Discovery and Research of High Tc Superconductor in the Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica

1. Introduction The discovery of possible high T;super-conductivity at 35K in La-Ba-Cu-O systemsparked an intense study on the new classof cupric oxides by a few laboratoriesincluding the joint research group of highT;superconductivity in the Institute ofPhysics, Academia Sinica. A few monthslater we not only confirmed the

Surface Metallization of Glass Fiber(GF)/Polyetheretherketone(PEEK) Composite with Cu Coatings Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering and Electroplating

Surface metallization of glass fiber(GF)/polyetheretherketone(PEEK)[GF/PEEK] is conducted by coating copper using electroplating and magnetron sputtering and the properties are determined by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD).The coating bonding strength is assessed by pull-out tests and scribing in accordance with GB/T 9286-1998.The results show that the Cu coating with a thickness of 30 μm deposited on GF/PEEK by magnetron sputtering has lower roughness, finer grain size, higher crystallinity, as well as better macroscopic compressive stress,bonding strength, and electrical conductivity than the Cu coating deposited by electroplating.

The research progress of an E//B neutral particle analyzer

An E//B neutral particle analyzer(NPA)has been designed and is under development at Sichuan University and Southwestern Institute of Physics.The main purpose of the E//B NPA is to measure the distribution function of fast ions in the HL-2A/3 tokamak.The E//B NPA contains three main units,i.e.the stripping unit,the analyzing unit and the detection unit.A gas stripping chamber was adopted as the stripping unit.The results of the simulations and beam tests for the stripping chamber are presented.Parallel electric and magnetic fields provided by a NdFeB permanent magnet and two parallel electric plates were designed and constructed for the analyzing unit.The calibration of the magnetic and electric fields was performed using a 50 kV electron cyclotron resonance ion source(ECRIS)platform.The detection unit consists of 32lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate(LYSO)detector modules arranged in two rows.The response functions ofα,hydrogen ions(H^(+),H_(2)^(+)and H_(3)^(+))andγfor a detector module were measured with^(241)Am,^(137)Cs and^(152)Eu sources together with the 50 kV ECRIS platform.The overall results indicate that the designed E//B NPA device is capable of measuring the intensity of neutral hydrogen and deuteron atoms with energy higher than 20 keV.

Permeability and selectivity synergistically enhanced nanofluidic membrane for osmotic energy harvesting

For the porous‐membrane‐based osmotic energy generator,the potential synergistic enhancement mechanism of various key parameters is still controversial,especially because optimizing the trade‐off between permeability and selectivity is still a challenge.Here,to construct a permeability and selectivity synergistically enhanced osmotic energy generator,the twodimensional porous membranes with tunable charge density are prepared by inserting sulfonated polyether sulfone into graphene oxide.Influences of charge density and pore size on the ion transport are explored,and the ionic behaviors in the channel are calculated by numerical simulations.The mechanism of ion transport in the process is studied in depth,and the fundamental principles of energy conversion are revealed.The results demonstrate that charge density and pore size should be matched to construct the optimal ion channel.This collaborative enhancement strategy of permeability and selectivity has significantly improved the output power in osmotic energy generation;compared to the pure graphene oxide membrane,the composite membrane presents almost 20 times improvement.

Ionic Liquid-Enhanced Assembly of Nanomaterials for Highly Stable Flexible Transparent Electrodes

The controlled assembly of nanomaterials has demon-strated significant potential in advancing technological devices.However,achieving highly efficient and low-loss assembly technique for nanomate-rials,enabling the creation of hierarchical structures with distinctive func-tionalities,remains a formidable challenge.Here,we present a method for nanomaterial assembly enhanced by ionic liquids,which enables the fabrication of highly stable,flexible,and transparent electrodes featuring an organized layered structure.The utilization of hydrophobic and non-volatile ionic liquids facilitates the production of stable interfaces with water,effectively preventing the sedimentation of 1D/2D nanomaterials assembled at the interface.Furthermore,the interfacially assembled nanomaterial monolayer exhibits an alternate self-climbing behavior,enabling layer-by-layer transfer and the formation of a well-ordered MXene-wrapped silver nanowire network film.The resulting composite film not only demonstrates exceptional photoelectric performance with a sheet resistance of 9.4Ωsq^(-1) and 93%transmittance,but also showcases remarkable environmental stability and mechanical flexibility.Particularly noteworthy is its application in transparent electromagnetic interference shielding materials and triboelectric nanogenerator devices.This research introduces an innovative approach to manufacture and tailor functional devices based on ordered nanomaterials.

