Excimer-laser-induced electric conductivity in thin-film C60

The electrical conductivity of thin-film C₆₀ has been changed by more than seven orders of magnitude with KrF (248nm) excimer-laser irradiation. Specific conductivities of 1 ^–1 · cm^–1 have been obtained. The onset of conductivity is consistent with a laser-induced metal-insulator phase transition. The threshold for KrF-laser ablation of C₆₀ has been determined to be 20±2 mJ/cm². This laser-induced process generates an all-carbon semiconductor-metallic junction which may have important technological applications.     

Negative ion source for chlorine isotope ratio measurements

A negative chlorine ion source has been designed and constructed. The source utilizes direct surface ionization of chloromethane gas on a hot metal filament. Four different alloys for the filament material were tested: W99Th1, W75Re25, Hf97.5Zr2.5 and Mo52.5Re47.5. We conclude that the best filament material is the MoRe alloy, for which the signal‐to‐noise ratio is optimal. The ion source is used for chlorine isotope ratio measurements with higher precision and sensitivity than the positive ionization source used previously. Inasmuch as only negative ions of the two isotopes of interest are observed, no corrections to the measured isotope ratio are necessary, and less rigously purified samples may be analyzed. The negative ion currents are considerably larger than positive ion currents obtained with an electron ionization source. This implies higher analytical precision (typically 0.005 permil) and sensitivity. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Singular periodic impulse problems

We establish an existence principle for the impulsive periodic boundary-value problem {fx029-01}, where g ∈ C(0, ∞) can have a strong singularity at the origin. Furthermore, we assume that 0 < t ₁ < … < t _m < T, e ∈ L ₁[0, T], c ∈ ℝ, J _i and M _i , i = 1, 2, …, m, are continuous mappings of G[0, T] × G[0, T] into ℝ, and G[0, T] denotes the space of functions regulated on [0, T]. The presented principle is based on an averaging procedure similar to that introduced by Manásevich and Mawhin for singular periodic problems with p-Laplacian. Published in Neliniini Kolyvannya, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 32–44, January–March, 2007.     

A modified technique for the preparation of SO2 from sulphates and sulphides for sulphur isotope analyses

A modified technique for the conversion of sulphates and sulphides to SO2 with the mixture of V2O5-SiO2 for sulphur isotopic analyses is described. This technique is more suitable for routine analysis of large number of samples. Modification of the reaction vessel and using manifold inlet system allows to analyse up to 24 samples every day. The modified technique assures the complete yield of SO2, consistent oxygen isotope composition of the SO2 gas and reproducibility of delta34S measurements being within 0.10 per thousand. It is observed, however, oxygen in SO2 produced from sulphides differs in delta18O with respect to that produced from sulphates.     

Critical petermann K factor for intensity noise squeezing

We investigate the impact of the Petermann-excess-noise factor K>/=1 on the possibility of intensity noise squeezing of laser light below the standard quantum limit. Using an N-mode model, we show that squeezing is limited to a floor level of 2(K-1) times the shot noise limit. Thus, even a modest Petermann factor significantly impedes squeezing, which becomes impossible when K>/=1.5. This appears as a serious limitation for obtaining sub-shot-noise light from practical semiconductor lasers. We present experimental evidence for our theory.     

Mesoscopic nanoshells: geometry-dependent plasmon resonances beyond the quasistatic limit

The plasmon response of a spherical metallic shell becomes significantly more complex as its size is increased beyond the quasistatic limit. With increasing size and decreasing aspect ratio (r1/r2), higher order multipolar modes contribute in a more dominant manner, and two distinct core-shell geometries exist that provide the same dipole plasmon resonance, with differing relative multipolar contributions in their overall spectral response. With further increase in particle size, the geometric tunability of the core-shell structure disappears, and in the infinite radius limit the plasmon response is consistent with that of a thin metallic film.     

Tailoring plasmonic substrates for surface enhanced spectroscopies

Our understanding of how the geometry of metallic nanostructures controls the properties of their surface plasmons, based on plasmon hybridization, is useful for developing high-performance substrates for surface enhanced spectroscopies. In this tutorial review, we outline the design of metallic nanostructures tailored specifically for providing electromagnetic enhancements for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The concepts developed for nanoshell-based substrates can be generalized to other nanoparticle geometries and scaled to other spectroscopies, such as surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRA).     

Construction of simple gold nanoparticle aggregates with controlled plasmon–plasmon interactions

We have developed a colloidal assembly for the study of plasmon–plasmon interactions between gold nanoparticles. Colloidal aggregates of controlled size and interparticle spacing were synthesized on silica nanoparticle substrates. Following the immobilization of isolated gold nanoparticles onto silica nanoparticles, the surfaces of the adsorbed gold nanoparticles were functionalized with 4-aminobenzenethiol. This molecular linker attached additional gold nanoparticles to the ‘parent' gold nanoparticle, forming small nanoparticle aggregates. The optical absorption spectrum of these clusters differed from that of gold colloid in a manner consistent with plasmon–plasmon interactions between the gold nanoparticles.