Silicon production from phosphate industry waste (Na2SiF6)

Production of salable goods from industrial waste can become an additional innovative component of liquid-metal technology of atomic engineering. In this paper, we used sodium silicofluoride (Na₂SiF₆), i.e., phosphate Ca(HPO₄)₂ production waste. Fundamentals of a worldwide unique ecologically clean low-temperature technology of Si reduction from Na₂SiF₆ and Si deposition on substrates in a liquid-metal loop in a single process was developed, as well as a gas-phase technology of Si reduction by sodium from gaseous SiF₄ released during thermal dissociation of Na₂SiF₆.     

In-situ phase analysis by a versatile miniaturized Mössbauer spectrometer

The element iron plays a major role in modern industries and technologies as for instance car-industry, mineral processing and steel production and power plants. For quality control, process monitoring and device inspection (e.g., pipes in power plants) a fast, non-destructive and sensitive analytical method is desirable. ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy is able to determine the different iron phases (e.g., oxides, sulfides, nitrates, carbonates and carbides) and therefore would be the ideal tool to perform this job. We have developed a miniaturized backscattering Mössbauer spectrometer for space applications which will be modified and used for industrial applications under certain circumstances. The instrument is designed in a modular way which would allow to adapt it to different applications. The instrument has approximately the size of a soft drink can, a weight of about 0.5 kg, and a power consumption of about 3 watts.     

用于真空电子太赫兹器件的微型热阴极电子束源研究

太赫兹波辐射源是太赫兹(THz)波技术的关键.真空电子太赫兹器件在高频、大功率太赫兹源发展中较其他技术有明显的优势,微米尺度高电流密度微型电子束源则是研制真空电子太赫兹器件的核心之一.本文在研制低温、大电流纳米粒子氧化钪掺杂含钪扩散阴极(nanosized-scandia doped dispenser cathode)的基础上,采用发射抑制膜沉积与聚焦离子束(FIB)刻蚀技术,研制无需压缩直接提供高电流密度的微型电子束的电子源.所研究的电子束源直径400μm,在工作温度950fiC,提供空间电荷限制电流密度50 A/cm2时,已稳定工作1000 h以上,并且层流性良好.本文阐述了阴极制备工艺、电子发射特性、微米尺度电子束源的获得和特性,介绍了发射抑制膜的结构和抑制特性的评估.并探讨了镀膜和刻蚀对发射的影响机理.这一电子束源在常规毫米尺度电子源的基础上产生微米尺度的微区高电流密度的电子束,为真空电子太赫兹辐射源的研制提供了新的途径.     

太赫兹时域光谱及成像技术在农作物品质检测中的应用研究进展

太赫兹辐射以其独特的技术优势,如瞬时性、宽带性、相干性、低能量性、穿透性和吸收性,受到了全世界各国政府、高等院校、科研机构等的高度重视并日趋成为生物医学、材料科学和物理学等领域的新兴研究热点.农作物成分如水分、蛋白、脂肪、淀粉等理论上在太赫兹谱区有较为丰富的吸收;太赫兹波的低辐射特性对农业生物样本检测更为安全;太赫兹波...     

Stability of liquid-metal ion sources

In this paper we find the parameters (radii, lengths, velocities) of the jets produced in liquid-metal ion sources. The jet stability with respect to developing sausages (Rayleigh instability) is studied. The Rayleight instability is shown to occur for rather large currents (in long jets). The currents critical for the instability initiation are calculated for Ga and Au sources. The results are in accordance with the experimental data available. In the case of Ga, the accordance is achieved only for the hot jet model (TT _m , whereT _m is the melting temperature), when the viscosity is appreciably lower.     

Visualization of the wave function of a quantum particle in the momentum space by the field-emission microscopy technique

An interpretation of the field-emission images of molecules, impurity ions, and nanostructures placed on the tip of a field-emission microscope is given. It is shown that often such images represent nothing else but the visualization of the wave function of the emitted quantum particle in the momentum space. The results of many earlier experiments are reinterpreted with regard to the results obtained in the present work.     

Fundamental study towards a better understanding of low pressure radio-frequency plasmas for industrial applications

Two classic radio-frequency (RF) plasmas, i.e., the capacitively and the inductively coupled plasmas (CCP and ICP), are widely employed in material processing, e.g., etching and thin film deposition, etc. Since RF plasmas are usually operated in particular circumstances, e.g., low pressures (mTorr-Torr), high-frequency electric field (13.56 MHz-200 MHz), reactive feedstock gases, diverse reactor configurations, etc., a variety of physical phenomena, e.g., electron resonance heating, discharge mode transitions, striated structures, standing wave effects, etc., arise. These physical effects could significantly influence plasma-based material processing. Therefore, understanding the fundamental processes of RF plasma is not only of fundamental interest, but also of practical significance for the improvement of the performance of the plasma sources. In this article, we review the major progresses that have been achieved in the fundamental study on the RF plasmas, and the topics include 1) electron heating mechanism, 2) plasma operation mode, 3) pulse modulated plasma, and 4) electromagnetic effects. These topics cover the typical issues in RF plasma field, ranging from fundamental to application.     

