Optical properties of amorphous HF–In–Zn–O thin films estimated from transmission spectra

Amorphous and flat (<1 nm roughness) Hf–In–Zn–O thin films were prepared by radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering method at room temperature (RT) and at 300 °C substrate temperature. The crystal structure and surface morphology were investigated by high resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. Optical properties of these films were obtained from the UV–VIS–NIR transmission spectra, at normal incidence, over the 200–2000 nm spectral range. Swanepoel's method was used to calculate the thickness and the refractive index of the films. The dispersion of refractive index was obtained in terms of the single-oscillator Wemple–DiDomenico model. The optical absorption edge was described using the direct transition model proposed by Tauc. The film deposited at higher substrate temperature had lower optical band gap, higher refractive index, higher oscillator strength and energy of the effective dispersion oscillator. Optical characterization shows that films become more stable, relaxed and rigid at higher substrate temperature.     

Analysis of the fringes visibility generated by a lateral cyclic shear interferometer in the retrieval of the three-dimensional surface information of an object

We report the evaluation of the topography of an object with projected fringes generated with a lateral cyclic shear interferometer (CSI) and we then compare the topography recovery obtained with the proposed method with the one obtained from a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). We also study how the fringes visibility along the z axis affects the retrieval. Finally, we discuss the advantages and drawbacks of this profilometry system.     

Synthesis and optical nondestructive evaluation of GaN nanorods on silicon surfaces with gold catalyst

Nanometric gallium-nitride rods were grown on a silicon (1 1 1) substrate through a chemical vapor deposition process with gold particles as the catalyst. Randomly distributed gallium-nitride rods of 20–200 nm in diameter and of various densities and lengths were formed under different deposition conditions. Characterization analyses, such as scanning electron microscopy and optical reflection spectroscopy, have been carried out on samples containing gallium-nitride rods different in size, shape, length and density. While the scanning electron microscopy shows directly the images of the sample surfaces, the optical spectroscopy provides a nondestructive evaluation of the sample surfaces, especially helpful for checking the uniformity of the samples.     

Synthesis,growth and characterization of non-linear optical material: l-Tryptophan p-nitrophenol (LTPNP) single crystal

A new nonlinear optical organic crystal l-tryptophan p-nitrophenol (LTPNP) of dimension 19 mm × 2 mm × 1.5 mm has been grown from an aqueous solution for the first time by slow evaporation technique at ambient temperature. The crystal structure of LTPNP was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. LTPNP crystallizes in non-centrosymmetric monoclinic system with space group P₂₁. The recorded FTIR spectrum confirms the presence of various functional groups in the grown crystal and confirms the formation of LTPNP. Thermal stability and melting temperature of the LTPNP crystal were identified from TG/DTA analysis. The optical absorption study confirms the suitability of the crystal for device applications. LTPNP exhibits SHG efficiency over 1.7 orders of magnitude higher than that of urea and 4 orders of magnitude higher than that of KDP.     

Sustainable alternative in environmental monitoring using carbon nanoparticles as optical probes

Environmental monitoring is getting more important nowadays due to the greater stress faced by the natural environment in the era of urbanisation and industrialisation. To accomplish the task, rapid and reliable analytical probes are essentially needed to perform the monitoring at real time basis with high sensitivity and accuracy. In view of this, analytical probes developed using carbon nanoparticles are one of the latest alternatives that are proven with capability to detect various analytes of the environment. Carbon nanoparticles portray good fluorescence property that enables the integration onto optical sensing transducers. Further engineering via surface functionalization can be performed in the interest to improve the selectivity and sensitivity of the probes. There are several advantages of using carbon nanoparticles and the most significant benefit is the sustainability prospect as compared to other groups of fluorophores. Carbon nanoparticles can be synthesised with greener approach via simple pyrolysis or hydrolysis processes that involve minimum use of toxic or harmful starting precursors, besides able to tap on using renewable resources such as carbon rich agricultural wastes. The synthesis is often performed under mild condition and produces less or no side chemical products. Carbon nanoparticles by nature show low toxicity effect to the environment. This review focuses specifically of the sustainable significances, advantages and achievements in adopting carbon nanoparticles as an alternative for environmental monitoring.     

