Diagnostics of laser-induced plasma with soft X-ray (13.9 nm) bi-mirror interference microscopy

X-ray interference microscopy diagnostics of a nanosecond-pulse pumped Al (Z=13) plasma are presented. A transient picosecond Ni-like Ag X-ray laser (13.9 nm) is used as the probe beam and a wavefront division bi-mirror interferometer is adopted as the diagnosis tool. From the fringe shifts, the two-dimensional plasma density profile at 1 ns after the peak of the heating pulse is deduced. Opposite fringe shifts during the plasma development are observed and possible explanations for this behavior are discussed. This study will contribute to the validation of 1D and 2D hydrodynamic codes as well as to the better understanding of the physics during the development of laser produced plasmas. PACS 41.50.+h; 41.85.Ew; 42.55.Vc     

Synthesis and photocatalytic properties of highly crystalline and ordered mesoporous TiO2 thin films

Highly crystalline and ordered mesoporous TiO2 thin films have been synthesized by stabilization of the mesostructure with confined carbon; the films exhibit 2.5% photoconversion efficiency for the water photolysis at zero-bias and Xe lamp illumination of 40 mW cm(-2).     

Zeolite nanoparticles with immobilized metal ions: isolation and MALDI-TOF-MS/MS identification of phosphopeptides

Metal-ion-immobilized zeolite nanoparticles have been applied for the first time to isolate phosphopeptides from tryptic beta-casein digest; the phosphopeptides enriched on the modified zeolite nanoparticles could be effectively identified by MALDI-TOF-MS/MS.     

Real solutions of the equation ϕ(X)=1/nJ n

For ann x n real matrixX, let ?(X)=X ο (X ^?1) ^T , where ο stands for the Hadamard (entrywise) product. SupposeA, B, C andD aren x n real nonsingular matrices, and among them there are at least one solutions to the equation ?(X)=1/nJ _n . An equivalent condition which enable $M = \left( {\begin{array}{*{20}c} A & B \\ C & D \\ \end{array} } \right)$ become a real solution to the equation ?(X)=1/2nJ _2n , is given. As applications, we get new real solutions to the matrix equation ?(X)-1/2nJ _2n by applying the results of Zhang, Yang and Cao [SIAM. J. Matrix Anal. Appl, 21 (1999), pp: 642–645] and Chen [SIAM. J. Matrix Anal. Appl, 22 (2001), pp:965–970]. At the same time, all solutions of the matrix equation ?(X)=1/4J ₄ are also given.     

The predicted barrier effects in the proximity of tall buildings

A ray model is developed and validated for the prediction of the insertion loss of barriers that are placed in front of a tall building in high-rise cities. The model is based on the theory of geometrical acoustics for sound diffraction at the edge of a barrier and multiple reflections by the barrier and fa?ade surfaces. It is crucial to include the diffraction and multiple reflection effects in the ray model, as they play important roles in determining the overall sound pressure levels for receivers located between the fa?ade and barrier. Comparisons of the ray model with indoor experimental data and wave-based boundary element formulation show reasonably good agreement over a broad frequency range. Case studies are also presented that highlight the significance of positioning the barrier relative to the noise-sensitive receivers in order to achieve improved shielding efficiency of the barrier.     

Magnetic alignment in nominally non-magnetic hexagonal metal hydrides: NMR

Powders of three hexagonal metal-hydrides or -deuterides are found to align in 4.4–8.3 T magnetic fields used for NMR. The field-alignment is unexpected, since all three systems have very small susceptibilities, as demonstrated by sharp NMR lines. The extent of alignment runs from nearly complete to barely detectable in ZrBe₂(H,D)_x, LuD₃, and YD₃, respectively. The preferred alignment direction in ZrBe₂(H,D)_x is with the crystallites’ c-axis perpendicular to B, while the c-axis and B tend to be parallel in LuD₃ and YD₃. The susceptibilities χ_|| and χ are determined from bulk magnetization measurements in aligned ZrBe₂H_1.4 powder. The alignment must be considered for proper analysis of NMR spectra in these and related materials.     

