Superconductivity of TiZrNi alloys containing quasicrystals

Superconductivity of rapidly quenched ribbons Ti₅₃Zr₂₇Ni₂₀ at 1.94 K and the beginning of the transition to the superconductivity in ribbons Ti₄₅Zr₃₈Ni₁₇ below 1.5 K were found. X-rays diffractometry measurements showed that the icosahedral quasicrystal phase is dominant in all samples.     

Blue photoluminescence from SiGeSiO2 co-sputtered films

A blue photoluminescence band centered at 440 nm was observed from SiGeSiO₂ co-sputtered films at room temperature. This band gains intensity after the film was annealed at a temperature around 900°C in N₂ atmosphere. From analysis of photoluminescence excitation, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectra, it turns out that the luminescence is probably from some interfacial state between Si_1−xGe_x nanoparticles and the SiO₂ matrix.     

Lattice dynamics and debye temperature of AlCu,AlSi and AlGe alloy systems

The lattice dynamics and specific heat at constant volume for AlCu alloy system is studied using our previous treatment based on the microscopic electronic theory. Considering the volume and electron density effect on the dynamical matrix of the pure constituent, we obtain the band and local mode frequencies at the temperature-dependent specific heat in the Al_1−x Cu_x solid solution. Then, using the data about the mean elastic wave and the specific heat extrapolated to the absolute zero temperature, the Debye temperature is presented for the Al_1−xCu_x, Al_1−xSi_x and Al_1−xGe_x alloy systems. The Debye temperature decreases as a function of the Cu atomic fraction x for Al_1−xCu_x alloy, and remarkably for Al_1−xSi_x and Al_1−xGe_x solid solutions.     

Corrosion characteristics of NdFeB sintered magnets containing various alloying elements

The effect of small additions (1 at%) of some elements (P, Cr, Ti, Zr, Pb or Sn) on the corrosion behaviour and magnetic properties of Nd₁₅Fe₇₇B₈ sintered magnets has been investigated. It was established that most advantageous was the addition of 1 at% Cr which distinctly inhibited both acid and atmospheric corrosion processes while it did not deteriorate the magnetic characteristics of the magnet. Addition of Cr accelerates, however, the dissolution of the magnet at strongly cathodic polarization.     

Atomic fraction around defects associated with nanoparticles in AlCuMg alloys

A positron annihilation spectroscopy analysis method to obtain a quantitative determination of the chemical composition around defects inside nanoparticles is presented here. This methodology is applied to AlCuMg alloys to study the rapid hardening phenomena associated with solute-vacancy aggregation. Coincidence Doppler Broadening (CDB) and lifetime spectroscopy measurements of reference samples of pure elements with and without defects were analyzed to give quantitative information of the average chemical environment around vacancies, i.e. the atomic fraction of the first neighbors of these defects, in the alloys studied. The accuracy and reproducibility of the methodology is confirmed not only by good fits to the experimental data but, in most cases, by the consistency between the mean lifetime values predicted, using the CDB estimation, and the mean lifetime values independently measured. Discrepancies in the methodology are expected when there is poor CDB contrast between elements, i.e. having similar electronic structure (for example, Al and Mg). The criterion for establishing the statistical accuracy of the separation of elements in these special cases is discussed. The methodology can be applied not only to study homogeneous materials as metallic alloys, but also to study the depth profile in thin films.     

Microscopic multicluster description of the 7Li7Be, 8Li8B and 9Li9C mirror nuclei

The ⁹Li and ⁹C mirror systems are investigated in a microscopic α+³H+n+n and α+³He+p+p multicluster framework using the stochastic variational method. Possibility of existence of neutron (proton) halo structure is studied. The quadrupole moment of ⁹C is predicted to be −5.04 e fm².     

