Horizontal Bloch line motion in magnetic bubble materials

The purpose of this work is to extend experimental and theoretical understanding of horizontal Bloch line (HBL) motion in magnetic bubble materials. The present theory of HBL motion is reviewed, and then extended to include transient effects in which the internal domain wall structure changes with time. This is accomplished by numerically solving the equations of motion for the internal azimuthal angle ɸ and the wall position q as functions of z, the coordinate perpendicular to the thin-film material, and time. The effects of HBL's on domain wall motion are investigated by comparing results from wall oscillation experiments with those from the theory. In these experiments, a bias field pulse is used to make a step change in equilibrium position of either bubble or stripe domain walls, and the wall response is measured by using transient photography. During the initial response, the dynamic wall structure closely resembles the initial static structure. The wall accelerates to a relatively high velocity (≈20 m/sec), resulting in a short (≈22 nsec ) section of initial rapid motion. An HBL gradually forms near one of the film surfaces as a result of local dynamic properties, and moves along the wall surface toward the film center. The presence of this structure produces low-frequency, triangular-shaped oscillations in which the experimental wall velocity is nearly constant, v_s≈ 5-8 m/sec. If the HBL reaches the opposite surface, i.e., if the average internal angle reaches an integer multiple of π, the momentum stored in the HBL is lost, and the wall chirality is reversed. This results in abrupt transitions to overdamped motion and changes in wall chirality, which are observed as a function of bias pulse amplitude. The pulse amplitude at which the n^th punch- through occurs just as the wall reaches equilibrium is given within 0.2 0e by H_n = (2v_sH'/γ)^1/2 • (nπ)^1/2 + H_sv), where H' is the effective field gradient from the surrounding domains, and H_sv is a small (less than 0.03 0e), effective drag field. Observations of wall oscillation in the presence of in-plane fields parallel to the wall show that HBL formation is suppressed by fields greater than about 40 0e (≈2πM_s), resulting in the high-frequency, sinusoidal oscillations associated with a simple internal wall structure.

A study of a new electromechanical energy conversion process using superconducting frequency modulated resonators

Experimental demonstrations and theoretical analyses of a new electromechanical energy conversion process which is made feasible only by the unique properties of superconductors are presented in this dissertation. This energy conversion process is characterized by a highly efficient direct energy transformation from microwave energy into mechanical energy or vice versa and can be achieved at high power level. It is an application of a well established physical principle known as the adiabatic theorem (Boltzmann-Ehrenfest theorem) and in this case time dependent superconducting boundaries provide the necessary interface between the microwave energy on one hand and the mechanical work on the other. The mechanism which brings about the conversion is another known phenomenon - the Doppler effect. The resonant frequency of a superconducting resonator undergoes continuous infinitesimal shifts when the resonator boundaries are adiabatically changed in time by an external mechanical mechanism. These small frequency shifts can accumulate coherently over an extended period of time to produce a macroscopic shift when the resonator remains resonantly excited throughout this process. In addition, the electromagnetic energy in s ide the resonator which is proportional to the oscillation frequency is al so accordingly changed so that a direct conversion between electromagnetic and mechanical energies takes place. The intrinsically high efficiency of this process is due to the electromechanical interactions involved in the conversion rather than a process of thermodynamic nature and therefore is not limited by the thermodynamic value.

A highly reentrant superconducting resonator resonating in the range of 90 to 160 MHz was used for demonstrating this new conversion technique. The resonant frequency was mechanically modulated at a rate of two kilohertz. Experimental results showed that the time evolution of the electromagnetic energy inside this frequency modulated (FM) superconducting resonator indeed behaved as predicted and thus demonstrated the unique features of this process. A proposed usage of FM superconducting resonators as electromechanical energy conversion devices is given along with some practical design considerations. This device seems to be very promising in producing high power (~10W/cm^3) microwave energy at 10 - 30 GHz.

Weakly coupled FM resonator system is also analytically studied for its potential applications. This system shows an interesting switching characteristic with which the spatial distribution of microwave energies can be manipulated by external means. It was found that if the modulation was properly applied, a high degree (>95%) of unidirectional energy transfer from one resonator to the other could be accomplished. Applications of this characteristic to fabricate high efficiency energy switching devices and high power microwave pulse generators are also found feasible with present superconducting technology.

