arXiv subjects

Zi-Kui Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Zi-Kui Liu.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Sensitivity estimation for calculated phase equilibria

The development of a consistent framework for Calphad model sensitivity is necessary for the rational reduction of uncertainty via new models and experiments. In the present work, a sensitivity theory for Calphad was developed, and a closed-form expression for the log-likelihood gradient and Hessian of a multi-phase equilibrium measurement was presented. The inherent locality of the defined sensitivity metric was mitigated through the use of Monte Carlo averaging. A case study of the Cr-Ni system was used to demonstrate visualizations and analyses enabled by the developed theory. Criteria based on the classical Cramér-Rao bound were shown to be a useful diagnostic in assessing the accuracy of parameter covariance estimates from Markov Chain Monte Carlo. The developed sensitivity framework was applied to estimate the statistical value of phase equilibria measurements in comparison with thermochemical measurements, with implications for Calphad model uncertainty reduction.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

An ab initio molecular dynamics exploration of associates in Ba-Bi liquid with strong ordering trends

Fictive associates are widely used to describe and model liquid phases with strong ordering trends. However, little evidence is known about the assumed associates in most cases. In the present work, an ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) study is employed to investigate the characters of the Ba-Bi liquid, in which associates have been assumed in existing thermodynamic modeling. It is found that in the Ba rich melt, the Bi atoms are almost completely surrounded by Ba atoms. The Bi-centered coordination polyhedrons are strongly associated to crystalline structures of Ba5Bi3 and Ba4Bi3 with a longer lifetime than other polyhedrons during the AIMD simulations. In addition, these Bi-centered polyhedrons in Ba rich melt connect with each other through vertex, edge, face, and/or bipyramid sharing to form medium range orders (MRO). In the Bi rich melt, the Ba-centered polyhedrons also form MROs, but they are both structurally and compositionally diverse with a shorter lifetime. These findings from AIMD study provide evidences that there exist a strongly ordering Ba4Bi3 associate and a weakly ordering BaBi3 associate in the Ba-Bi liquid. The predicted enthalpy of mixing in the liquid agrees well with the results by the CALPHAD modeling in the literature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Scheil-Gulliver simulations for the design of functionally graded alloys by additive manufacturing using pycalphad

Additive manufacturing (AM), through directed energy deposition, supports planned composition changes between locations within a single component, allowing for functionally graded materials (FGMs) to be developed and fabricated. The formation of deleterious phases along a particular composition path can cause significant cracking during the AM build process that makes the composition path unviable to produce these FGMs, but it is challenging to predict which phases will be present in as-built additively manufactured parts by analyzing only equilibrium phase relations. Solute segregation during solidification can lead to the formation of non-equilibrium phases that are stable at compositions far from the nominal composition of the melt, leading to crack formation. In this work, we developed a Scheil-Gulliver simulation tool based on pycalphad. We used this tool to compare the non-equilibrium phases predicted to form during solidification using the Scheil-Gulliver model with experimentally measured phases at several locations with different composition in a Ti-6Al-4V to Invar-36 FGM and a commercially pure Ti to Invar-36 FGM. We showed that the phases predicted to form by the Scheil-Gulliver model outperform the predictions made by assuming equilibrium solidification. Further, we demonstrated the use of our Scheil-Gulliver simulation tool as a method of screening potential FGM pathways by calculating the solidification phase fractions along the experimental gradient path in composition space.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Anomalous Phonon-mode Dependence in Polarized Raman Spectroscopy of Topological Weyl Semimetal TaP

