arXiv subjects

Toru Shinmei

Publications and source records attributed to Toru Shinmei.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Optically detected magnetic resonance of nitrogen-vacancy centers in microdiamonds inside nanopolycrystalline diamond anvil cell

We demonstrated optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in microdiamonds inside a diamond anvil cell pressurized with nanopolycrystalline diamond (NPD) anvils. NPD exhibits high optical transparency, superior hardness, and low thermal conductivity, making it suitable for optical and spectroscopic measurements under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. We observed the ODMR signal from an ensemble of NV centers under conditions where NV centers in microdiamonds served as markers for pressures exceeding 30 GPa, with a culet diameter of 600 $\mu$m. We also performed ODMR measurements on multiple microdiamonds sealed inside a sample chamber and found that the resonance frequency varied with the pressure distribution. The combination of NPD and microdiamonds containing NV centers is auspicious for pressure and magnetic sensing under concurrent high-pressure and high-temperature conditions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Enhancement of superconductivity on thin film of Sn under high pressure

We investigated the pressure effects of a superconductivity on thin films of Sn. Elemental superconductor Sn with a body-centered tetragonal structure, $\beta$-Sn, exhibits superconductivity below the superconducting transition temperature ($T_{\rm c}=3.72$ K) at ambient pressure. $T_{\rm c}$ of Sn increases with lowering dimension such as in thin film and nanowire growth, or by high-pressure application. For thin films, $T_{\rm c}$ exhibits a slight increase up to approximately 4 K compared to the bulk value, attributable to the crystalline size and lattice disorder. By applying pressure on a bulk Sn, $T_{\rm c}$ initially decreases from 3.72 K as the pressure increases. Further increasing pressure up to 10 GPa, $T_{\rm c}$ increases to 5.3 K with the structural transformation. However, the combination of these effects on thin films of Sn, namely, thin-film growth and pressure effects, remains underexplored. In this study, we combined film-growth and pressure-application techniques to further increase $T_{\rm c}$ using a diamond anvil cell with boron-doped diamond electrodes. The drop of the electrical resistance suggesting the onset of $T_{\rm c}$ on the thin film reached above 6 K in $\gamma$-Sn phase. Further, the upper critical magnetic field was drastically enhanced. Atomic force microscopy suggests that the refinement of the grain size of the thin film under the non-hydrostatic pressure conditions contributes to stabilizing the higher $T_{\rm c}$ of $\gamma$-Sn.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Emergence of Superconductivity at 20 K in Th$_3$P$_4$-type In$_{3-x}$S$_4$ Synthesized by Diamond Anvil Cell with Boron-doped Diamond Electrodes

The exploration of superconductors in metastable phases by manipulating crystal structures through high-pressure techniques has attracted significant interest in materials science to achieve a high critical temperature ($T_c$). In this study, we report an emergence of novel superconductivity in a metastable phase of Th$_3$P$_4$-type cubic In$_{3-x}$S$_4$ with remarkably high $T_c$ at 20 K under 45 GPa by using an originally designed diamond anvil cell equipped with boron-doped diamond electrodes, which can perform a high-pressure synthesis and an in-situ electrical transport measurement simultaneously. In-situ structural analysis indicates that the In$_{3-x}$S$_4$ appears partially above 40 GPa without heating. The high-pressure annealing treatment induces complete transformation to the Th$_3$P$_4$-type structure, and the defected concentration of x in In$_{3-x}$S$_4$ decreases with increasing annealing temperature. The $T_c$ in In$_{3-x}$S$_4$ is maximized at x = 0 and approaches 20 K. Electronic band calculations show that the high density of states composed of sulfur and indium bands are located at the conduction band bottom near Fermi energy. The record high $T_c$ in In$_{3-x}$S$_4$ among superconducting sulfides accelerates the further exploration of high $T_c$ materials within the Th$_3$P$_4$-type cubic family by using flexibility in crystal structure.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Pushing the limits of flow strength in diamond

