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The thermal expansion occurring when a laser beam is incident on the surface of a solid can be used to excite ultrasonic waves in the solid medium, without causing damage to the material. The resulting wavefield is characterized by a dominant shear wave and a weak compressional wave. This Letter demonstrates the possibility of generating a dominant compressional wavefield by coating the surface with a layer of clear ice. This is achieved by exploiting a minimum in the attenuation spectrum of light in ice, which occurs at around 500 nm and renders the coating transparent to green laser radiation. Ice coatings could, therefore, provide a path for the development of more sensitive laser-based nondestructive testing methods that have traditionally been affected by the poor excitability of compressional waves, especially along the direction orthogonal to the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequency-dependent carrier dynamics in dinaphtho[2,3-b:2',3'-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DNTT)- based organic field-effect transistors and metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors were studied by using admittance measurements. Both the real (conductance) and imaginary (capacitance) components of admittance, which have a mutually complementary relationship, were analyzed in the same way. On the basis of an experimental study of devices with different contact geometries, peaks observed in the conductance spectra corresponding to slopes in the capacitance spectra were classified into two groups. The high-frequency peak was attributed to the carrier injection from the top contact to the DNTT/insulator interface just underneath the contact while the low-frequency peaks were attributed to the drift current spreading all over the interface. The model calculation of carrier diffusion reproduces the low-frequency peaks very well. It is shown that the field-effect mobility from the accumulation region to the subthreshold region can be estimated by the fitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancement and control of carrier lifetimes in p-type 4H-SiC have been investigated. In this study, thermal oxidation and carbon ion implantation methods, both of which are effective for lifetime enhancement in n-type SiC, were attempted on 147-μm thick p-type 4H-SiC epilayers. Effects of surface passivation on carrier lifetimes were also investigated. The carrier lifetimes in p-type SiC could be enhanced from 0.9 μs (as-grown) to 2.6 μs by either thermal oxidation or carbon implantation and subsequent Ar annealing, although the improvement effect for the p-type epilayers was smaller than that for the n-type epilayers. After the lifetime enhancement, electron irradiation was performed to control the carrier lifetime. The distribution of carrier lifetimes in each irradiated region was rather uniform, along with successful lifetime control in the p-type epilayer in the range from 0.1 to 1.6 μs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impacts of reduction of deep levels and surface passivation on carrier lifetimes in p-type 4H-SiC epilayers are investigated. The authors reported that the carrier lifetime in n-type epilayers increased by reduction of deep levels through thermal oxidation and thermal annealing. However, the carrier lifetimes in p-type epilayers were not significantly enhanced. In this study, in order to investigate the influence of surface passivation on the carrier lifetimes, the epilayer surface was passivated by different oxidation techniques. While the improvement of the carrier lifetime in n-type epilayers was small, the carrier lifetime in p-type epilayers were remarkably improved by appropriate surface passivation. For instance, the carrier lifetime was improved from 1.4 μs to 2.6 μs by passivation with deposited SiO2 annealed in NO. From these results, it was revealed that surface recombination is a limiting factor of carrier lifetimes in p-type 4H-SiC epilayers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dependencies of temperature and injection level on carrier lifetimes in 50 μm thick p-type and n-type 4H-SiC epilayers have been investigated. The carrier lifetimes have been measured by differential microwave photoconductance decay measurements at various injection levels and temperatures. In both p-type and n-type epilayers, the carrier lifetimes gradually increased with increasing the injection level, which were naturally expected from the Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) model, and after taking a maximum, the lifetimes dropped at the very high-injection level. In contrast, the carrier lifetimes exhibited continuous increase with elevating the temperature for both epilayers. In addition, the impact of thermal oxidation process on the carrier lifetimes has been also investigated. The thermal oxidation process, by which the Z1/2 and EH6/7 centers were remarkably reduced that had been observed in n-type 4H-SiC in our previous work, led to the improvement of the carrier lifetimes especially for n-type epilayers. The carrier lifetime reached 4.1 μs in p-type and 6.1 μs in n-type epilayers at 250 °C with an injection level of 1.8×1016 cm-3 through the thermal oxidation processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simulation formalism for the nonlinear response of vibrational excitons is presented and applied to the OH stretching vibrations of neat liquid H2O. The method employs numerical integration of the Schrödinger equation and allows explicit treatment of fluctuating transition frequencies, vibrational couplings, dipole moments, and the anharmonicities of all these quantities, as well as nonadiabatic effects. The split operator technique greatly increases computational feasibility and performance. The electrostatic map for the OH stretching vibrations in liquid water employed in our previous study [A. Paarmann et al., J. Chem. Phys. 128, 191103 (2008)] is presented. The two-dimensional spectra are in close agreement with experiment. The fast 100 fs dynamics are primarily attributed to intramolecular mixing between states in the two-dimensional OH stretching potential. Small intermolecular couplings are sufficient to reproduce the experimental energy transfer time scales. Interference effects between Liouville pathways in excitonic systems and their impact on the analysis of the nonlinear response are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional infrared photon echo and pump probe studies of the OH stretch vibration provide a sensitive probe of the correlations and couplings in the hydrogen bond network of liquid water. The nonlinear response is simulated using numerical integration of the Schrödinger equation with a Hamiltonian constructed to explicitly treat intermolecular coupling and nonadiabatic effects in the highly disordered singly and doubly excited vibrational exciton manifolds. The simulated two-dimensional spectra are in close agreement with our recent experimental results. The high sensitivity of the OH stretch vibration to the bath dynamics is found to arise from intramolecular mixing between states in the two-dimensional anharmonic OH stretch potential. Surprisingly small intermolecular couplings reproduce the experimentally observed intermolecular energy transfer times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the process of forming for carbon nanotubes and their filling with metallic fibers developed on ion-emitting field anodes. Graphitization of the carbon nanotubes; Examination of the growth morphology and lateral dimension of metallic fibers; Investigation of the structure and composition of metallic fibers.

