Joakim Bäckström

Temperature-dependent spectral generalized magneto-optical ellipsometry

We present a setup for temperature-dependent spectral generalized magneto-optical ellipsometry (SGME). This technique gives access to the electronic as well as the magnetic properties of ferromagnetic materials within one single magneto-optical measurement. It also allows the determination of the orientation of the magnetization. We show spectra of the real and the imaginary part of the refractive index N as well as the magneto-optical coupling parameter Q of permalloy and iron films for in-plane magnetization. Our findings demonstrate the relevance of SGME for the understanding of the interplay between electronic and magnetic properties of ferromagnetics.

Temperature-dependent spectral generalized magneto-optical ellipsometry for ferromagnetic compounds

Spectral generalized magneto-optical ellipsometry is presented as an optical tool for the simultaneous measurement of the complex index of refraction n=n+ik, the complex magneto-optical coupling parameter Q=Qr+iQi (i.e., the Voigt-parameter), and the orientation of the saturation magnetization Ms of isotropic ferromagnetic bulk materials. For wavelengths between 220nm and 790nm and at temperatures between 4.2K and 800K measurements on iron and permalloy demonstrate the comfortable application of this technique in order to resolve the spectral response of spin-polarized carriers and bands, which can provide valuable insight about the formation of the ferromagnetic state.

Exfoliated MoS2 in Water without Additives

Many solution processing methods of exfoliation of layered materials have been studied during the last few years; most of them are based on organic solvents or rely on surfactants and other funtionalization agents. Pure water should be an ideal solvent, however, it is generally believed, based on solubility theories that stable dispersions of water could not be achieved and systematic studies are lacking. Here we describe the use of water as a solvent and the stabilization process involved therein. We introduce an exfoliation method of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) in pure water at high concentration (i.e., 0.14 ± 0.01 g L−1). This was achieved by thinning the bulk MoS2 by mechanical exfoliation between sand papers and dispersing it by liquid exfoliation through probe sonication in water. We observed thin MoS2 nanosheets in water characterized by TEM, AFM and SEM images. The dimensions of the nanosheets were around 200 nm, the same range obtained in organic solvents. Electrophoretic mobility measurements indicated that electrical charges may be responsible for the stabilization of the dispersions. A probability decay equation was proposed to compare the stability of these dispersions with the ones reported in the literature. Water can be used as a solvent to disperse nanosheets and although the stability of the dispersions may not be as high as in organic solvents, the present method could be employed for a number of applications where the dispersions can be produced on site and organic solvents are not desirable.

Inkjet Fabrication of Copper Patterns for Flexible Electronics: Using Paper with Active Precoatings

Low-cost solution-processing of highly conductive films is important for the expanding market of printed electronics. For roll-to-roll manufacturing, suitable flexible substrates and compatible postprocessing are essential. Here, custom-developed coated papers are demonstrated to facilitate the inkjet fabrication of high performance copper patterns. The patterns are fabricated in ambient conditions using water-based CuO dispersion and intense pulsed light (IPL) processing. Papers using a porous CaCO3 precoating, combined with an acidic mesoporous absorption coating, improve the effectiveness and reliability of the IPL process. The processing is realizable within 5 ms, using a single pulse of light. A resistivity of 3.1 ± 0.12 μΩ·cm is achieved with 400 μm wide conductors, corresponding to more than 50% of the conductivity of bulk copper. This is higher than previously reported results for IPL-processed copper.

Metal-free supercapacitor with aqueous electrolyte and low-cost carbon materials

Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) or supercapacitors (SCs) are fast energy storage devices with high pulse efficiency and superior cyclability, which makes them useful in various applications including electronics, vehicles and grids. Aqueous SCs are considered to be more environmentally friendly than those based on organic electrolytes. Because of the corrosive nature of the aqueous environment, however, expensive electrochemically stable materials are needed for the current collectors and electrodes in aqueous SCs. This results in high costs for a given energy-storage capacity. To address this, we developed a novel low-cost aqueous SC using graphite foil as the current collector and a mix of graphene, nanographite, simple water-purification carbons and nanocellulose as electrodes. The electrodes were coated directly onto the graphite foil by using casting frames and the SCs were assembled in a pouch cell design. With this approach, we achieved a material cost reduction of greater than 90% while maintaining approximately one-half of the specific capacitance of a commercial unit, thus demonstrating that the proposed SC can be an environmentally friendly, low-cost alternative to conventional SCs.

Thickness dependent phase separation in La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 films

The complex dielectric function of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 films with various thicknesses and on different substrates was determined by the analysis of measured ellipsometric parameters. The temperature-dependent redistribution of low-energy spectral weight shows that the metallicity is developed gradually below an onset temperature that is found to depend strongly on global and local strain properties, not on film thickness alone. Importantly, the 2 nm film shows no metallic conduction but an optical charge-carrier response below 240 K. This suggests that ultrathin films are characterized by phase separation and a percolation-type transition.

Fully reflective deep ultraviolet to near infrared spectrometer and entrance optics for resonance Raman spectroscopy

We present the design and performance of a new triple-grating deep ultraviolet to near-infrared spectrometer. The system is fully achromatic due to the use of reflective optics. The minimization of image aberrations by using on- and off- axis parabolic mirrors as well as elliptical mirrors yields a strong stray light rejection with high resolution over a wavelength range between 165 and 1000nm. The Raman signal is collected with a reflective entrance objective with a numerical aperture of 0.5, featuring a Cassegrain-type design. Resonance Raman studies on semiconductors and on correlated compounds, such as LaMnO3, highlight the performance of this instrument, and show diverse resonance effects between 1.96 and 5.4eV.

A simple and reproducible way to synthesize PrBa2Cu4O8 under 1 atm of oxygen by amorphous citrate method

Abstract A simple aqueous solution technique utilizing citric acid (CA) as a complexant was applied to prepare PrBa 2 Cu 4 O 8 (Pr124) at ambient oxygen pressure. Heating of a mixed-solution of CA, water (H 2 O) and ions of Pr, Ba and Cu with a molar ratio of [CA]:[H 2 O]:[Pr+Ba+Cu]=3.6:40:1 on a hot-plate set at 200°C produced a transparent amorphous citrate “gel” without any precipitation, which after heat-treatment at 450°C was converted to a precursor for Pr124. The Pr124 compound with only minor traces of BaCuO 2 , PrBaO 3 and CuO formed after heat-treating the precursor twice at 850°C for 60 h under 1 atm oxygen pressure. The amount of impurities in the citrate-derived Pr124 was approximately half of that in the best sample previously prepared by the more elaborate high-pressure technique.

Nanoscale characterization of crystallinity in DSA ® coating

Dimensionally Stable Anodes (DSA (R)) are used for industrial production of e. g. chlorine and chlorate. It is known that the superior electrocatalytical properties of DSA (R) is due to the large e ...

Resonant Raman scattering and photoinduced metastability in oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3Ox☆

Abstract We studied the photoinduced metastable states in oxygen-deficient YBa 2 Cu 3 O x (Y123) ( x =6.35–6.87). The states are identified by the intensity dependences of CuO-chain resonance on photo irradiation and temperature. Below room temperature (RT) the CuO-chain resonance can be completely suppressed by irradiation with visible light polarized along the CuO chains, indicating photo-assisted oxygen ordering. Above RT, the resonance intensity returns and saturates at T >100°C. This behavior exactly reflects the temperature dependence of chain oxygen ordering in the same crystals observed by hard X-ray diffraction. The stability of the photo-induced state is in agreement with reported persistent photo-induced superconductivity effects.