In situ study of growth mechanism of germanene segregated through Ag(111) thin films by Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

寺澤 知潮; 勝部 大樹*; 矢野 雅大; 小澤 孝拓*; 津田 泰孝; 吉越 章隆; 朝岡 秀人; 鈴木 誠也

Chemistry of Materials, 38(6), p.2933 - 2945, 2026/03

AA2025-0822.pdf:1.33MB

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.5c03462

Germanene, a honeycomb lattice of Ge atoms, has attracted attention for next-generation electronics and as a topological material. Among reported synthesis routes, the segregation method enables reproducible monolayer germanene formation on Ag(111) through simply annealing an Ag(111) thin film on a Ge(111) substrate. Despite this success, the physical origins of its monolayer selectivity and the mechanism for suppressing competing Ge phases remain unclear. Here, we investigate germanene formation via Ge segregation using in situ Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to directly track Ge behavior during annealing and cooling. In situ observations revealed that annealing at 500C yielded no Ge-related byproducts, and the system reached a high-temperature surface equilibrium state, independent of the initial Ge amount. Cooling from this state produced a Ge-enriched surface that stabilizes the formation of monolayer germanene. In contrast, heating only to 300C produced three-dimensional Ge islands without Ge-enrichment, followed by Ge-Ag alloy formation upon subsequent cooling. By integrating the temperature-dependent diffusion length and the process-dependent diffusion direction, we established a unified description of Ge behavior on Ag/Ge(111) substrates, in which cooling-induced Ge-enrichment at the surface reproducibly stabilizes the selective formation of monolayer germanene.

Germanene reformation from oxidized germanene on Ag(111)/Ge(111) by vacuum annealing

鈴木 誠也; 勝部 大樹*; 矢野 雅大; 津田 泰孝; 寺澤 知潮; 小澤 孝拓*; 福谷 克之; Kim, Y.*; 朝岡 秀人; 柚原 淳司*; et al.

Small Methods, 9(3), p.2400863_1 - 2400863_9, 2025/03

https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202400863

For group 14 monoelemental two-dimensional materials, such as silicene, germanene, and stanene, oxidation is a severe problem that alters or degrades their physical properties. This study shows that the oxidized germanene on Ag(111)/Ge(111) can be reformed to germanene by simple heating around 500 C in a vacuum. The key reaction in reforming germanene is the desorption of GeO and GeO during heating around 350 C. After removing surface oxygen, Ge further segregates to the surface, resulting in germanene. The reformed germanene has the same crystal structure, a (7 7) R19.1 supercell with respect to Ag(111), and has equivalent high quality to that of as-grown germanene on Ag(111)/Ge(111). Even after air oxidation, germanene can be reformed by annealing in a vacuum. On the other hand, the desorption of GeO and GeO at high temperatures was not suppressed even in the O backfilling atmosphere. This instability of oxidized germanene/Ag(111)/Ge(111) at high temperatures contributes to the ease of germanene reformation without oxygen. In other words, the present germanene reformation, as well as the segregation of germanene on Ag(111)/Ge(111), is a highly robust process as a synthesis method of germanene.

再処理施設用蒸気配管伸縮継手損傷の原因と対策

西野 将平; 西田 哲郎; 川崎 一男; 本橋 昌博; 神原 貴志*; 鈴木 高一*; 木下 真登*

日本保全学会第20回学術講演会要旨集, p.14 - 21, 2024/08

核燃料サイクル工学研究所内の各施設においてプロセス用や空調用として使用している蒸気は、研究所内の中央運転管理室に設置された4基の水管ボイラで製造され、地下の共同溝を介して各施設に供給されている。各施設への蒸気供給配管は3系統(A系、B系、C系)あり、このうち2系統(A系、B系)が再処理施設用となっている。令和4年11月4日、11月25日、再処理施設用の蒸気配管のうちB系に設置された伸縮継手からの蒸気漏えい事象が発生した。本報告では、事象発生の原因と対策について報告する。

Origin of magnetically dead layers in spinel ferrites FeO grown on AlO; Effects of postdeposition annealing studied by XMCD

野中 洋亮*; 若林 勇希*; 芝田 悟朗; 坂本 祥哉*; 池田 啓祐*; Chi, Z.*; Wan, Y.*; 鈴木 雅弘*; 田中 新*; 田中 雅明*; et al.