High precision measurement of the superallowed 0+ --> 0+ beta decay of 22Mg

The half-life, 3.8755(12) s, and superallowed branching ratio, 0.5315(12), for 22Mg beta decay have been measured with high precision. The latter depended on gamma-ray intensities being measured with an HPGe detector calibrated for relative efficiencies to an unprecedented 0.15%. Previous precise measurements of 0+ --> 0+ transitions have been restricted to the nine that populate stable daughter nuclei. No more such cases exist, and any improvement in a critical Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa unitarity test must depend on precise measurements of more exotic nuclei. With this branching-ratio measurement, we show those to be possible for T(z)=-1 parents. We obtain a corrected Ft value of 3071(9) s, in good agreement with expectations.     

Experimental verification of anticipated and retarded synchronization in chaotic semiconductor lasers

Experimental observation of both anticipated and retarded synchronization is demonstrated using unidirectionally coupled semiconductor lasers with delayed optoelectronic feedback. Depending on the difference between the transmission time and the feedback delay time, the lasers fall into either the anticipated or the retarded synchronization regime, where the driven receiver laser leads or lags behind the driving transmitter laser. The two regimes are observed to have the same stability of chaos synchronization in the presence of small perturbations by noise and parameter mismatches. In both regimes the observed time shift between the synchronized chaotic waveforms is found to be equal to the difference between the transmission time and the feedback delay time.     

Probing the different stages in contacting a single molecular wire

A crucial problem in molecular electronics is the control of the electronic contact between a molecule and its electrodes. As a model system, we investigated the contact between the molecular wire group of a C90H98 (Lander) molecule and the edge of a Cu(111) monatomic step. The reproducible contact and decontact of the wire was obtained by manipulating the Lander with a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The electronic standing wave patterns on the Cu(111) surface serve to monitor the local electronic perturbation caused by the interaction of the wire end with the step edge, giving information on the quality of the contact.     

Structure,transport and field-emission properties of compound nanotubes: CN<Subscript>x</Subscript> vs. BNC<Subscript>x</Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis><0.1)

Transport and field-emission properties of as-synthesized CN_x and BNC_x (x<0.1) multi-walled nanotubes were compared in detail. Individual ropes made of these nanotubes and macrofilms of those were tested. Before measurements, the nanotubes were thoroughly characterized using high-resolution and energy-filtered electron microscopy, electron diffraction and electron-energy-loss spectroscopy. Individual ropes composed of dozens of CN_x nanotubes displayed well-defined metallic behavior and low resistivities of ∼10–100 kΩ or less at room temperature, whereas those made of BNC_x nanotubes exhibited semiconducting properties and high resistivities of ∼50–300 MΩ. Both types of ropes revealed good field-emission properties with emitting currents per rope reaching ∼4 μA(CN_x) and ∼2 μA (BNC_x), albeit the latter ropes se- verely deteriorated during the field emission. Macrofilms made of randomly oriented CN_x or BNC_x nanotubes displayed low and similar turn-on fields of ∼2–3 V/μm. 3 mA/cm² (BNC_x) and 5.5 mA/cm² (CN_x) current densities were reached at 5.5 V/μm macroscopic fields. At a current density of 0.2–0.4 mA/cm² both types of compound nanotubes exhibited equally good emission stability over tens of minutes; by contrast, on increasing the current density to 0.2–0.4 A/cm², only CN_x films continued to emit steadily, while the field emission from BNC_x nanotube films was prone to fast degradation within several tens of seconds, likely due to arcing and/or resistive heating. Received: 29 October 2002 / Accepted: 1 November 2002 / Published online: 10 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +81-298/51-6280, E-mail: golberg.dmitri@nims.go.jp