Strain Anisotropy and Magnetic Domains in Embedded Nanomagnets

Nanoscale modifications of strain and magnetic anisotropy can open pathways to engineering magnetic domains for device applications. A periodic magnetic domain structure can be stabilized in sub‐200 nm wide linear as well as curved magnets, embedded within a flat non‐ferromagnetic thin film. The nanomagnets are produced within a non‐ferromagnetic B2‐ordered Fe₆₀Al₄₀ thin film, where local irradiation by a focused ion beam causes the formation of disordered and strongly ferromagnetic regions of A2 Fe₆₀Al₄₀. An anisotropic lattice relaxation is observed, such that the in‐plane lattice parameter is larger when measured parallel to the magnet short‐axis as compared to its length. This in‐plane structural anisotropy manifests a magnetic anisotropy contribution, generating an easy‐axis parallel to the short axis. The competing effect of the strain and shape anisotropies stabilizes a periodic domain pattern in linear as well as spiral nanomagnets, providing a versatile and geometrically controllable path to engineering the strain and thereby the magnetic anisotropy at the nanoscale.     

定向凝固镍基合金DZ444声学特性的各向异性

选取定向凝固镍基高温合金DZ444不同方向片状试样,利用电子背散射衍射等技术表征晶体取向和微观组织,利用脉冲回波技术分析纵波声速和声衰减系数。结果表明:两声学特性呈各向异性,随着试样平面法向与凝固方向之间夹角φ由0°到45°再到90°,纵波声速由5533m/s增大到6595m/s后又降至5634m/s,而声衰减系数逐渐增大,变化约0.19dB/mm;对信号频谱分析发现,表面回波与一次底波的主频差值、主频幅值差值及表观积分反射系数均逐渐增大,这主要是由微观组织和晶体取向差异造成的。     

Symmetry‐Reduction Enhanced Polarization‐Sensitive Photodetection in Core–Shell SbI3/Sb2O3 van der Waals Heterostructure

Structural symmetry is a simple way to quantify the anisotropic properties of materials toward unique device applications including anisotropic transportation and polarization‐sensitive photodetection. The enhancement of anisotropy can be achieved by artificial symmetry‐reduction design. A core–shell SbI₃/Sb₂O₃ nanowire, a heterostructure bonded by van der Waals forces, is introduced as an example of enhancing the performance of polarization‐sensitive photodetectors via symmetry reduction. The structural, vibrational, and optical anisotropies of such core–shell nanostructures are systematically investigated. It is found that the anisotropic absorbance of a core–shell nanowire is obviously higher than that of two single compounds from both theoretical and experimental investigations. Anisotropic photocurrents of the polarization‐sensitive photodetectors based on these core–shell SbI₃/Sb₂O₃ van der Waals nanowires are measured ranging from ultraviolet (UV) to visible light (360–532 nm). Compared with other van der Waals 1D materials, low anisotropy ratio (I_max/I_min) is measured based on SbI₃ but a device based on this core–shell nanowire possesses a relatively high anisotropy ratio of ≈3.14 under 450 nm polarized light. This work shows that the low‐symmetrical core–shell van der Waals heterostructure has large potential to be applied in wide range polarization‐sensitive photodetectors.     

仿生各向异性高分子人工瓣膜制备及性能研究（英文）

人体心脏瓣膜具有力学各向异性特征,使其能够承受长期的开合循环负荷.本文采用静电纺丝法分别制备了具有各向异性(anisotropic silk fibroin,ASF)和各向同性(isotropic silk fibroin,ISF)的丝素蛋白纤维膜,并进一步与聚乙二醇二丙烯酸酯(poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate,PEGDA)水凝胶结合,作为人工高分子瓣膜材料(PEGDA-ASF和PEGDA-ISF).有限元分析结果表明PEGDA-ASF瓣膜在心脏舒张期的最大主应力值(2.20 MPa)低于PEGDA-ISF瓣膜(2.37 MPa).与人体瓣膜相似,收缩期时PEGDA-ASF瓣膜在瓣叶根部附近会产生一个弯折区域,而PEGDA-ISF瓣膜的弯折区却接近瓣叶的自由边缘.此外,PEGDA-ASF瓣膜在打开过程中,能够通过动态调整弯折区域获得较为平滑的表面形貌.因此,人工高分子瓣膜的各向异性特征对于实现其与人体瓣膜相似的力学和流体动力学行为起着至关重要的作用.     

On higher order parameters in cracked composite plates under far‐field pure shear

This paper presents the analytical solution of the crack tip fields as well as the crack parameters in an infinitely large composite plate with a central crack subjected to pure shear loading. To this end, the complex variable method is employed to formulate an asymptotic solution for the crack tip fields in an anisotropic plane. Using a stress‐based definition of the crack tip modes of loading, only the mode II crack parameters are found to be non‐zero under pure shear load. Special focus is given to the determination of the higher order parameters of the crack tip asymptotic field, particularly the first non‐singular term, ie, the T‐stress. Unlike the isotropic materials, in which the T‐stress is zero under pure shear, it is found that the T‐stress is non‐zero for the case of anisotropic materials, being the only material‐dependent crack tip stress parameter. The veracity of our exact crack tip fields is assessed and verified through a comparison made with respect to the finite element (FE) solution. Finally, we demonstrate the significance of the T‐stress on stresses near the crack tip in composite plates under pure shear loads.     