Single-crystallization of electrolytic copper foils

Depending on the production process,copper(Cu)foils can be classified into two types,i.e.,rolled copper(r-Cu)foils and electrolytic copper(e-Cu)foils.Owing to their high electrical conductivity and ductility at low cost,e-Cu foils are employed extensively in modern industries and account for more than 98%of the Cu foil market share.However,industrial e-Cu foils have never been single-crystallized due to their high density of grain boundaries,various grain orientations and vast impurities originating from the electrochemical deposition process.Here,we report a methodology of transforming industrial e-Cu foils into single crystals by facet copy from a single-crystal template.Different facets of both low and high indices are successfully produced,and the thickness of the single crystal can reach 500μm.Crystallographic characterizations directly recognized the single-crystal copy process,confirming the complete assimilation impact from the template.The obtained single-crystal e-Cu foils exhibit remarkably improved ductility(elongation-to-fracture of 105%vs.25%),fatigue performance(the average numbers of cycles to failure of 1600 vs.200)and electrical property(electrical conductivity of 102.6%of the international annealed copper standard(IACS)vs.98.5%)than original ones.This work opens up a new avenue for the preparation of single-crystal e-Cu foils and may expand their applications in high-speed,flexible,and wearable devices.

Evolution of Superconducting-Transition Temperature with Superfluid Density and Conductivity in Pressurized Cuprate Superconductors

What factors fundamentally determine the value of superconducting transition temperature Tc in high temperature superconductors has been the subject of intense debate.Following the establishment of an empirical law known as Homes'law,there is a growing consensus in the community that the Tc value of the cuprate superconductors is closely linked to the superfluid density(ρ_(s))of its ground state and the conductivity(σ)of its normal state.However,all the data supporting this empirical law(ρ_(s)=AσT_(c))have been obtained from the ambientpressure superconductors.In this study,we present the first high-pressure results about the connection of the quantities of ρ_(s) and σ with T_(c),through the studies on the Bi_(1.74)Pb_(0.38)Sr_(1.88)CuO_(6+δ)and Bi_(2)Sr_(2)CaCu_(2)O_(8+δ),in which the value of their high-pressure resistivity(ρ=1/σ)is achieved by adopting our newly established method,while the quantity ofρs is extracted using Homes'law.We highlight that the Tc values are strongly linked to the joint response factors of magnetic field and electric field,i.e.,ρ_(s) and σ,respectively,implying that the physics determining T_(c) is governed by the intrinsic electromagnetic fields of the system.

Ultrafast dynamics of femtosecond laser-induced high spatial frequency periodic structures on silicon surfaces

Femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures(LIPSS)have been extensively studied over the past few decades.In particular,the period and groove width of high-spatial-frequency LIPSS(HSFL)is much smaller than the diffraction limit,making it a useful method for efficient nanomanufacturing.However,compared with the low-spatial-frequency LIPSS(LSFL),the structure size of the HSFL is smaller,and it is more easily submerged.Therefore,the formation mechanism of HSFL is complex and has always been a research hotspot in this field.In this study,regular LSFL with a period of 760 nm was fabricated in advance on a silicon surface with two-beam interference using an 800 nm,50 fs femtosecond laser.The ultrafast dynamics of HSFL formation on the silicon surface of prefabricated LSFL under single femtosecond laser pulse irradiation were observed and analyzed for the first time using collinear pump-probe imaging method.In general,the evolution of the surface structure undergoes five sequential stages:the LSFL begins to split,becomes uniform HSFL,degenerates into an irregular LSFL,undergoes secondary splitting into a weakly uniform HSFL,and evolves into an irregular LSFL or is submerged.The results indicate that the local enhancement of the submerged nanocavity,or the nanoplasma,in the prefabricated LSFL ridge led to the splitting of the LSFL,and the thermodynamic effect drove the homogenization of the splitting LSFL,which evolved into HSFL.