Examines electron and ion currents collected at the metal shield and floating shield to study the behavior of high-current vacuum arcs. Behavior of the arcs with the active anode; Property of vacuum arc on small copper electrodes; Difference between the maximum value and the value at the arc-current crest.

Studies the effect of annealing on the microstructure of co-sputtered thin films consisting of cobalt nanograins embedded in carbon. Control of the particle size; Variation in carbon concentration; Deposition chamber geometry.

We calculate the electron excitation in cubic silicon carbide caused by the intense femtosecond laser double pulses using the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). After the first pulse ends, excited electrons should be relaxed by collisional processes. Because TDDFT does not include scattering processes, thermalization is mimicked by following three assumptions. First, we assume no collisions and relaxation processes. Second, we assume the partially thermalized electronic state defined by two quasi-temperatures in the conduction and valence bands individually. Third, we assume the thermalized electron distribution, which is expressed by single electron temperature. Our results indicate that the plasma frequency (ωpl) formed by the first pulse is the key parameter in energy absorption in the second pulse. When the plasma frequency of the plasma formed by the first laser approaches the frequency of the laser, resonant excitation by the second pulse occurs. The lower electron temperature shows higher ωpl and higher efficient energy absorption because the effective mass of the electron becomes smaller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction of a ferromagnetic quantum well in a ferromagnetic tunnel junction is shown to greatly enhance the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect, due to spin filtering as well as energy filtering. We have theoretically analyzed resonant transmission probability of a magnetic double barrier heterostructure consisting of III–V based ferromagnetic semiconductor GaMnAs, and nonmagnetic semiconductor AlAs. Experimentally, we have observed very large TMR effect of such a system grown by low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy, and have shown that some of the measured tunneling features are attributed to spin-dependent resonant tunneling. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the magnetrotransport properties of the (Ga1-xMnx) As/AlAs magnetic semiconductor superlattices (SLs), specifically dealing with the Hall effect. How the magnetic (GaMnAs)/nonmagnetic SLs were grown; Discussion on the dependence of the magnetic and transport properties on the GaMnAs well width; Features of diluted magnetic semiconductors containing a large fraction of magnetic ions in compound semiconductors.