Extreme pressures and temperatures create conditions that allow even hard and brittle materials to deform plastically. Despite extensive research, the upper limits of flow strength, the resistance to plastic flow, remain uncertain, and the mechanisms driving deformation at the relevant stresses are a subject of debate. Using femtosecond in situ X-ray diffraction experiments and large-scale molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that stacking fault-mediated strengthening enables shock-compressed nano-polycrystalline diamond to achieve a peak flow strength of 107+-5 GPa at a stress of 227+-8 GPa. Our findings show that extreme conditions can unlock unusual strength via mechanisms that can be used as design tools in targeted applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Iodine molecule modifications with high pressure

Metallization and dissociation are key transformations in diatomic molecules at high densities particularly significant for modeling giant planets. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and atomistic modeling, we demonstrate that in halogens, the formation of a \textit{connected} molecular structure takes place at pressures well below metallization. Here we show that the iodine diatomic molecule first elongates of $\sim$0.007 Å~up to a critical pressure of $P_c$ $\backsim$7~GPa developing bonds between molecules. Then its length continuously decreases with pressure up to 15-20~GPa. Universal trends in halogens are shown and allow to predict for chlorine a pressure of 42$\pm$8~GPa for molecular bond-length reversal. Our findings tackle the molecule invariability paradigm in diatomic molecular phases at high pressures and may be generalized to other abundant diatomic molecules in the universe, including hydrogen.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2020

Mechanism of pressure induced amorphization of SnI4: a combined X-ray diffraction -- X-ray absorption spectroscopy study

We have studied the amorphization process of SnI4 up to 26.8GPa with unprecedented experimental details by combining Sn and I K edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. Standards and reverse Monte Carlo extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) refinements confirm that the SnI4 tetrahedron is a fundamental structural unit that is preserved through the crystalline phase-I to crystalline phase-II transition about 7 to 10GPa and then in the amorphous phase that appears above 20GPa. Up to now unexploited Iodine EXAFS reveals to be extremely informative and confirms the formation of iodine iodine short bonds close to 2.85Å in the amorphous phase at 26.8 GPa. A coordination number increase of Sn in the crystalline phase-II appears to be excluded, while the deformation of the tetrahedral units proceeds through a flattening that keeps the average I-Sn-I angle close to 109.5°. Moreover, we put in evidence the impact of pressure on the Sn near edge structure under competing geometrical and electronic effects.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Polycrystalline γ-boron: As hard as polycrystalline cubic boron nitride

The Vickers hardness of polycrystalline γ-B was measured using a diamond indentation method. The elastic properties of polycrystalline γ-B (B=213.9 GPa, G=227.2 GPa, and E=503.3 GPa) were determined using ultrasonic measurement at ambient condition. Under the loading force up to 20 N, our test gave an average Vickers hardness in the asymptotic-hardness region of 30.3 GPa. The average fracture toughness was measured as 4.1MPa m1/2. Additionally, We also measured the hardness and elastic properties of polycrystalline β-B and PcBN for comparison. The hardness and elastic properties for polycrystalline γ-B was found to be very close to that of PcBN. Our results suggest that the polycrystalline γ-B could be a superhard polycrystalline material for industrial applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Phase relations in boron at pressure up to 18 GPa and temperature up to 2200 °C

The phase relations in boron have been investigated at high pressure and high temperature using a multianvil apparatus, and the quenched sample has been analyzed by x-ray diffraction, Raman spectra and transmission electron microscopy. We demonstrate that γ-B28 can be synthesized over a wide P-T range, and T-B50 is obtained at higher temperatures and similar pressures. The phase boundary of the β-B106, γ-B28 and T-B50 is determined at pressures between 7 and 18 GPa and the temperatures of 500-2200 °C. The results suggest that T-B50 might be an intermediate phase-metastable, formed for kinetic reasons (Ostwald rule) on the way from β-B106 to T-192 and γ-B28 to T-192.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