arXiv subjects

Ahyoung Kim

Publications and source records attributed to Ahyoung Kim.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Origins of suppressed self-diffusion of nanoscale constituents of a complex liquid

Understanding and ultimately controlling the transformations and properties of nanoscale systems, from proteins to synthetic nanomaterial assemblies, is limited by the inability to uncover their dynamics on their characteristic length and time scales. Here, we nevertheless demonstrate this ability using MHz X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) -- directly elucidating the characteristic microsecond-dynamics of density fluctuations of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs), not only in a colloidal dispersion but also in a liquid phase consisting of densely packed, yet mobile, NCs with no long-range order. We find the wavevector-dependent fluctuation rates in the liquid phase are suppressed relative to those in the colloidal phase and relative to observations of densely packed repulsive particles. We show that the suppressed rates are due to a substantial decrease in the self-diffusion of NCs, which we attribute to explicit attractive interactions. Using coarse-grained simulations, we find that the extracted shape and strength of the interparticle potential explains the stability of the liquid phase, in contrast to the gelation observed via XPCS in many other charged colloidal systems. This work opens the door to elucidating fast, condensed phase dynamics in complex fluids and other nanoscale soft matter, such as densely packed proteins and non-equilibrium self-assembly processes, in addition to designing microscopic strategies to avert gelation.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2022

Reversibly controlled ternary polar states and ferroelectric bias promoted by boosting square-tensile-strain

Interaction between dipoles often emerges intriguing physical phenomena, such as exchange bias in the magnetic heterostructures and magnetoelectric effect in multiferroics, which lead to advances in multifunctional heterostructures. However, the defect-dipole tends to be considered the undesired to deteriorate the electronic functionality. Here, we report deterministic switching between the ferroelectric and the pinched states by exploiting a new substrate of cubic perovskite, BaZrO$_{3}$, which boosts square-tensile-strain to BaTiO$_{3}$ and promotes four-variants in-plane spontaneous polarization with oxygen vacancy creation. First-principles calculations propose a complex of an oxygen vacancy and two Ti$^{3+}$ ions coins a charge-neutral defect-dipole. Cooperative control of the defect-dipole and the spontaneous polarization reveals ternary in-plane polar states characterized by biased/pinched hysteresis loops. Furthermore, we experimentally demonstrate that three electrically controlled polar-ordering states lead to switchable and non-volatile dielectric states for application of non-destructive electro-dielectric memory. This discovery opens a new route to develop functional materials via manipulating defect-dipoles and offers a novel platform to advance heteroepitaxy beyond the prevalent perovskite substrates.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Chiral Assemblies of Pinwheel Superlattices on Substrates

The unique topology and physics of chiral superlattices make their self-assembly from nanoparticles a holy grail for (meta)materials. Here we show that tetrahedral gold nanoparticles can spontaneously transform from a perovskite-like low-density phase with corner-to-corner connections into pinwheel assemblies with corner-to-edge connections and denser packing. While the corner-sharing assemblies are achiral, pinwheel superlattices become strongly mirror-asymmetric on solid substrates as demonstrated by chirality measures. Liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy and computational models show that van der Waals and electrostatic interactions between nanoparticles control thermodynamic equilibrium. Variable corner-to-edge connections among tetrahedra enable fine-tuning of chirality. The domains of the bilayer superlattices display strong chiroptical activity identified by photon-induced near-field electron microscopy and finite-difference time-domain simulations. The simplicity and versatility of the substrate-supported chiral superlattices facilitate manufacturing of metastructured coatings with unusual optical, mechanical and electronic characteristics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Nonlinear domain wall velocity in ferroelectric Si-doped HfO$_{2}$ thin film capacitors

We investigate the nonlinear response of the domain wall velocity ($v$) to an external electric field ($E_{ext}$) in ferroelectric Si-doped HfO$_{2}$ thin film capacitors using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and switching current measurements. We verified the reliability of the PFM images of ferroelectric domain switching by comparing the switched volume fraction in the PFM images with the time-dependent normalized switched polarization from the switching current data. Using consecutive time-dependent PFM images, we measured the velocity of the pure lateral domain wall motion at various $E_{ext}$. The $E_{ext}$-dependent $v$ values closely follow the nonlinear dynamic response of elastic objects in a disordered medium. The thermally activated creep and flow regimes were observed based on the magnitude of $E_{ext}$. With a dynamic exponent of $μ$ = 1, our thin film was found to have random-field defects, which is consistent with the Lorentzian distribution of characteristic switching time that was indicated in the switching current data.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

A topological characterization of omega-limit sets on dynamical systems

In this article, we deal with several notions in dynamical systems. Firstly, we prove that both closure function and orbital function are idempotent on set-valued dynamical systems. And we show that the compact limit set of a connected set is also connected. Furthermore, we prove that the $Ω$-limit set of a compact set is quasi-attracting.

math.DS↗