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance at the Superionic Phase Transitions of Mixed Ion-Electron Conducting Materials

The quality of a thermoelectric material is judged by the size of its temperature de- pendent thermoeletric-figure-of-merit (zT ). Superionic materials, particularly Zn₄Sb₃ and Cu₂Se, are of current interest for the high zT and low thermal conductivity of their disordered, superionic phase. In this work it is reported that the super-ionic materials Ag₂Se, Cu₂Se and Cu_1.97Ag_0.03Se show enhanced zT in their ordered, normal ion-conducting phases. The zT of Ag₂Se is increased by 30% in its ordered phase as compared to its disordered phase, as measured just below and above its first order phase transition. The zT ’s of Cu₂Se and Cu_1.97Ag_0.03Se both increase by more than 100% over a 30 K temperatures range just below their super-ionic phase transitions. The peak zT of Cu₂Se is 0.7 at 406 K and of Cu_1.97Ag_0.03Se is 1.0 at 400 K. In all three materials these enhancements are due to anomalous increases in their Seebeck coefficients, beyond that predicted by carrier concentration measurements and band structure modeling. As the Seebeck coefficient is the entropy transported per carrier, this suggests that there is an additional quantity of entropy co-transported with charge carriers. Such co-transport has been previously observed via co-transport of vibrational entropy in bipolaron conductors and spin-state entropy in Na_xCo₂O₄. The correlation of the temperature profile of the increases in each material with the nature of their phase transitions indicates that the entropy is associated with the thermodynamcis of ion-ordering. This suggests a new mechanism by which high thermoelectric performance may be understood and engineered.

Nanofabrication for On-Chip Optical Levitation, Atom-Trapping, and Superconducting Quantum Circuits

Researchers have spent decades refining and improving their methods for fabricating smaller, finer-tuned, higher-quality nanoscale optical elements with the goal of making more sensitive and accurate measurements of the world around them using optics. Quantum optics has been a well-established tool of choice in making these increasingly sensitive measurements which have repeatedly pushed the limits on the accuracy of measurement set forth by quantum mechanics. A recent development in quantum optics has been a creative integration of robust, high-quality, and well-established macroscopic experimental systems with highly-engineerable on-chip nanoscale oscillators fabricated in cleanrooms. However, merging large systems with nanoscale oscillators often require them to have extremely high aspect-ratios, which make them extremely delicate and difficult to fabricate with an "experimentally reasonable" repeatability, yield and high quality. In this work we give an overview of our research, which focused on microscopic oscillators which are coupled with macroscopic optical cavities towards the goal of cooling them to their motional ground state in room temperature environments. The quality factor of a mechanical resonator is an important figure of merit for various sensing applications and observing quantum behavior. We demonstrated a technique for pushing the quality factor of a micromechanical resonator beyond conventional material and fabrication limits by using an optical field to stiffen and trap a particular motional mode of a nanoscale oscillator. Optical forces increase the oscillation frequency by storing most of the mechanical energy in a nearly loss-less optical potential, thereby strongly diluting the effects of material dissipation. By placing a 130 nm thick SiO₂ pendulum in an optical standing wave, we achieve an increase in the pendulum center-of-mass frequency from 6.2 to 145 kHz. The corresponding quality factor increases 50-fold from its intrinsic value to a final value of Q_m = 5.8(1.1) x 10⁵, representing more than an order of magnitude improvement over the conventional limits of SiO₂ for a pendulum geometry. Our technique may enable new opportunities for mechanical sensing and facilitate observations of quantum behavior in this class of mechanical systems. We then give a detailed overview of the techniques used to produce high-aspect-ratio nanostructures with applications in a wide range of quantum optics experiments. The ability to fabricate such nanodevices with high precision opens the door to a vast array of experiments which integrate macroscopic optical setups with lithographically engineered nanodevices. Coupled with atom-trapping experiments in the Kimble Lab, we use these techniques to realize a new waveguide chip designed to address ultra-cold atoms along lithographically patterned nanobeams which have large atom-photon coupling and near 4π Steradian optical access for cooling and trapping atoms. We describe a fully integrated and scalable design where cold atoms are spatially overlapped with the nanostring cavities in order to observe a resonant optical depth of d₀ ≈ 0.15. The nanodevice illuminates new possibilities for integrating atoms into photonic circuits and engineering quantum states of atoms and light on a microscopic scale. We then describe our work with superconducting microwave resonators coupled to a phononic cavity towards the goal of building an integrated device for quantum-limited microwave-to-optical wavelength conversion. We give an overview of our characterizations of several types of substrates for fabricating a low-loss high-frequency electromechanical system. We describe our electromechanical system fabricated on a Si₃N₄ membrane which consists of a 12 GHz superconducting LC resonator coupled capacitively to the high frequency localized modes of a phononic nanobeam. Using our suspended membrane geometry we isolate our system from substrates with significant loss tangents, drastically reducing the parasitic capacitance of our superconducting circuit to ≈ 2.5$ fF. This opens up a number of possibilities in making a new class of low-loss high-frequency electromechanics with relatively large electromechanical coupling. We present our substrate studies, fabrication methods, and device characterization.

