Nanoscale mapping of chemical composition in organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite films.

Lead-based organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite (OIHP) solar cells can attain efficiencies over 20%. However, the impact of ion mobility and/or organic depletion, structural changes, and segregation under operating conditions urge for decisive and more accurate investigations. Hence, the development of analytical tools for accessing the grain-to-grain OIHP chemistry is of great relevance. Here, we used synchrotron infrared nanospectroscopy (nano-FTIR) to map individual nanograins in OIHP films. Our results reveal a spatial heterogeneity of the vibrational activity associated to the nanoscale chemical diversity of isolated grains. It was possible to map the chemistry of individual grains in CsFAMA [Cs0.05FA0.79MA0.16Pb(I0.83Br0.17)3] and FAMA [FA0.83MA0.17Pb(I0.83Br0.17)3] films, with information on their local composition. Nanograins with stronger nano-FTIR activity in CsFAMA and FAMA films can be assigned to PbI2 and hexagonal polytype phases, respectively. The analysis herein can be extended to any OIHP films where organic cation depletion/accumulation can be used as a chemical label to study composition.

New model for magnetism in ultrathin fcc Fe on Cu(001).

Using soft-x-ray resonant magnetic scattering in combination with first-principles calculations for noncollinear magnetic configurations we present a new model of the magnetism in ultrathin fcc Fe films on Cu(001). We find the presence of blocks with robust magnetic structure, while the relative directions of the moments of different blocks are sensitive to the detailed atomic structure and temperature. The magnetic noncollinearity is directly demonstrated, which has not been possible so far.

Controlling structure and morphology of CoPt nanoparticles through dynamical or static coalescence effects.

The structure and morphology of 1 to 3 nm size CoPt nanoparticles have been investigated in situ and in real time under different conditions: growth at 500 degrees C or at room temperature (RT) followed by annealing at 500 degrees C. The small-angle x-ray scattering measurements show size and temperature dependent growth mode with particle motions on the surface, while wide-angle scattering results, supported by Monte Carlo simulations, allow structure identification. If icosahedra are systematically detected at the first growth stages at RT, annealing at 500 degrees C yields the decahedral structure from the quasistatic coalescence of icosahedral morphology. Meanwhile, growth at 500 degrees C proceeds by a dynamical coalescence mechanism at the early stage, yielding truncated octahedral cubic structures.

Depth magnetization profile of a perpendicular exchange coupled system by soft-x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity.

The magnetic profile across the interface of a perpendicular exchange coupled [NiO/CoO]3/Pt-Co/Pt(111) system is investigated. The magneto-optic Kerr effect reveals a strong coupling between the antiferromagnetic (AFM) oxide and the ferromagnetic (FM) Pt-Co layer, by an increasing coercivity and a rotation of the easy magnetization axis of the FM layer along the AFM spins. Soft x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity is used to probe the spatial distribution of the out-of-plane magnetization inside the oxide above its ordering temperature. It extends over 1 nm and exhibits a change of sign.

A multiwire proportional counter for XAS fluorescence experiments.

A multiwire proportional counter was used in fluorescence X ray absorption measurements and a comparison to a Si(Li) and NaI(Tl) detectors was done. The main features of the multiwire proportional counter are its high counting rate capability (10(7)) counts x s(-1)) and large active area (6 x 6 cm2). It was shown that the MWPC is suitable for fluorescence absorption. Although the maximum capability was not reached in the present experiments, it was found that as the counting rate increase the MWPC performance became better than Si(Li) detectors and shows a similar response to the scintillator counter at medium counting rates (up to 10(5) counts x s(-1)).

Structural properties of Cu-Permalloy under annealing.

We have studied the structure of melt-spun copper-permalloy samples (Cu80Fe4Ni16), annealed at several temperatures up to 873 K by means of EXAFS spectroscopy. The results for iron first neighhor average distance showed a slow decrease for annealing temperatures higher than 673 K. The nickel first neighbor distance had almost no change in the whole temperature range. This behavior is discussed in the light of rich iron cluster formation, and is compared with magnetic measurement results.

A 2.3 to 25 keV XAS beamline at LNLS.

The LNLS XAS beamline has been operating for external users since July 1997. Many facilities and improvements have been progressively added to it, extending the range of applications. Here, a technical description of the main beamline components is given, and results concerning important points, such as available flux at low and high energies, harmonic contamination, energy resolution and stability, are presented. Some key results are given to demonstrate the beamline performance and limitations. It is shown that the beamline can cover a large energy range, starting from the rather low energy of 2.3 keV up to 25 keV.

Commissioning and first results of the LNLS XAFS beamline.

An X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy beamline has been installed and commissioned at a bending-magnet source at LNLS. Three monochromators are available: a channel-cut, a double-crystal and a four-crystal set-up. They have been operated from 2500 up to 15000 eV, with a resolving power better than 5500 in the full range. Photon flux of the order of 10(8) photons s(-1) up to 10(10) photons s(-1) has been attained. The experimental station is equipped with a table that can withstand a weight of 300 kg and track the vertical position of the beam with a 2.5 micro m accuracy over a 120 mm stroke. The beamline has been fully characterized and the first results are presented.

The LNLS soft X-ray spectroscopy beamline.

The soft X-ray spectroscopy beamline installed at a bending-magnet source at the LNLS is described. The optics are designed to cover energies from 800 to 4000 eV with good efficiency. The focusing element is a gold-coated toroidal mirror with an angle of incidence of 17 mrad. The UHV double-crystal monochromator has three pairs of crystals, Si (111), InSb (111) and beryl (101;0), that can be selected by a sliding movement. The UHV workstation is equipped with an ion gun, an electron gun, an electron analyser, LEED optics, an open channeltron and a photodiode array. This beamline is intended for photoemission, photoabsorption, reflectivity and dichroism experiments.

Nanosecond-resolved XMCD on ID24 at the ESRF to investigate the element-selective dynamics of magnetization switching of Gd-Co amorphous thin film.

The one-bunch filling mode of the ESRF is combined with a microcoil to generate a pulsed-magnetic-field pump phased with respect to the probe that is given by the bunch of photons emitted each turn (357 kHz). Nanosecond-resolved X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) is carried out. Besides the microcoil, the two other key-elements are the energy-dispersive XAS spectrometer, which yields parallel data acquisition, and the diamond-based quarter-wave plate, which tunes the helicity of the photon alternatively left and right.

Quarter-wave plates and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism on ID24 at the ESRF.

The first XMCD measurements carried out on the ID24 energy-dispersive XAS beamline at the ESRF are reported. Circular-polarized X-rays are obtained using perfect diamond crystals as quarter-wave plates. The very small source divergence allows circular polarizations close to unity to be obtained.