Facile non‐lithographic route to highly aligned silica nanopatterns using unidirectionally aligned polystyrene‐block‐polydimethylsiloxane films

Thin films (monolayer and bilayer) of cylinder forming polystyrene‐block‐polydimethylsiloxane (PS‐b‐PDMS) were shear aligned by the swelling and deswelling of a crosslinked PDMS pad that was physically adhered to the film during solvent vapor annealing. The nanostructures formed by self‐assembly were exposed to ultraviolet‐ozone to partially oxidize the PDMS, followed by calcination in air at 500 °C. In this process, the PS segments were fully decomposed, while the PDMS yielded silica nanostructures. The highly aligned PDMS cylinders were thus deposited as silica nanolines on the silicon substrate. Using a bilayer film, the center‐to‐center distance of these features were effectively halved from 38 to 19 nm. Similarly, by sequential shear‐alignment of two distinct layers, a rhombic array of silica nanolines was fabricated. This methodology provides a facile route to fabricating complex topographically patterned nanostructures. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1058–1064     

Low-energy ion-assisted control of interfacial structures in metallic multilayers

A molecular dynamics method has been used to simulate the argon ion-assisted deposition of Cu/Co/Cu multilayers and to explore ion beam assistance strategies that can be used during or after the growth of each layer to control interfacial structures. A low-argon ion energy of 5–10 eV was found to minimize a combination of interfacial roughness and interlayer mixing (alloying) during the ion-assisted deposition of multilayers. However, complete flattening with simultaneous ion assistance could not be achieved without some mixing between the layers when a constant ion energy approach was used. It was found that multilayers with lower interfacial roughness and intermixing could be grown either by modulating the ion energy during the growth of each metal layer or by utilizing ion assistance only after the completion of each layers deposition. In these latter approaches, relatively high-energy ions could be used since the interface is buried and less susceptible to intermixing. The interlayer mixing dependence upon the thickness of the over layer has been determined as a function of ion energy.     

The resistance of metallic plates to localized impulse

The responses of metallic plates and sandwich panels to localized impulse are examined by using a dynamic plate test protocol supported by simulations. The fidelity of the simulation approach is assessed by comparing predictions of the deformations of a strong-honeycomb-core panel with measurements. The response is interpreted by comparing and contrasting the deformations with those experienced by the same sandwich panel (and an equivalent solid plate) subjected to a planar impulse. Comparisons based on the center point displacement reveal the following paradox. The honeycomb panel is superior to a solid plate when subjected to a planar impulse, but inferior when localized. The insights gained from an interpretation of these results are used to demonstrate that a new design with a doubly-corrugated soft core outperforms solid plates both for planar and localized impulses.     

Spin switching in antiferromagnets using Néel-order spin-orbit torques

Antiferromagnets offer considerable potential for electronic device applications. This article reviews recent demonstrations of spin manipulation in antiferromagnetic devices using applied electrical currents. Due to spin–orbit coupling in environments with particular crystalline or structural symmetries, the electric current can induce an effective magnetic field with a sign that alternates on the lengthscale of the unit cell. The staggered effective field provides an efficient mechanism for switching antiferromagnetic domains and moving antiferromagnetic domain walls, with writing speeds in the terahertz regime.     

Constitutive model for predicting dynamic interactions between soil ejecta and structural panels

A constitutive model is developed for the high-rate deformation of an aggregate comprising of mono-sized spherical particles with a view to developing an understanding of dynamic soil-structure interactions in landmine explosions. The constitutive model accounts for two regimes of behaviour. When the particle assembly is widely dispersed (regime I), the contacts between particles are treated as collisions, analogous to those between molecules in a gas or liquid. At high packing densities (regime II) the contacts are semi-permanent and consolidation is dominated by particle deformation and inter-particle friction. Regime I is modelled by extending an approach proposed by Bagnold (1954. Experiments on a gravity-free dispersion of large solid particles in a Newtonian fluid under shear. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A 225, 49-63) to a general strain history comprising volumetric and deviatoric deformation. For regime II, classical soil mechanics models (such as Drucker-Prager) are employed. The overall model is employed to investigate the one-dimensional impact of sand against a rigid stationary target. The calculations illustrate that, unlike single-particle impact, the momentum transmitted to a rigid target is insensitive to the particle co-efficient of restitution, but strongly dependent on initial density. The constitutive model is also used to examine the spherical expansion of a shell of sand (both dry and water saturated). In line with initial experimental observations, the wet sand is predicted to form clumps while the dry sand fully disperses. The model shows that this clumping of explosively loaded wet sand exerts higher pressures on nearby targets compared to equivalent dry sand explosions.     