Mössbauer spectroscopy in space

Nearly 40 years after the discovery of the Mössbauer effect for the first time a Mössbauer spectrometer will leave our planet to explore in situ the surface of another solar system body: the red planet Mars [1]. We are currently developing a miniaturized Mössbauer spectrometer (MIMOS) which is part of the scientific payload of the Russian Mars96 mission, to be launched within the next 2–4 years [2,3]. To fulfill the requirements for a space mission to the planet Mars, all parts of the spectrometer had to be extremely miniaturized and ruggedized to withstand the space flight and Mars environmental conditions. The relevant parts (e.g. drive, detector system, electronics etc.) will be described in more detail and its characteristics compared to standard systems. Because of this new development there now is a growing interest to include a Mössbauer (MB) instrument in future space missions to other solar system bodies as for instance Venus, the terrestrial Moon, and a comet nucleus. Because of extremely different environmental conditions (e.g. nearly zero gravity on the surface of a comet nucleus, high pressure and temperature on the surface of Venus, etc.) different instrument designs and concepts are required for different missions. We will present some ideas for various types of missions, as well as the motivation for using Mössbauer spectroscopy in these cases.     

Geometry ofN=1 supergravity (II)

The supergravity torsion and curvature constraints are shown to be a particular case of constraints arising in a general geometrical situation. For this purpose, a theorem is proved which describes the necessary and sufficient conditions that the given geometry can be realized on a surface as one induced by the geometry of the ambient space. The proof uses the theory of nonlinear partial differential equations in superspace, Spencer cohomologies, etc. This theorem generalizes various theorems, well known in mathematics (e.g., the Gauss—Codazzi theorem), and may be of its own interest.     

Electrostatic cnoidal waves and soliton structures in multi‐ions plasmas

Using a reductive perturbation technique (RPT), the Korteweg‐de Vries (KdV) equation for nonlinear electrostatic waves in multi‐ion plasmas is derived with appropriate boundary conditions. Furthermore, compressive and rarefactive cnoidal wave and soliton solutions are discussed. In our model, the multi‐ion plasma consists of light dynamic warm ions, heavy cold ions, and inertialess electrons, which follows the Maxwell‐Boltzmann distribution. It is observed that in such an unmagnetized multi‐ion plasma, two characteristic electrostatic waves i.e., slow ion‐acoustic (SIA) waves and fast ion‐acoustic (FIA) waves, can propagate. The results are discussed by considering two types of multi‐ion plasmas i.e., H⁺–O⁺–e plasma and H^?–O⁺–e plasma that exist in space plasmas. It is found that for H⁺–O⁺–e plasma, the SIA cnoidal wave and soliton form both positive (compressive) and negative (rarefactive) potential pulses, which depend on the temperature and density of the light and warm ions. However, only electrostatic positive potential structures are obtained for FIA cnoidal wave and soliton in H⁺–O⁺–e plasma. In the case of H^?–O⁺–e plasma, the SIA cnoidal wave and soliton form only compressive structures, while the FIA cnoidal wave and soliton compose rarefactive structures. The effects of light ions' density and temperature on nonlinear potential structures are investigated in detail. The parametric results are also demonstrated, which are applicable to space and laboratory multi‐ion plasma situations.     

Shape of a liquid metal ion source

A model of the liquid-metal ion-source shape consisting of a jet-like protrusion on the end of a Taylor cone shape is shown to be consistent with a field evaporation mechanism of ion formation, fluid dynamic considerations, space charge effects and recent TEM observations. The diameter of the ion emitting area is found to be only a few tens of Å. Self-consistent numerical calculations of electric potential and particle trajectories predict emission characteristics which compare favorably with experimental results.On leave from Trinity Hall, Cambridge, UK     

Environmentally benign nanomixing by sonication in high-pressure carbon dioxide

Due to the increased use of nanocomposites, mixing at nanoscale has become important. Current mixing techniques can be classified into: (a) dry mixing (mechanical mixing), (b) wet mixing, and (c) simultaneous production of mixed nanoparticles (when possible). Dry mixing is in general not effective in achieving desired mixing at nanoscale, whereas wet mixing suffers from different disadvantages like nanomaterial of interest should be insoluble, has to wet the liquid, and involves additional steps of filtration and drying. This paper examines the use of pressurized carbon dioxide having high density and low viscosity to replace the liquids (e.g., n-hexane, toluene). Ultrasound is applied to the suspension of nanopowders in gaseous and supercritical carbon dioxide where high impact collisions during sonication help mixing and the final mixture is obtained by simple depressurization. The method is tested for binary mixture of alumina/silica, silica/titania, MWNT (multiwalled carbon nanotubes)/silica, and MWNT/titania. The effects of sonication intensity and pressure on the degree of mixing are studied. Comparative study is also done with liquid n-hexane as a mixing media. Quantitative characterization (e.g., mean composition standard deviation, intensity of segregation) of mixing of alumina/silica and silica/titania is done with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and that of MWNT/silica and MWNT/titania is done using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and day-light illumination spectrophotometry. Results show that mixing in carbon dioxide at higher ultrasound amplitudes is as good as in liquid n-hexane, and the final mixed product does not contain any residual media as in the case of liquid n-hexane.     

