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To investigate the perforating characteristics of Zr-based bulk metallic glass fragments against thin steel target, ballistic experiments were carried out to measure ballistic the limit velocities of fragments perforating against different thicknesses of targets. The fragments were driven by a 57 mm one-stage light gas gun to impact the thin steel target. The numerical model of Zr-based bulk metallic glass fragments perforating against thin steel target was established using Autodyn2D commercial software, and the perforating process and perforating mechanism were analyzed by numerical simulation. The semi-empirical model to predict the ballistic limit velocity was fitted. An energy model for calculating the residual velocity of a fragment was derived based on the conservation of energy. The theoretical results of the semi-empirical model and the energy model are in good agreement with experiment results and simulation results. And the energy model has good applicability without fitting the parameters for different target thicknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated space and astrophysical phenomena in nonrelativistic laboratory plasmas with long high-power lasers, such as collisionless shocks and magnetic reconnections, and have been exploring relativistic regimes with intense short pulse lasers, such as energetic ion acceleration using large-area suspended graphene. Increasing the intensity and repetition rate of the intense lasers, we have to handle large amounts of data from the experiments as well as the control parameters of laser beamlines. Artificial intelligence (AI) such as machine learning and neural networks may play essential roles in optimizing the laser and target conditions for efficient laser ion acceleration. Implementing AI into the laser system in mind, as the first step, we are introducing machine learning in ion etch pit analyses detected on plastic nuclear track detectors. Convolutional neural networks allow us to analyze big ion etch pit data with high precision and recall. We introduce one of the applications of laser-driven ion beams using AI to reconstruct vector electric and magnetic fields in laser-produced turbulent plasmas in three dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we present an atomic-scale investigation of L10-FePt particles that are partly or fully embedded in a single-crystalline MgO matrix. Hundreds of particles in different orientations, of different sizes, and with different side contact facets are statistically and quantitatively analyzed. It is found that the presence of side contact facets does not introduce any misorientation in particles with the c axis out-of-plane (OP), even in those of small sizes. In addition, a markedly higher proportion of in-plane (IP) variants is found in smaller particles of sizes less than 10 nm, and most IP variants and the IP part in multi-variants have a large area of side contact facets or are even fully embedded. Those results can be explained by the fact that the transformation strain and interface strain jointly affect the particle orientation, and the competition between total strain energy in the film plane and in lateral planes plays a key role in determining particle orientation. Thus, a suggestion on the L10-FePt nanoparticle film production can be proposed that a moderate area of side contact facets may help keep a perfect OP orientation in the OP particles without increasing the proportion of IP variants. Additionally, our work can provide reference information on the variant orientation preference during a post-annealing process in nanoparticle films on a rough substrate or embedded in a matrix as well as in core–shell material systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modulated reflectance (contactless electroreflectance (CER), photoreflectance (PR), and piezoreflectance (PzR)) has been applied to study direct optical transitions in bulk MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2. In order to interpret optical transitions observed in CER, PR, and PzR spectra, the electronic band structure for the four crystals has been calculated from the first principles within the density functional theory for various points of Brillouin zone including K and H points. It is clearly shown that the electronic band structure at H point of Brillouin zone is very symmetric and similar to the electronic band structure at K point, and therefore, direct optical transitions at H point should be expected in modulated reflectance spectra besides the direct optical transitions at the K point of Brillouin zone. This prediction is confirmed by experimental studies of the electronic band structure of MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2 crystals by CER, PR, and PzR spectroscopy, i.e., techniques which are very sensitive to critical points of Brillouin zone. For the four crystals besides the A transition at K point, an AH transition at H point has been observed in CER, PR, and PzR spectra a few tens of meV above the A transition. The spectral difference between A and AH transition has been found to be in a very good agreement with theoretical predictions. The second transition at the H point of Brillouin zone (BH transition) overlaps spectrally with the B transition at K point because of small energy differences in the valence (conduction) band positions at H and K