Bypassing Dynamical Freezing in Artificial Kagome Ice.

Spin liquids are correlated, disordered states of matter that fluctuate even at low temperatures. Experimentally, the extensive degeneracy characterizing their low-energy manifold is expected to be lifted, for example, because of dipolar interactions, leading to an ordered ground state at absolute zero. However, this is not what is usually observed, and many systems, whether they are chemically synthesized or nanofabricated, dynamically freeze before magnetic ordering sets in. In artificial realizations of highly frustrated magnets, ground state configurations, and even low-energy manifolds, thus remain out of reach for practical reasons. Here, we show how dynamical freezing can be bypassed in an artificial kagome ice. We illustrate the efficiency of our method by demonstrating that the a priori dynamically inaccessible ordered ground state and fragmented spin liquid configurations can be obtained reproducibly, imaged in real space at room temperature, and studied conveniently. We then identify the mechanism by which dynamical freezing occurs in the dipolar kagome ice.

Coherent x-ray scattering in an XPEEM setup.

X-ray photoemission electron microscopy, one of the most successful imaging tools at synchrotrons, is known to have limitations related to the application of external fields and to the short electron mean free path. In order to overcome such issues, we adapt an existing XPEEM instrument to simultaneously perform coherent x-ray scattering measurements in reflectivity mode, thus adding a complementary method to XPEEM. Photon-in photon-out x-ray scattering provides the sensitivity to buried interfaces as well as the possibility to work under external fields, which is challenging when using charged particles for imaging. XPEEM, in turn, greatly alleviates the difficulties associated with the reconstruction methods used in coherent diffraction imaging. The combination of the two methods is demonstrated for an artifical spin-ice lattice showing both chemical and magnetic contrast.

Selectively arranged single-wire based nanosensor array systems for gas monitoring.

Gas nanosensors, comprised of arrays of nanoelectrodes with finger-widths of ∼100 nm developed by electron beam lithography and aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposited non-functionalized and Pt-functionalized tungsten oxide nanowires (<100 nm) subsequently integrated across the pairs of electrodes via the dielectrophoresis method, are developed in this work. The functionality of these devices is validated towards various concentrations of NO2 and C2H5OH. The results demonstrate reproducible and consistent responses with better sensitivity and partial selectivity for the non-functionalized systems to NO2, as opposed to the Pt-functionalized systems, which display better sensing properties towards C2H5OH with a loss of response to NO2. These results are explained on the basis of the additional chemical and electronic interactions at the Pt/tungsten oxide interface, which increase the pre-adsorption of oxygen species and make the functionalized surface rather more sensitive to C2H5OH than to NO2, in contrast to the non-functionalized surface.