Femtosecond laser micro-structuring of aluminium under helium

The interaction of 180 fs, 775 nm laser pulses with aluminium under a flowing stream of helium at ambient pressure have been used to study the material re-deposition, ablation rate and residual surface roughness. Threshold fluence F_th0.4 J cm⁻² and the volume ablation rate was measured to be 30<V<450 μm³ per pulse in the fluence range 1.4<F<21 J cm⁻². The presence of helium avoids gas breakdown above the substrate and leads to improved surface micro-structure by minimising surface oxidation and debris re-deposition. At 1 kHz rep. rate, with fluence F>7 J cm⁻² and >85 W cm⁻² average power density, residual thermal effects result in melt and debris formation producing poor surface micro-structure. On the contrary, surface micro-machining at low fluence F1.4 J cm⁻² with low power density, 3 W cm⁻² produces much superior surface micro-structuring with minimum melt and measured surface roughness R_a1.1±0.1 μm at a depth D50 μm. By varying the combination of fluence/scan speed during ultra-fast ablation of aluminium at 1 kHz rep. rate, results suggest that maintaining average scanned power density to <5 W cm⁻² combined with single pulse fluence <4 J cm⁻² produces near optimum micro-structuring. The debris under these conditions contains pure aluminium nanoparticles carried with the helium stream.     

Study of fossil tracks due to VH and VVH groups of cosmic ray nuclei in olivine crystals from Luna-16 and Luna-24

The olivine crystals from lunar regolith samples taken by the Soviet unmanned spacecrafts Luna-16 and Luna-24 were investigated. Eleven 0.5 –1.0 mm size olivine crystals were mounted in epoxy, polished and then etched in modified WO₄ solution. The Fe-group track densities up to 10⁸ tracks.cm⁻² (Fe-group) were measured under optical microscope. The tracks of length greater than 30 microns due to Z ≥ 36 cosmic ray nuclei are counted for VVH tracks density for all the crystals. The VVH / VH track densities ratio for these lunar olivine crystals varies from 1.25×10⁻⁴ to 2×10⁻³. It corresponds to the averaged depth of these crystals in lunar soil of 2–8 cm during galactic cosmic ray exposure. Lunar crystals are well suited for VVH track studies due to a very high track density. Two crystals were annealed at 430°C for 32 hrs. This procedure eliminates iron group tracks completely and leaves etchable tracks of nuclei with Z 50 even in the olivine crystals with Fe-group tracks up to 1–2×10⁸ tracks cm⁻². We were able to measure two tracks with the length 195 and 210μm which were produced by Th---U group of Galactic cosmic ray nuclei.     

On the luminescence of LiBaF3:Eu

From the temperature dependence of the line—band luminescence intensity ratio of LiBaF₃:Eu²⁺ a 4f−5d activation energy (Δ) of 800 cm⁻¹ is derived, being much higher than the value reported in the literature (100 cm⁻¹). The temperature dependence of the luminescence decay can be well described with Δ = 800 cm⁻¹ and with 4f−4f and 5d−4f radiative probabilities of 4×10²s⁻¹ and 6×10⁵s⁻¹, respectively.     

Defect versus nanocrystal luminescence emitted from room temperature and hot-implanted SiO2 layers

Silicon nanocrystals have been synthesized in SiO₂ matrix using Si ion implantation. Si ions were implanted into 300-nm-thick SiO₂ films grown on crystalline Si at energies of 30–55 keV, and with doses of 5×10¹⁵, 3×10¹⁶, and 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻². Implanted samples were subsequently annealed in an N₂ ambient at 500–1100°C during various periods. Photoluminescence spectra for the sample implanted with 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻² at 55 keV show that red luminescence (750 nm) related to Si-nanocrystals clearly increases with annealing temperature and time in intensity, and that weak orange luminescence (600 nm) is observed after annealing at low temperatures of 500°C and 800°C. The luminescence around 600 nm becomes very intense when a thin SiO₂ sample is implanted at a substrate temperature of 400°C with an energy of 30 keV and a low dose of 5×10¹⁵ cm⁻². It vanishes after annealing at 800°C for 30 min. We conclude that this luminescence observed around 600 nm is caused by some radiative defects formed in Si-implanted SiO₂.     