points. Therefore, an extra resonance which could be related to the BH transition is not resolved in modulated reflectance spectra at room temperature for the four crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficiently interfacing photonic with semiconductor qubits plays an important role in future quantum communication applications. In this paper, we model a photon to exciton interface based on an optically active gate-defined quantum dot (OAQD) embedded in a carefully designed photonic crystal cavity constraining its emission profile via the Purcell effect while maintaining a low enough quality factor to allow for electrical tuning of the emission wavelength. By matching the in-plane k-vector of a cavity mode and the reciprocal lattice constant of the photonic crystal, vertical emission is obtained. A back-reflection mirror located below the cavity and integrated as part of an already predefined process flow allows for not only the increasing of the light extraction efficiency but also the tailoring of the extracted beam profile to match that of a single mode fiber. We numerically show that a photon emitted by the OAQD can be coupled to the targeted free-space Gaussian beam with a probability above 50%, limited by electrode absorption. Further efficiency improvement up to 90% is possible by using indium tin oxide instead of gold as a gate material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High quality Zn0.92Cd0.08O/ZnO multiple quantum wells with smooth interfaces have been prepared on c-plane sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The periodic structure has been characterized by scanning transmission electron microscope and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy line scans. The temperature dependent photoluminescence of Zn0.92Cd0.08O/ZnO exhibits an inconspicuous S-shaped property due to a combined effect of the slightly disordered ZnCdO alloy. We can observe both quantum confinement effects and quantum-confinement Stark effect in the quantum wells. We can modulate the well emission energy from 2.90 to 3.085 eV by varying the well thickness at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A change in the dimensionality of an energy band in a semiconductor is done by reducing the dimension of its physical size. Here, we show that by spatially deforming a two-layer heterostructure into a wrinkled pattern, the minimum of the energy profile transforms from a two-dimensional plane at the hetero-interface into a one-dimensional path that lies along the wrinkled edge. This change alters the carrier path, causing the carriers to travel along a one-dimensional sinusoidal path, which may lead to an application. The present investigation shows that the dimensionality of the energy profile can be engineered by changing the morphology of the epilayers and provides insight into possible applications of the wrinkled pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single crystals of Bi2-xPbxSr2Co2Oy (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.55) have been grown using optical floating-zone method. The chemical compositions were determined using combined electron probe microanalysis and iodometric titration. Physical properties including electrical resistivity (ρ), Seebeck coefficient (S), and thermal conductivity (κ) were measured using single crystal specimens. Successful hole doping through Pb substitution is confirmed through combined iodometry titration, electrical transport, and Seebeck coefficient measurements. Significant reduction on both in-plane resistivity and thermal conductivity was found as a result of Pb substitution to the Bi site. The thermoelectric figure-of-merit ZT for x ∼ 0.55 is raised 20 folds from the undoped sample at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ high-resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction reveals a local minimum in rhombohedral distortion angle αR (associated with an inflection in the lattice constant aR) near 400 and 350 °C in BiFeO3 (BFO) and (BiFeO3)0.95(BaTiO3)0.05 (BFO-5%BT), respectively. It suggests a coupling between ferroelectric and magnetic parameters near the antiferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition, which is responsible for the broad frequency-dependent dielectric maxima. A rhombohedral (R)-orthorhombic (O)-cubic (C) transition sequence takes place near 820 and 850 °C in BFO upon heating. BFO-5%BT exhibits a R-C transition near 830 °C. The BaTiO3 substitution can enhance dielectric and ferromagnetic responses and reduce electric leakage. The dielectric loss of BFO-5%BT remains less than 0.04 below 150 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetism-induced ferroelectricity in the E-type orthorhombic HoMnO3 (o-HMO) films grown on Nb-doped and undoped SrTiO3(001) substrates was studied. The temperature dependent magnetization in these films evidently exhibits an antiferromagnetic ordering around 44 K and an anomalous second magnetic ordering along the c-axis near 35 K. Interestingly, at this anomalous transition temperature, an associated ferroelectric polarization was probed by the P-E hysteresis measurements, indicating the intimated coupling between the ferroelectric response and the reordering of Mn spins, which has never been disclosed previously by dielectric constant measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we use ultrafast optical pump-optical probe spectroscopy to probe