and plasma energy.The obtained results reveal the presence of an extra contribution of approximately 10%based on the considered calculations.

Nanoencapsulation of arsenate with nanoscale zero-valent iron(nZVI):A 3D perspective

The principal forces driving the efficient enrichment and encapsulation of arsenic(As) into nanoscale zero-valent iron(nZVI) are the disordered arrangement of the atoms and the gradient chemical potentials within the core-shell interface. The chemical compositions and the fine structure of nZVI are characterized with a combination of spherical aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy(Cs-STEM), X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy(XEDS), electron energy loss spectroscopy(EELS), and high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(HR-XPS). Atomically resolved EELS at the oxygen K-edge unfolds that the Fe species in nZVI are well stratified from Fe(Ⅲ) oxides in the outermost periphery to a mixed Fe(Ⅲ)/Fe(Ⅱ) interlayer, then Fe(Ⅱ) oxide and the pure Fe(0) phase. Reactions between As(Ⅴ)and nZVI suggest that a well-structured local redox gradient exists within the shell layer, which serves as a thermodynamically favorable conduit for electron transfer from the iron core to the surface-bound As(Ⅴ). HR-XPS with ion sputtering shows that arsenic species shift from As(Ⅴ), As(Ⅲ)/As(Ⅴ) to As(Ⅴ)/As(Ⅲ)/As(0) from the iron oxide shell–water interface to the Fe(0) core. Results reinforce previous work on the efficacy of nZVI for removing and remediating arsenic while the analytical TEM methods are also applicable to the study of environmental interfaces and surface chemistry.

Spectroscopic signatures of edge states in hexagonal boron nitride

We use Z-contrast imaging and atomically resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy on an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope to investigate the local electronic states of boron atoms at different edge structures in monolayer and bilayer h-BN.We find that edges with bonding unsaturated sp2 boron atoms have a unique spectroscopic signature with a prominent pre-peak at - 190.2 eV in the B K-edge fine structure.First-principles calculations reveal that the observed pre-peak arises from excitations to the in-plane lowest-energy empty sp2 boron dangling bonds at the B-terminated edge.This spectroscopic signature can serve as a fingerprint to explore new edge structures in h-BN.

High-resolution dipole ( e, e ) study for optical oscillator strengths of valence shell excitation of nitrogen

NITROGEN is the most abundant element in the earth’s atmosphere. The study of optical oscillator strengths of nitrogen is of great significance in atmosphere physics, space physics and environment science. These results are also used in many fields, such as fusion plasma and developments of the nitrogen laser. As we know, calculation of absolute optical oscillator strengths of molecular nitrogen are still at the level of electronic rather than vibronic states resolved.

He-enhanced heterogeneity of radiation-induced segregation in FeNiCoCr high-entropy alloy

Radiation-induced segregation(RIS) is a typical non-equilibrium process that can dramatically alter the behavior of defect sinks and material properties under irradiation. However, RIS mechanisms have been rarely studied around small He bubbles owing to the technical challenges involved in direct measurements of local chemistry. Here, using state-of-the-art atom probe tomography, we report the RIS behavior near He bubbles in the Fe Ni Co Cr high-entropy alloy that indicates Co segregates most strongly, followed by weaker Ni segregation, whereas Fe and Cr are depleted almost to the same degree. Exceptionally, the magnitude of Co segregation around He bubbles is higher than previously measured values at voids and dislocation loops. Electron energy-loss spectroscopy was used to measure the He density and pressure inside individual bubbles. We demonstrate that He bubbles are over-pressurized at the irradiation temperature that could result in the vacancy bias and the subsequent vacancy-dominated RIS mechanism.First-principles calculations further reveal that there are repulsive interactions between He and Co atoms that may reduce the frequency of Co-vacancy exchange. As a result, He atoms likely retard Co diffusion via the vacancy mechanism and enhance the heterogeneity of RIS in Co-containing multicomponent alloys. These insights could provide the basis for understanding He effects in nuclear materials and open an avenue for tailoring the local chemical order of medium-and high-entropy alloys.

Initial nucleation of amorphous Si–B–C–N ceramics derived from polymer-precursors

Nucleation behavior of amorphous Si–B–C–N ceramics derived from boron-modified polyvinylsilazane procusors was systematically investigated by transmission electron microscopy(TEM) combined with spatially-resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy(EELS) analysis. The ceramics were pyrolyzed at1000℃ followed by further annealing in N2, and SiC nano-crystallites start to emerge at 1200℃ and dominate at 1500℃. Observed by high-angle annular dark-field imaging, bright and dark clusters were revealed as universal nano-structured features in ceramic matrices before and after nucleation, and the growth of cluster size saturated before reaching 5 nm at 1400℃. EELS analysis demonstrated the gradual development of bonding structures successively into SiC, graphetic BNCxand Si3N4 phases, as well as a constant presence of unexpected oxygen in the matrices. Furthermore, EELS profiling revealed the bright SiC clusters and less bright Si3N4-like clusters at 1200–1400℃. Since the amorphous matrix has already phase separated into SiCN and carbon clusters, another phase separation of SiCN into SiC and Si3N4-like clusters might occur by annealing to accompany their nucleation and growth, albeit one crystallized and another remained in amorphous structure. Hinderance of the cluster growth and further crystallization was owing to the formation of BNCxlayers that developed between SiC and Si3N4-like clusters as well as from the excessive oxygen to form the stable SiO2.

Electronic structure of YMn2O5 studied by EELS and first-principles calculations

The electronic structure of multiferroic YMn2O5 material has been studied by use of the generalized gradient approximation （GGA）. The results demonstrate that the oxygen 2p and manganese 3d orbitals are strongly hybridized. Considering the on-site Coulomb interaction U, we performed the GGA＋U calculations for 0 〈 U ≤8 eV, and it is found that the increase of U could enlarge the band gap and, on the other hand, weaken the Mn-O hybridization. The experimental measurements of the electron energy-loss spectrometry （EELS） exhibit a rich variety of structural features in both O-K edge and Mn-L edges. A theoretical and experimental analysis on the O-K edge suggests that the on-site Coulomb interaction （U） in YMn2O5 could be less than 4 eV. Certain electronic structural features of LaMn2O5 have been discussed in comparison with those of YMn2O5.