Scientific Highlights
A practical guide to pulsed laser deposition
Nanoscale thin films are widely implemented across a plethora of technological and scientific areas, and form the basis for many advancements that have driven human progress, owing to the high degree of functional tunability based on the chemical composition. Pulsed laser deposition is one of the multiple physical vapour deposition routes to fabricate thin films, employing laser energy to eject material from a target in the form of a plasma ...
Fate of charge order in overdoped La-based cuprates
In high-temperature cuprate superconductors, stripe order refers broadly to a coupled spin and charge modulation with a commensuration of eight and four lattice units, respectively. How this stripe order evolves across optimal doping remains a controversial question. Here we present a systematic resonant inelastic x-ray scattering study of weak charge correlations in La2−xSrxCuO4 and La1.8−xEu0.2SrxCuO4. Ultra high energy resolution experiments demonstrate the importance of the separation of inelastic and elastic scattering processes.
Crossover of high-energy spin fluctuations from collective triplons to localized magnetic excitations in Sr14−xCaxCu24O41 ladder
We studied the magnetic excitations in the quasi-one-dimensional (q-1D) ladder subsystem of Sr14−xCaxCu24O41 (SCCO) using Cu L3-edge resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). By comparing momentum-resolved RIXS spectra with high (x = 12.2) and without (x = 0) Ca content, we track the evolution of the magnetic excitations from collective two-triplon (2 T) excitations (x = 0) to weakly- dispersive gapped modes at an energy of 280 meV (x = 12.2)...
Low-temperature magnetic crossover in the topological kagome magnet TbMn6Sn6
Magnetic topological phases of quantum matter are an emerging frontier in physics and materials science, of which kagome magnets appear as a highly promising platform. Here, we explore magnetic correlations in the recently identified topological kagome system TbMn6Sn6 using muon spin rotation, combined with local field analysis and neutron diffraction. Our studies identify an out-of-plane ferrimagnetic structure with slow magnetic fluctuations which exhibit a critical slowing down below T*C1 ≃ 120 K and finally freeze into static patches with ideal out-of-plane order below TC1 ≃ 20 K....
Reconfigurable halide perovskite nanocrystal memristors for neuromorphic computing
Many in-memory computing frameworks demand electronic devices with specific switching characteristics to achieve the desired level of computational complexity. Existing memristive devices cannot be reconfigured to meet the diverse volatile and non-volatile switching requirements, and hence rely on tailored material designs specific to the targeted application, limiting their universality. “Reconfigurable memristors” that combine both ionic diffusive and drift mechanisms could address these limitations, but they remain elusive. Here we present a reconfigurable halide perovskite nanocrystal memristor that achieves on-demand switching between diffusive/volatile and drift/non-volatile modes by controllable electrochemical reactions.
A look into the magnetic future
PSI researchers are the first to observe a specific behaviour of magnetic ice.
Spin-triplet superconductivity in Weyl nodal-line semimetals
Topological semimetals are three dimensional materials with symmetry-protected massless bulk excitations. As a special case, Weyl nodal-line semimetals are realized in materials having either no inversion or broken time-reversal symmetry and feature bulk nodal lines. The 111-family, including LaNiSi, LaPtSi and LaPtGe materials (all lacking inversion symmetry), belongs to this class. Here, by combining muon-spin rotation and relaxation with thermodynamic measurements, we find that these materials exhibit a fully- gapped superconducting ground state, while spontaneously breaking time-reversal symmetry at the superconducting transition.
Direct observation of a dynamical glass transition in a nanomagnetic artificial Hopfield network
Spin glasses, generally defined as disordered systems with randomized competing interactions, are a widely investigated complex system. Theoretical models describing spin glasses are broadly used in other complex systems, such as those describing brain function, error-correcting codes or stock-market dynamics. This wide interest in spin glasses provides strong motivation to generate an artificial spin glass within the framework of artificial spin ice systems. Here we present the experimental realization of an artificial spin glass consisting of dipolar coupled single-domain Ising-type nanomagnets arranged onto an interaction network that replicates the aspects of a Hopfield neural network.
Optical Setup for a Piston-Cylinder Pressure Cell: A Two-Volume Approach
Measurement of the absolute value of the applied pressure in high-pressure muon and neutron experiments is a complicated task. It often requires the presence of a calibration material inside the sample volume, and could also cause additional time to obtain the response of the calibrant. Here we describe the use of optical calibrants for precise determination of the pressure value inside the piston-cylinder clamp cells.