Single crystalline boron carbide nanobelts: synthesis and characterization

This paper reports that the large-scale single crystalline boron carbide nanobelts have been fabricated through a simple carbothermal reduction method with B/B2O3/C/Fe powder as precursors at 1100℃. Transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction characterizations show that the boron carbide nanobelt has a B4C rhomb-centred hexagonal structure with good crystallization. Electron energy loss spectroscopy analysis indicates that the nanobelt contains only B and C, and the atomic ratio of B to C is close to 4：1. High resolution transmission electron microscopy results show that the preferential growth direction of the nanobelt is [101]. A possible growth mechanism is also discussed.     

First-principles investigation of BAs and BxGa1-xAs alloys

First-principles investigation of BAs and BxGa1-xAs alloys Using first-principles calculations in the generalized gradient approximation, the electronic properties of BAs and BxGa1-xAs alloys are studied. At the Brillouin-zone centre, the lowest conduction band is the three-degenerate p-like Г15c state rather than s-like Г1c state, and the conduction band minimum （CBM） is along the A line between the Г and X points-at approximately 11/14（1,0,0）2π/a. With boron content at 0%-18.75%, BxGa1-xAs alloys have a small （2.6 eV） and relatively composition-independent band-gap bowing parameter, the band-gap increases monotonically by -18meV/B% with increasing boron content. In addition, the formation enthalpies of mixing for BxGa1-xAs alloys with boron content at 6.25% and 12.5% are calculated, and the large formation enthalpies may explain the difficulty in alloying boron to GaAs.     

Formation and photoluminescence properties of boron nanocones

This paper reports that a simple chemical vapour deposition method has been adopted to fabricate large scale, high density boron nanocones with thermal evaporation of B/B2O3 powders precursors in an Ar/H2 gas mixture at the synthesis temperature of 1000-1200℃. The lengths of boron nanocones are several micrometres, and the diameters of nanocone tops are in a range of 50-100 nm. transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction indicate that the nanocones are single crystalline α-tetragonal boron. The vapour liquid solid mechanism is the main formation mechanism of boron nanocones. One broad photolumineseence emission peak at the central wavelength of about 650 nm is observed under the 532 nm light excitation. Boron nanocones with good photoluminescence properties are promising candidates for applications in optical emitting devices.     

Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of Nd2O3 nanoparticles modified by sodium bis 2-ethylhexyl sulfosuccinate

This paper reports that Nd₂O₃ nanoparticles modified by AOT(sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate) were prepared using microemulsion method in the system of water and propanol/AOT/toluene. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the Nd₂O₃ nanoparticles take the shape of sphere with 18\,nm and 31nm with different preparation. The organic sol of Nd₂O₃ nanoparticles is very stable at room temperature. X-ray diffraction results show that the product has hexagonal phase structure. Two ultraviolet emission band at 344\,nm and 361\,nm corresponding to the transition of ⁴D_3/2→4I_9/2 and 2P_3/2→⁴I₁₁₂ or ⁴D_3/2 →⁴I_13/2 were observed.     

Cluster-assisted generation of multicharged ions in nanosecond laser ionization of carbon bisulfide clusters at 1064nm

The photoionization of seeded carbon bisulfide molecular beam by a 1064\,nm nanosecond Nd-YAG laser with intensities varying from $0.8\times10^{11}$ to $5.6\times10^{11}$\,W/cm$^{2}$ have been studied by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Multiply charged ions of S$^{q + }$ ($q$ = 2--6) and C$^{q +}$ ($q$ = 2--4) with kinetic energy of hundreds of electron volts have been observed, and there are strong experimental evidences indicating that those multicharged ions originate from the ionization of CS$_{2}$ neat clusters in the beam. An electron recolliding ionization model is proposed to explain the appearance of those multiply charged atomic ions under such low laser intensities.     

