Magnetic proximity effect in the two-dimensional ε-Fe_(2)O_(3)/NbSe_(2)heterojunction

Two-dimensional(2D)magnet/superconductor heterostructures can promote the design of artificial materials for exploring 2D physics and device applications by exotic proximity effects.However,plagued by the low Curie temperature and instability in air,it is hard to realize practical applications for the reported layered magnetic materials at present.In this paper,we developed a space-confined chemical vapor deposition method to synthesize ultrathin air-stable ε-Fe_(2)O_(3) nanosheets with Curie temperature above 350 K.The ε-Fe_(2)O_(3)/NbSe_(2) heterojunction was constructed to study the magnetic proximity effect on the superconductivity of the NbSe_(2) multilayer.The electrical transport results show that the subtle proximity effect can modulate the interfacial spin–orbit interaction while undegrading the superconducting critical parameters.Our work paves the way to construct 2D heterojunctions with ultrathin nonlayered materials and layered van der Waals(vdW)materials for exploring new physical phenomena.

Proximity Effect of Fe-Zn Bimetallic Catalysts on CO_(2) Hydrogenation Performance

The interaction between a promoter and an active metal crucially impacts catalytic performance.Nowadays,the influence of promoter contents and species has been intensively considered.In this study,we investigate the effect of the iron(Fe)-zinc(Zn)proximity of Fe-Zn bimetallic catalysts on CO_(2)hydrogenation performance.To eliminate the size effect,Fe_(2)O_(3)and ZnO nanoparticles with uniform size are first prepared by the thermal decomposition method.By changing the loading sequence or mixing method,a series of Fe-Zn bimetallic catalysts with different Fe-Zn distances are obtained.Combined with a series of characterization techniques and catalytic performances,Fe-Zn bimetallic proximity for compositions of Fe species is discussed.Furthermore,we observe that a smaller Fe-Zn distance inhibits the reduction and carburization of the Fe species and facilitates the oxidation of carbides.Appropriate proximity of Fe and Zn(i.e.,Fe_1Zn_(1)-imp and Fe_(1)Zn_(1)-mix samples)results in a suitable ratio of the Fe_5C_(2)and Fe_(3)O_(4)phases,simultaneously promoting the reverse water-gas shift and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reactions.This study provides insight into the proximity effect of bimetallic catalysts on CO_(2)hydrogenation performance.

Controlled vapor growth of 2D magnetic Cr_(2)Se_(3)and its magnetic proximity effect in heterostructures

Two-dimensional(2D)magnetic materials have aroused tremendous interest due to the 2D confinement of magnetism and potential applications in spintronic and valleytronic devices.However,most of the currently 2D magnetic materials are achieved by the exfoliation from their bulks,of which the thickness and domain size are difficult to control,limiting the practical device applications.Here,we demonstrate the realization of thickness-tunable rhombohedral Cr_(2)Se_(3)nanosheets on different substrates via the chemical vapor deposition route.The magnetic transition temperature at about 75 K is observed.Furthermore,van der Waals heterostructures consisting of Cr_(2)Se_(3)nanosheets and monolayer WS2 are constructed.We observe the magnetic proximity effect in the heterostructures,which manifests the manipulation of the valley polarization in monolayer WS2.Our work contributes to the vapor growth and applications of 2D magnetic materials.

Proximity effects in topological insulator heterostructures

Topological insulators （Tls） are bulk insulators that possess robust helical conducting states along their interfaces with conventional insulators. A tremendous research effort has recently been devoted to TI-based heterostructures, in which con- ventional proximity effects give rise to a series of exotic physical phenomena. This paper reviews our recent studies on the potential existence of topological proximity effects at the interface between a topological insulator and a normal insu- lator or other topologically trivial systems. Using first-principles approaches, we have realized the tunability of the vertical location of the topological helical state via intriguing dual-proximity effects. To further elucidate the control parameters of this effect, we have used the graphene-based heterostructures as prototypical systems to reveal a more complete phase diagram. On the application side of the topological helical states, we have presented a catalysis example, where the topo- logical helical state plays an essential role in facilitating surface reactions by serving as an effective electron bath, These discoveries lay the foundation for accurate manipulation of the real space properties of the topological helical state in TI- based heterostructures and pave the way for realization of the salient functionality of topological insulators in future device applications.