Effect of Microstructural Interfaces on the Mechanical Response of Crystalline Metallic Materials

Advances in nano-scale mechanical testing have brought about progress in the understanding of physical phenomena in materials and a measure of control in the fabrication of novel materials. In contrast to bulk materials that display size-invariant mechanical properties, sub-micron metallic samples show a critical dependence on sample size. The strength of nano-scale single crystalline metals is well-described by a power-law function, σαD^-n, where D is a critical sample size and n is a experimentally-fit positive exponent. This relationship is attributed to source-driven plasticity and demonstrates a strengthening as the decreasing sample size begins to limit the size and number of dislocation sources. A full understanding of this size-dependence is complicated by the presence of microstructural features such as interfaces that can compete with the dominant dislocation-based deformation mechanisms. In this thesis, the effects of microstructural features such as grain boundaries and anisotropic crystallinity on nano-scale metals are investigated through uniaxial compression testing. We find that nano-sized Cu covered by a hard coating displays a Bauschinger effect and the emergence of this behavior can be explained through a simple dislocation-based analytic model. Al nano-pillars containing a single vertically-oriented coincident site lattice grain boundary are found to show similar deformation to single-crystalline nano-pillars with slip traces passing through the grain boundary. With increasing tilt angle of the grain boundary from the pillar axis, we observe a transition from dislocation-dominated deformation to grain boundary sliding. Crystallites are observed to shear along the grain boundary and molecular dynamics simulations reveal a mechanism of atomic migration that accommodates boundary sliding. We conclude with an analysis of the effects of inherent crystal anisotropy and alloying on the mechanical behavior of the Mg alloy, AZ31. Through comparison to pure Mg, we show that the size effect dominates the strength of samples below 10 μm, that differences in the size effect between hexagonal slip systems is due to the inherent crystal anisotropy, suggesting that the fundamental mechanism of the size effect in these slip systems is the same.

Band Engineering in Thermoelectric Materials Using Optical, Electronic, and Ab-Initio Computed Properties

Thermoelectric materials have demanded a significant amount of attention for their ability to convert waste heat directly to electricity with no moving parts. A resurgence in thermoelectrics research has led to significant enhancements in the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, even for materials that were already well studied. This thesis approaches thermoelectric zT optimization by developing a detailed understanding of the electronic structure using a combination of electronic/thermoelectric properties, optical properties, and ab-initio computed electronic band structures. This is accomplished by applying these techniques to three important classes of thermoelectric materials: IV-VI materials (the lead chalcogenides), Half-Heusler’s (XNiSn where X=Zr, Ti, Hf), and CoSb₃ skutterudites.

In the IV-VI materials (PbTe, PbSe, PbS) I present a shifting temperature-dependent optical absorption edge which correlates well to the computed ab-initio molecular dynamics result. Contrary to prior literature that suggests convergence of the primary and secondary bands at 400 K, I suggest a higher convergence temperature of 700, 900, and 1000 K for PbTe, PbSe, and PbS, respectively. This finding can help guide electronic properties modelling by providing a concrete value for the band gap and valence band offset as a function of temperature.

Another important thermoelectric material, ZrNiSn (half-Heusler), is analyzed for both its optical and electronic properties; transport properties indicate a largely different band gap depending on whether the material is doped n-type or p-type. By measuring and reporting the optical band gap value of 0.13 eV, I resolve the discrepancy in the gap calculated from electronic properties (maximum Seebeck and resistivity) by correlating these estimates to the electron-to-hole weighted mobility ratio, A, in narrow gap materials (A is found to be approximately 5.0 in ZrNiSn).

I also show that CoSb₃ contains multiple conduction bands that contribute to the thermoelectric properties. These bands are also observed to shift towards each other with temperature, eventually reaching effective convergence for T>500 K. This implies that the electronic structure in CoSb₃ is critically important (and possibly engineerable) with regards to its high thermoelectric figure of merit.