Synthesis of hexagonal monocrystal AlN microtubes and nanowires at low temperature

This paper reports that pure hexagonal aluminium nitride microtubes and nanowires growing along the [0001] direction have been successfully synthesized by directly reacting AlClh-AlN, microtubes, nanowires,h-AlN, microtubes, nanowiresProject supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No 10474078) and the Science Foundation of the Education Office of Shanxi Province, China.2006-11-23This paper reports that pure hexagonal aluminium nitride microtubes and nanowires growing along the [0001] direction have been successfully synthesized by directly reacting AlCl3 with NaN3 at low temperature （450℃） under condition of non-solvent system. The grey-white powder of reacting product was characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscope （HRTEM）, which shows that the powder is long straight-wire morphology with outer diameter from 40nm to 300 nm and length up to several micrometres. The results of both electron diffraction （ED） and x-ray diffraction （XRD） indicate that the AlN microtubes have a pure hexagonal monocrystal tubular structure with the combination of the curled AlN nanobelts. Room-temperature photoluminescence spectrum of the synthesized sample showed an emission peak, which is closely related to the small size of the microtubes.     

Green and red up-conversion emissions and thermometric application of Er3+-doped silicate glass

The green and red up-conversion emissions centred at about 534, 549 and 663\,nm of wavelength, corresponding respectively to the ${^{2}}H_{11 / 2} \to {^{4}}I_{15 / 2}$, ${^{4}}S_{3 / 2} \to {^{4}}I_{15 / 2}$ and ${^{4}}F_{9 / 2} \to {^{4}}I_{15 / 2}$ transitions of Er$^{3 + }$ ions, have been observed for the Er$^{3 + }$-doped silicate glass excited by a 978\,nm semiconductor laser beam. Excitation power dependent behaviour of the up-conversion emission intensity indicates that a two-photon absorption up-conversion process is responsible for the green and red up-conversion emissions. The temperature dependence of the green up-conversion emissions is also studied in a temperature range of 296--673\,K, which shows that Er$^{3 + }$-doped silicate glass can be used as a sensor in high-temperature measurement.     

Green and red up-conversion emissions and thermometric application of Er^3＋-doped silicate glass

The green and red up-conversion emissions centred at about 534, 549 and 663 nm of wavelength, corresponding respectively to the ^2H11/2 → ^4I15/2, ^4S3/2 → ^4I15/2 and ^4F9/2 → ^4I15/2 transitions of Er^3＋ ions, have been observed for the Er^3＋-doped silicate glass excited by a 978 nm semiconductor laser beam. Excitation power dependent behaviour of the up-conversion emission intensity indicates that a two-photon absorption up-conversion process is responsible for the green and red up-conversion emissions. The temperature dependence of the green up-conversion emissions is also studied in a temperature range of 296-673 K, which shows that Er^3＋-doped silicate glass can be used as a sensor in high-temperature measurement.     

A new transition metal diphosphide α-MoP2 synthesized by a high-temperature and high-pressure technique

Monoclinic $\alpha $-MoP$_{2}$, with the OsGe$_{2}$-type structure (space group $C2/m$, $Z = 4$) and lattice parameters $a = 8.7248(11) $ Å, $b = 3.2322(4) $ Å, $c = 7.4724(9) $ Å, and $\beta =119.263^\circ $, was synthesized under a pressure of 4 GPa at a temperature between 1100 ${^\circ}$C and 1200 ${^\circ}$C. The structure of $\alpha $-MoP$_{2}$ and its relationship to other transition metal diphosphides are discussed. Surprisingly, the ambient pressure phase orthorhombic $\beta $-MoP$_{2}$ (space group Cmc2$_{1}$) is denser in structure than $\alpha $-MoP$_{2}$. Room-temperature high-pressure x-ray diffraction studies exclude the possibility of phase transition from $\beta $-MoP$_{2}$ to $\alpha $-MoP$_{2}$, suggesting that $\alpha $-MoP$_{2}$ is a stable phase at ambient conditions; this is also supported by the total energy and phonon calculations.     

