Third neighbour hyperfine field shift in a diluteNiAl alloy

In the binary Ni_98.5Al_1.5 alloy we observed well resolved satellite hyperfine fields at¹¹¹Cd nuclear probes. The hyperfine shifts derivated are −4.0(3); −8.5(3) and ⃛14.0(3)% relative to the pure nickel value. From the relative intensity of the four components as well as from the quadrupole interaction data we identify the satellites as impurity-probe configurations containing zero, one, two or three Al impurities in the third neighbour shell only. The third neighbour contribution to the hyperfine field at Cd in nickel equals ΔH ₃= +4.5kG/μ _B-atom, allowing an estimate ΔH ₁≃ −17.8 kG/μ _B-atom for the first shell contribution, confirmed by a similar experiment on Ni_98.5Pd_1.5.     

Lift‐off protocols for thin films for use in EXAFS experiments

Lift‐off protocols for thin films for improved extended X‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements are presented. Using wet chemical etching of the substrate or the interlayer between the thin film and the substrate, stand‐alone high‐quality micrometer‐thin films are obtained. Protocols for the single‐crystalline semiconductors GeSi, InGaAs, InGaP, InP and GaAs, the amorphous semiconductors GaAs, GeSi and InP and the dielectric materials SiO₂ and Si₃N₄ are presented. The removal of the substrate and the ability to stack the thin films yield benefits for EXAFS experiments in transmission as well as in fluorescence mode. Several cases are presented where this improved sample preparation procedure results in higher‐quality EXAFS data compared with conventional sample preparation methods. This lift‐off procedure can also be advantageous for other experimental techniques (e.g. small‐angle X‐ray scattering) that benefit from removing undesired contributions from the substrate.     

Importance of Steric Effects in the Isotropic Phase of Nematogenic Compounds

The dielectric spectra of some mesomorphic substances in their isotropic phase are reported. The measurements are carried out from the radio frequencies up to the far infrared region. We have investigated several substances such as azoxybenzenes, cyanophenylcyclohexanes, azomethines, tolanes and biphenyls. Two special cases appear with the last two series where the dipole moment is directed either perpendicular or parallel to the long molecular axis respectively. The dielectric spectra show different absorption connected with rotational movements around or perpendicular to the long axis. The influence of the molecular surrounding on the dielectric properties is also studied by investigating the influence of dilution. The results have been discussed by using a computer simulation of molecular dynamics of fluid systems containing ellipsoidal particles which interact pair-wisely, assuming the interactions to be governed mainly by steric effects.     

Longitudinal voice changes: Facts and interpretation

To study intraindividual vocal changes over time, a longitudinal research design is preferred. However, this procedure reveals many restrictions concerning methodology and interpretation, especially in cases of (semi)retrospective studies. This is illustrated by an investigation of the voices of 20 male Dutch-speaking reporters of the Belgian Radio Broadcasting service. These men read the same text they did 30 years previously for a digital registration. After having copied the high-quality archival recordings digitally, the results of the acoustical analysis of both recordings (recent and archival) were compared. This was done to search for the contribution of aging. In this article we report on the results of the speaking fundamental frequency (SFF) and the standard deviation of the SFF (SFFsd) as a measure of intraindividual variability, and the voice onset time (VOT). Results indicate that, in connected speech, SFF decreased, SFFsd became more restricted, and the VOT increased strongly. The interpretation of the results compels us to conclude that it is extremely difficult to define the specific effect of aging alone, since it is only one element among many others, including methodological concerns.     

Modelling of self-aligned total internal reflection waveguide mirrors: an interlaboratory comparison

Results of modelling of light propagation in 45° self-aligned total internal reflection rib waveguide mirrors on InP substrate are compared. Six laboratories participated in the comparison with the following six modelling methods: the standard fast-Fouriertransform beam propagation method (BPM), the standard finite-difference (FD) BPM using the Crank-Nicholson scheme (two laboratories), the FD-BPM with the correction for the slowly varying envelope approximation, the method of lines, the eigenmode expansion and propagation method, and a simple method based on the field overlap. All the laboratories used the effective-index method to reduce the three-dimensional problem to two dimensions. The differences among the results obtained by different methods are briefly discussed and qualitatively compared to measured values.     

Une Autre Approche A La Synthese De Derives Benzyles Des Monosaccharides Reducteurs. Etude Des Equilibres Pyrannose-Furannose Par R.M.N. Du Carbone-13

Abstract

Perbenzyl derivatives of d-glucose, d-mannose, d-galactose, d-xylose, d-ribose and l-arabinose were prepared by treatment of reducing sugars with benzyl bromide in DMSO in the presence of potassium hydroxyde and the composition (α/β, Pyranoside/Furanoside) of the reaction mixtures determined by ¹³C-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy. Most of the per-O-benzyl glycosides were obtained in crystalline form unlike the corresponding methyl per-O-benzyl glycosides. Benzylation of d-mannose gave almost exclusively penta-O-benzyl-β-d-mannopyranoside (≥ 95%) as cristalline material. Benzylated reducing sugars were further obtained in good yield by acid hydrolysis of above compounds.     

Effect of varying pore size of AAO films on refractive index and birefringence measured by prism coupling technique

Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) films with different pore sizes were prepared to modulate the effective refractive index and birefringence. To investigate the relationship between the refractive index and the pore size of the AAO film, optical constants were obtained using a prism coupler with various lasers. With experimental results, the dispersion curve of alumina itself without pores was extracted using a theoretical anisotropic model. We demonstrated that AAO films could offer a wide range of refractive index and birefringence values for optical device applications. Furthermore, index profiles as a function of the thickness of the AAO films were obtained by inverse Wentzel-Kramer-Brillouin approximation to examine the optical homogeneity.     

Hyperfine fields and impurity configurations for indium and palladium in nickel

Hyperfine field distributions and electric field gradients due to impurity configurations in dilute NiPd alloys were measured by time differential perturbed angular correlation techniques, using the nuclear probe¹¹¹Cd(¹¹¹In). The onset of various near neighbour impurity configurations could be followed with increasing Pd impurity concentration from 0.2 to 2.5 at %. An enhancement of their populations due to a strong indium-palladium attraction in nickel was observed. These observations were complemented by measurements at¹⁰⁰Rh (¹⁰⁰Pd) probe nuclei in a Ni_98.5In_1.5 alloy.