Structure and optical properties of GeGaS films deposited by thermal evaporation

Amorphous GeGaS thin films have been successfully deposited onto glass slides at room temperature by the thermal evaporation technique. The structural units of the films were studied using Raman spectroscopy. In addition to the basic structural units of GeS₄ tetrahedra, there are some SS and GeGe homopolar bonds which exist in the films. The increase in Ge atoms leads to the replacement of SS bonds by GeGe bonds, and the isolated Ge(Ga)S₄ tetrahedra units transform into corner-sharing or edge-sharing Ge(Ga)S₄ tetrahedra units in the films. The refractive index and optical band gap were derived from transmission spectra of films. The values of optical band gap decrease while the refractive indices increase with increasing Ge content. Composition dependence of optical band gap and refractive index has also been interpreted in terms of the variation in the structure of films based on Raman spectra.     

Initial magnetization curve and hardening mechanism in rapidly quenched NdFeB magnets

Rapidly quenched NdFeB alloys were prepared with varying grain sizes well below and above the critical size for single domain particles. The contributions of the single and multi-domain particles to the initial magnetization curve are analyzed. By changing the quenching speed, i.e., the average grain size, the shape of the initial magnetization curve changes characteristically. The volume fraction of single domain grains is determined from the initial magnetization curves. From scanning electron micrographs the grain size distribution is evaluated and the critical size for single domain particles in the bulk material is deduced from a quantitative analysis of the magnetization curves. It reaches twice the value of the theoretical value for isolated spherical particles. A low temperature treatment following the thermal demagnetization lowers the initial susceptibility in underquenched ribbons as well as in an MQIII magnet. This effect reflects the irreversibility of the transition from the multi to the single domain particle state during the cooling. The temperature dependence of the single domain particle size is deduced from the initial magnetization curves of low temperature treated samples. It is shown that these experimental results are consistently explained assuming the nucleation mechanism to apply for rapidly quenched NdFeB magnets. The results are compared to the behaviour of hard ferrites.     

Anisotropic low-field giant magnetoresistance in [NiFeCo/Cu] multilayers

[NiFeCo(3 nm)/Cu(2 nm)] multilayers having in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy were prepared by using a carousel type sputtering apparatus. The MR (magnetoresistance) ratio was about 8% and the MR curve along the easy axis showed a sharp split hysteresis with a very small transient field, ΔH ∼ 3 Oe, though the switching is irreversible. The experimental results are discussed by using magnetic phase diagrams calculated by Dieny et al. (1990) and Folkerts (1991).     

High-resolution solid-state 13C14N and 13C15N heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy

Two-dimensional heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy is applied to coupled carbon and nitrogen nuclei in single crystals of amino acids and peptides. High resolution is available because the spectra have the carbon chemical shift along one frequency axis and the nitrogen chemical shift (and the second-order quadrupole shift in the case of ¹⁴N) along the second frequency axis. These two-dimensional spectra enable direct measurements of resonance frequencies and dipole-dipole couplings that are useful in providing information about the structure, dynamics, and spectral characteristics of molecules.     

Radiation acceptors in GeSi alloys

The Hall-effect, conductivity, isochronal and isothermal annealing of defects in n-type Gez.sbnd;Si alloys irradiated by electrons and

-quantum are investigated. Maximum content of minority component was equal to 1,5 at .% Si. It is shown that in Gez.sbnd;Si three types of radiation acceptors are being generated. The energetic parameters of defects, their dependence on the content of Si in Gez.sbnd;Si are calculated. The effect of radiation acceptors on the change of carriers concentration and mobility in Gez.sbnd;Si is investigated.     

Onsager type relations for new-introduced kinetic coefficients connected with magnetic field in case of 3HeA, 3HeB

New terms describing dissipation are added to currents in the spin hydrodynamic equations for superfluid phases A and B of ³He. The terms contain kinetic coefficients connected with external magnetic field and nonconventional fields conjugated to the hydrodynamic variables describing suitable broken symmetries. Due to the Onsager type relations only two new coefficients in each phase (both connected with magnetic field) remain in the equations and can be expressed in terms of the “old” kinetic coefficients and some generalized susceptibilities. Experimental data for superfluid ³He may be able to provide information about “viscosity” of magnetic fields.     

