arXiv subjects

J. Schubert

Publications and source records attributed to J. Schubert.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

The Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph for the VLT

ERIS, the Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph, is an instrument that both extends and enhances the fundamental diffraction limited imaging and spectroscopy capability for the VLT. It replaces two instruments that were being maintained beyond their operational lifetimes, combines their functionality on a single focus, provides a new wavefront sensing module for natural and laser guide stars that makes use of the Adaptive Optics Facility, and considerably improves on their performance. The observational modes ERIS provides are integral field spectroscopy at 1-2.5 {\mu}m, imaging at 1-5 {\mu}m with several options for high contrast imaging, and longslit spectroscopy at 3-4 {\mu}m, The instrument is installed at the Cassegrain focus of UT4 at the VLT and, following its commissioning during 2022, has been made available to the community.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2023

Large-area synthesis of ferromagnetic Fe$_{5-x}$GeTe$_{2}$/graphene van der Waals heterostructures with Curie temperature above room temperature

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures combining layered ferromagnets and other two-dimensional (2D) crystals are promising building blocks for the realization of ultra-compact devices with integrated magnetic, electronic and optical functionalities. Their implementation in various technologies depends strongly on the development of a bottom-up scalable synthesis approach allowing to realize highly uniform heterostructures with well-defined interfaces between different 2D layered materials. It also requires that each material component of the heterostructure remains functional, which ideally includes ferromagnetic order above room temperature for 2D ferromagnets. Here, we demonstrate large-area growth of Fe$_{5-x}$GeTe$_{2}$/graphene heterostructures achieved by vdW epitaxy of Fe$_{5-x}$GeTe$_{2}$ on epitaxial graphene. Structural characterization confirmed the realization of a continuous vdW heterostructure film with a sharp interface between Fe$_{5-x}$GeTe$_{2}$ and graphene. Magnetic and transport studies revealed that the ferromagnetic order persists well above 300 K with a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. In addition, epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001) continues to exhibit a high electronic quality. These results represent an important advance beyond non-scalable flake exfoliation and stacking methods, thus marking a crucial step toward the implementation of ferromagnetic 2D materials in practical applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

First Light for GRAVITY Wide: Large Separation Fringe Tracking for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer

GRAVITY+ is the upgrade of GRAVITY and the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) with wide-separation fringe tracking, new adaptive optics, and laser guide stars on all four 8~m Unit Telescopes (UTs), for ever fainter, all-sky, high contrast, milliarcsecond interferometry. Here we present the design and first results of the first phase of GRAVITY+, called GRAVITY Wide. GRAVITY Wide combines the dual-beam capabilities of the VLTI and the GRAVITY instrument to increase the maximum separation between the science target and the reference star from 2 arcseconds with the 8 m UTs up to several 10 arcseconds, limited only by the Earth's turbulent atmosphere. This increases the sky-coverage of GRAVITY by two orders of magnitude, opening up milliarcsecond resolution observations of faint objects, and in particular the extragalactic sky. The first observations in 2019 - 2022 include first infrared interferometry of two redshift $z\sim2$ quasars, interferometric imaging on the binary system HD 105913A, and repeated observations of multiple star systems in the Orion Trapezium Cluster. We find the coherence loss between the science object and fringe-tracking reference star well described by the turbulence of the Earth's atmosphere. We confirm that the larger apertures of the UTs result in higher visibilities for a given separation due to larger overlap of the projected pupils on sky and give predictions for visibility loss as a function of separation to be used for future planning.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2019

Electric-field control of magnetism in iron oxide nanoparticle / BaTiO3 film composites

We study composites of monodisperse ferrimagnetic nanoparticles (NPs) embedded into ferroelectric barium titanate (BTO) films. The BTO films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The composite consists of a stack of two BTO films sandwiching one monolayer of iron oxide NPs. We observe a magnetoelectric coupling due to strain and interface charge co-mediation between the BTO and the NPs. This is demonstrated by measurements of the magnetization as function of DC and AC electric fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Structural properties and anisotropic electronic transport in SrIrO3 films

