Phase transitions and dynamic entropy in small two-dimensional systems: Experiment and numerical simulation

The results of experimental and numerical analysis are presented for phase transitions in strongly nonequilibrium small systems of strongly interacting Brownian particles. The dynamic entropy method is applied to analysis of the state of these systems. Experiments are carried out with kinetic heating of the structures of micron-size particles in a laboratory rf discharge plasma. Three phase states of these small systems are observed: crystalline, liquid, and transient. The mechanism of phase transitions in cluster structures of strongly interacting particles is described.     

Dynamic Polarization and Relaxation of <Superscript>75</Superscript>As Nuclei in Silicon at High Magnetic Field and Low Temperature

We present the results of experiments on dynamic nuclear polarization and relaxation of ⁷⁵As in silicon crystals. Experiments are performed in strong magnetic fields of 4.6 T and temperatures below 1 K. At these conditions donor electron spins are fully polarized, and the allowed and forbidden electron spin resonance transitions are well resolved. We demonstrate effective nuclear polarization of ⁷⁵As nuclei via the Overhauser effect on the time scale of several hundred seconds. Excitation of the forbidden transitions leads to a polarization through the solid effect. The relaxation rate of donor nuclei has strong temperature dependence characteristic of Orbach process.     

Investigation of the dynamics of the interaction of metal particles with a Langmuir single layer upon an increase in the surface pressure

X-ray studies of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) single layers on the surface of a liquid provide detailed information on the interaction of metal particles with a single layer upon an increase in the surface pressure up to the collapse. Two complementary X-ray methods are used: grazing incidence diffraction and the X-ray standing waves method. The experimental results obtained for a single layer formed on a colloidal solution of magnetite nanoparticles reveal that the increase in the surface pressure is accompanied by an increase in the concentration of nanoparticles near the surface. In a series of experiments where metal particles of submicron size are sputtered onto a DPPC single layer, a sharp decrease in the intensity of the fluorescence yield from metal atoms is observed while the single layer is compressed. These data suggest that metal particles deposited onto the surface of a single layer were extruded into the aqueous subphase.     

Heat source optimization in a multisection heater for the growth of bismuth germanate crystals by the low-gradient Czochralski method

The growth of bismuth germanate crystals with uniform heater control has been simulated within the time-dependent approach. To optimize the multisection heater control, the global heat transfer optimization problem in a crystallization setup was considered. A new control algorithm, based on the solution of the optimization problem, is proposed.     

Measurement of the spectrum of neutrons produced in <Emphasis Type="Italic">pd</Emphasis> collisions at an angle of <Emphasis Type="Italic">θ</Emphasis> = 0° at a proton-beam energy of 1 GeV

The energy spectrum of a neutron beam produced in a thin-wall liquid-deuterium target by a proton beam of energy 1 GeV was measured in a hydrogen bubble chamber by detecting events of the reaction np → ppπ ⁻.     

The Effect of an Antirelaxation Coating on Absorption in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis><Subscript>2</Subscript> Lines of Alkali Metals

The specific features of absorption in a cell with an antirelaxation coating related to optical pumping and a finite rate of laser-frequency scanning are studied. The internal state of an atom in such cells is likely to remain unaltered after a collision with a wall. This results in optical pumping of an atomic ensemble over all velocities and the entire cell volume. Both the frequency corresponding to the maximum absorption in the D₂ line of ¹³³Cs and the absorption maximum itself depend on the sign of laser-frequency scanning. A theoretical model attributing the power dependence of asymmetry of the absorption contour of the ¹³³Cs D₂ line to the presence of cyclic transition levels in the system is presented.     

Epitaxial low-temperature growth of In<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>As films on GaAs(100) and GaAs(111)<Emphasis Type="Italic">A</Emphasis> substrates using a metamorphic buffer

A complex investigation of epitaxial In_0.5Ga_0.5As films grown on GaAs substrates with crystallographic orientations of (100) and (111)A in the standard high- and low-temperature modes has been performed. The parameters of the GaAs substrate and In_0.5Ga_0.5As film were matched using the technology of step-graded metamorphic buffer. The electrical and structural characteristics of the grown samples have been studied by the van der Pauw method, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission/ scanning electron microscopy. The surface morphology is found to correlate with the sample growth temperature and doping with silicon. It is revealed that doping of low-temperature In_0.5Ga_0.5As layers with silicon significantly reduces both the surface roughness and highly improves the structural quality. Pores 50–100 nm in size are found in the low-temperature samples.     

Structural and electrical properties of InAlAs/InGaAs/InAlAs HEMT heterostructures on InP substrates with InAs inserts in quantum well

A complex study of the influence of nanoscale InAs inserts with thicknesses from 1.7 to 3.0 nm introduced into In_0.53Ga_0.47As quantum wells (QWs) on the structural and electrical properties of In_0.52Al_0.48As/In^0.53Ga_0.47As/In_0.52Al_0.48As heterostructures with one-sided δ-Si-doping has been performed. The structural quality of a combined QW was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. A correlation between the electron mobility in QW with the thickness of InAs insert and the technology of its fabrication is established. Specific features of the InP(substrate)/InAlAs(buffer) interface are investigated by transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. A relationship between the energy positions of the peak in the photoluminescence spectra in the range of photon energies 1.24 eV < ?ω < 1.38 eV, which is due to the electronic transitions at the InP/InAlAs interface, and the structural features revealed in the interface region is established. It is found that an additional QW is unintentionally formed at the InP/InAlAs interface; the parameters of this QW depend on the heterostructure growth technology.     

Permethyl-β-Cyclodextrin Spin-Labeled with Nitronyl Nitroxide: Synthesis and EPR Study

A method for synthesis of new covalently linked spin-labeled cyclodextrin (CD) via the attachment of nitronyl nitroxide 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyl to permethylated β-cyclodextrin is described. Electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) studies demonstrate that the new spin-labeled CD exhibits dynamic equilibrium between conformations with radical fragment capping the cavity of CD and radical fragment located outside the cavity. In solution, nitronyl nitroxide attached to CD retains its sensitivity to nitric oxide (NO), as reaction with NO leads to formation of iminonitroxide fragment evidenced by continuous-wave (CW) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). At the same time, CW EPR study of the reaction with ascorbic acid shows that the described binding of nitronyl nitroxide to CD does not provide higher stability of radical towards the reduction, and the corresponding rate constants are close to those obtained for free nitronyl nitroxide. Plausible explanations of these observations are discussed.