Absolute composition depth-profiles in surface segregation of PtRh alloys

The absolute composition depth profiles of the first 12 atomic layers of the (001) surface and the first 9 layers of the (111) surface of a PtRh alloy have been measured. As found in earlier studies, the surface is enriched with Pt, the sub-surface layer is depleted of Pt, and the Pt concentration oscillates toward the bulk value. The detailed oscillations are, however, very different for the two surfaces. Using a simple model for the metallic bonds, Monte Carlo simulations are performed to extract a set of bond energy differences of the constituent atom pairs from the experimental data.     

The triaxial rotation vibration model in the XeBa region

Collective quadrupole degrees of freedom give rise to vibrations and rotations in nuclei. The axial Rotation Vibration Model (RVM) is here extended to describe also triaxial equilibrium shapes with β and γ vibrations allowing for the interaction between vibrations and rotations. This Triaxial Rotation Vibration Model (TRVM( is applied to Ba and Xe isotopes with A ≈ 120 to 130. This are has recently been pointed out to be a region for the O(6) limit of the Interacting Boson Approximation (IBA). The present work shows that the TRVM can equally well describe these nuclei concerning their excitation energies and E2 branching ratios.     

Growth of CuO chains on Ag(110) surfaces

The (AgO) chains grown along the 〈001〉 direction on Ag(110) disappeared by the reaction with Cu atoms at room temperature, and new one-dimensional chains grew in the 〈110〉 direction. The STM images at different bias potentials suggest the growth of (CuO) chains in the 〈110〉 direction on the Ag(110) surface. The (CuO) chains on the Ag(110) surface disappeared by heating to 470 K, but they reappeared by exposing to O₂ at room temperature.     

Measuring the anelasticity of CuBe film under tensile stress using the X-pendulum

We measured the anelasticity of CuBe foil at very low frequencies by incorporating it in an X-pendulum. The imaginary part of the spring constant was constant from 0.03 Hz to 0.5 Hz under tensile stresses of 12–20 MPa. The X-pendulum technique proved convenient for low frequency use.     

Anomalous coverage behavior of the CsAg distance on CsAg(110)

The position of Cs on the (1 × 2) missing row reconstructed Ag(110) surface was determined by X-ray diffraction for two different Cs-coverages: θ_Cs = 0.2 and θ_Cs = 0.3. The Cs was found to be adsorbed in incommensurate chains in the troughs of the missing row with an average adsorption height of 1.7 Å (θ_Cs = 0.2) and 1.4 Å (θ_Cs = 0.3) above the topmost Ag layer. The apparent contradiction to the classical picture of alkali adsorption, which expects an increase of the Cs adsorption height with coverage, might be partly resolved by introducing a fraction of commensurately adsorbed Cs at θ_Cs = 0.2.     

Oscillatory behaviour of the NOH2 reaction over Rh(533)

Waves moving over the surface of a Rh field emitter tip in an oscillatory way during the NO-H₂ reaction have been visualized earlier by field electron microscopy (FEM). An autocatalysis model has been proposed to describe the oscillatory behaviour of the reduction of NO by H₂. To study the oscillatory behaviour and the effect of the surface structure in more detail a large Rh(100) surface and a large stepped Rh(533) surface, Rh[4(111)¹(100)], have been selected. The first results show that, in correspondence with the FEM experiments, rate oscillations could be observed over the Rh(533) surface in the 10⁻⁶ mbar pressure regime around 470 K. No oscillatory behaviour was obtained on the Rh(100) surface under these conditions. The structure-sensitivity of the process is related to the large dependence of the Rh-N bond strength on the surface structure. Nitrogen desorbs at a much higher temperature from Rh(100) than from Rh(533).