Synthesis and characterization of Ca2Sn1-xCexO4 with blue luminescence originating from Ce^4＋ charge transfer transition

Ce^4＋-doped Ca2SnO4 with a one-dimensional structure, which emits bright blue light, is prepared by using a solid-state reaction method. The x-ray diffraction results show that the Ce^4＋ ions doped in Ca2SnO4 occupy the Sn^4＋ sites. The excitation and emission spectra of Ca2Sn1-xCexO4 appear to have broad bands with peaks at - 268nm and -442nm, respectively. A long excited-state lifetime （-83μs） for the emission from Ca2Sn1-xCexO4 suggests that the luminescence originates from a ligand-to-metal Ce^4＋ charge transfer （CT）. The luminescent properties of Ca2Snl_xCexO4 have been compared with those of Sr2CeO4, which is the only material reported so far to show Ce^4＋ CT luminescence. More interestingly, it is observed that the emission intensity of Ca2Sn1-xCexO4 with a small doping concentration （x - 0.03） is comparable to that of Sr2CeO4 in which the concentration of active centre is 100%.     

Judd-Oflet analysis of spectrum and laser performance of Ho：YAP crystal end-pumped by 1.91μm Tm：YLF laser

The Ho:YAP crystal is grown by the Czochralski technique.The room temperature polarized absorption spectra of Ho:YAP crystal was measured on a c cut sample with 1 at% holmium.According to the obtained Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters Ω2 = 1.42 × 10-20 cm2,Ω4 = 2.92 × 10-20 cm2,and Ω6 = 1.71 × 10-20 cm2,this paper calculated the fluorescence lifetime to be 6 ms for 5I7 →5 I8 transition,and the integrated emission cross section to be 2.24×10-18 cm2.It investigates the room temperature Ho:YAP laser end pumped by a 1.91 μm Tm:YLF laser.The maximum output power was 4.1 W when the incident 1.91 μm pump power was 14.4 W.The slope efficiency is 40.8%,corresponding to an optical to optical conversion efficiency of 28.4%.The Ho:YAP output wavelength was centred at 2118 nm with full width at half maximum of about 0.8 nm.     

Determination of the stellar reaction rate for 12C（α,γ）16O： using a new expression with the reaction mechanism

The astrophysical reaction rate of 12C(α, γ)16O plays a key role in massive star evolution. However, this reaction rate and its uncertainties have not been well determined yet, especially at T9=0.2. The existing results even disagree with each other to a certain extent. In this paper, the E1, E2 and total (E1+E2) 12C(α, γ)16O reaction rates are calculated in the temperature range from T9=0.3 to 2 according to all the available cross section data. A new analytic expression of the 12 C(α, γ)16 O reaction rate is brought forward based on the reaction mechanism. In this expression, each part embodies the underlying physics of the reaction. Unlike previous works, some physical parameters are chosen from experimental results directly, instead of all the parameters obtained from fitting. These parameters in the new expression, with their 3σ fit errors, are obtained from fit to our calculated reaction rate from T9=0.3 to 2. Using the fit results, the analytic expression of 12C(α, γ)16O reaction rate is extrapolated down to T9=0.05 based on the underlying physics. The 12C(α, γ)16 O reaction rate at T9=0.2 is (8.78 ± 1.52) × 1015 cm3s-1mol-1. Some comparisons and discussions about our new 12 C(α, γ)16 O reaction rate are presented, and the contributions of the reaction rate correspond to the different part of reaction mechanism are given. The agreements of the reaction rate below T9=2 between our results and previous works indicate that our results are reliable, and they could be included in the astrophysical reaction rate network. Furthermore, we believe our method to investigate the 12C(α, γ)16O reaction rate is reasonable, and this method can also be employed to study the reaction rate of other astrophysical reactions. Finally, a new constraint of the supernovae production factor of some isotopes are illustrated according to our 12C(α, γ)16O reaction rates.     

Hopping electron model with geometrical frustration: kinetic Monte Carlo simulations

The hopping electron model on the Kagome lattice was investigated by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, and the non-equilibrium nature of the system was studied. We have numerically confirmed that aging phenomena are present in the autocorrelation function \hbox{$C \, \left({t,t_{W} } \right)$}C?t,tW)( of the electron system on the Kagome lattice, which is a geometrically frustrated lattice without any disorder. The waiting-time distributions \hbox{$p\left(\tau \right)$}pτ)( of hopping electrons of the system on Kagome lattice has been also studied. It is confirmed that the profile of \hbox{$p\, \left(\tau \right)$}p?τ)( obtained at lower temperatures obeys the power-law behavior, which is a characteristic feature of continuous time random walk of electrons. These features were also compared with the characteristics of the Coulomb glass model, used as a model of disordered thin films and doped semiconductors. This work represents an advance in the understanding of the dynamics of geometrically frustrated systems and will serve as a basis for further studies of these physical systems.     