Perovskite SrIrO3 (SIO) films epitaxially deposited with a thickness of about 60 nm on various substrate materials display nearly strain-relieved state. Films grown on orthorhombic (110) DyScO3 (DSO) are found to display untwinned bulk-like orthorhombic structure. However, film deposition on cubic (001) SrTiO3 induces a twinned growth of SIO. Resistance measurements on the SIO films reveal only weak temperature dependence, where the resistance R increases with decreasing temperature T. Hall measurements show dominant electron-like transport throughout the temperature range from 2 K to 300 K. At 2 K, the electron concentration and resistivity for SIO on STO amount to ne = 1.4*10^20 cm-3 and 1 mohmcm. Interestingly, the film resistance of untwinned SIO on DSO along the [1-10] and the [001] direction differs by up to 25% indicating pronounced anisotropic electronic transport. The anisotropy of the resistance increases with decreasing T and displays a distinct maximum around 86 K. The specific T-dependence is similar to that of the structural anisotropy sqrt(a2+b2)/c of bulk SIO. Therefore, anisotropic electronic transport in SIO is very likely induced by the orthorhombic distortion. Consequently, for twinned SIO films on STO anisotropy vanishes nearly completely. The experimental results show that structural changes are very likely responsible for the observed anisotropic electronic transport. The strong sensitivity of the electronic transport in SIO films may be explained in terms of the narrow electron-like bands in SIO caused by spin-orbit-coupling and orthorhombic distortion.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Signatures of interaction-induced helical gaps in nanowire quantum point contacts

Spin-momentum locking in a semiconductor device with strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is a fundamental goal of nanoscale spintronics and an important prerequisite for the formation of Majorana bound states. Such a helical state is predicted in one-dimensional (1D) nanowires subject to strong Rashba SOC and spin-mixing, its hallmark being a characteristic reentrant behaviour in the conductance. Here, we report the first direct experimental observations of the reentrant conductance feature, which reveals the formation of a helical liquid, in the lowest 1D subband of an InAs nanowire. Surprisingly, the feature is very prominent also in the absence of magnetic fields. This behaviour suggests that exchange interaction exhibits substantial impact on transport in our device. We attribute the opening of the pseudogap to spin-flipping two-particle backscattering. The all-electric origin of the ideal helical transport bears momentous implications for topological quantum computing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Growth, characterization, and transport properties of ternary (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 topological insulator layers

Ternary (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 films with an Sb content between 0 and 100% were deposited on a Si(111) substrate by means of molecular beam epitaxy. X-ray diffraction measurements confirm single crystal growth in all cases. The Sb content is determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Consistent values of the Sb content are obtained from Raman spectroscopy. Scanning Raman spectroscopy reveals that the (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 layers with an intermediate Sb content show spatial composition inhomogeneities. The observed spectra broadening in angular-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is also attributed to this phenomena. Upon increasing the Sb content from x=0 to 1 the ARPES measurements show a shift of the Fermi level from the conduction band to the valence band. This shift is also confirmed by corresponding magnetotransport measurements where the conductance changes from n- to p-type. In this transition region, an increase of the resistivity is found, indicating a location of the Fermi level within the band gap region. More detailed measurements in the transition region reveals that the transport takes place in two independent channels. By means of a gate electrode the transport can be changed from n- to p-type, thus allowing a tuning of the Fermi level within the topologically protected surface states.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

MICADO: first light imager for the E-ELT

MICADO will equip the E-ELT with a first light capability for diffraction limited imaging at near-infrared wavelengths. The instrument's observing modes focus on various flavours of imaging, including astrometric, high contrast, and time resolved. There is also a single object spectroscopic mode optimised for wavelength coverage at moderately high resolution. This contribution provides an overview of the key functionality of the instrument, outlining the scientific rationale for its observing modes. The interface between MICADO and the adaptive optics system MAORY that feeds it is summarised. The design of the instrument is discussed, focussing on the optics and mechanisms inside the cryostat, together with a brief overview of the other key sub-systems.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

Epitaxial Growth of VO$_{2}$ by Periodic Annealing

We report the growth of ultrathin VO$_{2}$ films on rutile TiO$_{2}$ (001) substrates via reactive molecular-beam epitaxy. The films were formed by the cyclical deposition of amorphous vanadium and its subsequent oxidation and transformation to VO$_{2}$ via solid-phase epitaxy. Significant metal-insulator transitions were observed in films as thin as 2.3 nm, where a resistance change ΔR/R of 25 was measured. Low angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy was used in conjunction with electron energy loss spectroscopy to study the film/substrate interface and revealed the vanadium to be tetravalent and the titanium interdiffusion to be limited to 1.6 nm.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

LaAlO3 stoichiometry found key to electron liquid formation at LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interfaces