Describes the magnetic circular dichroism spectra of Ga1-xMnxAs expitaxial films, while examining their electronic structure. Method used to observe the ferromagnetic ordering of these films; How the films were grown.

Investigates the magnetic and magnetotransport properties of novel III-V diluted magnetic semiconductors. Growing of the GaMnAs thin films on GaAs(001) substrates by low temperature molecular beam epitaxy.

Investigates the formation of a magnetic field found in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) by a magnetohydrodynamic relaxation theory and a numerical simulation. Growing process of the island into a spheromak-type configuration; Types of injection mode of a toroidal field in the MRX.

Discusses the role of singular currents in three-dimensional toroidal equilibria and their resolution by magnetic island formation. Importance of current sheets recognized in analytical theories; Comparison of the predictions of the theory with the numerical results from the HINT code.

Examines the behavior of magnetic islands and their effect on plasma confinement. Simulations of three-dimensional equilibria in the H-1 Heliac; Evolution of a rotational transform to exclude the rational surface concerned; Evidence of near-resonant flux surface deformations.

Analyzes the behavior of finite-pressure-induced magnetic islands for three-dimensional magnetohydrostatic equilibria of the Helias configuration. Use of a three-dimensional equilibrium code; Remarkable property of magnetic islands induced by the finite pressure effect; Numerical scheme of HINT.

Whether it is induced by an ideal (current driven) instability or by an external force, plasma flow causes a change in the magnetic field configuration and often gives rise to a current intensification locally, thereby a fast driven reconnection being driven there. Many dramatic phenomena in magnetically confined plasmas such as magnetospheric substorms, solar flares, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) self-organization, and tokamak sawtooth crash, may be attributed to this fast driven reconnection. Using a fourth-order MHD simulation code it is confirmed that compressibility of the plasma plays a crucial role in leading to a fast (MHD time scale) driven reconnection. This indicates that the incompressible representation is not always applicable to the study of a global dynamical behavior of a magnetically confined plasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the construction of an attenuated total reflection (ATR) instrument for the observation of angle- and frequency-scanned ATR spectra. Detection of light characterized by various wave factors and dispersed into a spectrum; Setting of two elliptic mirrors and a prism-sample unit between the rotating mirror and the diffraction grating.

