Self-Assembled Periodic Nanostructures Using Martensitic Phase Transformations.

We describe a novel approach for the rational design and synthesis of self-assembled periodic nanostructures using martensitic phase transformations. We demonstrate this approach in a thin film of perovskite SrSnO3 with reconfigurable periodic nanostructures consisting of regularly spaced regions of sharply contrasted dielectric properties. The films can be designed to have different periodicities and relative phase fractions via chemical doping or strain engineering. The dielectric contrast within a single film can be tuned using temperature and laser wavelength, effectively creating a variable photonic crystal. Our results show the realistic possibility of designing large-area self-assembled periodic structures using martensitic phase transformations with the potential of implementing "built-to-order" nanostructures for tailored optoelectronic functionalities.

Multiscale in-situ characterization of static recrystallization using dark-field X-ray microscopy and high-resolution X-ray diffraction.

Dark-field X-ray microscopy (DFXM) is a high-resolution, X-ray-based diffraction microstructure imaging technique that uses an objective lens aligned with the diffracted beam to magnify a single Bragg reflection. DFXM can be used to spatially resolve local variations in elastic strain and orientation inside embedded crystals with high spatial (~ 60 nm) and angular (~ 0.001°) resolution. However, as with many high-resolution imaging techniques, there is a trade-off between resolution and field of view, and it is often desirable to enrich DFXM observations by combining it with a larger field-of-view technique. Here, we combine DFXM with high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) applied to an in-situ investigation of static recrystallization in an 80% hot-compressed Mg-3.2Zn-0.1Ca wt.% (ZX30) alloy. Using HR-XRD, we track the relative grain volume of > 8000 sub-surface grains during annealing in situ. Then, at several points during the annealing process, we "zoom in" to individual grains using DFXM. This combination of HR-XRD and DFXM enables multiscale characterization, used here to study why particular grains grow to consume a large volume fraction of the annealed microstructure. This technique pairing is particularly useful for small and/or highly deformed grains that are often difficult to resolve using more standard diffraction microstructure imaging techniques.

Measuring stress-induced martensite microstructures using far-field high-energy diffraction microscopy.

Modern X-ray diffraction techniques are now allowing researchers to collect long-desired experimental verification data sets that are in situ, three-dimensional, on the same length scales as critical microstructures, and using bulk samples. These techniques need to be adapted for advanced material systems that undergo combinations of phase transformation, twinning and plasticity. One particular challenge addressed in this article is direct analysis of martensite phases in far-field high-energy diffraction microscopy experiments. Specifically, an algorithmic forward model approach is presented to analyze phase transformation and twinning data sets of shape memory alloys. In the present implementation of the algorithm, the crystallographic theory of martensite (CTM) is used to predict possible martensite microstructures (i.e. martensite orientations, twin mode, habit plane, twin plane and twin phase fractions) that could form from the parent austenite structure. This approach is successfully demonstrated on three single- and near-single-crystal NiTi samples where the fundamental assumptions of the CTM are not upheld. That is, the samples have elastically strained lattices, inclusions, precipitates, subgrains, R-phase transformation and/or are not an infinite plate. The results indicate that the CTM still provides structural solutions that match the experiments. However, the widely accepted maximum work criterion for predicting which solution of the CTM should be preferred by the material does not work in these cases. Hence, a more accurate model that can simulate these additional structural complexities can be used within the algorithm in the future to improve its performance for non-ideal materials.

Engineering SrSnO3 Phases and Electron Mobility at Room Temperature Using Epitaxial Strain.

High-speed electronics require epitaxial films with exceptionally high carrier mobility at room temperature (RT). Alkaline-earth stannates with high RT mobility show outstanding prospects for oxide electronics operating at ambient temperatures. However, despite significant progress over the last few years, mobility in stannate films has been limited by dislocations because of the inability to grow fully coherent films. Here, we demonstrate the growth of coherent, strain-engineered phases of epitaxial SrSnO3 (SSO) films using a radical-based molecular beam epitaxy approach. Compressive strain stabilized the high-symmetry tetragonal phase of SSO at RT, which, in bulk, exists only at temperatures between 1062 and 1295 K. We achieved a mobility enhancement of over 300% in doped films compared with the low-temperature orthorhombic polymorph. Using comprehensive temperature-dependent synchrotron-based X-ray measurements, electronic transport, and first principles calculations, crystal and electronic structures of SSO films were investigated as a function of strain. We argue that strain-engineered films of stannate will enable high mobility oxide electronics operating at RT with the added advantage of being optically transparent.