Design of antenna-coupled lumped-element titanium nitride KIDs for long-wavelength multi-band continuum imaging

Many applications in cosmology and astrophysics at millimeter wavelengths including CMB polarization, studies of galaxy clusters using the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZE), and studies of star formation at high redshift and in our local universe and our galaxy, require large-format arrays of millimeter-wave detectors. Feedhorn and phased-array antenna architectures for receiving mm-wave light present numerous advantages for control of systematics, for simultaneous coverage of both polarizations and/or multiple spectral bands, and for preserving the coherent nature of the incoming light. This enables the application of many traditional "RF" structures such as hybrids, switches, and lumped-element or microstrip band-defining filters.

Simultaneously, kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) using high-resistivity materials like titanium nitride are an attractive sensor option for large-format arrays because they are highly multiplexable and because they can have sensitivities reaching the condition of background-limited detection. A KID is a LC resonator. Its inductance includes the geometric inductance and kinetic inductance of the inductor in the superconducting phase. A photon absorbed by the superconductor breaks a Cooper pair into normal-state electrons and perturbs its kinetic inductance, rendering it a detector of light. The responsivity of KID is given by the fractional frequency shift of the LC resonator per unit optical power.

However, coupling these types of optical reception elements to KIDs is a challenge because of the impedance mismatch between the microstrip transmission line exiting these architectures and the high resistivity of titanium nitride. Mitigating direct absorption of light through free space coupling to the inductor of KID is another challenge. We present a detailed titanium nitride KID design that addresses these challenges. The KID inductor is capacitively coupled to the microstrip in such a way as to form a lossy termination without creating an impedance mismatch. A parallel plate capacitor design mitigates direct absorption, uses hydrogenated amorphous silicon, and yields acceptable noise. We show that the optimized design can yield expected sensitivities very close to the fundamental limit for a long wavelength imager (LWCam) that covers six spectral bands from 90 to 400 GHz for SZE studies.

Excess phase (frequency) noise has been observed in KID and is very likely caused by two-level systems (TLS) in dielectric materials. The TLS hypothesis is supported by the measured dependence of the noise on resonator internal power and temperature. However, there is still a lack of a unified microscopic theory which can quantitatively model the properties of the TLS noise. In this thesis we derive the noise power spectral density due to the coupling of TLS with phonon bath based on an existing model and compare the theoretical predictions about power and temperature dependences with experimental data. We discuss the limitation of such a model and propose the direction for future study.

Signatures of Topological Superconductors

Topological superconductors are particularly interesting in light of the active ongoing experimental efforts for realizing exotic physics such as Majorana zero modes. These systems have excitations with non-Abelian exchange statistics, which provides a path towards topological quantum information processing. Intrinsic topological superconductors are quite rare in nature. However, one can engineer topological superconductivity by inducing effective p-wave pairing in materials which can be grown in the laboratory. One possibility is to induce the proximity effect in topological insulators; another is to use hybrid structures of superconductors and semiconductors.

The proposal of interfacing s-wave superconductors with quantum spin Hall systems provides a promising route to engineered topological superconductivity. Given the exciting recent progress on the fabrication side, identifying experiments that definitively expose the topological superconducting phase (and clearly distinguish it from a trivial state) raises an increasingly important problem. With this goal in mind, we proposed a detection scheme to get an unambiguous signature of topological superconductivity, even in the presence of ordinarily detrimental effects such as thermal fluctuations and quasiparticle poisoning. We considered a Josephson junction built on top of a quantum spin Hall material. This system allows the proximity effect to turn edge states in effective topological superconductors. Such a setup is promising because experimentalists have demonstrated that supercurrents indeed flow through quantum spin Hall edges. To demonstrate the topological nature of the superconducting quantum spin Hall edges, theorists have proposed examining the periodicity of Josephson currents respect to the phase across a Josephson junction. The periodicity of tunneling currents of ground states in a topological superconductor Josephson junction is double that of a conventional Josephson junction. In practice, this modification of periodicity is extremely difficult to observe because noise sources, such as quasiparticle poisoning, wash out the signature of topological superconductors. For this reason, We propose a new, relatively simple DC measurement that can compellingly reveal topological superconductivity in such quantum spin Hall/superconductor heterostructures. More specifically, We develop a general framework for capturing the junction's current-voltage characteristics as a function of applied magnetic flux. Our analysis reveals sharp signatures of topological superconductivity in the field-dependent critical current. These signatures include the presence of multiple critical currents and a non-vanishing critical current for all magnetic field strengths as a reliable identification scheme for topological superconductivity.