Proximity effects in normal mental/spin-splitting material/superconductor junctions

We extend the Blonder, Tinkham and Klapwijk （BTK） theory to the study of the coexistence between ferromagnetism and s-wave superconductivity in ferromagnet/superconductor （F/S） structures. It is found that the ferromagnetism and s-wave superconductivity can coexist near the F/S interface, which is induced by proximity effects. On the F side, the density of states （DOS） exhibits some superconducting-like properties, and it displays a damped oscillation from ‘0＇ to ‘v＇ states with increasing either the thickness of F film or the exchange energy. We also study the influences of the spin-polarized exchange splitting in the F and the spin-degeneracy by Rashba spin-orbit coupling （RSOC） in the two-dimensional electron gas （2DGE） on the proximity effects. It is shown that the case of Rashba spin-degeneracy is very different from that of the spin-polarized exchange splitting.

Magnetic proximity effect induced spin splitting in two-dimensional antimonene/Fe_(3)GeTe_(2) van der Waals heterostructures

Recently, two-dimensional van der Waals(vd W) magnetic heterostructures have attracted intensive attention since they can show remarkable properties due to the magnetic proximity effect. In this work, the spin-polarized electronic structures of antimonene/Fe_(3)GeTe_(2)vdW heterostructures were investigated through the first-principles calculations. Owing to the magnetic proximity effect, the spin splitting appears at the conduction-band minimum(CBM) and the valence-band maximum(VBM) of the antimonene. A low-energy effective Hamiltonian was proposed to depict the spin splitting. It was found that the spin splitting can be modulated by means of applying an external electric field, changing interlayer distance or changing stacking configuration. The spin splitting energy at the CBM monotonously increases as the external electric field changes from-5 V/nm to 5 V/nm, while the spin splitting energy at the VBM almost remains the same. Meanwhile,as the interlayer distance increases, the spin splitting energies at the CBM and VBM both decrease. The different stacking configurations can also induce different spin splitting energies at the CBM and VBM. Our work demonstrates that the spin splitting of antimonene in this heterostructure is not singly dependent on the nearest Sb–Fe distance, which indicates that magnetic proximity effect in heterostructures may be modulated by multiple factors, such as hybridization of electronic states and the local electronic environment. The results enrich the fundamental understanding of the magnetic proximity effect in two-dimensional vdW heterostructures.

Magnetic Proximity Effect in an Antiferromagnetic Insulator/Topological Insulator Heterostructure with Sharp Interface

We report an experimental study of electron transport properties of MnSe/(Bi,Sb)_2Te_3 heterostructures,in which MnSe is an antiferromagnetic insulator,and(Bi,Sb)_2Te_3 is a three-dimensional topological insulator(TI).Strong magnetic proximity effect is manifested in the measurements of the Hall effect and longitudinal resistances.Our analysis shows that the gate voltage can substantially modify the anomalous Hall conductance,which exceeds 0.1 e^(2)/h at temperature T=1.6 K and magnetic field μ_0H=5 T,even though only the top TI surface is in proximity to MnSe.This work suggests that heterostructures based on antiferromagnetic insulators provide a promising platform for investigating a wide range of topological spintronic phenomena.

Effects of Breaking Waves on Composite Backscattering from Ship-Ocean Scene

The existence of the sea surface is bound to affect the electromagnetic （EM） scattering from marine targets. When dealing with the composite scattering from targets over a sea surface by applying high-frequency EM theories, the total scattering field can be decomposed into three parts in low sea states, namely, the direct scattering from the sea surface, the direct scattering from targets and the coupling scattering between the sea surface and targets. With regard to high sea states, breaking waves make the direct scattering from the sea surface and the coupling scattering more complicated. To solve this issue, a scattering model is proposed to analyze the composite scattering from a ship over a rough sea surface under high sea states. To consider the effect of breaking waves, a three dimensional geometric model is adopted together with Ufimtsev＇s theory of edge waves for the scattering from a breaker. In addition, the coupling scattering between targets and breaking waves is taken into account by considering all possible scattering paths. The simulated results indicate that the influence of breaking waves on the scattering field from the sea surface and on the coupling field is non-negligible, and the numerical results also show the effectiveness of the proposed scattering model.