Fluorescence Anisotropy Reloaded—Emerging Polarization Microscopy Methods for Assessing Chromophores' Organization and Excitation Energy Transfer in Single Molecules,Particles, Films,and Beyond

Fluorescence polarization is widely used to assess the orientation/rotation of molecules, and the excitation energy transfer between closely located chromophores. Emerging since the 1990s, single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging stimulate the application of light polarization for studying molecular organization and energy transfer beyond ensemble averaging. Here, traditional fluorescence polarization and linear dichroism methods used for bulk samples are compared with techniques specially developed for, or inspired by, single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy. Techniques for assessing energy transfer in anisotropic samples, where the traditional fluorescence anisotropy framework is not readily applicable, are discussed in depth. It is shown that the concept of a polarization portrait and the single funnel approximation can lay the foundation for alternative energy transfer metrics. Examples ranging from fundamental studies of photoactive materials (conjugated polymers, light‐harvesting aggregates, and perovskite semiconductors) to Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET)‐based biomedical imaging are presented. Furthermore, novel uses of light polarization for super‐resolution optical imaging are mentioned as well as strategies for avoiding artifacts in polarization microscopy.     

Implementation of a new strain split to model unilateral contact within the phase field method

A new orthogonal split of strain tensor into compressive and tensile parts is implemented within the phase field model to mimic unilateral contact condition with which any existing cracks and any crack propagation have to comply. The resulting phase field model offers several advantages as compared to other available schemes. First, it involves rigorous orthogonality between traction and compression parts. Second, it yields remarkably simple, new analytical expressions of the projectors which provide computational saving during the crack propagation simulation. Finally, it can be applied to arbitrary initial elastic anisotropic media, which is not the case of other available strain tensor split operators. A detailed comparison of the fracture responses predicted by the present model and other approaches is provided. It is shown that the present orthogonal decomposition is able to accurately predict experimental results and removes spurious effects found in other schemes for specific loads like compression.     

Phase-field modeling of brittle fracture in a 3D polycrystalline material via an adaptive isogeometric-meshfree approach

Phase-field modeling, which introduces the regularized representation of sharp crack topologies, provides a convenient strategy for tackling 3D fracture problems. In this work, an adaptive isogeometric-meshfree approach is developed for the phase-field modeling of brittle fracture in a 3D polycrystalline material. The isogeometric-meshfree approach uses moving least-squares approximations to construct the equivalence between isogeometric basis functions and meshfree shape functions, thus inheriting the flexible local mesh refinement scheme from a meshfree method. This refinement scheme is improved by introducing an error estimator that includes both the phase field and its gradient. With the present approach, numerical implementations of the adaptive phase-field modeling that introduces the anisotropy of fracture resistance in polycrystals are proposed. In this way, propagating cracks can be dynamically tracked, and the mesh near cracks is refined in a meshfree manner without requiring a priori knowledge of crack paths. Furthermore, the intergranular and transgranular crack propagation patterns in polycrystalline materials can be simulated by the present approach. A series of numerical examples that deal with the isotropic and anisotropic fracture are investigated to demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Generalized radial‐return mapping algorithm for anisotropic von Mises plasticity framed in material eigenspace

A computationally efficient integration algorithm for anisotropic plasticity is proposed, which is identified as a generalization of the radial‐return mapping algorithm to anisotropy. The algorithm is based upon formulation within the eigenspace of a material anisotropy tensor associated with anisotropic quadratic von Mises (J₂) plasticity (also called Hill plasticity), for which it is shown to ensure that the flow rule remains associative, ie, the normality condition is satisfied. Extension of the algorithm to include anisotropic elasticity (anisotropic elastoplasticity) is further provided, made possible by the identification of a certain fourth‐order material tensor dependent on both the elastic and plastic anisotropy. The derivation of the fully elastoplastically anisotropic algorithm involves further complexity, but the resulting algorithm is shown to closely resemble the purely plastically anisotropic one once the appropriate eigenspace is identified. The proposed generalized radial‐return algorithm is compared to a classical closest‐point projection algorithm, for which it is shown to provide considerable advantage in computational cost. The efficiency, accuracy, and robustness of the algorithm are demonstrated through various illustrative test cases and in the finite element simulation of Taylor impact tests on tantalum.     

Designer Shape Anisotropy on Transition‐Metal‐Dichalcogenide Nanosheets

MoS₂ and generally speaking, the wide family of transition‐metal dichalcogenides represents a solid nanotechnology platform on which to engineer a wealth of new and outperforming applications involving 2D materials. An even richer flexibility can be gained by extrinsically inducing an in‐plane shape anisotropy of the nanosheets. Here, the synthesis of anisotropic MoS₂ nanosheets is proposed as a prototypical example in this respect starting from a highly conformal chemical vapor deposition on prepatterend substrates and aiming at the more general purpose of tailoring anisotropy of 2D nanosheets by design. This is envisioned to be a suitable configuration for strain engineering as far as strain can be spatially redistributed in morphologically different regions. With a similar approach, both the optical and electronic properties of the 2D transition‐metal dichalcogenides can be tailored over macroscopic sample areas in a self‐organized fashion, thus paving the way for new applications in the field of optical metasurfaces, light harvesting, and catalysis.