Exploring cerebral structural and functional abnormalities in a mouse model of post-traumatic headache induced by mild traumatic brain injury

Mild traumatic brain injury(mTBI)-induced post-traumatic headache(PTH)is a pressing public health concern and leading cause of disability worldwide.Although PTH is often accompanied by neurological disorders,the exact underlying mechanism remains largely unknown.Identifying potential biomarkers may prompt the diagnosis and development of effective treatments for mTBI-induced PTH.In this study,a mouse model of mTBI-induced PTH was established to investigate its effects on cerebral structure and function during short-term recovery.Results indicated that mice with mTBI-induced PTH exhibited balance deficits during the early post-injury stage.Metabolic kinetics revealed that variations in neurotransmitters were most prominent in the cerebellum,temporal lobe/cortex,and hippocampal regions during the early stages of PTH.Additionally,variations in brain functional activities and connectivity were further detected in the early stage of PTH,particularly in the cerebellum and temporal cortex,suggesting that these regions play central roles in the mechanism underlying PTH.Moreover,our results suggested that GABA and glutamate may serve as potential diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers for PTH.Future studies should explore the specific neural circuits involved in the regulation of PTH by the cerebellum and temporal cortex,with these two regions potentially utilized as targets for non-invasive stimulation in future clinical treatment.

The Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)on the SMILE Mission

The Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)is part of the scientific payload of the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)mission.SMILE is a joint science mission between the European Space Agency(ESA)and the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)and is due for launch in 2025.SXI is a compact X-ray telescope with a wide field-of-view(FOV)capable of encompassing large portions of Earth’s magnetosphere from the vantage point of the SMILE orbit.SXI is sensitive to the soft X-rays produced by the Solar Wind Charge eXchange(SWCX)process produced when heavy ions of solar wind origin interact with neutral particles in Earth’s exosphere.SWCX provides a mechanism for boundary detection within the magnetosphere,such as the position of Earth’s magnetopause,because the solar wind heavy ions have a very low density in regions of closed magnetic field lines.The sensitivity of the SXI is such that it can potentially track movements of the magnetopause on timescales of a few minutes and the orbit of SMILE will enable such movements to be tracked for segments lasting many hours.SXI is led by the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom(UK)with collaborating organisations on hardware,software and science support within the UK,Europe,China and the United States.

Two-dimensional investigation of characteristic parameters and their gradients for the self-generated electric and magnetic fields of laser-induced zirconium plasma

Two-dimensional diagnosis of laser-induced zirconium(Zr)plasma has been experimentally performed using the time-of-flight method by employing Faraday cups in addition to electric and magnetic probes.The characteristic parameters of laser-induced Zr plasma have been evaluated as a function of different laser irradiances ranging from 4.5 to 11.7 GW cm-2 at different axial positions of 1–4 cm with a fixed radial distance of 2 cm.A well-supporting correlation between the plume parameters and the laser-plasma-produced spontaneous electric and magnetic(E and B)fields was established.The measurements of the characteristic parameters and spontaneously induced fields were observed to have an increasing trend with the increasing laser irradiance.However,when increasing the spatial distance in both the axial and radial directions,the plasma parameters(electron/ion number density,temperature and kinetic energy)did not show either continuously increasing or decreasing trends due to various kinetic and dynamic processes during the spatial evolution of the plume.However,the E and B fields were observed to be always diffusing away from the target.The radial component of electron number densities remained higher than the axial number density component,whereas the axial ion number density at all laser irradiances and axial distances remained higher than the radial ion number density.The higher axial self-generated electric field(SGEF)values than radial SGEF values are correlated with the effective charge-separation mechanism of electrons and ions.The generation of a self-generated magnetic field is observed dominantly in the radial direction at increasing laser irradiance as compared to the axial one due to the deflection of fast-moving electrons and the persistence of two-electron temperature on the radial axis.

Integrated analysis of plasma rotation effect on HL-3 hybrid scenario

The hybrid scenario,which has good confinement and moderate MHD instabilities,is a proposed operation scenario for international thermonuclear experimental reactor(ITER).In this work,the effect of plasma rotation on the HL-3 hybrid scenario is analyzed with the integrated modeling framework OMFIT.The results show that toroidal rotation has no obvious effect on confinement with a high line averaged density of n_(bar)~(7)×10^(19)m^(-3).In this case,the ion temperature only changes from 4.7 keV to 4.4 keV with the rotation decreasing from 10^(5) rad/s to 10^(3) rad/s,which means that the turbulent heat transport is not dominant.While in the scenarios characterized by lower densities,such as n_(bar)~4×10^(19)m^(-3),turbulent transport becomes dominant in determining heat transport.The ion temperature rises from 3.8 keV to 6.1 keV in the core as the rotation velocity increases from 10^(3) rad/s to 10^(5) rad/s.Despite the ion temperature rising,the rotation velocity does not obviously affect electron temperature or density.Additionally,it is noteworthy that the variation in rotation velocity does not significantly affect the global confinement of plasma in scenarios with low density or with high density.

