Surface and interfacial properties of PVDF/acrylic copolymer blends before and after UV exposure

Morphological and chemical properties of both the surface and interface of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate)-co-poly(ethyl acrylate) (PVDF/PMMA-co-PEA) blend films have been investigated before and after the samples were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation using a xenon arc lamp at 50 °C and 9% relative humidity (RH) for 7 months. Surface and interfacial morphologies were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Chemical composition information was obtained by confocal Raman microscopy, attenuated total reflection-FTIR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angle measurements. Results show an enrichment of the PVDF material at the air surface, while the acrylic copolymer enriches the interface. Blends having greater than 50% mass fraction of PVDF show little change in the surface morphology after UV exposure for 7 months. However, for a lower PVDF content, blends exhibit significant degradation of PMMA-co-PEA copolymer and a much rougher surface after UV exposure. Microstructural changes in the PVDF spherulites are also observed after UV degradation. It is found that the surface and interfacial morphologies are correlated with the chemical properties.     

Thermomagnetic hysteresis and electrical transport in amorphous films

We report resistivity and magnetization measurements on an amorphous Ni₇₄Mn₂₄Pt₂ thin film in the temperature range of 3–300 K. Two significant features are apparent in both the magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity. A low-temperature (low-T) anomaly is observed at about 40 K, where a cusp appears in the resistivity, while a concomitant step-like increase in zero-field-cooled (ZFC) magnetization (M) appears with increasing temperature. The low-T anomaly is attributed to a crossover from a pure re-entrant spin-glass within individual domains to a mixed ferro-spin-glass regime at lower temperatures. By contrast, the high-temperature (high-T) anomaly, signaled by the appearance of hysteresis below 250 K, corresponds to the freezing of transverse spins in individual domains acting independently. Between the low-T and high-T anomalies a small but discernable magnetic hysteresis is observed for warming vs. cooling in the field-cooled (FC) case. This behavior clearly indicates the presence of domain structure in the sample, while the disappearance of this hysteresis at lower temperatures indicates the complete freezing of the spin orientation of these domains. According to these results, we have divided the magnetic state of this sample into three regions: at temperatures above 250 K, the sample behaves like a soft ferromagnet, exhibiting M vs. H loops with very small hysteresis (less than 5 Oe). As the temperature is lowered into the intermediate region (the range 40–250 K), spins become frozen randomly and progressively within the individual domains. These domains behave independently, rather than as a cooperative behavior of the sample. Weak irreversibility sets in, indicating the onset of transverse spin freezing within the domains. At temperatures below 40 K, the M vs. H loops exhibit larger hysteresis, for both the ZFC and FC cases, as in a pure spin-glass. We have also demonstrated giant noise in the resistivity at temperatures just below 250 K. Such noise can originate from fluctuations of the domains near the film surface because of competing effective bulk and surface anisotropy fields. The large observed amplitude may be explained by means of a large ferromagnetic anisotropy in the resistivity due to the large spin–orbit effect seen in NiMn systems. Finally, the low-T peak in the resistivity has been analyzed using Fisher and Langer's expression based on the Friedel Model proposed for critical transitions in transition metals (s–d systems). The fitted results are in satisfactory agreement with the predictions of this model.     

Scheduling orders for multiple product types to minimize total weighted completion time

We consider the problem of scheduling orders for multiple different product types in an environment with m dedicated machines in parallel. The objective is to minimize the total weighted completion time. Each product type is produced by one and only one of the m dedicated machines; that is, each machine is dedicated to a specific product type. Each order has a weight and may also have a release date. Each order asks for certain amounts of various different product types. The different products for an order can be produced concurrently. Preemptions are not allowed. Even when all orders are available at time 0, the problem has been shown to be strongly NP-hard for any fixed number (?2) of machines. This paper focuses on the design and analysis of efficient heuristics for the case without release dates. Occasionally, however, we extend our results to the case with release dates. The heuristics considered include some that have already been proposed in the literature as well as several new ones. They include various static and dynamic priority rules as well as two more sophisticated LP-based algorithms. We analyze the performance bounds of the priority rules and of the algorithms and present also an in-depth comparative analysis of the various rules and algorithms. The conclusions from this empirical analysis provide insights into the trade-offs with regard to solution quality, speed, and memory space.     

