Morphology-dependent spin Seebeck effect in yttrium iron garnet thin films prepared by metal-organic decomposition

In this study, we examined the dependence of surface morphology and spin Seebeck effect (SSE) voltages on the poly[vinylpyrrolidone] (PVP) concentration in polycrystalline Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ (YIG) ultrathin films on a silicon substrate synthesized by metal-organic decomposition followed by a crystallization process. During fabrication, PVP concentrations of 0.5–2 g were used while all other conditions remained fixed. Atomic force microscopy and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements revealed a strong dependence of crystallinity and sample morphology on PVP concentration. The 1-g PVP sample had the smoothest surface, with a root mean square roughness of 0.2 nm, as well as superior bulk uniformity with respect to the shape and intensity of XRD reflection peaks. This was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy measurements of a cross-section of the sample that revealed a uniform film without pores. SSE measurements were performed to obtain the output SSE voltages (V_SSE) of all samples, to which a platinum layer was added as a spin-detection layer. Repeatedly, the 1-g PVP sample had the best performance, demonstrating the importance of film crystallinity and morphology in the spin-to-charge conversion efficiency of YIG films.     

White light emission based on both upconversion and thermal processes from Nd3+ doped yttrium silicate

In the present study, white light emission based on both upconversion and thermal processes from single-phase yttrium silicate nanopowder doped with Neodymium (III) (Nd³⁺) was investigated at both room pressure and vacuum (0.01 mbar) with a diode laser excitation of 808 nm. 1% Nd³⁺ doped (per mole) yttrium silicate (Y₂O₃:SiO₂) nanopowder was synthesized by using the sol-gel method and annealed at 1250 °C for 12 h to obtain the powder form. Emission for upconverted white light mainly due to the transitions of Nd³⁺ ions was obtained below ~ 5.79 W of the laser beam power at atmospheric pressure. For powers exceeding ~ 5.79 W, the powder emitted a thermal white light (WL) due to the photon avalanche mechanism together with thermal processes. The threshold power to obtain thermal white light with the transitions of Nd³⁺ ions was decreased to ~ 3.51 W at the vacuum condition. These processes were investigated in detail by studying the spectral differences of the rise and decay patterns at atmospheric pressure and vacuum conditions.     

Pulsed laser deposition of Y2O3 : Eu thin film phosphors

Thin films of Y₂O₃ : Eu cathodoluminescent (CL) phosphors were deposited using pulsed laser deposition using deposition temperature between 250°C and 800°C, O₂ pressures between residual vacuum (2×10⁻⁵ Torr) and 6 Torr, and post annealing up to 1200° for 1 h in air. The CL efficiency of the best thin film was about one third that of the starting powder. The brightness and efficiency of the thin films improved as the deposition temperature, O₂ pressure and post annealing temperature were increased, except that O₂ pressures above 600 mTorr did not significantly improve the CL properties. At deposition temperatures >600°C, the surface morphology changed from a smooth film to a nodular deposit for O₂ pressures >200 mTorr, with nodule dimensions ≈100 nm. Simultaneously, the CL properties improved dramatically because of enhanced optical scattering out of the thin film. Optical scattering was discussed in terms of anomalous diffraction. The CL properties also improved dramatically with high temperature post annealing. This effect was interpreted in terms of improved crystallinity and activation of the Eu. The low brightness and efficiency of thin films versus powder was affected by depletion of the Eu in the thin films owing to the deposition process.     

Elaboration and characterization of yttrium implanted low manganese steel.

Low manganese steel samples were yttrium implanted using ion implantation technique. Sample compositions and structures were investigated before and after yttrium implantations to determine the yttrium distribution in low manganese steel. Yttrium implantation depth profiles were characterized using conventional techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD) and a nuclear analytical method: Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS). The aim of this study is to show that correlation between composition and structural analyses allows to understand the effect of implanting yttrium in low manganese steel.     

Identification of charge‐transfer transition between Gd3+ to O2− in gadolinium‐containing oxide phosphors in VUV region

Abstract— The broad bands at around 155 nm for GdAl₃(BO₃)₄:Eu, at 184 nm for Ca₄GdO(BO₃)₃:Eu, at 183 nm for Gd₂SiO₅:Eu, and at 170 nm for GdAlO₃:Eu were observed. These bands were assigned to the charge‐transfer (CT) transition of Gd³⁺‐O^2?. In the excitation spectrum of (Gd,Y)BO₃:Eu, a broadened excitation band was observed in VUV region. It could be considered that this band was composed of two bands at about 160 and 166 nm. The preceding band was assigned to the BO₃ group absorption. The later one at about 166 nm could be assigned to the CT transition of Gd³⁺‐O^2?, according to the result of GdAl₃(BO₃)₄:Eu, Ca₄GdO(BO₃)₃:Eu, Gd₂SiO₅:Eu, and GdAlO₃:Eu. The excitation spectra overlapped between the CT transition of Gd³⁺‐O^2? and BO₃ groups absorption. It caused the emission of Eu³⁺ to take place effectively in the trivalent europium‐doped (Gd,Y)BO₃ host lattice under 147‐nm excitation.     