Accurate estimation of Li/Ni mixing degree of lithium nickel oxide cathode materials

Li/Ni mixing negatively influences the discharge capacity of lithium nickel oxide and high-nickel ternary cathode materials.However,accurately measuring the Li/Ni mixing degree is difficult due to the preferred orientation of labbased XRD measurements using Bragg–Brentano geometry.Here,we find that employing spherical harmonics in Rietveld refinement to eliminate the preferred orientation can significantly decrease the measurement error of the Li/Ni mixing ratio.The Li/Ni mixing ratio obtained from Rietveld refinement with spherical harmonics shows a strong correlation with discharge capacity,which means the electrochemical capacity of lithium nickel oxide and high-nickel ternary cathode can be estimated by the Li/Ni mixing degree.Our findings provide a simple and accurate method to estimate the Li/Ni mixing degree,which is valuable to the structural analysis and screening of the synthesis conditions of lithium nickel oxide and high-nickel ternary cathode materials.

Interface and mechanical degradation mechanisms of the silicon anode in sulfide-based solid-state batteries at high temperatures

Silicon(Si)is a competitive anode material owing to its high theoretical capacity and low electrochemical potential.Recently,the prospect of Si anodes in solid-state batteries(SSBs)has been proposed due to less solid electrolyte interphase(SEI)formation and particle pulverization.However,major challenges arise for Si anodes in SSBs at elevated temperatures.In this work,the failure mechanisms of Si-Li_(6)PS_(5)Cl(LPSC)composite anodes above 80℃are thoroughly investigated from the perspectives of interface stability and(electro)chemo-mechanical effect.The chemistry and growth kinetics of Lix Si|LPSC interphase are demonstrated by combining electrochemical,chemical and computational characterizations.Si and/or Si–P compound formed at Lix Si|LPSC interface prove to be detrimental to interface stability at high temperatures.On the other hand,excessive volume expansion and local stress caused by Si lithiation at high temperatures damage the mechanical structure of Si-LPSC composite anodes.This work elucidates the behavior and failure mechanisms of Si-based anodes in SSBs at high temperatures and provides insights into upgrading Si-based anodes for application in SSBs.

Absence of BCS–BEC crossover in FeSe_(0.45)Te_(0.55) superconductor

In iron-based superconductor Fe(Se,Te), a flat band-like feature near the Fermi level was observed around the Brillouin zone center in the superconducting state. It is under debate whether this is the evidence on the presence of the BCS–BEC[Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer(BCS), Bose–Einstein condensation(BEC)] crossover in the superconductor. High-resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements are carried out on high quality single crystals of FeSe_(0.45)Te_(0.55) superconductor to address the issue. By employing different polarization geometries, we have resolved and isolated the dyz band and the topological surface band, making it possible to study their superconducting behaviors separately. The dyz band alone does not form a flat band-like feature in the superconducting state and the measured dispersion can be well described by the BCS picture. We find that the flat band-like feature is formed from the combination of the dyz band and the topological surface state band in the superconducting state. These results reveal the origin of the flat band-like feature and rule out the presence of BCS-BEC crossover in Fe(Se,Te) superconductor.

Gyrokinetic simulation of magnetic-island-induced electric potential vortex mode

Ion temperature gradient(ITG)-driven turbulence with embedded static magnetic islands is simulated by utilizing a gyrokinetic theory-based global turbulence transport code(GKNET)in this work.Different from the traditional equilibrium circular magnetic-surface average(EMSA)method,an advanced algorithm that calculates the perturbed magnetic-surface average(PMSA)of the electric potential has been developed to precisely deal with the zonal flow component in a non-circular magnetic surface perturbed by magnetic islands.Simulations show that the electric potential vortex structure inside islands induced by the magnetic islands is usually of odd parity when using the EMSA method.It is found that the odd symmetry vortex can transfer into an even one after a steep zonal flow gradient,i.e.the flow shear has been built in the vicinity of the magnetic islands by adopting the PMSA algorithm.The phase of the potential vortex in the poloidal cross section is coupled with the zonal flow shear.Such an electric potential vortex mode may be of essential importance in wide topics,such as the turbulence spreading across magnetic islands,neoclassical tearing mode physics,and also the interaction dynamics between the micro-turbulence and MHD activities.