Physical Review Materials (Internet), 7(4), p.044413_1 - 044413_10, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.7.044413

We study the electronic and magnetic states of as-grown and annealed FeO(111)/AlO3(111) (Co, Ni) thin films with various thicknesses grown on Si(111) substrates with the -AlO(111)buffer layers by using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), to investigate magnetically dead layers in these films. Although the magnetically dead layers in the as-grown samples are formed near the interface with the AlO buffer layer, we reveal that ferrimagnetic order is partially recovered by postdeposition annealing at 973 K for 48 hours in air. By analyzing the line shapes of the XAS and XMCD spectra, we conclude that, in the dead layers, there are a significant number of vacancies at the sites of the spinel structure, which may be the microscopic origin of the degraded ferrimagnetic order in the FeO thin films.

LASSO reconstruction scheme to predict radioactive source distributions inside reactor building rooms; Practical applications

町田 昌彦; Shi, W.*; 山田 進; 宮村 浩子; 吉田 亨*; 長谷川 幸弘*; 岡本 孝司; 青木 勇斗; 伊藤 倫太郎; 山口 隆司; et al.

Proceedings of Waste Management Symposia 2023 (WM2023) (Internet), 11 Pages, 2023/02

In order to find radioactive hot spots inside reactor building rooms from structural data together with air dose rate measurement data, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) has been recently suggested as a promising scheme. The scheme has been examined in simplified room models and its high estimation feasibility has been confirmed by employing Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) as a radiation simulation code. In this paper, we apply the scheme to complex room models inside real reactor buildings. The target rooms are pool canal circulation system room and main circulation system room in Japan Materials Testing Reactor (JMTR) at Oarai area, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). In these real rooms, we create STL format structural data based on Computer Aided Design (CAD) models made directly from their point group data measured by laser scanning devices, and we notice that the total number of their surface meshes in these real rooms reaches to the order of 1 million. Then, this order of the mesh number clearly indicates that one needs a simplified radiation simulation code considering only direct transmission of gamma ray as a radiation calculation instead of PHITS demanding high computational costs. By developing such a simplified code and customizing it to perform LASSO scheme, we consequently confirm that LASSO scheme driven by the simplified simulation can also successfully predict unknown radioactive hot spots on real structural models.

Design and actual performance of J-PARC 3 GeV rapid cycling synchrotron for high-intensity operation

山本 風海; 金正 倫計; 林 直樹; Saha, P. K.; 田村 文彦; 山本 昌亘; 谷 教夫; 高柳 智弘; 神谷 潤一郎; 菖蒲田 義博; et al.

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 59(9), p.1174 - 1205, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2038301

J-PARC 3GeVシンクロトロン(RCS)は、最大1MWの大強度ビームを25Hzという早い繰り返しで中性子実験及び下流の主リングシンクロトロンに供給することを目的に設計された。2007年の加速器調整運転開始以降、RCSではビーム試験を通じて加速器の設計性能が満たされているかの確認を進め、必要に応じてより安定に運転するための改善を行ってきた。その結果として、近年RCSは1MWのビーム出力で連続運転を行うことが可能となり、共用運転に向けた最後の課題の抽出と対策の検討が進められている。本論文ではRCSの設計方針と実際の性能、および改善点について議論する。

Temporal variability of Cs concentrations in coastal sediments off Fukushima

鈴木 翔太郎*; 天野 洋典*; 榎本 昌宏*; 松本 陽*; 守岡 良晃*; 佐久間 一幸; 鶴田 忠彦; 帰山 秀樹*; 三浦 輝*; 津旨 大輔*; et al.

Science of the Total Environment, 831, p.154670_1 - 154670_15, 2022/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154670

The monthly monitoring data (total 3647 samples) between May. 2011 and Mar. 2020 were analyzed to describe temporal variability of Cs concentration in coastal sediments off Fukushima. Cs concentration of sediment had decreasing trend, but non-linear model fitting suggested that this decreasing trend showed slower. Additionally, Cs concentration were up to 4.08 times greater in shallow sampling sites (7, 10, 20 m depth) following heavy rainfall events (before five months vs. after five months), such as typhoons. These were consistent with increasing particulate Cs (P-Cs) fluxes from river and increasing dissolved Cs (D-Cs) concentration in seawater. Finally, the numerical experiment was conducted and revealed that riverine Cs input could preserve Cs concentration in coastal sediment. These results indicate that riverine Cs input via heavy rainfall events is one of the main factors for preserving Cs concentration in coastal sediment off Fukushima.

