Scientific Highlights
Nucleation of synthetic antiferromagnetic skyrmions
Magnetic skyrmions stabilized in synthetic antiferromagnets hold promise as nanoscale information carriers in novel non-volatile magnetic memory designs. In this work, scientists in a worldwide collaborative effort have demonstrated the electrically-induced nucleation of magnetic skyrmions in synthetic antiferromagnets, which is a vital stepping stone towards the applicability of these magnetic textures in devices.
Ferrimagnetic Skyrmions: fast and straight
Scientists have demonstrated, through magnetic X-ray microscopy, that magnetic skyrmions stabilized in ferrimagnetic heterostructures can be displaced by electrical currents at high velocities, and exhibit low deflection angles, proving that ferrimagnetic skyrmions are good candidates for fast skyrmionic devices.
In situ alloying during additive manufacturing
In situ alloying is an effective method to engineer microstructures of additively manufactured Ti6Al4V3Fe alloys.
Alexander Grimm wins 2022 Nicholas Kurti prize
We are happy to announce that Alex has been awarded the 2022 Nicholas Kurti Science prize. The prize recognises his work on non-linear effects in Josephson junctions for quantum information processing.
Two types of charge order with distinct interplay with superconductivity in the kagome material CsV3Sb5
The kagome metals of the family AV3Sb5, featuring a unique structural motif, harbor an array of intriguing phenomena such as chiral charge order and superconductivity. CsV3Sb5 is of particular interest because it displays a double superconducting dome in the region of the temperature-pressure phase diagram where charge order is still present. However, the microscopic origin of such an unusual behavior remains an unsolved issue. Here, to address it, we combine high-pressure, low-temperature muon spin relaxation/rotation with first-principles calculations. We observe ....
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)...
Capturing control errors in quantum annealing
The real-world application of this type of quantum computing gets one step closer with a new method to capture errors while qubits are talking to each other.
Three PSI research facilities reveal magnetic crossover
Insights from the Swiss Muon Source, Swiss Spallation Neutron Source and Swiss Light Source reveal this coveted characteristic in an exotic layered material.
CASH+ solid solution cement model
A new incrementally extendable thermodynamic model, CASH+, was developed, aimed at accurately describing equilibrium composition, solubility, and elemental uptake of C-A-S-H gel-like phases at varying chemical conditions in cement systems. Cement is widely used as matrix and backfill for low and intermediate level waste. Calcium-Aluminum-Silicate Hydrates (C-A-S-H) are the most important binding phases in cement. They are also responsible for the initial entrapment of radionuclides via sorption or solid solution formation mechanisms. Therefore, the thermodynamic modelling of C-A-S-H stability, solubility and interaction with radionuclides in cement porewater is crucial for understanding hydration, blending, degradation of cement-based materials and for the performance assessment of cementitious repositories.
The Effects of Hydrophobicity Treatment of Gas Diffusion Layer on Ice Crystallization in PEFCs
Water management is crucial to the successful cold-start in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). The sudden freeze of supercooled water blocks the reactant gas in the cathode and causes rapid voltage failure. In this work, we statistically evaluated the effects of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) substrate, size, saturation, and the coating loads and methods of hydrophobic polymer on the freezing probability of supercooled water by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).