ZnO:Mn as a member of II-VI:Mn family

ZnO:Mn thin films are grown by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition technique. Mn (x) varies in the 0<x<0.44 range. Vegard’s law has been verified for the lattice parameters. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements prove the substitutional incorporation of Mn²⁺ on zinc sites. The behavior of the EPR line width regarding temperature is discussed. All ZnO:Mn layers show antiferromagnetic interaction and a J₁/k_B=-15 K effective exchange constant. The optical band gap of ZnO:Mn increases with the manganese concentration. Raman spectroscopy reveals a Mn-related scattering band. PACS 71.55.Gs; 75.50.Pp; 61.10.Nz; 76.30.Fc; 75.30.Et; 78.40.-q     

Preliminary design of high-power wave-guide/transmission system for multimegawatt CW requirements of 100 MeV proton LINAC

Development of a 100 MeV CW proton LINAC has been planned at CAT. This LINAC will be needing CW rf power in the frequency ranges of 350 MHz and 700 MHz for its RFQ and DTL/CCDTL/SFDTL structures respectively. The power to the accelerating structures will be produced by either 1 MW CW or 250 kW CW klystrons/inductive output tubes (HOM IOTs). The power needed by respective feed points in the structure is max. 250 kW which will be powered by splitting the power from 1 MW klystron/klystrode into four channels by using a wave-guide system. In case of using 250 kW tubes the power to the structures will be provided directly from each tube. Two types of wave-guide transmission system have been considered, viz, WR 2300 for 350 MHz rf needs and WR 1500 for 700 MHz rf needs. The typical wave-guide system has been designed using the 1 MW CW klystron followed by wave-guide filter, dual directional coupler, high-power circulator, three 3 dB magic TEE power dividers to split the main channel into four equal channels of 250 kW each. Each individual channel has dual directional couplers, flexible wave-guide sections and high power ceramic vacuum window. The circulator and each power divider is terminated into the isolated ports by high power CW loads. Out of the four channels three channels have phase shifters. Present paper describes the technological aspects and design specifications-considerations for these stringent requirements.     

Phase rotation scheme of laser-produced ions for reduction of the energy spread

In order to widely spread out particle beams utilized in cancer therapy, laser-produced ions are developed as the injection beam for an ion synchrotron dedicated for cancer therapy. Such a laser ion source is expected to contribute largely to the realization of compactness of the size and low cost of the cancer therapy accelerator. The energy spectrum of the laser-produced ions, however, has no peak, but their intensities decrease exponentially according to the increase of the energy. For the purpose of modifying such a situation, we have proposed a scheme to rotate the beam in the longitudinal phase space with the use of the RF electric field, which is phase-adjusted with the pulse laser. We aim for a reduction of the energy spread of ± 5% selected by an energy analyzer and slits to ±1% by such phase rotation. For this purpose, a quarter wavelength resonator with two gaps with the same resonant frequency as the source laser has already been fabricated, together with its RF power source. The above phase rotation system and its recent experimental realization are presented.     

双奇核188Au的准粒子带结构研究

利用在束γ谱学实验技术, 通过¹⁷³Yb(¹⁹F,4nγ)反应 布居了¹⁸⁸Au的高自旋态, 并对其准粒子带结构进行了研究. 基于实验测量结果, 对原有的双奇核¹⁸⁸Au能级纲图做了较大的修改. 通过系统性比较, 对15⁺以上的能级结构进行了讨论.     

Coverage dependent magnetic properties of Co chain-coated carbon nanotube

Magnetic properties of Co chain-coated carbon nanotube (CNT) were investigated using a first-principles calculation. Binding energy between Co chain and CNT increased with the coverage ratio, and the adsorption of Co chains on CNT enhanced the conductance channel. Total magnetic moment of Co chains coated on CNT increased with the coverage ratio, while the magnetic moment per Co atom decreased due to spin flip of majority spin states in Co atoms. Spin polarization at the Fermi level of the Co chains was calculated to converge to that of bulk fcc Co.     

Adhesion measurement of thin films by a modified laser spallation technique: theoretical analysis and experimental investigation

Laser driven shocks can lead to a dynamic failure, called film spallation. Here, we use a modified laser spallation set-up to measure the dynamic adhesion of thin films and we propose a novel diagnostic technology. Based on correlation theory, new spallation criteria for characterizing the progressive damage at the interface between the film and the substrate are established, such as interface delamination, film spallation and film expulsion. With the help of the theory, the degree of damage and the dimension of damage (i.e. fracture), such as the minimum width of delamination radius, the thickness of the film etc., are estimated. Experiments are carried out on epoxy/stainless steel and epoxy/Al, and the experimental results show that their dynamic bonding strengths are about 25 MPa and 20 MPa, respectively. The detailed results, analyses and discussions are presented in this paper. Received: 6 February 2001 / Accepted: 3 December 2001 / Published online: 11 February 2002