We present a method to make Pt nanometer-spaced electrodes that are free of metallic particles and stable at ambient conditions. The nanogaps are fabricated using feedback-controlled electromigration to form few-atom contacts. When performing this procedure at elevated temperatures (>420 K), the Pt contacts undergo self-breaking so that nanometer separated electrode pairs are formed. Once cooled down to lower temperatures, the nanogaps stabilize and can be characterized in detail. We find that current-voltage characteristics can be well fitted to a Simmons model for tunneling and gap-size fluctuations at room temperature determined from these fits stay within 0.6 Å for at least 50 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report a drastically improved anticorrosive characteristic of magnesium alloy composites with the introduction of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Highly depressed corrosion of nanotube-filled magnesium composite in salt water is due to the formation of stable oxide films along the grain boundaries of magnesium. Our results indicate that carbon nanotube acted as effective multifunctional filler to improve both mechanical and anticorrosive performances of magnesium alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-repetition and high-energy transversely excited atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) laser for a collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostic has been developed to establish a diagnostic method of confined α particles in burning plasmas. To excite a single-transverse and single-longitudinal mode, a continuous wave seed laser was injected to an unstable resonator with a cavity length of ∼4.4 m. Pulse energy of 10 J with a repetition rate of 10 Hz has been achieved in the single-mode operation. Pulse energies of 18 J with a repetition rate of 10 Hz and 36 J with single shot operation have also been achieved in the multimode operation. These results give a prospect for the CTS diagnostic on International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which requires single-mode energy of 20 J with repetition rate of 40 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microfission chambers, which are pencil sized ionization chamber containing fissile material inside, will be installed in the vacuum vessel as neutron monitors for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). We have performed first measurements of the detector installed between the vacuum vessel and toroidal coils on JT-60U. The technical validity as a neutron monitor, such as magnetic field effect and electromagnetic noises from the plasma and heating devices, has been investigated. The detector had an excellent linearity with a 235U fission chamber as a neutron monitor on JT-60U with the standard deviation of 3% except for some noise signals. The electromagnetic noises were caused by neutral beam injection (NBI) breakdowns, probably due to long wiring between the detector and the preamplifier. In case of plasma disruption, improper signals have not been observed. The magnetic field effect also has not been observed up to 2 T. In JT-60U, we confirmed availability of the micro fission chamber as a neutron monitor over three decades of neutron source strength up to 1.3×1016 neutrons/s with 1 ms temporal resolution. The biggest weakness in the detector was its noise sensitivity to NBI breakdowns. Therefore, by suppressing the electromagnetic noise, microfission chambers can be available as neutron monitors for ITER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-electron tunneling through a quantum dot is detected by means of a radio-frequency single-electron transistor. Poisson statistics of single-electron tunneling events are observed from frequency domain measurements, and individual tunneling events are detected in the time-domain measurements. Counting tunneling events gives an accurate current measurement in the saturated current regime, where electrons tunnel into the dot only from one electrode and tunnel out of the dot only to the other electrode. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field emission transmission electron microscopy has revealed the presence of atomic filaments extending from the open edge of a graphite cage formed in a glow-discharge plasma. The filaments are vapor grown, presenting complicated deformations such as curling, waving, and looping in the free space. The filaments correspond well to one carbon atom in diameter, strongly indicating that they are linear chains of carbon atoms, the presence of which was earlier suggested by Smalley et al. [Science 269, 1550 (1995)]. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the deposition of cobalt-platinum-carbon (CoPt-C) thin films with chemical composition of Co[sub 50]Pt[sub 15]C[sub 35]. Range of grain sizes in magnetic thin films; Comparison of the coercivity between Co-C and CoPt-C thin films on coercivity; Application of Co-C based materials for magnetic recording media.

Investigates the growth of III-V based magnetic(gallium manganese arsenide)/nonmagnetic(aluminum arsenide) semiconductor superlattices (SL) by low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy. Characterization of the SL; Evidence of quantum confinement effect; Formation of the subbands in the SL.

Examines the transient absorbance of doped poly(methyl methacrylate) with pyrene or biphenyl polymers. Calculation of excitation wavelength at laser ablation conditions; Changes in absorbance due to transient species and scattering by ablated fragments; Number of photons absorbed in doped polymer films.

Observes the phase transmission of C70 crystal by transmission electron microscopy at low temperature. Index of the spots appearing in the electron diffraction (ED); Measurement of the lattice constant a; Estimation of the ED of the low-temperature phase; Detection of an intermediate state in the temperature range.

Presents a study which examined anode surfaces states and traces of the cathode spots after arcing of various anode discharge modes in vacuum arcs. Experimental details; Results and discussion; Conclusion.