Emergent phenomena, including superconductivity and magnetism, found in the two-dimensional electron liquid (2-DEL) at the interface between the insulators LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 distinguish this rich system from conventional two-dimensional electron gases at compound semiconductor interfaces. The origin of this 2-DEL, however, is highly debated with focus on the role of defects in the SrTiO3 while the LaAlO3 has been assumed perfect. Our experiments and first principles calculations show that the cation stoichiometry of the nominal LaAlO3 layer is key to 2-DEL formation: only Al-rich LaAlO3 results in a 2-DEL. While extrinsic defects including oxygen deficiency are known to render LaAlO3/SrTiO3 samples conducting, our results show that in the absence of such extrinsic defects, an interface 2-DEL can form. Its origin is consistent with an intrinsic electronic reconstruction occurring to counteract a polarization catastrophe. This work provides a roadmap for identifying other interfaces where emergent behaviors await discovery.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) on the Herschel Space Observatory

The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) is one of the three science instruments on ESA's far infrared and submillimetre observatory. It employs two Ge:Ga photoconductor arrays (stressed and unstressed) with 16x25 pixels, each, and two filled silicon bolometer arrays with 16x32 and 32x64 pixels, respectively, to perform integral-field spectroscopy and imaging photometry in the 60-210μ m wavelength regime. In photometry mode, it simultaneously images two bands, 60-85μ m or 85-125μ\m and 125-210μ m, over a field of view of ~1.75'x3.5', with close to Nyquist beam sampling in each band. In spectroscopy mode, it images a field of 47"x47", resolved into 5x5 pixels, with an instantaneous spectral coverage of ~1500km/s and a spectral resolution of ~175km/s. We summarise the design of the instrument, describe observing modes, calibration, and data analysis methods, and present our current assessment of the in-orbit performance of the instrument based on the Performance Verification tests. PACS is fully operational, and the achieved performance is close to or better than the pre-launch predictions.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2009

Isoprene and acetone concentration profiles during exercise on an ergometer

A real-time recording setup combining exhaled breath VOC measurements by proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) with hemodynamic and respiratory data is presented. Continuous automatic sampling of exhaled breath is implemented on the basis of measured respiratory flow: a flow-controlled shutter mechanism guarantees that only end-tidal exhalation segments are drawn into the mass spectrometer for analysis. Exhaled breath concentration profiles of two prototypic compounds, isoprene and acetone, during several exercise regimes were acquired, reaffirming and complementing earlier experimental findings regarding the dynamic response of these compounds reported by Senthilmohan et al. [1] and Karl et al. [2]. While isoprene tends to react very sensitively to changes in pulmonary ventilation and perfusion due to its lipophilic behavior and low Henry constant, hydrophilic acetone shows a rather stable behavior. Characteristic (median) values for breath isoprene concentration and molar flow, i.e., the amount of isoprene exhaled per minute are 100 ppb and 29 nmol/min, respectively, with some intra-individual day-to-day variation. At the onset of exercise breath isoprene concentration increases drastically, usually by a factor of ~3-4 within about one minute. Due to a simultaneous increase in ventilation, the associated rise in molar flow is even more pronounced, leading to a ratio between peak molar flow and molar flow at rest of ~11. Our setup holds great potential in capturing continuous dynamics of non-polar, low-soluble VOCs over a wide measurement range with simultaneous appraisal of decisive physiological factors affecting exhalation kinetics.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2001

Energy gap and London penetration depth of MgB_2 films determined by microwave resonator measurement

We have measured the temperature dependence of the microwave surface impedance Z_s = R_s + iΩμ_0 of a MgB2 film at a frequency Ω/2Πof 18 GHz employing a dielectric resonator technique. We found that the temperature dependence of the magnetic field penetration depth \Lamda can be fitted by \Lamda(T)= \Lamda(0) [1-(T/Tc)^2] ^(-1/2) with \Lamda(0)=(260 +/- 20)nm. The absolute value of \Lamda(0) was confirmed by direct measurements employing submillimeter wave transmission spectroscopy at 430 GHz. The analysis of the \Lamda(T) data below Tc/2 revealed significant deviations from the quadratic temperature dependence. In contrast, we found that an exponential temperature dependence fits the experimental data within the statistical measurement error for temperature changes of \Lamda of +/- 0.4 nm. This observation indicates thermal excitation of quasiparticles over a finite energy gap of (3.3 +/- 0.3) meV corresponding to Δ/kTc = 1.2 +/- 0.1. Our results strongly supports a multipgap or a strongly anisotropic gap and the absence of nodes in the gap function.

cond-mat.supr-con↗