the polaron dynamics in La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (LCMO) thin films. The temporal evolution in transient reflectivity change ΔR/R exhibits two relaxing components: a fast component with a time constant of subpicosecond and a slow component with time constant ranging from tens of picoseconds to hundreds of picoseconds. The amplitude of the fast component, though has been seldom discussed before, exhibits the similar temperature dependence with that of the resistivity and the neutron scattering intensity due to nanoscale correlated polarons. The results strongly suggest that the fast photoinduced reflectivity change may have been due to the photoexcitation and trapping process of correlated Jahn–Teller polarons in the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases and, thus, implies the presence of electronic inhomogeneity in LCMO manganites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both La0.375Pr0.25Ca0.375MnO3 (LPCMO) and La0.625Ca0.375MnO3 (LCMO) were found to exhibit coexistence of competing orders (phase separation) over a wide temperature range. However, substantial hysteretic behaviors in both of the temperature-dependent resistance [R(T)] and magnetization [M(T)] [also known as the persistent magnetic memory effect (PMME)] are only displayed in LPCMO. The results indicate that, in LPCMO, the size distribution of the coexisting charge-ordered insulating and metallic ferromagnetic (FM) phases plays a determinant role in the PMME effects in different temperature regimes. Moreover, due to the direct competition between the two coexisting phases, the system is most susceptible to the external applied field in the hysteretic temperature region. On the other hand, in LCMO, the phase transition between paramagnetic and FM is more like an isomorphic transition in pure materials, and thus does not show significant hysteresis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orthorhombic YMnO3 thin films with (200), (020), and (001) orientations were, respectively, obtained by pulsed laser deposition on SrTiO3(110), LaAlO3(110), and SrTiO3(001) substrates. The results demonstrate that the strain between film and substrate can serve as an alternative in transforming the thermodynamically stable hexagonal YMnO3 into the orthorhombic phase, which previously could be obtained with high-pressure high temperature syntheses and epitaxy-stabilized thin film processes. More importantly, these films allow us, for the first time, to unambiguously disclose the intrinsic magnetic property along different crystallographic orientations. Our results show that, although the antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering remains the same, there is an additional spin reordering transition which is very much dependent on the crystallographic orientation along which the measuring field was applied and on the in-plane crystallographic alignment of the films. Detailed analyses indicate that the origin of the observed second reordering may be due to some strain-induced canted AFM state instead of the incommensurate lock-in transitions conceived previously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two different types of nonlinear current-voltage characteristics are observed in oxygen-deficient La0.67Ca0.33MnO3-y (LCMO) films at temperatures below the insulator-metal transition. The paraboliclike dynamic conductance G(V), defined as dI/dV, curves near the zero bias observed in highly oxygen-deficient LCMO films implies the contribution from the spin-dependent tunneling transport between ferromagnetic clusters, with magnetic-disordered regions serving as tunneling barriers. On the other hand, for the slightly oxygen-deficient LCMO films, dips around the zero bias were observed in nonlinear G(V) curves and have been attributed to spin-flip scattering, with oxygen vacancies serving as scattering centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-step treatment by argon (Ar) and hydrogen plasma beam scanning was developed to modify the surface bonds of a hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) film on indium tin oxide glass. The modified a-C:H film is an excellent layer for liquid crystal alignment, on which the pretilt angle of a nematic liquid crystal (ZLI-2293) can be adjusted by the two-step scanning treatment. The chemical bonding characteristics of the as-scanned a-C:H films were measured using micro-Raman and x-ray photoemission spectroscopies. The antiparallel cells were filled with the nematic liquid crystal on the as-scanned a-C:H film to measure the pretilt angle. Experimental results indicate that the carbon dangling bonds are generated through a bond-breaking process during the Ar plasma beam scanning step (first step). The hydrogen plasma beam scanning step (second step) can passivate some of the carbon dangling bonds that are generated in the first step. The pretilt angle decreases as the hydrogen plasma beam scanning time increases. The decrease of pretilt angle is due to the formation of C–H bonds that passivate the a-C:H film and limit the formation of C–O bonds in air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The angular dependence of magnetoresistance (MR) of the La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 thin film biepitaxial step junction (BSJ) shows a simple sin2(θ) dependence in the in-plane high-field magnetoresistance, with θ being the angle between