Passively mode-locked Nd：GdVO4 laser at 912nm

This paper demonstrates the passively mode-locked Nd：GdVO4 laser operating on the ^4F3/2-^4I9/2 transition at 912 nm by using a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror for passive mode locking, stable continuous wave modelocked 912nm laser was achieved with a repetition rate of 176 MHz. At the incident pump power of 17.7W, 22.6mW average output power of stable mode-locked laser was obtained with a slope efficiency of 0.3%.     

Mutual recombination in slow Si^＋ ＋ H^- collisions

This paper studies the process of mutual neutralization of Si^＋ and H^- ions in slow collisions within the multichannel Landau-Zener model. All important ionic-covalent couplings in this collision system are included in the collision dynamics. The cross sections for population of specific final states of product Si atom are calculated in the CM energy range 0.05 e∨/u-5 ke∨/u. Both singlet and triplet states are considered. At collision energies below -10 e∨/u, the most populated singlet state is Si（3p4p, ^1S0）, while for energies above -150e∨/u it is the Si（3p, 4p, ^1P1） state. In the case of triplet states, the mixed 3p4p（^3S1 ＋^3P0） states are the most populated in the entire collision energy range investigated. The total cross section exhibits a broad maximum around 200 300e∨/u and for ECM ≤ 10e∨/u it monotonically increases with decreasing the collision energy, reaching a value of 8 × 10^-13 cm^2 at ECM = 0.05 e∨/u. The ion-pair formation process in Si（3p^2 ^3PJ）＋H（1s） collisions has also been considered and its cross section in the considered energy range is very small （smaller than 10^-20 cm^2 in the energy region below 1 ke∨/u）.     

Spin polarization effect for Cr2 molecule

Density functional theory （DFT） （B3P86） of Gaussian 03 has been used to optimize the structure of the Cr2 molecule, a transition metal element molecule. The result shows that the ground state for the Cr2 molecule is a 13- multiple state, indicating that there exists a spin polarization effect in the Cr2 molecule. Meanwhile, we have not found any spin pollution because the wave function of the ground state does not mingle with wave functions of higher-energy states. So the ground state for Cr2 molecule being a 13-multiple state is indicative of spin polarization effect of the Cr2 molecule among transition metal elements, that is, there are 12 parallel spin electrons in the Cr2 molecule. The number of non-conjugated electrons is greatest. These electrons occupy different spatial orbitals so that the energy of the Cr2 molecule is minimized. It can be concluded that the effect of parallel spin in the Cr2 molecule is larger than the effect of the conjugated molecule, which is obviously related to the effect of electron d delocalization. In addition, the Murrell Sorbie potential functions with the parameters for the ground state and other states of the Cr2 molecule are derived. The dissociation energy De for the ground state of the Cr2 molecule is 0.1034eV, equilibrium bond length Re is 0.3396 nm, and vibration frequency we is 73.81cm^-1. Its force constants f2, f3 and f4 are 0.0835, -0.2831 and 0.3535 aJ. nm^-4 respectively. The other spectroscopic data for the ground state of the Cr2 molecule ωeχe, Be and αe are 1.2105, 0.0562 and 7.2938 x 10^-4cm^-1 respectively.     

Microwave properties and surface topography of softmagnetic films with high resistivity

A single layer of CoFeB and a multilayer of CoFeB--MgO films are prepared by means of DC/RF magnetron sputter deposition. The excellent microwave properties and high electrical resistivity are simultaneously achieved in the discontinuous multilayer structure of [Co₄₄Fe₄₄B₁₂(0.7nm)/MgO(0.4nm)]_{40} film. This film has a high permeability ({μ \prime }) (larger than 100 below 2.1GHz), a high magnetic loss (μ') (larger than 100 in a range from 1.5 to 3.3GHz), a resistivity of 3.3× 10^*     