Estimation of hydroxyl free radicals produced by ultrasound in Fricke solution used as a chemical dosimeter

Hydroxyl free radicals produced in Fricke solution exposed to 80 kV X-rays or 23 kHz ultrasound (intensity 3 W cm⁻²) or 20 kHz ultrasound (intensity 18.9 W cm⁻²) or 3.5 MHz clinical ultrasound (intensity 1.47 W cm⁻²), as estimated from the Fricke dosimetric data, exhibited a linear dose-response relationship. The dosimeter was found to be effective in the concentration range 1.0–8.0 mM of FeSO₄ solution. The hydroxyl radicals produced in Fricke solution were inhibited by the OH radical scavengers dimethyl sulfoxide (200 mM), -histidine (10 mM) and sodium benzoate (10 mM) in a manner proportional to the rate constants of their reaction with the OH radicals. The power threshold for OH radical formation, which is presumably the threshold for cavity formation, was estimated for 23 kHz ultrasound by this dosimeter as 1.28 W cm⁻² for a 4 cm³ sample volume.     

Optical absorption of isotopically enriched Li2B4O7 single crystals irradiated by thermal neutrons

Induced absorption spectra in the range 200–900 nm at 77 and 290 K for Li₂B₄O₇ single crystals, isotopically Li and B enriched are presented after irradiation of these crystals by thermal neutrons with fluence 1.8×10¹⁶ cm⁻². The dependence of induced absorption spectra on the isotope composition was revealed: for ⁶Li₂¹⁰B₄O₇ and ⁷Li₂¹⁰B₄O₇ crystals intensive band in the region of 280–294 nm was observed. Under substitution of ⁷Li isotope by ⁶Li in the lithium tetraborate lattice no changes in the absorption spectra were observed. The nuclear reaction ¹⁰B(n,)⁷Li is proposed to be the main mechanism of formation of the radiation defects.     

A simple device for checking the acoustic beam of ultrasonic therapy equipment

Ultrasound of time average acoustic intensities between 0.5 and 3 W cm⁻² is widely used in physiotherapy. A simple device for semiquantitative checking of output power and beam shape has been designed. The beam tester consists of an absorbing plate and a sheath liquid crystal thermometer for temperature distribution display.¹ The ultrasonic beam is fed to the absorber through a simple water tank.     

Adsorption of carbon monoxide on Pt{100} surfaces: dependence of the CO stretching vibrational frequency on surface coverage

We have used the ab initio cluster model approach to study the dependence of the CO stretching frequency on CO surface coverage. We have also investigated the relative importance of the various factors that can affect the position of the CO stretching band as coverage increases. Two effects can change the CO stretching frequency: the adsorbate–adsorbate dipole coupling, which is a purely physical effect, and the changes in the 2π^* CO molecular orbitals, due to the different chemical environment at higher coverages. From our vibrational analysis, we conclude that CO–CO dipole coupling is the main cause of the upward shift of the CO stretching band when the CO coverage is increased. The population of the 2π^* CO molecular orbitals does not change at any coverage within the region considered. We have also estimated the ¹²CO–¹³CO dipole coupling, which previous studies have assumed to be weak. Our results demonstrate that the ¹²CO–¹³CO dipole coupling is indeed weak compared with the ¹²CO–¹²CO dipole coupling. At a CO surface coverage of 0.5 monolayers (ML), we have calculated a band shift of 40 cm⁻¹ to higher frequency. However, we should point out that when one ¹²CO molecule is surrounded by a ¹³CO environment, the ¹²CO stretching band shifts 10 cm⁻¹ upwards. We have also computed the heat of adsorption of CO on Pt{100}-(1×1) as a function of CO coverage. The initial heat of adsorption is calculated to be about 192 kJ mol⁻¹ and then drops to 180 kJ mol⁻¹ at 0.5 ML. These results agree quite well with recent calorimetric measurements. Besides that, we have estimated that the CO–CO interaction energy at 0.5 ML is repulsive and has a value of 5 kJ mol⁻¹.     

Influence of the Sb dopant distribution on far infrared photoconductivity in Ge:Sb blocked impurity band detectors

Extended long wavelength response to 200 μm (50 cm⁻¹) has been observed in Ge:Sb blocked impurity band (BIB) detectors with N_D1×10¹⁶ cm⁻³. The cut-off wavelength increases from 150 μm (65 cm⁻¹) to 200 μm (50 cm⁻¹) with increasing bias. The responsivity at long wavelengths was lower than expected. This can be explained by considering the observed Sb diffusion profile in a transition region between the blocking layer and active layer. BIB modeling is presented which indicates that this Sb concentration profile increases the electric field in the transition region and reduces the field in the blocking layer. The depletion region consists partially of the transition region between the active and blocking layer, which could contribute to the reduced long wavelength response. The field spike at the interface is the likely cause of breakdown at a lower bias than expected.     