Spectral analysis of the flow sound interaction at a bias flow liner

The interaction between the flow field and the sound field is responsible for the sound absorption at perforated acoustic liners with bias flow and has to be investigated contactlessly. Based on the optically measured flow velocity spectrum, an energy analysis was performed. As a result, the generation of broadband flow velocity fluctuations in the shear layer surrounding the bias flow caused by the flow sound interaction has been observed. In addition, the magnitude of this acoustically induced flow velocity oscillation exhibits a correlation with the acoustic dissipation coefficient of the bias flow liner. This supports the assumption that an energy transfer between the flow field and the sound field is responsible for the acoustic damping.     

Controlled synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles from a Zn(II) coordination polymer: Structural characterization,optical properties and photocatalytic activity

A zinc coordination polymer derived from pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate (PDC), {[Zn₂(PDC)₂]}_n, was successfully prepared via conventional, sonication and microwave-irradiation methods. The composition and characteristics of the obtained coordination polymers (CPs) were investigated by elemental analysis, TGA/DTA, X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic techniques. The so obtained CPs were heat-treated in the air at 600 °C for 2 h to produce ZnO of nanosized particles (NPs). It is of interest to note that the synthesis approach of the precursor greatly affects both the nanoparticle size and the structure of the resulting ZnO NPs. Moreover, the smallest particle size was associated with the sample derived from the ultrasonically prepared precursor. TEM analysis revealed that all samples have sphere-like morphologies. Structural analysis of the prepared ZnO samples was conducted and compared using Rietveld analysis of their PXRD patterns. Optical band gap calculations based on analysis of the UV–vis spectra of ZnO samples using Tauc's power law were achieved. The highest band gap of 3.63 eV was observed for ZnO sample obtained from the ultrasonically prepared precursor. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of ZnO NPs for the removal of Eosin Y color was monitored. The highest removal efficiency was recorded for ZnO originated from the ultrasonically synthesized precursor. Enhancement of removal efficiency that reached 98% was attained in only a period of 8 min. Its recycling test showed that it can be reused without structural changes over four cycling experiments.     

Theoretical studies of the dependence of EPR g-factors on local structure for the trigonal Er3+–VK centres in KMgF3 and KZnF3

The dependence of the EPR g-factors on the local structural parameter for a 4f¹¹ configuration ion Er³⁺ in a trigonal crystal-field has been studied by diagonalizing the 364×364 complete energy matrices. Our studies indicate that the EPR spectra of the trigonal Er³⁺–V_K centers in KMgF₃ and KZnF₃ may be attributed to the translation of the cubic Kramers doublet Γ₇. Furthermore, the EPR g-factors of the trigonal Er³⁺–V_K centers may be interpreted reasonably by the shifts ΔZ≈0.340 Å and ΔZ≈0.303 Å of the Er³⁺ ions toward the charge compensator V_K along the C₃ axis for the KMgF₃:Er³⁺ and the KZnF₃:Er³⁺ systems respectively.     

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the molecular structure,the spectroscopic properties and TD-DFT analysis of a new semiconductor hybrid based iron(III)

In this work, a new hybrid material (C₅H₆N₂Cl)₂[FeCl₄].Cl abbreviated (CAP)₂[FeCl₄].Cl was prepared using room temperature slow evaporation technique. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the compound is crystallized in the centrosymmetric space group P2₁/c of the monoclinic system. The crystallographic network consists of an Fe(III) ion located on an inversion center and coordinated by four chlorine, isolated Cl^– and two (CAP)⁺ protonated cations linked by N–H...Cl and C–H...Cl hydrogen bonds to form a zero-dimensional network. Hirshfeld surface analysis was used to analyze intermolecular interactions present in the crystal structure. The vibrational properties were inspected by means of Infra-Red absorption and Raman diffusion spectroscopy techniques. In addition, theoretical calculations based on the DFT/B3LYP/LanL2DZ method and the time-dependent density functional theory (TD–DFT) were performed in order to gain more information and help in the examination of over-all properties of the title compound. Good and interesting experimental findings were presented and good consistency was found with the calculated results.