Alternation of magnetic anisotropy accompanied by metal-insulator transition in strained ultrathin manganite heterostructures

小林 正起*; Anh, L. D.*; 鈴木 雅弘*; 金田-高田 真悟*; 竹田 幸治; 藤森 伸一; 芝田 悟朗*; 田中 新*; 田中 雅明*; 大矢 忍*; et al.

Physical Review Applied (Internet), 15(6), p.064019_1 - 064019_10, 2021/06

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.15.064019

A fundamental understanding of the interfacial magnetic properties in ferromagnetic heterostructures is essential for utilizing ferromagnetic materials for spintronic device applications. Here, we investigate the interfacial magnetic and electronic structures of epitaxial single-crystalline LaAlO(LAO)/LaSrMnO(LSMO)/Nb:SrTiO(Nb:STO) heterostructures with varying LSMO layer thicknesses, in which the magnetic anisotropy strongly changes with the LSMO thickness due to the delicate balance between strains originating from both the Nb:STO and LAO layers, using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism and photoemission spectroscopy. We successfully detect the clear change of the magnetic behavior of the Mn ions concomitant with the thickness-dependent metal-insulator transition. Our results suggest that the double-exchange interaction induces ferromagnetism in the metallic LSMO film under tensile strain caused by the STO substrate, while the superexchange interaction determines the magnetic behavior in the insulating LSMO film under compressive strain originating from the top LAO layer. The change in strain, depending on LSMO layer thickness, is confirmed by scanning transmission electron microscopy. Based on those findings, the formation of a magnetic dead layer near the LAO/LSMO interface is attributed to competition between the superexchange interaction via Mn orbitals under compressive strain and the double-exchange interaction via the orbitals. These findings provide key aspects of ferromagnetic oxide heterostructures for the development of spintronic device applications.

Discriminative measurement of absorbed dose rates in air from natural and artificial radionuclides in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture

小倉 巧也*; 細田 正洋*; 玉熊 佑紀*; 鈴木 崇仁*; 山田 椋平; 根上 颯珠*; 辻口 貴清*; 山口 平*; 城間 吉貴*; 岩岡 和輝*; et al.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(3), p.978_1 - 978_16, 2021/02

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18030978

Ten years have elapsed since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, and the relative contribution of natural radiation is increasing in Fukushima Prefecture due to the reduced dose of artificial radiation. In order to accurately determine the effective dose of exposure to artificial radiation, it is necessary to evaluate the effective dose of natural as well as artificial components. In this study, we measured the gamma-ray pulse-height distribution over the accessible area of Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, and evaluated the annual effective dose of external exposure by distinguishing between natural and artificial radionuclides. The estimated median (range) of absorbed dose rates in air from artificial radionuclides as of April 1, 2020, is 133 (67511) nGy h in the evacuation order cancellation zone, and 1306 (8922081) nGy h in the difficult-to-return zone. The median annual effective doses of external exposures from natural and artificial radionuclides were found to be 0.19 and 0.40 mSv in the evacuation order cancellation zone, and 0.25 and 3.9 mSv in the difficult-to-return zone. The latest annual effective dose of external exposure discriminated into natural and artificial radionuclides is expected to be utilized for radiation risk communication.

Development and application of a He neutron spin filter at J-PARC

奥平 琢也; 奥 隆之; 猪野 隆*; 林田 洋寿*; 吉良 弘*; 酒井 健二; 廣井 孝介; 高橋 慎吾*; 相澤 一也; 遠藤 仁*; et al.

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 977, p.164301_1 - 164301_8, 2020/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.164301

We are developing a neutron polarizer with polarized He gas, referred to as a He spin filter, based on the Spin Exchange Optical Pumping (SEOP) for polarized neutron scattering experiments at Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF) of Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). A He gas-filling station was constructed at J-PARC, and several He cells with long spin relaxation times have been fabricated using the gas-filling station. A laboratory has been prepared in the MLF beam hall for polarizing He cells, and compact pumping systems with laser powers of 30 W and 110 W, which can be installed onto a neutron beamline, have been developed. A He polarization of 85% was achieved at a neutron beamline by using the pumping system with the 110 W laser. Recently, the first user experiment utilizing the He spin filter was conducted, and there have been several more since then. The development and utilization of He spin filters at MLF of J-PARC are reported.