Proximity Effect in Normal-Superconductor Hybrids at the Nanoscale

We analyse the proximity effect in hybrid nanoscale junctions involving superconducting leads. We develop a general framework for the analysis of the proximity effect using the same theoretical methods typically employed for the analysis of conductance properties. We apply our method to a normal-superconductor tunnel contact and compare our results to previous results.

Research on proximity effect of electromagnetic railgun

The rails of electromagnetic railgun can be ablated by the temperature rise due to current concentration.The current distributions on the rails and armature are not only affected by the skin effect,but also influenced by the proximity effect which is rarely mentioned.This paper illustrated the difference between skin effect and proximity effect,and the influencing factors of proximity effect were investigated.Results show that the current is concentrated on the surface around rails due to the skin effect,and the proximity effect exacerbates the current density on the inner surfaces of rails.Decrease in distance from rails enhances the proximity effect,but has nothing to do with the skin effect,which also augments the rail resistance,resulting in temperature rise.It can explain the reason why the ablation is often detected in the small caliber railgun.Research results in this paper can provide support for design and optimization of electromagnetic railgun.

Nanofabrication of 50 nm zone plates through e-beam lithography with local proximity effect correction for x-ray imaging

High resolution Fresnel zone plates for nanoscale three-dimensional imaging of materials by both soft and hard x-rays are increasingly needed by the broad applications in nanoscience and nanotechnology.When the outmost zone-width is shrinking down to 50 nm or even below,patterning the zone plates with high aspect ratio by electron beam lithography still remains a challenge because of the proximity effect.The uneven charge distribution in the exposed resist is still frequently observed even after standard proximity effect correction(PEC),because of the large variety in the line width.This work develops a new strategy,nicknamed as local proximity effect correction(LPEC),efficiently modifying the deposited energy over the whole zone plate on the top of proximity effect correction.By this way,50 nm zone plates with the aspect ratio from 4:1 up to 15:1 and the duty cycle close to 0.5 have been fabricated.Their imaging capability in soft(1.3 keV)and hard(9 keV)x-ray,respectively,has been demonstrated in Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility(SSRF)with the resolution of 50 nm.The local proximity effect correction developed in this work should also be generally significant for the generation of zone plates with high resolutions beyond 50 nm.

Proximity Effect of Epitaxial Iron Phthalocyanine Molecules on High-Quality Graphene Devices

Depositing magnetic insulators on graphene has been a promising route to introduce magnetism via exchange proximity interaction in graphene for future spintronics applications.Molecule-based magnets may offer unique opportunities because of their synthesis versatility.Here,we investigate the magnetic proximity effect of epitaxial iron phthalocyanine(FePc)molecules on high-quality monolayer and bilayer graphene devices on hexagonal boron nitride substrates by probing the local and nonlocal transport.Although the FePc molecules introduce large hole doping effects combined with mobility degradation,the magnetic proximity gives rise to a canted antiferromagnetic state under a magnetic field in the monolayer graphene.On bilayer graphene and FePc heterostructure devices,the nonlocal transport reveals a pronounced Zeeman spin-Hall effect.Further analysis of the scattering mechanism in the bilayer shows a dominated long-range scattering.Our findings in graphene/organic magnetic insulator heterostructure provide a new insight for use of molecule-based magnets in two-dimensional spintronic devices.

A Study on a Conductor System for Investigation of Proximity Effect

The proximity effect is very significant to investigate transient peak voltages and EMC related problems of a conductor system. In this paper, effect of energized single conductor in close proximity of an Al plate when an Al plate is used as return path is investigated to find out proximity effect. The analysis involves simulation by the Finite Time Domain Method (FDTD) in comparison with field measurements. It is observed that the current distribution is uneven in pipe conductor due to the proximity effect of varying heights from ground.

Nanophononic metamaterials induced proximity effect in heat flux regulation

Recent studies have shown that the construction of nanophononic metamaterials can reduce thermal conductivity without affecting electrical properties,making them promising in many fields of application,such as energy conversion and thermal management.However,although extensive studies have been carried out on thermal conductivity reduction in nanophononic metamaterials,the local heat flux characteristic is still unclear.In this work,we construct a heat flux regulator which includes a silicon nanofilm with silicon pillars.The regulator has remarkable heat flux regulation ability,and various impacts on the regulation ability are explored.Surprisingly,even in the region without nanopillars,the local heat current is still lower than that in pristine silicon nanofilms,reduced by the neighboring nanopillars through the thermal proximity effect.We combine the analysis of the phonon participation ratio with the intensity of localized phonon modes to provide a clear explanation.Our findings not only provide insights into the mechanisms of heat flux regulation by nanophononic metamaterials,but also will open up new research directions to control local heat flux for a broad range of applications,including heat management,thermoelectric energy conversion,thermal cloak,and thermal concentrator.