Nombres D''ondes Absolus De La Bande ν3 De OCS Par Spectroscopie De Fourier

Absolute wavenumbers of 140 lines belonging to ν₃ band of ¹⁶O¹²C³²S, around 2060 cm⁻¹, are measured under vacuum with a high resolution Fourier Spectrometer, within ±0.11 × 10⁻³ cm⁻¹ (3.1 MHz) . They achieve a 20-fold improvement in accuracy over previous measurements and are consequently proposed as secondary infrared standards. Molecular constants are reported.     

Radiothermoluminescence of poly(tetra fluoroethylene) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) pretreated by xenon ions

Low-temperature (77–300 K) RadioThermoLuminescence (RTL) investigations of Poly(Tetra FluoroEthylene) (PTFE) and Poly(Ethylene TerePhthalate) (PET) foils previously treated by different flux (Φ = 10⁶–10¹¹ cm⁻²) of Xenon ions with energy 1.1 MeV/nucleon have been showed an essential ion-induced changes in RTL of the both polymers under study. In PET as well as in PTFE significant changes of RTL light yield observed at the ion flux more than 10⁹ cm⁻². Variation of RTL light yield in PTFE accompanied by appearance of new TL temperature maxima on the glow curve. An existence of correlation between observed changes of molecular mobility in ion-irradiated polymer and optical (PET) and strength (PTFE) properties have been found.     

Field emission from quantum size GaN structures

Whisker structures and quantum dots fabricated by photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching of undoped and doped metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)-grown GaN (2×10¹⁷ or 3×10¹⁸ cm⁻³) are investigated in relation with their field-emission characteristics. Different surface morphologies, corresponding to different etching time and photocurrent, results in different field-emission characteristics with low turn-on voltage down to 4 V/μm and the appearance of quantum-size effect in the I–V curves.     

Ab-initio calculation of the electronic structure and energetics of the unreconstructed Au(001) surface

The electronic structure, surface and relaxation energies, and the electric field gradient for the unreconstructed Au(001) surface were calculated by means of the ab-initio all-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane wave slab method. The valence states were calculated within the standard semi-relativistic approach whereas the core states are treated in a fully relativistic way. The Au(001) surface was modelled by free slabs of 5, 7, and 9 layers. From the 9-layer calculation a work function of 5.39 eV was obtained. For the surface energy a value of 1.30 J/m² for the unrelaxed geometry was derived from the total energies of the 7- and the 9-layer slabs. From total energy minimization of the 7-layer slab, a negative, inward relaxation of −2.6% and a relaxation energy of 14.3 × 10⁻³ J/m² were derived. To discuss a mechanism of reconstruction, particular surface states were analyzed in detail in terms of the band structure, layer-dependent density of states and the charge density distribution. Differences of surface and central-layer charge densities show a gain of charge in z-direction localised below and also, to a smaller extent, above the surface atoms. We find a very small gain of delocalised charge in the surface plane between the nearest neighbour positions at the expense of more localised s-d hybridised states. The electric field gradient component Φ_zz was obtained in a two energy window calculation for which the Au5p states were also treated as band states. The resulting Φ_zz values are −16.50 × 10¹⁷ V/cm² surface layer, and −3.3 × 10¹⁷ V/cm² for the subsurface layer.     

The effect of boron ion implantation and annealing on the microstructure and electrical characteristics of the diamond films

Diamond films were doped by boron ion-implantation with the energy of 120 keV. The implantation dose ranged from 10¹⁴ to 10¹⁷ cm⁻². After the implantation, the diamond films were annealed at different temperatures (600–750°C) for different times (2–15 min). Scanning Electronic Microscope, Raman and Secondary Ion Mass-spectrum were used to investigate the effect of boron ion implantation and annealing on the microstructure of the diamond films. The electrical resistivities of the diamond films were also measured. It was found that the best dose of boron ion-implantation into the diamond film was around 10¹⁶ cm⁻². The appropriate annealing temperature and time was 700°C and 2–5 min, respectively. After implantation, the resistivities were reduced to 0.1 Ω cm (almost nine orders lower than the unimplanted diamond films). These results show that boron ion implantation can be an effective way to fabricate P-type diamond films.     

Vibrational spectroscopy of ordered oxygen adiayers on Ni/Cu(001) and Co/Cu(001) thin film systems

We report surface vibrations in c(2 × 2) oxygen adlayers on Ni and Co thin films on a Cu(001) substrate measured at gG by high resolution EELS. For the Ni thin film surface, one phonon peak is measured for varying film thicknesses from 1.3 ML (monolayer) to 6 ML with a constant energy of 221 cm⁻¹. For the Co thin film surface, three loss peaks are found, whose relative intensities change as the film thicknesses are varied. One loss peak at ˜520 cm⁻¹ is tentatively assigned to the Fuchs-Kliewer mode of cobalt oxide (CoO). The other two peaks at 317 and 376 cm⁻¹ are likely related to different bonding sites. Surface phonons on the p(2 × 2) Co thin film (389 cm⁻¹) and a bulk resonance mode (115 cm⁻¹) are also reported.     

