Stimulated structural changes of Se in nanolayered composite films

International audienceAmorphous selenium (a-Se) is the simplest model material for investigation of the well-known photoinduced structural and optical transformations in amorphous chalcogenides. Since a lot of parameters and characteristics of materials essentially change at nanoscale, we applied nanostructuring to a -Se in nanomultilayers, obtained by pulsed laser deposition. The enhancement of photo- and thermally-induced crystallization was observed in a-Se/aluminosilicate nanomultilayers due to the initially heterogeneous state of Se in such samples, in comparison with single a -Se layers

Second-order optical nonlinearity and ionic conductivity of nanocrystalline GeS2-Ga2S3-LiI glass-ceramics with improved thermo-mechanical properties.

International audienceIR-transparent chalcogenide glass-ceramics were fabricated through a careful ceramization process of the as-prepared 65 GeS(2) x 25 Ga(2)S(3) x 10 LiI glasses at a temperature of 403 degrees C for various durations. Owing to the precipitation of Li(x)Ga(y)S(z) crystals with a Ga(2)S(3)-like structure, clear second-harmonic generation was observed in the sample crystallized at 403 degrees C for 60 h, which has a greatly improved resistance to environmental impairment. Additionally, it is found that the shorter crystallization process (< or = 60 h) contributed to the enhancement of Li(+) ionic conductivity, whereas a longer heat-treatment (80 h) would impair that of the glass-ceramics. The micro-structural origin of these varied properties was elucidated in detail. The corresponding results will be of benefit for the optimization of designed transparent chalcogenide glass-ceramics with improved thermo-mechanical properties, a permanent second-order optical nonlinearity, or a well-enhanced ionic conductivity for application in amorphous solid electrolytes

Preface: 13th International Symposium on Crystallization in Glasses and Liquids (Crystallization 2024): September 24-27, 2024, Orléans, France

The articles presented in this special section follow the 13th International Symposium on Crystallization in Glasses and Liquids (Crystallization 2024) held in the historic city of Orléans, France. The web of the event is still available at https://www.lestudium-ias.com/events/13th-international-symposium-crystallization-glasses-and-liquids. The Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies (Le Studium) had the pleasure and honor to host this symposium, which is the thirteenth in a series of successful meetings organized by the International Commission on Glass (ICG) Technical Committee 07 (TC07), the theme of which is Crystallization in Glasses and Glass-ceramics. More information about this technical committee, and also the ICG, can be found at http://www.icglass.org/. Previous versions of this symposium have been held in the United States in 1960, 1971, 1981, 1992 and 2006, in Brazil 1996 and 2009, in Liechtenstein in 2000, in the UK in 2003, in Germany in 2012, in Japan in 2015, and in Spain in 2017. Over the years, these meetings have established a strong international reputation for disseminating the state-of-the-art in crystallization research, from fundamental aspects to innovative glass-ceramic products

Experimental evidence concerning the significant information depth of X-ray diffraction (XRD) in the Bragg-Brentano configuration

X-ray diffraction in the Bragg-Brentano configuration (“XRD”) is a very established method. However, experimental evidence concerning its significant information depth, i.e. microstructure components from which maximum depth can affect the information evaluated from the acquired diffraction pattern, are scarce in the scientific literature. This depth is relevant to all XRD measurements performed on compact samples, especially layered composites and samples showing a crystallographic texture evolution. This article provides experimentally determined upper and lower limits to the significant information depth: XRD patterns acquired froma compact crystal layer through a layer of compact, amorphous glass indicate that the significant information depth of XRD using Cu Kα1 and Kα2 radiation is very likely larger than 48 μm, but smaller than 118 μm, in a material of the composition Mg2Al4Si5O18 with a density of ca. ∼2.6 g/cm3. The depth of 48 μm correlates to the depth larger than the layer of material from which 90% of the reflected X-rays originate at 2Θ = 25.8°

Pulsed laser deposited amorphous chalcogenide and alumino-silicate thin films and their multilayered structures for photonic applications

International audienceAmorphous chalcogenide and alumino-silicate thin films were fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition technique. Prepared films were characterized in terms of their morphology, chemical composition, and optical properties. Multilayered thin film stacks for reflectors and vertical microcavities were designed for telecommunication wavelength and the window of atmosphere transparency (band II) at 1.54 μm and 4.65 μm, respectively. Bearing in mind the benefit coming from the opportunity of an efficient wavelength tuning or, conversely, to stabilize the photoinduced effects in chalcogenide films as well as to improve their mechanical properties and/or their chemical durability, several pairs of materials from pure chalcogenide layers to chalcogenide/oxide layers were investigated. Different layer stacks were fabricated in order to check the compatibility between dissimilar materials which can have a strong influence on the interface roughness, adhesion, density, and homogeneity, for instance. Three different reflector designs were formulated and tested including all-chalcogenide layers (As40Se60/Ge25Sb5S70) and mixed chalcogenide-oxide layers (As40Se60/alumino-silicate and Ga10Ge15Te75/alumino-silicate). Prepared multilayers showed good compatibility between different material pairs deposited by laser ablation despite the diversity of chemical compositions. As40Se60/alumino-silicate reflector showed the best parameters; its stop band (R > 97% at 8° off-normal incidence) has a bandwidth of ~ 100 nm and it is centered at 1490 nm. The quality of the different mirrors developed was good enough to try to obtain a microcavity structure for the 1.5 μm telecommunication wavelength made of chalcogenide layers. The microcavity structure consists of Ga5Ge20Sb10S65 (doped with 5000 ppm of Er3 +) spacer surrounded by two 10-layer As40Se60/Ge25Sb5S70 reflectors. Scanning and transmission electron microscopies showed a good periodicity, great adherence and smooth interfaces between the alternating dielectric layers confirming a suitable compatibility between the different materials