Gyro-Landau-fluid simulations of impurity effects on ion temperature gradient driven turbulence transport

The effects of impurities on ion temperature gradient(ITG)driven turbulence transport in tokamak core plasmas are investigated numerically via global simulations of microturbulence with carbon impurities and adiabatic electrons.The simulations use an extended fluid code(ExFC)based on a four-field gyro-Landau-fluid(GLF)model.The multispecies form of the normalized GLF equations is presented,which guarantees the self-consistent evolution of both bulk ions and impurities.With parametric profiles of the cyclone base case,well-benchmarked ExFC is employed to perform simulations focusing on different impurity density profiles.For a fixed temperature profile,it is found that the turbulent heat diffusivity of bulk ions in a quasi-steady state is usually lower than that without impurities,which is contrary to the linear and quasilinear predictions.The evolutions of the temperature gradient and heat diffusivity exhibit a fast relaxation process,indicating that the destabilization of the outwardly peaked impurity profile is a transient state response.Furthermore,the impurity effects from different profiles can obviously influence the nonlinear critical temperature gradient,which is likely to be dominated by linear effects.These results suggest that the improvement in plasma confinement could be attributed to the impurities,most likely through adjusting both heat diffusivity and the critical temperature gradient.

Phase composition,conductivity,and sensor properties of cerium-doped indium oxide

The hydrothermal synthesis of In_(2)O_(3)and CeO_(2)–In_(2)O_(3)is investigated as well as the properties of sensor layers based on these compounds.During the synthesis of In_(2)O_(3),intermediate products In(OH)_(3)and InOOH are formed,which are the precursors of stable cubic(c-In_(2)O_(3))and metastable rhombohedral(rh-In_(2)O_(3))phases,respectively.A transition from c-In_(2)O_(3)to rh-In_(2)O_(3)is observed with the addition of CeO_(2).The introduction of cerium into rh-In_(2)O_(3)results in a decrease in the sensor response to hydrogen,while it increases in composites based on c-In_(2)O_(3).The data on the sensor activity of the composites correlate with XPS results in which CeO_(2)causes a decrease in the concentrations of chemisorbed oxygen and oxygen vacancies in rh-In_(2)O_(3).The reverse situation is observed in composites based on c-In_(2)O_(3).Compared to In_(2)O_(3)and CeO_(2)–In_(2)O_(3)obtained by other methods,the synthesized composites demonstrate maximum response to H_(2)at low temperatures by 70–100℃,and have short response time(0.2–0.5 s),short recovery time(6–7 s),and long-term stability.A model is proposed for the dependence of sensitivity on the direction of electron transfer between In_(2)O_(3)and CeO_(2).

Effect of trace oxygen on plasma nitriding of titanium foil

Titanium nitride films are prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method on titanium foil using N_(2) as precursor. In order to evaluate the effect of oxygen on the growth of titanium nitride films, a small amount of O_(2) is introduced into the preparation process. The study indicates that trace O_(2) addition into the reaction chamber gives rise to significant changes on the color and micro-morphology of the foil, featuring dense and long nano-wires. The as-synthesized nanostructures are characterized by various methods and identified as TiN, Ti_(2) N, and TiO_(2) respectively. Moreover, the experiment results show that oxide nanowire has a high degree of crystallinity and the nitrides present specific orientation relationships with the titanium matrix.

Development of 400-μW cryogen-free dilution refrigerators for quantum experiments

We have successfully developed cryogen-free dilution refrigerators with medium cooling power that can be applied to quantum experiments. Breakthroughs have been made in some key technologies and components of heat switches and dilution units. Our prototype has been running continuously and stably for more than 100 hours below 10 m K, with a minimum temperature of 7.6 m K and a cooling power of 450 μW at 100 m K. At the same time, we have also made progress in the application of dilution refrigerators, such as quantum computing, low-temperature detector, and magnet integration. These indicators and test results indicate good prospects for application in physics, astronomy, and quantum information.