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Visualizing Electronic and Structural Properties of Materials Using X-ray and Electron Beam Technique

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Materials Characterization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2024) | Viewed by 3036

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Daejeon 305-340, Republic of Korea
2. Department of Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 305-340, Republic of Korea
Interests: time-resolved X-ray measurement; X-ray speckle measurement; ultrafast detection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Daejeon 305-340, Republic of Korea
2. Department of Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 305-340, Republic of Korea
Interests: electron microscopy; 4D-STEM; electron energy loss spectroscopy; energy materials

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Guest Editor
Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
Interests: electron microscopy; electron holography; 4D-STEM
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of next-generation materials in the fields of high-temperature superconductivity, battery, catalysis, and biomaterials has placed heavy emphasis on the functional properties of matter. At the most fundamental level, such properties are dictated by the spatial arrangements of atoms, molecules and their electronic structures. Accessing relevant information requires measurements be taken at a length scale that is considerably smaller than a billionth of a meter. However, even the most advanced visible light microscopes are unable to detect such atomic-level features due to the wavelength limitation, which is a thousand times larger than inter-atomic spacing. 

X-ray and electron beams have been the primary means of probing the positions and configurations of atoms in various condensed matter systems ranging from simple solids to amorphous materials, such as liquids and glasses. Since their wavelengths are comparable to atomic size and their energies are suitable for accessing electronic binding energy, today's most advanced synchrotron sources and electron microscopes can be used to visualize atomic and electronic structures. Improved source coherence and detector technologies also offer unique opportunities for researchers to follow dynamical phenomena.

For this Special Issue, we are inviting submissions that exploring advanced measurement and analysis methods by using x-rays and electrons to study structural and electronic properties. Improving source brightness puts equal demands on light sources, optics, detectors, data processing, storage, and data analysis and modeling. More specifically, this issue aims to cover areas such as the structural analysis of crystalline and non-crystalline orders, measurement of electronic structure and performance of energy level analysis, advanced light sources, as well as detector and data acquisition methods. Opportunities in time-resolved measurements, artificial intelligence for data analysis, and other novel approaches remain open. We invite submissions in all these areas, as well as reviews of relevant fields.

Dr. Sooheyong Lee
Dr. Jihwan Kwon
Dr. Janghyun Jo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • transmission electron microscopy
  • 4D STEM
  • electron energy loss spectroscopy
  • high-speed detection
  • time-resolved X-ray diffraction
  • time-resolved electron diffraction
  • temporal correlation
  • extended X-ray absorption fine structure

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3469 KiB  
Article
On the Feasibility of an LCD-Based Real-Time Converter for Ionizing Radiation Imaging
by Adam Januszko, Eugeniusz Zych, Wiktor Piecek, Witalis Pellowski, Krzysztof A. Bogdanowicz and Agnieszka Iwan
Materials 2024, 17(13), 3320; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17133320 - 4 Jul 2024
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Abstract
Here we present the cascade converter (CC), which provides real-time imaging of ionizing radiation (IoR) distribution. It was designed and manufactured with the simplest architecture, utilizing liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. Based on two merged substrates with transparent electrodes, armed with functional layers, [...] Read more.
Here we present the cascade converter (CC), which provides real-time imaging of ionizing radiation (IoR) distribution. It was designed and manufactured with the simplest architecture, utilizing liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. Based on two merged substrates with transparent electrodes, armed with functional layers, with the cell filled with nematic liquid crystal, a display-like, IoR-stimulated CC was achieved. The CC comprises low-absorbing polymer substrates (made of polyethylene terephthalate—PET) armed with a transparent ITO electrode covered with a thin semipermeable membrane of polymer (biphenylperfluorocyclobutyl: BP-PFCB) doped with functional nanoparticles (NPs) of Lu2O3:Eu. This stack was covered with a photoconductive layer of α-Se and finally with a thin polyimide (PI) layer for liquid crystal alignment. The opposite substrate was made of LCD-type glass with ITO and polyimide aligning layers. Both substrates form a cell with a twisted structure of nematic liquid crystal (TN) driven with an effective electric field Eeff. An effective electric field driving TN structure is generated with a sum of (1) a bias voltage VBIAS applied to ITO transparent electrodes and (2) the photogenerated additional voltage VXray induced between ITO and α-Se layers with a NPs-doped BP-PFCB polymer layer in-between. The IoR (here, X-ray) conversion into real imaging of the IoR distribution was achieved in the following stages: (1) conversion of IoR distribution into non-ionizing red light emitted with functional NPs, (2) transformation of red light into an electric charge distributed in a layer of the photoconductive α-Se, which is what results in the generation of distributed voltage VXray, and (3) a voltage-mediated, distributed switching of the TN structure observed with the naked eye. The presented imaging device is characterized by a simple structure and a simple manufacturing process, with the potential for use as a portable element of IoR detection and as a dosimeter. Full article
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12 pages, 1130 KiB  
Article
Time-Resolved Structural Measurement of Thermal Resistance across a Buried Semiconductor Heterostructure Interface
by Joohyun Lee, Wonhyuk Jo, Ji-Hwan Kwon, Bruce Griffin, Byeong-Gwan Cho, Eric C. Landahl and Sooheyong Lee
Materials 2023, 16(23), 7450; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16237450 - 30 Nov 2023
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Abstract
The precise control and understanding of heat flow in heterostructures is pivotal for advancements in thermoelectric energy conversion, thermal barrier coatings, and efficient heat management in electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this study, we employ high-angular-resolution time-resolved X-ray diffraction to structurally measure thermal [...] Read more.
The precise control and understanding of heat flow in heterostructures is pivotal for advancements in thermoelectric energy conversion, thermal barrier coatings, and efficient heat management in electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this study, we employ high-angular-resolution time-resolved X-ray diffraction to structurally measure thermal resistance in a laser-excited AlGaAs/GaAs semiconductor heterostructure. Our methodology offers femtometer-scale spatial sensitivity and nanosecond time resolution, enabling us to directly observe heat transport across a buried interface. We corroborate established Thermal Boundary Resistance (TBR) values for AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures and demonstrate that TBR arises from material property discrepancies on either side of a nearly flawless atomic interface. This work not only sheds light on the fundamental mechanisms governing heat flow across buried interfaces but also presents a robust experimental framework that can be extended to other heterostructure systems, paving the way for optimized thermal management in next-generation devices. Full article
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