the applied field and current. This behavior is similar to the spin-orbit coupling-induced anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) commonly observed in transition ferromagnetic metals, except for two salient features. First, the maximum MR in the present case occurs at an oblique angle between the applied field (H) and electric current (I), while it is usually observed to occur when H∥I. Second, the AMR in the plane perpendicular to the film surface displays a remarkable value (Δρ/ρ∼8%), which is about an order of magnitude larger than that of the in-plane AMR. Such a large AMR cannot be solely explained by spin-orbit coupling effect. We suggest instead that the metallic and ferromagnetic inhomogeneous granules existing in the BSJ region might have acted as the source of spin-polarized scattering giving rise to the enhanced AMR when the colossal magnetoresistance was measured across the biepitaxial step boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A plasma beam scanning treatment has been developed to modify the surface of the hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) film on the indium tin oxide glass. The plasma beam scanning treatment makes the a-C:H film an excellent layer for liquid-crystal alignment. The qualities of a-C:H films were characterized by using atomic force microscope, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and field-emission scanning electron microscope. The ultrathin a-C:H films were deposited at 50% CH4/(H2+CH4) gas ratio, 100 W radio-frequency power, and a gas pressure of 10 mtorr for 15 min by capacitive-coupled plasma chemical-vapor deposition method. The twist nematic cells were filled with liquid crystal (ZLI-2293) on the a-C:H film treated with different nitrogen plasma beam scanning time. The grooving mechanism is considered not responsible for the liquid-crystal (LC) alignment. Raman spectra suggest that a bond-breaking process of aromatic rings occurs in the a-C:H film. The O1s, C1s, and N1s core-level spectra support that the nitrogen plasma beam scanning treatment induces a bond-breaking process of aromatic rings to create available carbon dangling bonds for the formation of C–O bonds. The newly formed C–O bonds are “directional,” which favor the LC alignment on the a-C:H film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general, quantitative relationship between the photon-transport mean free path (l*) and resin sensitivity (DP) in multiple-scattering alumina/monomer suspensions formulated for ceramic stereolithography is presented and experimentally demonstrated. A Mie-theory-based computational method with structure factor contributions to determine l* was developed. Planar-source diffuse transmittance experiments were performed on monodisperse and bimodal polystyrene/water and alumina/monomer systems to validate this computational tool. The experimental data support the application of this l* calculation method to concentrated suspensions composed of nonaggregating particles of moderately aspherical shape and log-normal size distribution. The values of DP are shown to be approximately five times that of l* in the tested ceramic stereolithography suspensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-phase electron-doped manganite thin films with nominal composition of La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 (LCeMO) have been prepared on SrTiO3 (100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The conditions for obtaining purely single-phase LCeMO films lie within a very narrow window of substrate temperature (Ts∼720 °C) and laser energy density (ED∼2 J/cm2) during deposition. In situ postdeposition annealing, mainly to relax the possible epitaxial in-plane tensile strain between the film and the substrate, leads to an increasing c-axis lattice constant accompanied by the formation of secondary CeO2 phase and higher metal-insulator transition temperature. This is indicative of a strong coupling between the electron and lattice degree of freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brownian-type molecular dynamics simulation is revisited and applied to study the thermal and geometric properties of four mono- and two polyvalent metallic clusters. For the thermal property, we report the specific heat at constant volume CV and study the solid-liquid-like transition by scrutinizing its characteristic. For the geometric property, we calculate the root mean square relative bond-length fluctuation δ as a function of increasing temperature. The thermal change in δ reflects the movement of atoms and hence is a relevant parameter in understanding the phase transition in clusters. The simulated results for the CV of alkali and aluminum clusters whose ground state structures exhibit icosahedral symmetry generally show one phase transition. In contrast, the tetravalent lead is quite often seen to exhibit two phase transitions, a premelting process followed by a progressive melting. In connection with the premelting scenario, it is found here that those (magic number) clusters identified to be of lesser stability (among other stable ones) according to the second energy difference are clusters showing a greater possibility of undergoing premelting process. This energy criterion applies to aluminum clusters nAl=28 and 38. To delve further into the thermal behavior of clusters, we have analyzed also the thermal variation of δ(T) and attempted to correlate it with CV(T). It turns out that the premelting (if exist) and melting temperatures of the smaller size clusters (n≤50) extracted from CV do not always agree quantitatively with that deduced from δ. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unoccupied states of the (110) YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 6.9] (YBCO) thin films were investigated by the Eab and Ec polarized O 1 s x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. With correction of the self-absorption effect, the Eab O 1 s XANES spectra of the (110) YBCO films obtained from the normal incidence geometry and grazing incidence geometry are very similar. After the self-absorption correction, the Ec spectrum of the (110) YBCO film obtained from the normal incidence geometry is almost identical to that of the (001) YBCO film obtained from the grazing incidence geometry. Hole distribution over the different oxygen sites has been derived. The hole number in the apical sites in some thin films obtained in the present investigation is larger than that from the previous x-ray absorption studies of single crystals and from the theoretical calculations. The comparison of the XANES spectra between the (001) and (110) YBCO thin films is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present detailed numerical results on the ground state structures of metallic clusters. The Gupta-type many-body potential is used to account for the interactions between atoms in the cluster. Both the genetic algorithm technique and the basin hopping method have been applied to search for the global energy minima of clusters. The excellent agreement found in both schemes for the global energy minima gives credence to the optimized energy values obtained. For four monovalent and one polyvalent metals studied in this work and within the accuracy of the energies presented here, we find that the global energy minima predicted by the basin hopping method are the same as those values obtained by the genetic algorithm. Our calculations for the ground state energies of alkali metallic clusters show regularities in the energy differences, and the cluster growth pattern manifested by this same group of clusters is generally icosahedral, which is quite different from the close-packed and decahedral preferentially exhibited by the tetravalent lead clusters. Considering the inherent disparities in the electronic properties and the bulk structures in these metals (body-centered cubic for alkali metals and face-centered cubic for the lead metal), it is not unreasonable to conjecture that the valence electrons do play a subtle role in the conformation of metallic clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single phase TiO[sub 2] thin films, of either rutile or anatase structure, have been prepared on SrTiO[sub 3](STO)(100) substrates by in situ pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Thermodynamically unfavorable, for films deposited on STO(100) substrate directly, pure anatase TiO[sub 2](001) films were formed even when a rutile TiO[sub 2] (110) substrate was used as a target. On the other hand, pure rutile TiO[sub 2](110) films were obtained by oxidizing PLD TiN films in-situ at temperatures higher than 700 °C. The optimized deposition conditions for preparing TiN and TiO[sub 2] films were reported. The crystalline structure, surface morphology, and electronic structure of these films were examined. A mechanism of the process of film formation is also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electron energy-loss magnetic chiral dichroism (EMCD) technique has been generally applied to single-phase magnetic crystals while rarely used for composite structures. It is mainly due to the lack of in-depth understanding of EMCD in the latter case where an additional phase may present under or above the investigated magnetic phase in the electron beam path. Here, we report EMCD signals acquired on a 15-nm-thick magnetic iron film with different thicknesses of the MgO substrate underlayer. By comparison, for areas with total thicknesses of t = 0.59 λ and t = 1.02 λ expressed with the mean free inelastic path of electron λ , the relative dichroic signals at the Fe ‐ L 3 edge are 3.8 % ± 1.0 % and 3.5 % ± 1.6 % , respectively, demonstrating no significant difference within the error range. However, the dichroic signal intensity at the Fe ‐ L 2 edge peak is 77.6% larger in the thinner area of t = 0.59 λ. Accordingly, the extracted m L / m s ratio of Fe 3 d moments is 63% smaller in the thinner area even after the plural scattering is removed. Then, we confirm that the presence of an additional nonmagnetic phase under a magnetic iron crystal can noticeably affect the quantified value of the m L / m s ratio of iron moment determined from the EMCD measurements. Furthermore, the larger thickness of the underlayer may result in relatively higher valuation of the m L / m s ratio of the upper layer. A correction method, considering the different influence of the underlayer on the Fe ‐ L 3 and L 2 edges, is in demand for developing potential applications of the EMCD technique to such composite nanomaterial systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which considered front formation and steady-state front motion in a one-dimensional polymer system undergoing case-II diffusion. Analysis of the problem with a steady-state moving front; Results of the study; Conclusions.

