Anti-phase boundary accelerated exsolution of nanoparticles in non-stoichiometric perovskite thin films.

Exsolution of excess transition metal cations from a non-stoichiometric perovskite oxide has sparked interest as a facile route for the formation of stable nanoparticles on the oxide surface. However, the atomic-scale mechanism of this nanoparticle formation remains largely unknown. The present in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with density functional theory calculation revealed that the anti-phase boundaries (APBs) characterized by the a/2 < 011> type lattice displacement accommodate the excess B-site cation (Ni) through the edge-sharing of BO6 octahedra in a non-stoichiometric ABO3 perovskite oxide (La0.2Sr0.7Ni0.1Ti0.9O3-δ) and provide the fast diffusion pathways for nanoparticle formation by exsolution. Moreover, the APBs further promote the outward diffusion of the excess Ni toward the surface as the segregation energy of Ni is lower at the APB/surface intersection. The formation of nanoparticles occurs through the two-step crystallization mechanism, i.e., the nucleation of an amorphous phase followed by crystallization, and via reactive wetting on the oxide support, which facilitates the formation of a stable triple junction and coherent interface, leading to the distinct socketing of nanoparticles to the oxide support. The atomic-scale mechanism unveiled in this study can provide insights into the design of highly stable nanostructures.

Engineering of entanglement and spin state transfer via quantum chains of atomic spins at large separations.

Several recent experiments have shown that long-range exchange interactions can determine collective magnetic ground states of nanostructures in bulk and on surfaces. The ability to generate and control entanglement in a system with long-range interaction will be of great importance for future quantum technology. An important step forward to reach this goal is the creation of entangled states for spins of distant magnetic atoms. Herein, the generation of long-distance entanglement between remote spins at large separations in bulk and on surface is studied theoretically, based on a quantum spin Hamiltonian and time-dependent Schrödinger equation for experimentally realized conditions. We demonstrate that long-distance entanglement can be generated between remote spins by using an appropriate quantum spin chain (a quantum mediator), composed by sets of antiferromagnetically coupled spin dimers. Ground state properties and quantum spin dynamics of entangled atoms are studied. We demonstrate that one can increase or suppress entanglement by adding a single spin in the mediator. The obtained result is explained by monogamy property of entanglement distribution inside a quantum spin system. We present a novel approach for non-local sensing of remote magnetic adatoms via spin entanglement.

Switching of spins and entanglement in surface-supported antiferromagnetic chains.

Previous experimental studies discovered universal growth of chains and nanowires of various chemical elements on a corrugated molecular network of Cu3N on the Cu(110). Herein, performing combined ab initio and quantum Hamiltonian studies we demonstrate that such chains can be used for a fast spin switching and entanglement generation by locally applied magnetic pulses. As an example, we show that in antiferromagnetic Co chains a strong entanglement between ends of chains occurs during spin switching. A novel parity effect in spin dynamics is reported. Even-numbered chains are found to exhibit significantly faster spin switching than odd-numbered counterparts. Moreover, at certain parameters of the system the dimerization effect in the spin dynamics of the chains was found. Our studies give a clear evidence that tailoring spin dynamics and entanglement can be achieved by magnetic fields and by tuning exchange interactions in supported chains.