Microwave backscattering from the sea surface with breaking waves

Based on the effective medium approximation theory of composites, the whitecap-covered sea surface is treated as a medium layer of dense seawater droplets and air. Two electromagnetic scattering models of randomly rough surface are applied to the investigation of microwave backscattering of breaking waves driven by strong wind. The shapes of seawater droplets are considered by calculating the effective dielectric constant of the whitecap layer. The responses of seawater droplets shapes, such as sphere and ellipsoid, to the backscattering coefficient are discussed. Numerical results of the models are in good agreement with the experimental measurements of horizontally and vertically polarized backscattering at microwave frequency 13.9GHz and different incidence angles.

Effect of trabecular bone material properties on ultrasonic backscattering signals

In this study, ultrasonic backscattering signals in cancellous bones were obtained by finite difference time domain （FDTD） simulations, and the effect of trabecular material properties on these signals was analyzed. The backscatter coefficient （BSC） and integrated backscatter coefficient （IBC） were numerically investigated for varying trabecular bone material properties, including density, Lame coefficients, viscosities, and resistance coefficients. The results show that the BSC is a complex function of trabecular bone density, and the IBC increases as density increases. The BSC and IBC increase with the first and second Lame coefficients. While not very sensitive to the second viscosity of the trabeculae, the BSC and IBC decrease as the first viscosity and resistance coefficients increase. The results demonstrate that, in addition to bone mineral density （BMD） and microarchitecture, trabecular material properties significantly influence ultrasonic backseattering signals in cancellous bones. This research furthers the understanding of ultrasonic backscattering in cancellous bones and the characterization of cancellous bone status.

The effect of a layer of varying density on spatial correlation of sea-bottom backscattering signal

The research is about the effect of a layer of varying density of sea-bottom sediments on spatial correlation of sea-bottom backscattering. The relationship between scattering cross section and spatial correlation is that backscattering cross section decreases quickly and the spatial correlation becomes stronger as the incident angle increases. Therefore, the density- depth profile is introduced into sea-bottom high-frequency backscattering echo model, which is used to simulate sea-bottom backscattering and calculate the function of spatial correlation. The influence of the density gradient on spatial correlation of sea-bottom backscattering is investigated by analyzing the relations between vertical gradient of density and the scattering cross section. As can be seen from the simulation results, the impact of the density gradient on the spatial correlation is found more significant. While the density gradient increases, the scattering cross-section and the radius of the spatial correlation broaden, the spatial correlation becomes stronger. At the same time, the scattering cross-section decreases more quickly as the incident angle increases.

An efficient dose-compensation method for proximity effect correction

A novel simple dose-compensation method is developed for proximity effect correction in electron-beam lithography.The sizes of exposed patterns depend on dose factors while other exposure parameters（including accelerate voltage,resist thickness,exposing step size,substrate material,and so on） remain constant.This method is based on two reasonable assumptions in the evaluation of the compensated dose factor：one is that the relation between dose factors and circle-diameters is linear in the range under consideration;the other is that the compensated dose factor is only affected by the nearest neighbors for simplicity.Four-layer-hexagon photonic crystal structures were fabricated as test patterns to demonstrate this method.Compared to the uncorrected structures,the homogeneity of the corrected hole-size in photonic crystal structures was clearly improved.

A nontrivial factor in determining current distribution in an ac HTS cable-proximity effect

A superconductor has zero resistance at the superconducting state. This unique property creates many exceptional phenomena, of which some are known and the others are not. Our experiments with multilayer high temperature superconductor (HTS) cable samples revealed a new phenomenon that alternating current had a tendency to flow in the inner and outer layers of the cables. We attribute the cause of this phenomenon to the electromagnetic interaction in an infinite electrical conductivity medium and term it "super-proximity-effect". This effect will greatly affect the performance of a multilayer superconducting cable and other superconducting devices which are involved with alternating current transportation.