Deciphering phase evolution in complex metal oxide thin films via high-throughput materials synthesis and characterization.

Discovery of structure-property relationships in thin film alloys of complex metal oxides enabled by high-throughput materials synthesis and characterization facilities is demonstrated here with a case-study. Thin films of binary transition metal oxides (Ti-Zn) are prepared by pulsed laser deposition with continuously varying Ti:Zn ratio, creating combinatorial samples for exploration of the properties of this material family. The atomic structure and electronic properties are probed by spatially resolved techniques including x-ray absorption near edge structures (XANES) and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) at the Ti and Zn K-edge, x-ray diffraction, and spectroscopic ellipsometry.

Giant Thermoelectric Power Factor Anisotropy in PtSbSn.

We report on the giant anisotropy found in the thermoelectric power factor (σ) of marcasite structure-type PtSbSn single crystal. PtSbSn, synthesized using an ambient pressure flux growth method upon mixing Sb and Sn on the same atomic site, is a new phase different from both PtSb and PtSn, which crystallize in the cubic Pa3̅ pyrite and Fm3̅m fluorite unit cell symmetry, respectively. The large difference in σ for heat flow applied along different principal directions of the orthorhombic unit cell stems mostly from anisotropic Seebeck coefficients.

Short-Range Crystalline Order-Tuned Conductivity in CrSiTe van der Waals Magnetic Crystals.

Two-dimensional magnetic materials (2DMMs) are significant not only for studies on the nature of 2D long-range magnetic order but also for future spintronic devices. Of particular interest are 2DMMs where spins can be manipulated by electrical conduction. Whereas CrSiTe exhibits magnetic order in few-layer crystals, its large band gap inhibits electronic conduction.

Suppression of Superconductivity and Nematic Order in FeSeS (0 ≤ ≤ 1; ≤ 0.1) Crystals by Anion Height Disorder.

Connections between crystal chemistry and critical temperature have been in the focus of superconductivity, one of the most widely studied phenomena in physics, chemistry, and materials science alike. In most Fe-based superconductors, materials chemistry and physics conspire so that correlates with the average anion height above the Fe plane, i.e.

The Inner Shell Spectroscopy beamline at NSLS-II: a facility for in situ and operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy for materials research.

The Inner Shell Spectroscopy (ISS) beamline on the 8-ID station at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), Upton, NY, USA, is a high-throughput X-ray absorption spectroscopy beamline designed for in situ, operando, and time-resolved material characterization using high monochromatic flux and scanning speed. This contribution discusses the technical specifications of the beamline in terms of optics, heat load management, monochromator motion control, and data acquisition and processing. Results of the beamline tests demonstrating the quality of the data obtainable on the instrument, possible energy scanning speeds, as well as long-term beamline stability are shown.