Vacuum UV photolyses of silane and chlorinated silanes were investigated by using rare gas resonance lamps. Strong emissions, from the A 2Δ→X 2Π transition of SiH and the 1P0→1D2 transition of Si were observed in the photolysis of SiH4 by Ar and Kr resonance lamps. It was suggested that the threshold energies for the appearance of both emissions were lower than the values obtained by the electron impact of SiH4 reported by Perrin et al. A new broad unstructured emission band in the region 300–400 nm was observed in the photolysis of SiH2Cl2 and SiHCl3 by Ar, Kr, and Xe lamps. The band was attributed to the A 1B1→X 1A1 transition of SiCl2 radicals from the measurement of the appearance energy of the emission by using synchrotron orbital radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which investigated the electrical properties and structure of high-conductivity n-type CdTe films with large crystallite size. Sample preparation; Dark conductivity of the film at room temperature; Explanation on the decrease in the conductivity of the film.

A comparison of the microtexture and structure of the low temperature heat-treated polyparaphenylene (PPP)-based carbons which are promising for the Li ion battery has been performed using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy. It is found that the PPP-based carbon prepared by Kovacic method remains in suitable microtexture for high Li storage over a wider temperature range relative to that obtained by Yamamoto method. This characteristic of the Kovacic PPP-based carbon could lead to a more controlled microtexture for obtaining a higher Li storage capacity for Li ion battery applications. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high precision quadrupole mass filter has been developed using the zero-method control circuit. With this method, peak values of a control voltage are compared with a high-precision reference voltage and detected by a diode and signal-producing resistance connected in series. The dc component of the signal is selectively amplified and fed back to a module in the amplifying system of the rf voltage so as to minimize the voltage in excess of the reference voltage. An instrument has been constructed and the doublet of [sup 4]He[sup +]-D[sub 2][sup +] has been successfully separated. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical properties of p--Si/n--SiC, p-Si/n--SiC, p+Si/n--SiC, and n+-Si/n--SiC heterojunctions fabricated by using surface-activated bonding are investigated. Their flat-band voltages obtained from capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements are found to be ~0.92eV, which suggests that the Fermi level should be pinned at the bonding interface. An analysis by using the charge neutral level model reveals that the C-V characteristics are sensitive to the density of interface states. The measured C-V characteristics of p+Si/n--SiC and n+-Si/n--SiC junctions are in quantitative agreement with modeled ones obtained for the interface states density and the conduction-band discontinuity of 2.3×1013cm-2eV-1 and 0.3eV, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrated the effectiveness of deep-level photoluminescence (PL) mapping for nondestructive detection of dislocations and micropipes in high-resistivity 6H–SiC wafers. PL spectra of the wafers at room temperature were dominated by a broad band with a peak at 1.3 eV, which was traceable to the Si vacancy-related V1, V2, and V3 lines at 4.2 K. The intensity-mapping pattern agreed closely with the etch-pit pattern both on a wafer scale and on a microscopic scale. Large dark spots with one or two bright cores, small dark spots, and dark lines corresponded to micropipes, threading screw dislocations, and edge dislocations forming small angle grain boundaries, respectively. The intensity reduction around dislocations and micropipes was attributed to a decrease of the radiative centers for the 1.3 eV band, which occurred as a result either of the interaction between vacancies and dislocations or of the gettering effect of vacancy-related defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate rf transport through an AlGaAs/GaAs single-electron transistor (SET). The presented rf-SET scheme provides a transmission coefficient proportional to the admittance of the device, which is desirable for impedance analysis as well as for high-sensitivity charge detection. The impedance of a SET, including the small tunneling capacitance, is successfully analyzed at the high frequency of 643 MHz, and is compared with a simple model. The ability to measure the impedance of a SET would expand the measurable regime of single-electron tunneling behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straight long carbon nanofibers with a large hollow core obtained by a floating reactant method show a stacking morphology of truncated conical graphene layers, which in turn exhibit a large portion of open edges on the outer surface and also in the inner channels. Through a judicious choice of oxidation conditions, nanofibers with increased active edge sites are obtained without disrupting the fiber's morphology. A graphitization process induces a morphological change from a tubular type to a reversing saw-toothed type and the formation of loops along the inner channel of the nanofibers, accompanied by a decrease in interlayer spacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]