Presents information on a study which considered the swelling of a polymer glass by sorption of a small molecule penetrant in a regime characterized by so-called case-II diffusion. Methodology of the study; Results and discussion.

We present time-resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy measurement of isothermal desorption of NH3 and ND3 from Cu(001) as a function of coverage. The desorption process is characterized by pseudo-first-order kinetics. The pseudo-first-order rate constant increases approximately exponentially as a function of adsorbed ammonia coverage. The results of an analysis based on a quasiequilibrium approximation which expresses the desorption rate in terms of a virial expansion in adsorbate coverage are reported. This demonstrates that the intermolecular interactions are dominated by short range repulsive lateral interactions, in qualitative accord with expectations of dipolar interactions. The results also suggest the existence of longer-range attractive interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kinetics of NH3 and ND3 desorption from Cu(001) surface have been measured by time-resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy. The desorption precess is observed to be characterized by pseudo-first-order kinetics. The desorption energy and the prefactor have been determined for both NH3 and ND3. The prefactors are unusually low as compared to those observed for simple diatomic molecules. Moreover, we observed an unusual behavior consistent with an isotope kinetic compensation effect. Both of these observations can be explained within the context of transition state theory by the interplay between isotopic masses and the shifts of frustrated vibrational modes of adsorbed molecules. Our results imply that the conventional Arrhenius form would not be precisely applicable to molecular desorption, if a large enough temperature range could be measured, particularly for hydrogen-containing molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present time-resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) results for the desorption of submonolayer coverages of H2O and D2O from Ag(011). The measurements were performed isothermally and effectively at constant coverage. At coverages above a few percent of a monolayer, we observe that the desorption is characterized by zero-order kinetics. That is, the desorption rate is independent of coverage. We hypothesize that this results from the formation of two-dimensional water islands on the surface at all coverages and temperatures measured. The desorption process is governed in part by the dissociation of water from the edges of these islands. Rapid diffusion on the surface maintains a quasiequilibrium between the molecules bound to islands and isolated adsorbed water molecules, thereby leading to pseudo-zero-order kinetics. This result is interpreted upon general thermodynamic grounds, and also using a simple kinetic model which leads to pseudo-zero-order desorption kinetics. An unusual hydrogen kinetic isotope effect is reported which lends support to our interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with a study which investigated submicron indium phosphide transferred electron devices. Method used to model the direct current characteristics of near-micron structures; Background on the physical origins of the length effect in submicron structures; Description of the static characteristics of transferred electron devices.

Presents a theoretical study of electron transport in the resonant-tunneling diode under the effects of an in-plane magnetic field. Description of the theoretical model; Results; Conclusions.