The research on suspended ZnO nanowire field-effect transistor

This paper reports that a novel type of suspended ZnO nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs) were successfully fabricated using a photolithography process, and their electrical properties were characterized by I--V measurements. Single-crystalline ZnO nanowires were synthesized by a hydrothermal method, they were used as a suspended ZnO nanowire channel of back-gate field-effect transistors (FET). The fabricated suspended nanowire FETs showed a p-channel depletion mode, exhibited high on--off current ratio of ～10⁵. When V_DS=2.5 V, the peak transconductances of the suspended FETs were 0.396 μS, the oxide capacitance was found to be 1.547 fF, the pinch-off voltage V_TH was about 0.6 V, the electron mobility was on average 50.17 cm²/Vs. The resistivity of the ZnO nanowire channel was estimated to be 0.96× 10²Ω cm at V_GS = 0 V. These characteristics revealed that the suspended nanowire FET fabricated by the photolithography process had excellent performance. Better contacts between the ZnO nanowire and metal electrodes could be improved through annealing and metal deposition using a focused ion beam.     

Spin polarization effect for molecule Ta2

Density functional theory （DFT） （B3p86） has been used to optimize the structure of the molecule Ta2. The result shows that the ground state of molecule Ta2 is a 7-multiple state and its electronic configuration is ^7∑u^＋, which shows the spin polarization effect for molecule Ta2 of transition metal elements for the first time. Meanwhile, spin pollution has not been found because the wavefunction of the ground state does not mix with those of higher states. So, the fact that the ground state of molecule Ta2 is a 7-multiple state indicates a spin polarization effect of molecule Ta2 of the transition metal elements, i.e. there exist 6 parallel spin electrons and the non-conjugated electrons are greatest in number. These electrons occupy different space orbitals so that the energy of molecule Ta2 is minimized. It can be concluded that the effect of parallel spin of the molecule Ta2 is larger than the effect of the conjugated molecule, which is obviously related to the effect of d-electron delocalization. In addition, the Murrell-Sorbie potential functions with parameters for the ground state ^7∑u^＋ and other states of the molecule Ta2 are derived. The dissociation energy De, equilibrium bond length Re and vibration frequency we for the ground state of molecule Ta2 are 4.5513eV, 0.2433nm and 173.06cm^-1, respectively. Its force constants f2, f3 and f4 are 1.5965×10^2aJ.nm^-2, -6.4722×10^3aJ·nm^-3 and 29.4851×10^4aJ·nm^-4, respectively. Other spectroscopic data we xe, Be and αe for the ground state of Ta2 are 0.2078cm^-1, 0.0315 cm^-1 and 0.7858×10^-4 cm^-1, respectively.     

The fabrication of nickel silicide ohmic contacts to n-type 6H-silicon carbide

This paper reports that the nickel silicide ohmic contacts to n-type 6H-SiC have been fabricated. Transfer length method test patterns with NiSi/SiC and NiSi硅化镍;欧姆触点;n型碳化硅;制造;能带;带隙Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No~2002CB311904), the National Defense Basic Research Program of China (Grant No~51327010101) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No~60376001).2006-09-192006-10-30This paper reports that the nickel silicide ohmic contacts to n-type 6H-SiC have been fabricated. Transfer length method test patterns with NiSi/SiC and NiSi2/SiC structure axe formed on N-wells created by N^＋ ion implantation into Si-faced p-type 6H-SiC epilayer respectively. NiSi and NiSi2 films are prepared by annealing the Ni and Si films separately deposited. A two-step annealing technology is performed for decreasing of oxidation problems occurred during high temperature processes. The specific contact resistance Pc of NiSi contact to n-type 6H-SiC as low as 1.78× 10^-6Ωcm^2 is achieved after a two-step annealing at 350 ℃for 20 min and 950℃ for 3 min in N2. And 3.84×10-6Ωcm^2 for NiSi2 contact is achieved. The result for sheet resistance Rsh of the N＋ implanted layers is about 1210Ω/□. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the formation of nickel silicide phases at the metal/n-SiC interface after thermal annealing. The surfaces of the nickel silicide after thermal annealing are analysed by scanning electron microscope.