A computationally-guided non-equilibrium synthesis approach to materials discovery in the SrO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ phase field

Glass-crystallisation synthesis is coupled to probe structure prediction for the guided discovery of new metastable oxides in the SrO-Al2O3-SiO2 phase field, yielding a new ternary ribbon-silicate, Sr2Si3O8. In principle, this methodology can be applied to a wide range of oxide chemistries by selecting an appropriate non-equilibrium synthesis route

White light and multicolor emission tuning in triply doped Yb3+/Tm3+/Er3+ novel fluoro-phosphate transparent glass-ceramics

New Yb3+, Er3+ and Tm3+ doped fluoro-phosphate glasses belonging to the system NaPO3-YF3-BaF2-CaF2 and containing up to 10 wt% of rare-earth ion fluorides were prepared and characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, absorption spectroscopy and up-conversion emission spectroscopy under excitation with a 975 nm laser diode. Transparent and homogeneous glass-ceramics have been reproducibly obtained with a view to manage the red, green and blue emission bands and generate white light. X-ray diffraction as well as electron microscopy techniques have confirmed the formation of fluorite-type cubic nanocrystals at the beginning of the crystallization process while complex nanocrystalline phases are formed after a longer heat-treatment. The prepared glass-ceramics exhibit high optical transparency even after 170 h of thermal treatment. An improvement of up-conversion emission intensity - from 10 to 160 times larger - was measured in the glass-ceramics when compared to the parent glass, suggesting an important incorporation of the rare-earth ions into the crystalline phase(s). The involved mechanisms and lifetime were described in detail as a function of heat-treatment time. Finally, a large range of designable color rendering (from orange to turquoise through white) can be observed in these materials by controlling the laser excitation power and the crystallization rate.Canadian Excellence Research Chair program (CERC) on Enabling Photonic Innovations for Information and CommunicationFAPESPCNPqINCT - INOF/CePOFANR (CrystOG ANR-12-JS08-0002-01

Co-designing livestock-based circular agri-food systems in developing countries rural areas: The CLiMiT living lab approach

Many studies show that livestock within a circular agri-food systems framework can contribute to promote sustainability transitions in the context of developed countries. However, there is a lack of studies in rural areas of developing countries. CLiMiT project aims to develop an approach to facilitate the codesign and the implementation of livestock-based circular agri-food systems to promote sustainable territories in developing countries. Based on a Living Lab approach we first propose an interdisciplinary and participative agri-food systems territorial diagnosis starting from a biomass perspective. The biomass flows at farm and territory level and their governance are assessed through individual interviews and participatory workshops. Second, supported by multicriteria assessment methodologies (socio-economic and environmental), livestock-based circular agri-food system and the pathways to implement the transitions are co-designed with local stakeholders. Finally, via local NGO, we facilitate the implementation of the co-designed system and follow up in itinere the first obstacles for its operationalisation. The first phase of the project is set in two rural pilot areas located in Malagasy Central Highlands. The knowledge and tools mobilized will contribute to develop the CLiMiT approach that will be tested and improved in other developing countries during the second phase of the project

Highly Nonstoichiometric YAG Ceramics with Modified Luminescence Properties

Y3Al5O12 (YAG) is a widely used phosphor host. Its optical properties are controlled by chemical substitution at its YO8 or AlO6/AlO4 sublattices, with emission wavelengths defined by rare-earth and transition-metal dopants that have been explored extensively. Nonstoichiometric compositions Y3+xAl5-xO12 (x ≠ 0) may offer a route to new emission wavelengths by distributing dopants over two or more sublattices simultaneously, producing new local coordination environments for the activator ions. However, YAG typically behaves as a line phase, and such compositions are therefore challenging to synthesize. Here, a series of highly nonstoichiometric Y3+xAl5-xO12 with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.40 is reported, corresponding to ≤20% of the AlO6 sublattice substituted by Y3+, synthesized by advanced melt-quenching techniques. This impacts the up-conversion luminescence of Yb3+/Er3+-doped systems, whose yellow-green emission differs from the red-orange emission of their stoichiometric counterparts. In contrast, the YAG:Ce3+ system has a different structural response to nonstoichiometry and its down-conversion emission is only weakly affected. Analogous highly nonstoichiometric systems should be obtainable for a range of garnet materials, demonstrated here by the synthesis of Gd3.2Al4.8O12 and Gd3.2Ga4.8O12. This opens pathways to property tuning by control of host stoichiometry, and the prospect of improved performance or new applications for garnet-type materials.Financial support was provided by the ANR-18-CE08-0012 PERSIST and ANR-20-CE08-0007 CAPRE projects of the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the CNRS, the I+D+I Grants PID2021-122328OB-100 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. PhD studentships for WC and XF were financed by the Chinese Scholarship Council (project numbers 201808450100 and 202008450026). Use of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory was supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. EXAFS beamtime was provided by the SOLEIL synchrotron (Gif-sur-Yvette, France) under project 99210047. The project benefitted from the microscopy facilities of the Platform MACLE-CVL which was co-funded by the European Union and Centre-Val de Loire Region (FEDER).Peer reviewe