This system becomes more interesting as interactions between electrons are involved. By modeling edge states as a Luttinger liquid, we find conductance provides universal signatures to distinguish between normal and topological superconductors. More specifically, we use renormalization group methods to extract universal transport characteristics of superconductor/quantum spin Hall heterostructures where the native edge states serve as a lead. Interestingly, arbitrarily weak interactions induce qualitative changes in the behavior relative to the free-fermion limit, leading to a sharp dichotomy in conductance for the trivial (narrow superconductor) and topological (wide superconductor) cases. Furthermore, we find that strong interactions can in principle induce parafermion excitations at a superconductor/quantum spin Hall junction.

As we identify the existence of topological superconductor, we can take a step further. One can use topological superconductor for realizing Majorana modes by breaking time reversal symmetry. An advantage of 2D topological insulator is that networks required for braiding Majoranas along the edge channels can be obtained by adjoining 2D topological insulator to form corner junctions. Physically cutting quantum wells for this purpose, however, presents technical challenges. For this reason, I propose a more accessible means of forming networks that rely on dynamically manipulating the location of edge states inside of a single 2D topological insulator sheet. In particular, I show that edge states can effectively be dragged into the system's interior by gating a region near the edge into a metallic regime and then removing the resulting gapless carriers via proximity-induced superconductivity. This method allows one to construct rather general quasi-1D networks along which Majorana modes can be exchanged by electrostatic means.

Apart from 2D topological insulators, Majorana fermions can also be generated in other more accessible materials such as semiconductors. Following up on a suggestion by experimentalist Charlie Marcus, I proposed a novel geometry to create Majorana fermions by placing a 2D electron gas in proximity to an interdigitated superconductor-ferromagnet structure. This architecture evades several manufacturing challenges by allowing single-side fabrication and widening the class of 2D electron gas that may be used, such as the surface states of bulk semiconductors. Furthermore, it naturally allows one to trap and manipulate Majorana fermions through the application of currents. Thus, this structure may lead to the development of a circuit that enables fully electrical manipulation of topologically-protected quantum memory. To reveal these exotic Majorana zero modes, I also proposed an interference scheme to detect Majorana fermions that is broadly applicable to any 2D topological superconductor platform.

Fabrication, Characterization, And Deformation of 3D Structural Meta-Materials

Current technological advances in fabrication methods have provided pathways to creating architected structural meta-materials similar to those found in natural organisms that are structurally robust and lightweight, such as diatoms. Structural meta-materials are materials with mechanical properties that are determined by material properties at various length scales, which range from the material microstructure (nm) to the macro-scale architecture (μm – mm). It is now possible to exploit material size effect, which emerge at the nanometer length scale, as well as structural effects to tune the material properties and failure mechanisms of small-scale cellular solids, such as nanolattices. This work demonstrates the fabrication and mechanical properties of 3-dimensional hollow nanolattices in both tension and compression. Hollow gold nanolattices loaded in uniaxial compression demonstrate that strength and stiffness vary as a function of geometry and tube wall thickness. Structural effects were explored by increasing the unit cell angle from 30° to 60° while keeping all other parameters constant; material size effects were probed by varying the tube wall thickness, t, from 200nm to 635nm, at a constant relative density and grain size. In-situ uniaxial compression experiments reveal an order-of-magnitude increase in yield stress and modulus in nanolattices with greater lattice angles, and a 150% increase in the yield strength without a concomitant change in modulus in thicker-walled nanolattices for fixed lattice angles. These results imply that independent control of structural and material size effects enables tunability of mechanical properties of 3-dimensional architected meta-materials and highlight the importance of material, geometric, and microstructural effects in small-scale mechanics. This work also explores the flaw tolerance of 3D hollow-tube alumina kagome nanolattices with and without pre-fabricated notches, both in experiment and simulation. Experiments demonstrate that the hollow kagome nanolattices in uniaxial tension always fail at the same load when the ratio of notch length (a) to sample width (w) is no greater than 1/3, with no correlation between failure occurring at or away from the notch. For notches with (a/w) > 1/3, the samples fail at lower peak loads and this is attributed to the increased compliance as fewer unit cells span the un-notched region. Finite element simulations of the kagome tension samples show that the failure is governed by tensile loading for (a/w) < 1/3 but as (a/w) increases, bending begins to play a significant role in the failure. This work explores the flaw sensitivity of hollow alumina kagome nanolattices in tension, using experiments and simulations, and demonstrates that the discrete-continuum duality of architected structural meta-materials gives rise to their flaw insensitivity even when made entirely of intrinsically brittle materials.