Atomistic examinations of the solid-phase epitaxial growth of silicon

The low-temperature vapor deposition of silicon thin films and the ion implantation of silicon can result in the formation of amorphous silicon layers on a crystalline silicon substrate. These amorphous layers can be crystallized by a thermally activated solid-phase epitaxial (SPE) growth process. The transformations are rapid and initiate at the buried amorphous to crystalline interface within the film. The initial stages of the transformation are investigated here using a molecular dynamics simulation approach based upon a recently proposed bond order potential for silicon. The method is used first to predict an amorphous structure for a rapidly cooled silicon melt. The radial distribution function of this structure is shown to be similar to that observed experimentally. Molecular dynamics simulations of its subsequent crystallization indicate that the early stage, rate limiting mechanism appears to be removal of tetrahedrally coordinated interstitial defects in the nominally crystalline region just behind the advancing amorphous to crystalline transition front. The activation barriers for this interstitials migration within the bulk crystal lattice are calculated and are found to be comparable to the activation energy of the overall solid-phase epitaxial growth process simulated here.     

A discrete particle approach to simulate the combined effect of blast and sand impact loading of steel plates

The structural response of a stainless steel plate subjected to the combined blast and sand impact loading from a buried charge has been investigated using a fully coupled approach in which a discrete particle method is used to determine the load due to the high explosive detonation products, the air shock and the sand, and a finite element method predicts the plate deflection. The discrete particle method is based on rigid, spherical particles that transfer forces between each other during collisions. This method, which is based on a Lagrangian formulation, has several advantages over coupled Lagrangian-Eulerian approaches as both advection errors and severe contact problems are avoided. The method has been validated against experimental tests where spherical 150 g C-4 charges were detonated at various stand-off distances from square, edge-clamped 3.4 mm thick AL-6XN stainless steel plates. The experiments were carried out for a bare charge, a charge enclosed in dry sand and a charge enclosed in fully saturated wet sand. The particle-based method is able to describe the physical interactions between the explosive reaction products and soil particles leading to a realistic prediction of the sand ejecta speed and momentum. Good quantitative agreement between the experimental and predicted deformation response of the plates is also obtained.     

Dynamic compression of metallic sandwich structures during planar impulsive loading in water

The compressive response of rigidly supported stainless steel sandwich panels subject to a planar impulsive load in water is investigated. Five core topologies that spanned a wide range of crush strengths and strain-dependencies were investigated. They included a (i) square-honeycomb, (ii) triangular honeycomb, (iii) multi-layer pyramidal truss, (iv) triangular corrugation and (v) diamond corrugation, all with a core relative density of approximately 5%. Quasi-statically, the honeycombs had the highest peak strength, but exhibited strong softening beyond the peak strength. The truss and corrugated cores had significantly lower strength, but a post yield plateau that extended to beyond a plastic strain of 60% similar to metal foams. Dynamically, the transmitted pressures scale with the quasi-static strength. The final transmitted momentum increased slowly with core strength (provided the cores were not fully crushed). It is shown that the essential aspects of the dynamic response, such as the transmitted momentum and the degree of core compression, are captured with surprising fidelity by modeling the cores as equivalent metal foams having plateau strengths represented by the quasi-static peak strength. The implication is that, despite considerable differences in core topology and dynamic deformation modes, a simple foam-like model replicates the dynamic response of rigidly supported sandwich panels subject to planar impulsive loads. It remains to ascertain whether such foam-like models capture more nuanced aspects of sandwich panel behavior when locally loaded in edge clamped configurations.