无碰撞等离子体电流片中的低频波

采用两种无碰撞二维三分量不可压缩磁流体力学（MHD）模型，计入电子扰动压力张量效应，研究了电流片等离子体的色散性质和波.由于得到的一般色散关系较为复杂，只解析讨论了电流片的中心区和电子β*e=0两种特殊情况.主要结果如下：(1)在短波区（kdi＞1），存在快磁声 动理学Alfven波和斜Alfven 哨声模，电子磁流体力学模型是足够精确的MHD模型；在长波区（kdi＜1＝，存在Alfven波和离子声波，理想的MHD模型是适用的.（2）电子β*e＝0情况下的结果，显然遗漏了一些波模（如离子声波和快磁声动理 关键词： 电流片 磁流体力学 电子压力张量 色散关系     

Near-field and far-field propagation of beams and pulses in dispersive media

We formulate an efficient exact method of propagating optical wave packets (and cw beams) in isotropic and nonisotropic dispersive media. The method does not make the slowly varying envelope approximation in time or space and treats dispersion and diffraction exactly to all orders, even in the near field. It can also be used to determine the partial differential wave equation for pulses (and beams) to any order as a power series in the partial derivatives with respect to time and space. The method can treat extremely focused pulses and beams, e.g., from near-field scanning optical microscopy sources whose transverse spatial extent in smaller than a wavelength.     

High contrast hollow-cone dark field transmission electron microscopy for nanocrystalline grain size quantification

In this paper, we describe hollow-cone dark field (HCDF) transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging, with a slightly convergent beam, as an improved technique that is suitable to form high contrast micrographs for nanocrystalline grain size quantification. We also examine the various factors that influence the HCDF TEM image quality, including the conditions of microscopy (alignment, focus and objective aperture size), the properties of the materials imaged (e.g., atomic number, strain, defects), and the characteristics of the TEM sample itself (e.g., thickness, ion milling artifacts). Sample preparation was found to be critical and an initial thinning by wet etching of the substrate (for thin film samples) or tripod polishing (for bulk samples), followed by low-angle ion milling was found to be the preferred approach for preparing high-quality electron transparent samples for HCDF imaging.     

Sensors measuring oxygen activity in melts: Development of impedance method for“in-situ” diagnostics and control electrolyte/liquid-metal electrode interface

An impedance method for periodic“in-situ” diagnostics of the solid electrolyte/liquid-metal electrode interface during the lifespan of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)-based sensors measuring oxygen partial pressure in melts was developed. It was found that the impact of polarization effects on YSZ, stipulated by corrosive measuring environments (molten alkaline metals), is increasing with increase of the working temperature, which may lead to the appearance blocking reaction layers at the electrolyte/liquid-metal electrode interface. The proposed impedance method allows obtaining necessary information about the electrolyte/liquid-metal electrode interface and about the character and the level of polarization of the liquid-metal electrode.     

Coarse-graining protein energetics in sequence variables

We show that cluster expansions (CE), previously used to model solid-state materials with binary or ternary configurational disorder, can be extended to the protein design problem. We present a generalized CE framework, in which properties such as energy can be unambiguously expanded in the amino-acid sequence space. The CE coarse grains over nonsequence degrees of freedom (e.g., side-chain conformations) and thereby simplifies the problem of designing proteins, or predicting the compatibility of a sequence with a given structure, by many orders of magnitude. The CE is physically transparent, and can be evaluated through linear regression on the energies of training sequences. We show, as example, that good prediction accuracy is obtained with up to pairwise interactions for a coiled-coil backbone, and that triplet interactions are important in the energetics of a more globular zinc-finger backbone.     

Simulation of unipolar space charge controlled electric fields

A model is discussed, which allows in an easy way to perform electric field simulations in unipolar space charge controlled dielectric media with the finite element method. The approach is appropriate for a variety of different devices in electrical engineering, containing solid, liquid, or gaseous insulators. The main issue concerns the boundary condition at the charge injecting contacts, including ohmic contacts (leading to space charge limited currents) as well as contacts with a finite threshold field for injection (e.g., by Corona onset in gas). The model naturally contains the high-current limit, where the current is injection dominated, i.e., given by the saturation current of the contact, and the capacitive field is restored.Results for a few examples are presented, in order to validate the method by comparison with analytical results, and in order to illustrate its usefulness for applications. In particular, for gaseous insulation various steady state and transient field distributions are calculated. With this approach it is easily possible to investigate the effect of convective currents as well as the charging of dielectrics surfaces.