Electron energy spectra characterizing the relaxation of molecular oxygen from different core hole excited states are reported. By using monochromatic synchrotron radiation, spectra are obtained with excitation at the π* and σ* resonances and at various energies above the ionization threshold. The spectra obtained with excitation above threshold are very similar and result from Auger decay. The spectra obtained at the σ* resonance result from spectator autoionization, and those for the π* resonance result from both spectator and participator autoionization. The σ* resonance is broadened by spectral congestion, and the autoionization spectra indicate the presence of three components. Configurations and states produced by the electronic decay are identified, and a correlation between spectator screening and term values is documented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory of substrate-mediated dispersion interactions is applied to analyze a set of quasiequilibrium measurements of adsorption isobars and desorption isotherms of the CH4/Ag(011) physisorption system. The theory provides for the construction of an adsorbate intermolecular potential from the gas phase potential, with the spacing between the metal surface and the adsorbed layer as the sole adjustable parameter. The best fits to the kinetic and thermodynamic data yield a consistent intermolecular potential, with a well depth of approximately two-thirds of the free space value. The limited dynamic range of the measurements does not permit a determination of the form of the intermolecular potential. However, the good agreement of the theory with both data sets lends strong support for the quasiequilibrium model, and supports the proposition that the properties of physisorbed layers can be predicted using gas phase potentials while accounting for substrate-mediated dispersion interaction effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NiFe inserted layer with different thicknesses on the dielectric properties of multiferroic AlN/NiFe/AlN multilayer films fabricated on the B270 glass substrates by the reactive sputtering technique was studied. The variation of dielectric constant for multilayer films is dependent on the thickness of the NiFe inserted layer observed from 40 Hz to 30 MHz. In this work, single AlN layer exhibits dielectric constant value of around 6.5. However, we find that the dielectric constant of the AlN/NiFe/AlN multilayer films is raised up to 60 for even with a 1 nm thick NiFe inserted layer. Additionally, this work also indicates that the dielectric tunability of AlN/NiFe/AlN films is dependent on the external magnetic field. These results conclude some magnetoelectric properties of AlN films those in relation to the NiFe ferromagnetic inserted layer. Possible mechanisms for the enhanced dielectric constant in the AlN/NiFe/AlN films have been discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dichotomy of photoinduced quasiparticle dynamics in the anisotropic high Tc superconductors (YBa2Cu3O7) is revealed by using the orientation-resolved femtosecond reflection spectroscopy in the specially designed thin films. The transient reflectivity ΔR/R along the ab diagonal and b axis are totally different in the slow relaxation process which relates to the opening of the superconducting gap. In addition, the distribution of the temperature evolution of ΔR/R on the CuO2 planes of YBa2Cu3O7 may indicate the d-wave symmetry of the superconducting gap in high Tc superconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LaCoO3 (LCO) has attracted much attention due to the unique magnetic transition and spin transition of Co3+ ions. Epitaxial LCO film exhibits an unexpected ferromagnetism, in contrast to the non-magnetism of bulk LCO. An in-depth study on the property of strained LCO film is of great importance. We have fabricated 30 nm LCO films on various substrates and studied the magnetic and transport properties of films in different strain states (compressed strain for LCO/LaAlO3, tensile strain for LCO/(LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2TaAlO6)0.35, SrTiO3). The in-plane tensiled LCO films exhibit ferromagnetic ground state at 5K and magnetic transition with TC around 85K, while compressed LCO/LaAlO3 film has a negligibly small moment signal. Our results reveal that in-plane tensile strain and tetragonal distortion are much more favorable for stabilizing the FM order in LCO films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of automation techniques, the claw-poled stepping motors are widely used, especially in optical scanners. Most research on stepping motors has concentrated on electrical properties, but a few papers have reported on the performance in relation to the magnetic-field distribution. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of the shape of the stator tooth and to search for the optimal parameters using a magnetic-circuit simulation technique. Through numerical calculations, the optimal performance conditions can be obtained by varying the ratio between the two bases of the trapezoid teeth between 1/5 and 1/3, and varying the ratio between the heights of individual teeth in relation to the separation between the two yokes from 11/15 to 13/15. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetization reversal phenomena in submicron half-ring patterned wires with different corner structures have been investigated. The wires with corner structures of rectangular, semicircle, and triangular shapes were connected in series by two or five half-rings. The variation of domain structures with magnetic field is illustrated by electron transport measurements, simulation, and magnetic force microscopy (MFM) images. The switching behavior depends on the corner structures connecting the half-ring structures. These results are consistent with the domain pattern and magnetic phase shift observation provided by the MFM measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domain wall pinning force in the junctions (corners), with different shapes of square, semicircle, or triangle, of half-ring in-series wires is considered to study the current injection induced wall movements. This geometry has less thermal activation at the region of domain wall nucleation in contrast to notch structures. The wires with square corners have the largest domain pinning force to resist polarized current-induced magnetization reversal, judging from the largest slope in the current-field dependence (ΔI/ΔH=0.274). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarization-dependent x-ray absorption near-edge spectra (XANES) of the O 1s has been measured on a highly in-plane aligned a-axis YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7-δ] (YBCO) thin film. The in-plane XANES, with the electric field E of the linearly polarized synchrotron light being parallel to the b or c axis of YBCO films (E//b or E//c) were obtained in a normal-incidence alignment. The XANES for E//a was then calculated from the data obtained by varying the angle. The results lend strong support to those obtained by using detwinned YBCO single crystals in all crystalline orientations, including the extrapolated c-axis spectra. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The macro-size magnetic colloidal particles in both distilled water and oleic acid were prepared by using Fe[sub 3]O[sub 4] ferrofluids (SMG018), the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and distilled water or oleic acid. The optical transmission of these ferrofluid emulsions has been investigated as functions of concentration of SDS between 0.64 and 3.73 wt %, incident optical wavelengths between 450 and 750 nm, and applied magnetic fields up to 141 Oe. The optical transmission shows maximum with concentration of SDS near 3.13 and 1.90 wt % for samples in distilled water and oleic acid, respectively. In general, under an applied magnetic field, the size of the magnetic colloidal particles for samples in oleic acid is smaller than that of samples in distilled water; however, the concentration of the magnetic colloidal particles is the opposite. This can be explained due to the different aggregation ability of the magnetic colloidal particles in both distilled water and oleic acid. The optical transmission of the samples is observed to be reversed proportional to the area covered by the magnetic colloidal particles. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SrTiO3 is a model perovskite oxide of abundant physical properties, which are closely associated with internal oxygen vacancy (VO) defects. Through in situ X-ray diffraction measurements, we observed a remarkable structural expansion in the near-surface region of (001)-SrTiO3 induced by an external electric field. By repeated scanning and consistently monitoring the 002 reflections, forming process of the unique structural distortion was obtained and considered to be the results of electromigration and redistribution of VOs. Peculiarly, it was found that a much greater lattice distortion would occur rapidly in SrTiO3 under the illumination of visible light, and be effectively tuned depending on wavelength. We propose that the light effect stems from photo-excitation, which generates extra carriers and remarkably speeds up the diffusion of VOs. This work provides a feasible way towards tuning the kinetics of VOs and structure of SrTiO3 by combined stimuli of electric field and light illumination, yielding novel properties in above films as well as hetero-interface at SrTiO3-based oxide system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce seismic and environmental vibration noise, ultra-low-frequency vertical vibration isolation systems play an important role in absolute gravimetry. For this purpose, an isolator based on a two-stage beam structure is proposed and demonstrated. The isolator has a simpler and more robust structure than the present ultra-low-frequency vertical active vibration isolators. In the system, two beams are connected to a frame using flexural pivots. The upper beam is suspended from the frame with a normal hex spring and the lower beam is suspended from the upper one using a zero-length spring. The pivot of the upper beam is not vertically above the pivot of the lower beam. With this special design, the attachment points of the zero-length spring to the beams can be moved to adjust the effective stiffness. A photoelectric detector is used to detect the angle between the two beams, and a voice coil actuator attached to the upper beam is controlled by a feedback circuit to keep the angle at a fixed value. The system can achieve a natural period of 100 s by carefully moving the attachment points of the zero-length spring to the beams and tuning the feedback parameters. The system has been used as an inertial reference in the T-1 absolute gravimeter. The experiment results demonstrate that the system has significant vibration isolation performance that holds promise in applications such as absolute gravimeters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which examined the optical, electrical and magnetic properties of neodymium iron boron films. Experimental methods; Observations of the oscillatory behavior with thickness of the films; Anomalous behaviors near the Curie temperature.

Provides information on a study which examined rare-earth element erbium, which was deposited onto (100) oriented Zn-doped p-type InP to form Schottky barriers. Material attractive for high-speed optoelectronic and high power microwave devices; Prerequisite essential for the development of advanced devices; Measurements in the I-V-T method; Technique used for measuring the reverse bias capacitance-voltage characteristics.