Topological Weyl semimetals (WSMs) have attracted widespread interests due to the chiral Weyl fermions and surface Fermi arcs that enable unique optical and transport phenomena. In this work, we present angle-resolved Raman spectroscopy of TaP, a prototypical noncentrosymmetric WSM, for five excitation wavelengths ranging from 364 to 785 nm. The Raman active modes, $A_1$, $B_1^1$, and $B_1^2$ modes, exhibit two main unique features beyond the conventional Raman theory. First, the relative intensities of Raman active modes change as a function of the excitation wavelength. Second, angle-resolved polarized Raman spectra show systematic deviation from the Raman tensor theory. In particular, the $B_1^1$ mode is absent for 633 nm excitation, whereas the $B_1^2$ mode shows an unusual two-fold symmetry instead of a four-fold symmetry for 488, 532, and 633 nm excitations. These unconventional phenomena are attributed to the interference effect in the Raman process owing to the existence of multiple carrier pockets with almost the same energy but different symmetries.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Realization of Epitaxial Thin Films of the Topological Crystalline Insulator Sr$_3$SnO

Topological materials are derived from the interplay between symmetry and topology. Advances in topological band theories have led to the prediction that the antiperovskite oxide Sr$_3$SnO is a topological crystalline insulator, a new electronic phase of matter where the conductivity in its (001) crystallographic planes is protected by crystallographic point group symmetries. Realization of this material, however, is challenging. Guided by thermodynamic calculations we design and implement a deposition approach to achieve the adsorption-controlled growth of epitaxial Sr$_3$SnO single-crystal films by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). In-situ transport and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements reveal the metallic and non-trivial topological nature of the as-grown samples. Compared with conventional MBE, the synthesis route used results in superior sample quality and is readily adapted to other topological systems with antiperovskite structures. The successful realization of thin films of topological crystalline insulators opens opportunities to manipulate topological states by tuning symmetries via epitaxial strain and heterostructuring.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

ESPEI for efficient thermodynamic database development, modification, and uncertainty quantification: application to Cu-Mg

The software package ESPEI has been developed for efficient evaluation of thermodynamic model parameters within the CALPHAD method. ESPEI uses a linear fitting strategy to parameterize Gibbs energy functions of single phases based on their thermochemical data and refine the model parameters using phase equilibrium data through Bayesian optimization within a Markov Chain Monte Carlo machine learning approach. In this paper, the methodologies employed in ESPEI are discussed in detail and demonstrated for the Cu-Mg system down to 0 K using unary descriptions based on segmented regression. The model parameter uncertainties are quantified and propagated to the Gibbs energy functions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Quantified Uncertainty in Thermodynamic Modeling for Materials Design

Phase fractions, compositions and energies of the stable phases as a function of macroscopic composition, temperature, and pressure (X-T-P) are the principle correlations needed for the design of new materials and improvement of existing materials. They are the outcomes of thermodynamic modeling based on the CALculation of PHAse Diagrams (CALPHAD) approach. The accuracy of CALPHAD predictions vary widely in X-T-P space due to experimental error, model inadequacy and unequal data coverage. In response, researchers have developed frameworks to quantify the uncertainty of thermodynamic property model parameters and propagate it to phase diagram predictions. In previous studies, uncertainty was represented as intervals on phase boundaries (with respect to composition) or invariant reactions (with respect to temperature) and was unable to represent the uncertainty in eutectoid reactions or in the stability of phase regions. In this work, we propose a suite of tools that leverages samples from the multivariate model parameter distribution to represent uncertainty in forms that surpass previous limitations and are well suited to materials design. These representations include the distribution of phase diagrams and their features, as well as the dependence of phase stability and the distributions of phase fraction, composition activity and Gibbs energy on X-T-P location - irrespective of the total number of components. Most critically, the new methodology allows the material designer to interrogate a certain composition and temperature domain and get in return the probability of different phases to be stable, which can positively impact materials design.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Universal correlation between electronic factors and solute-defect interactions in bcc refractory metals

The interactions between solute atoms and crystalline defects such as vacancies, dislocations, and grain boundaries play an essential role in determining physical, chemical and mechanical properties of solid-solution alloys. Here we present a universal correlation between two electronic factors and the solute-defect interaction energies in binary alloys of body-centered-cubic (bcc) refractory metals (such as W and Ta) with transition-metal substitutional solutes. One electronic factor is the bimodality of the d-orbital local density of states for a matrix atom at the substitutional site, and the other is related to the hybridization strength between the valance sp- and d-bands for the same matrix atom. Remarkably, the correlation is independent of the types of defects and the locations of substitutional sites, following a linear relation for a particular pair of solute-matrix elements. Our findings provide a novel and quantitative guidance to engineer the solute-defect interactions in alloys based on electronic structures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