Influence of yttrium as a minority alloying element on the corrosion behavior in Fe-based bulk metallic glasses

The role of yttrium in corrosion behavior in an HCl solution was studied systematically by comparing bulk FeCrMoCB metallic glasses with and without yttrium. The corrosion resistance was very sensitive to minor yttrium addition. The material exhibits a detrimental effect on corrosion resistance at 0.5 at.% yttrium addition while a beneficial effect at more yttrium additions. Such effects are argued to be associated with variations of the semiconductor properties of passive film (i.e. defects concentration and band structure of passive film), induced by minority yttrium alloying element doping. It was shown that there exhibits a bi-layer structure of passive film on Fe-based metallic glasses. The outer layer with high valence cations is responsible for the dissolution behavior of the passive film, whereas the inner layer with doped oxides connects with the semiconductor properties. This result presents us an important hint that the corrosion resistance of metallic glasses can be improved by elaborately tailoring the defect structure of passive film via proper additions of minor alloying elements.     

Ball milling assisted preparation of nano La–Y/ZrO2 powder ternary oxide system: Influence of doping amounts

Zirconia powder with good dispersion, fine particle size, and stability is used as high-quality raw material in many fields, such as ceramic materials and refractories. In this paper, the influence of lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃) and yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃) co-doped zirconia (ZrO₂) on its phase transformation behavior, phase stability, and microstructure were investigated. The ball milling method is applied to fabricate different amounts of La₂O₃-doped yttrium oxide stabilized zirconia oxide. Then, the powder obtained from ball milling was roasted using the microwave sintering method. The samples were characterized using XRD, FT-IR, Raman, SEM and BET to determine the optimal conditions for La₂O₃–Y₂O₃ co-doped ZrO₂ powder. The results showed that replacing part of Y₂O₃ with La₂O₃ increases zirconia powder's tetragonal and cubic phase, enhancing the fracture strength of the subsequent synthesized materials. At the same time, the stability of zirconia stabilized with La₂O₃ doping is significantly improved compared to that of Y₂O₃ alone. According to all analysis methods, when the doping amount is 2.8Y0.2La, the powder's phase composition, stability, particle size distribution, and dispersion degree are the best compared with other doping amounts in our study. The obtained powder has a smaller specific surface area, a lower surface energy, a smaller porosity, and a higher density. The samples under this condition can be better used in subsequent materials. The enhancement of various properties of zirconia can significantly prolong the service life of materials in practical applications.     

Electrochemical Behavior of Yttrium in Dimethylsulfoxide

Rareearthsandtheiralloysarewidelyusedinmagnetic,opticalandelectricmaterials.Butitisdifficulttoelectrodepositerareearthsandtheirall0ysinaqueouss0lutionsduetotheactiv-ityofrareearths.Thetemperatureofmoltensaltssystemwouldhehigh.Iftherareearthsandtheiralloyscanhepreparedinorganicsolventatroomtemperaturebyelectrodeposition,itwillgreatlyenhancetheirapplicationrangesasfunc-tional.at.ri.l.[l~4j.Inthepaper,thec0nduc-tivityofYCla-liCl0`-DMS0systemwasmea-sured,andtheelectrochemicalbehavi0rofY3 wasinv…     

Physicochemical properties of Ni-loaded yttrium stabilized zirconia nanotubes for solid oxide fuel cells

Yttrium-stabilized zirconia nanotubes (YSZNTs) were prepared using a conventional hydrothermal method, and their characteristics were compared with those of yttrium-stabilized zirconia nanoparticles (YSZNPs) synthesized in this study and with those of commercial YSZNPs (CYSZNPs). YSZNTs had widths and lengths of 20–30 nm and 100–700 nm respectively. The electrical conductivity of NiO (60.0 wt%)-loaded YSZNTs (40.0 wt%) was higher than those of NiO/YSZNPs and NiO/CYSZNPs at the same NiO loading. The zeta-potentials of YSZNTs in aqueous solution, determined by electrophoretic light scattering (ELS), indicated high positive surface charges at lower pH values, which is known to be related to surface stability, but negative values at high pH. The results of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and H₂-temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR) confirmed that NiO(60.0 wt%)/YSZNTs (E_red = −0.445 mV) were more reduced than NiO/YSZNPs (E_red = −0.517 mV) and NiO/CYSZNPs (E_red = −0.516 mV).     

高能氩离子在钇铁石榴石中引起的非晶化研究

用倾斜样品Ｘ射线学和饱和磁化强度测量，研究了９６０ＭｅＶ氩离子在多晶钇铁石榴（ＹＩＧ）Ｙ３Ｆｅ５Ｏ１２中引起的非晶化过程。分析结果表明，９６０Ｍｅ氩离子辐照引起ＹＩＧ晶态→非昌态转变是一个逐渐的过程，在这个过程中电子能损起主导作用但也需要一定的辐照剂量。