Dark Field X-ray Microscopy Below Liquid-Helium Temperature: The Case of NaMnO2

Abstract

Dark field X-ray microscopy (DFXM) is an experimental technique employed to investigate material properties by probing their 'mesoscale,' or microscale structures, in a bulk-sensitive manner using hard X-rays at synchrotron radiation sources. However, challenges remain when it comes to applications of this technique to examine low-temperature phenomena in quantum materials, which exhibit complex phase transitions at cryogenic temperatures. One such material is NaMnO2, which hosts an antiferromagnetic transition at 45 K that is suspected to coincide with local structural transitions from its majority monoclinic phase to nanoscale triclinic domains. Direct observation of local heterogeneities and this effect at low temperatures in NaMnO2 is an important step in understanding this material, and serves as an ideal candidate study for expanding the DFXM experimental design space. This paper details a foundational high-resolution DFXM study, down to liquid-helium temperature and below, conducted to explore phase transitions in NaMnO2. The outlined experiment ushers in the evaluation of other functional materials at low temperatures using this technique.

arXiv comment9 pages, 7 figures

References in corpus (6)

• In-Situ Visualization of Long-Range Defect Interactions at the Edge of Melting
• Frustration-induced nanometre-scale inhomogeneity in a triangular antiferromagnet
• High order magnon bound states in the quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnet $\alpha$-NaMnO${}_2$
• Amplitude mode in the planar triangular antiferromagnet Na${}_{0.9}$MnO${}_2$
• Thermal evolution of quasi-1D spin correlations within the anisotropic triangular lattice of $\alpha$-NaMnO${}_2$
• Floating zone growth of α-Na${}_{0.90}$MnO${}_2$ single crystals

Cited by in corpus (1)

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