First-Principles Thermodynamic Theory of Seebeck Coefficients

Thermoelectric effects, measured by the Seebeck coefficients, refer to the phenomena in which a temperature difference or gradient imposed across a thermoelectric material induces an electrical potential difference or gradient, and vice versa, enabling the direct conversion of thermal and electric energies. All existing understanding and first-principles calculations of Seebeck coefficients have been based on the Boltzmann kinetic transport theory. Here we demonstrate that the Seebeck coefficient is a well-defined thermodynamic quantity that can be determined from the change in the chemical potential of electrons induced by the temperature change and thus can be efficiently computed solely based on the electronic density of states through first-principles calculations at different temperatures. The proposed approach is demonstrated using the prototype PbTe and SnSe thermoelectric materials. The proposed thermodynamic approach dramatically simplifies the calculations of Seebeck coefficients, making it possible to search for high performance thermoelectric materials using high-throughput first-principles calculations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Adsorption-controlled growth of La-doped BaSnO3 by molecular-beam epitaxy

Epitaxial La doped BaSnO3 films were grown in an adsorption controlled regime by molecular beam epitaxy, where the excess volatile SnOx desorbs from the film surface. A film grown on a (001) DyScO3 substrate exhibited a mobility of 183 cm^2 V^-1 s^-1 at room temperature and 400 cm^2 V^-1 s^-1 at 10 K, despite the high concentration (1.2x10^11 cm^-2) of threading dislocations present. In comparison to other reports, we observe a much lower concentration of (BaO)2 Ruddlesden Popper crystallographic shear faults. This suggests that in addition to threading dislocations that other defects possibly (BaO)2 crystallographic shear defects or point defects significantly reduce the electron mobility.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

A First-principles approach to predict Seebeck coefficients: Application to La3-xTe4

Theoretical descriptions of the Seebeck coefficient in terms of the differential electrical conductivity given by Cutler and Mott is the foundation of later works in terms of transmission function from the thermoelectric transport theory. On the other hand, recent studies in the literature have shown the relation between the Seebeck coefficient and chemical potential of electrons. In this work, this relation is rigorously derived from fundamental thermodynamics, and an formalism for the parameter-free calculation of the Seebeck coefficient based on the electronic density-of-states from first-principles calculations is presented. Numerical results are given using the n-type La3-xTe4 thermoelectric material as the prototype. With the rigid band approximation, the calculated temperature dependences of the Seebeck coefficients of La3-xTe4 as a function of carrier concentration show excellent agreements with experimental data.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

A Thermal Harmonic Field Description of Phase Transition: The Alternative Approach to the Landau Theory

The study of critical phenomena and phase transitions is an important part of modern condensed matter physics. In this regard, the phenomenological Landau theory has been extraordinarily useful. Hereby we present an alternative theoretical description to the Landau theory for a system under phase transition, based on a priori assumption that the macroscopic system is made of the thermal mixing among multi harmonics each of them can be distinguished by crystal orientation, polar direction, magnetic direction, or even momentum etc. Our theory naturally gives rise to a long range field and is able to account for both the type of lattice and the spatial dimensionality, in addition to that the excess free energy is referenced to the low temperature structure together with the positive excess entropy. The improvements over the Landau theory are demonstrated using ferroelectric-paraelectric system of PbTiO3 on its phase transition and associated thermodynamic behaviors.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2008

Fully Band Resolved Scattering Rate in MgB2 Revealed by Nonlinear Hall Effect and Magnetoresistance Measurements

We have measured the normal state temperature dependence of the Hall effect and magnetoresistance in epitaxial MgB2 thin films with variable disorders characterized by the residual resistance ratio RRR ranging from 4.0 to 33.3. A strong nonlinearity of the Hall effect and magnetoresistance have been found in clean samples, and they decrease gradually with the increase of disorders or temperature. By fitting the data to the theoretical model based on the Boltzmann equation and ab initio calculations for a four-band system, for the first time, we derived the scattering rates of these four bands at different temperatures and magnitude of disorders. Our method provides a unique way to derive these important parameters in multiband systems.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

