Effect of 60Co γ-irradiation on structural and optical properties of thin films of Ga10Se80Hg10

Thin films of Ga₁₀Se₈₀Hg₁₀ have been deposited onto a chemically cleaned Al₂O₃ substrates by thermal evaporation technique under vacuum. The investigated thin films are irradiated by ⁶⁰Co γ-rays in the dose range of 50–150 kGy. X-ray diffraction patterns of the investigated thin films confirm the preferred crystallite growth occurs in the tetragonal phase structure. It also shows, the average crystallite size increases after γ-exposure, which indicates the crystallinity of the material increases after γ-irradiation. These results were further supported by surface morphological analysis carried out by scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope which also shows the crystallinity of the material increases with increasing the γ-irradiation dose. The optical transmission spectra of the thin films at normal incidence were investigated in the spectral range from 190 to 1100 nm. Using the transmission spectra, the optical constants like refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) were calculated based on Swanepoel’s method. The optical band gap (E_g) was also estimated using Tauc’s extrapolation procedure. The optical analysis shows: the value of optical band gap of investigated thin films decreases and the corresponding absorption coefficient increases continuously with increasing dose of γ-irradiation.     

Zero-sum problems with subgroup weights

In this note, we generalize some theorems on zero-sums with weights from [1], [4] and [5] in two directions. In particular, we consider ℤ _p ^d for a general d and subgroups of Z* _p as weights.     

Structural,dielectric and ac conductivity properties of Ni-doped HoFeO3 before and after gamma irradiation

A series of samples of HoFe_1?x Ni _x O₃ (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.3) were prepared using the solid-state reaction technique to understand the structural, dielectric and conductivity properties before and after gamma irradiation of accumulated dose of 625 KGy. The X-ray diffraction confirms that all the samples exist in single-phase orthorhombic structure having space group Pbnm. With increasing dopant Ni, the unit cell volume and lattice parameters undergo small change. X-ray analysis show change in the interplanar spacing and full width at half maximum values after gamma irradiation. The Raman spectra of the samples show modifications after gamma irradiation. It can be easily seen that after gamma irradiation intensity, peak width are completely altered by gamma-absorbed dose. Measurement of dielectric loss and dielectric constant at room temperature was performed before and after gamma irradiation in the frequency range of 20 Hz–1 MHz. It is observed that the value of dielectric constant decreases after irradiation. The ac conductivity is estimated from the dielectric constant and loss tangent. Exposure to gamma radiation results in substantial modification in the physical properties of the Ni-doped Ho-based orthoferrites.     

Possibility of room-temperature multiferroism in Mg-doped ZnO

Room-temperature multiferroic properties in Mg-doped ZnO samples are reported wherein Mg replaces Zn in the ZnO matrix and retains hexagonal wurtzite structure. The saturation magnetisation is increased from ～2×10^?4 emu/g to 3×10^?4 emu/g for the dilute doping of 2 % Mg in pure ZnO and the ferroelectricity is also increased. Higher concentration of Mg does not lead to a significant enhancement in the magnetisation but improves the ferroelectric properties. An X-ray absorption spectroscopic study shows an enhancement in O vacancies with dilute doping of Mg. The origin of the multiferroic behaviour is understood based on their crystal and electronic structures.     

Direct Similarity Analysis of Generalized Burgers Equations and Perturbation Solutions of Euler–Painlevé Transcendents

Similarity reductions of the generalized Burgers equation     , where α, β, and γ are non-negative constants, n a positive integer and   j = 0, 1, 2  , are obtained by the direct method of Clarkson and Kruskal [ 1 ]. This is the first work to report the similarity variables as an incomplete gamma function and also as a power of     , and to provide a perturbation solution of an Euler–Painlevé transcedent.     

Threshold electrical switching in As45Te55-xInx and As50Te50-xInx glasses

The electrical switching behaviour of As₄₅Te_55-xIn_x (5≤x≤15) and As₅₀Te_50-xIn_x (2.5≤x≤11.5) has been studied over a wide range of compositions. These glasses are found to exhibit threshold switching. The composition dependence of switching voltage (V_t) has been found to exhibit a change in slope and a local minimum at compositions x=10 and 12.5 for As₄₅Te_55-xIn_x and x=7.5 and 10.8 for As₅₀Te_50-xIn_x, respectively. The slope change in V_t verses x and the local minimum have been identified using two network topological effects, namely the rigidity percolation threshold and the chemical threshold. Received: 23 August 2001 / Accepted: 27 August 2001 / Published online: 11 February 2002     

Effect of swift heavy ions in Ni-Al nanocrystalline films studied by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

X-ray absorption spectroscopic measurements have been used to compare the electronic structures of swift heavy ions (100 MeV Si ions) irradiated and pristine Ni-Al nanocrystalline films. Results from X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra at Al K-, and Ni L(2,3)-edges and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) at Ni K-edges are discussed. The observed XRD peaks indicate the improvement of crystalline nature and Al(111) clustering after the swift heavy ion interactions. While the XANES spectra at Ni L(2,3)-edges show decrease in the intensity of white line strength, the Al K-edge shows increase in intensity after irradiation. Above results imply that swift heavy ions induce low Z (i.e., Al) ion mass transport, changes in Al sp-Ni-d hybridization, and charge transfer. EXAFS results show that crystalline nature is improved after swift heavy irradiation which is consistent with XRD results.