Ultrasound-enhanced diffusion through isolated frog skin

The effect of ultrasound on the transport of oxygen across excised frog abdominal skin has been studied. Samples were mounted in an exposure chamber in which the Ringer's solution on one side was saturated with oxygen while the other side of the skin had a low initial oxygen concentration. They were treated with ultrasound at 1, 1.5 and 2 W cm⁻² SATA c.w., respectively, and increases in the rate of oxygen transport were observed at all intensities. These increases ranged from 38 ± 4% at 1 W cm⁻² to 55 ± 8% at 2 W cm⁻². Variation in the pulse lengths from 25 to 200 ms and a constant average intensity did not affect the rate of transport significantly provided that the temporal intensity was constant. Since the peak acoustic pressure within the pulse increased with decreasing pulse length and increasing acoustic pressure increases the probability of cavitation occurring, the mechanism responsible for this phenomenon is probably not cavitation.     

Conversion of VUV to UV and visible in K5Li2LnF10 containing rare-earth from cerium group (Ln=La, Ce, Pr, Nd)

The potential of single crystals K₅Li₂LnF₁₀, for applications as VUV excited phosphors has been examined. The crystals were doped with lanthanide ions (Ce³⁺–Nd³⁺) with concentrations up to 100 at%. The self-quenching of luminescence is strongly reduced in this material. Luminescence spectra in the 50,000–10,000 cm⁻¹ range and excitation spectra in the 40,000–250,000 cm⁻¹ spectral range have been recorded at room and low temperature. Intense visible emission has been observed for Nd³⁺ and Pr³⁺. For the Pr³⁺ ions strong the ¹S₀–¹I₆ transition has been recorded only for concentrated crystals. Efficient conversion of VUV excitation to UV–VIS emission was observed in crystals doped with 3 and 100 at% of cerium. In both cerium-activated crystals the lifetimes of f–d transitions were equal to 32 ns.     

Surface properties of Si from photoelectric emission at room temperature and 80 °K

The position of the Fermi level with respect to the energy bands at a semiconductor surface as well as changes in the work function can be determined from the energy distributions of photoelectrically emitted electrons. Prior studies involved the photoelectric yield spectrum and required assumptions concerning the photoelectric threshold; the present method is free of such assumptions. Measurements at room temperature indicate that the Fermi level lies 0.23 eV and 0.41 eV above the top of the valence band for degenerate p and n-type materials, respectively. These results confirm those of Allen and Gobeli¹). Cooling to 80 °K increases the work function of p-type material by 0.025 eV while that of n-type Si remains unchanged; the results show that the electron and hole gases in the surface states are degenerate. The density of surface states lies between 7 × 10¹³ and 10¹⁵ eV⁻¹ cm⁻². On the cesiated surface, the Fermi level lies 0.16 eV below the conduction band at room temperature and coincides with its bottom at 80 °K.     

Conductivity of two-dimensional crystals over liquid helium for different holding fields

The results are presented of the experimental study of electron crystals over liquid helium with surface electron density of 3.2×10⁸ and 6.4×10⁸ cm⁻² (melting temperatures 0.4 and 0.58 K) at temperature 83 mK and for holding electric fields 300–1200 V/cm. The measurements are performed in the frequency range 1–14 MHz where the coupled phonon–ripplon resonances are observed in the experimental cell. The real and imaginary parts of the complex conductivity of the crystal have been obtained as a result of analysis of an electron layer response on exciting ac voltage with frequency corresponding to the mode (0,1) of the coupled phonon–ripplon oscillations. An analysis of the results allows us to suppose that structural defects of the electron crystal play an essential role in dissipation processes.     

Ionic conductivity of crystalline and glassy Mg4.5Na7(P2O7)4

In our work single crystals of Mg_4.5Na₇(P₂O₇)₄ were prepared, pulverized, pressed into pellets and sintered in order to measure the electrical conductivity of polycrystalline specimens. The conductivity was also measured on glassy specimens obtained by the melting of previously prepared crystals. The electrical conductivities at 25°C with values of the order of 10⁻¹⁶ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ for polycrystalline samples and a value of the order of 10⁻¹⁴ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ for glass, show that the glassy phase of Mg_4.5Na₇(P₂ because of its greater molar volume and loosely packed structure, is a better matrix for ionic motion.