First-principles study of ternary fcc solution phases from special quasirandom structures

In the present work, ternary Special Quasirandom Structures (SQSs) for a fcc solid solution phase are generated at different compositions, $x_A=x_B=x_C=\tfrac{1}{3}$ and $x_A=\tfrac{1}{2}$, $x_B=x_C=\tfrac{1}{4}$, whose correlation functions are satisfactorily close to those of a random fcc solution. The generated SQSs are used to calculate the mixing enthalpy of the fcc phase in the Ca-Sr-Yb system. It is observed that first-principles calculations of all the binary and ternary SQSs in the Ca-Sr-Yb system exhibit very small local relaxation. It is concluded that the fcc ternary SQSs can provide valuable information about the mixing behavior of the fcc ternary solid solution phase. The SQSs presented in this work can be widely used to study the behavior of ternary fcc solid solutions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Phase stability of hafnium oxide and zirconium oxide on silicon substrate

Phase stabilities of Hf-Si-O and Zr-Si-O have been studied with first-principles and thermodynamic modeling. From the obtained thermodynamic descriptions, phase diagrams pertinent to thin film processing were calculated. We found that the relative stability of the metal silicates with respect to their binary oxides plays a critical role in silicide formation. It was observed that both the HfO$_2$/Si and ZrO$_2$/Si interfaces are stable in a wide temperature range and silicide may form at low temperatures, partially at the HfO$_2$/Si interface.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Thermodynamic modeling of the Hf-Si-O system

The Hf-O system has been modeled by combining existing experimental data and first-principles calculations results through the CALPHAD approach. Special quasirandom structures of $α$ and $β$ hafnium were generated to calculate the mixing behavior of oxygen and vacancies. For the total energy of oxygen, vibrational, rotational and translational degrees of freedom were considered. The Hf-O system was combined with previously modeled Hf-Si and Si-O systems, and the ternary compound in the Hf-Si-O system, HfSiO$_4$ has been introduced to calculate the stability diagrams pertinent to the thin film processing.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Thermodynamic properties of binary HCP solution phases from special quasirandom structures

Three different special quasirandom structures (SQS) of the substitutional hcp $A_{1-x}B_x$ binary random solutions ($x=0.25$, 0.5, and 0.75) are presented. These structures are able to mimic the most important pair and multi-site correlation functions corresponding to perfectly random hcp solutions at those compositions. Due to the relatively small size of the generated structures, they can be used to calculate the properties of random hcp alloys via first-principles methods. The structures are relaxed in order to find their lowest energy configurations at each composition. In some cases, it was found that full relaxation resulted in complete loss of their parental symmetry as hcp so geometry optimizations in which no local relaxations are allowed were also performed. In general, the first-principles results for the seven binary systems (Cd-Mg, Mg-Zr, Al-Mg, Mo-Ru, Hf-Ti, Hf-Zr, and Ti-Zr) show good agreement with both formation enthalpy and lattice parameters measurements from experiments. It is concluded that the SQS's presented in this work can be widely used to study the behavior of random hcp solutions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2001

Superconducting properties of nanocrystalline MgB$_2$ thin films made by an in situ annealing process

We have studied the structural and superconducting properties of MgB$_2$ thin films made by pulsed laser deposition followed by in situ annealing. The cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy reveals a nanocrystalline mixture of textured MgO and MgB$_2$ with very small grain sizes. A zero-resistance transition temperature ($T_{c0}$) of 34 K and a zero-field critical current density ($J_c$) of $1.3 \times 10^6$ A/cm$^2$ were obtained. The irreversibility field was $\sim$ 8 T at low temperatures, although severe pinning instability was observed. These bulk-like superconducting properties show that the in situ deposition process can be a viable candidate for MgB$_2$ Josephson junction technologies.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