Characteristics investigation on heat transfer growth of sonochemically synthesized ZnO-DW based nanofluids inside square heat exchanger

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In recent decades, the growth of heat transfer using nanomaterials in the conventional base fluid has caught the attention of researchers...     

Controlled hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanostructures by sequestering the Zn metal ions with the chelating agent EDTA

In the present work, a controlled growth of ZnO nanostructures by manipulating Zn metal ion concentration by the chelating action of ethylene diaminetetra acetic acid in hydrothermal method is studied. EDTA produces metal–chelate complex by the formation of bidentate ligand with Zn²⁺ in the solution and diminishes the reactivity of Zn metal cations. Concentration of EDTA in the mother solution was varied in different ranges like 3, 5 and 10 mM while retaining the zinc metal salt and the NaOH concentration the same. Three different morphologies of wurtzite structured ZnO nanostructures such as nanorods-bunch, separate/discrete uniformly sized hexagonal nanorods and tapered flower petals like shapes are achieved by 3, 5 and 10 mM strengths of EDTA, respectively. The medium concentration 5 mM of EDTA is found to have moderate control over producing ZnO nanostructures of uniform diameter and a high aspect (length to diameter) ratio. An array of vertically aligned free standing ZnO nanorods with uniform spacing is successfully achieved by the addition of 5 mM of EDTA in the mother solution and the same is studied for its fluorescence property at an excitation of 325 nm and it has exhibited a characteristic UV emission of ZnO around 383 nm.     

The effect of rapid rotation on a vertical bridgman furnace at large Rayleigh number

In quasi-steady operation, convection currents in a Bridgmandevice, used for producing a semi-conductor crystal, createinhomogeneities that may make the crystal unusable. It has oftenbeen suggested that additional forces due to rotation or magnetismmight be efficacious in reducing the segregation of the elementsof the alloy. It has been found that, over a wide range of rotationrates, there is no improvement in performance due to rotationabout the vertical axis. However, numerical results that havebeen obtained previously (Lee & Pearlstein, J. Crys. Growth240, 2002) indicate that, when effects of centrifugal buoyancyare introduced, a substantial reduction in segregation is achieved.In the work reported here, by contrast, in which we extend previouslarge-Rayleigh-number asymptotic analysis to include centrifugalbuoyancy, we find no improvement in radial segregation, butrather increasing segregation with increasing rotation rate.     

Molecular Beam Epitaxy of Nonstoichiometric Semiconductors and Multiphase Material Systems

When arsenides are grown by molecular beam epitaxy at low substrate temperatures, as much as 2% excess arsenic can be incorporated into the epilayer. This excess arsenic is in the form of antisites, but there is also a substantial concentration of gallium vacancies. With anneal, there is a significant decrease in the arsenic antisite and gallium vancancy concentrations as the excess arsenic precipitates. With further anneal, the arsenic precipitates coarsen. This combination of low substrate temperature molecular beam epitaxy and a subsequent anneal results in a broad spectrum of materials, from highly defected epilayers to a two-phase system of semimetallic arsenic precipitates in an arsenide semiconductor matrix. These materials exhibit some very interesting and useful electrical and optical properties.     

High-speed adaptive interferometer for optical coherence-domain reflectometry through turbid media

Two-wave mixing in a dynamic holographic film acts as the adaptive beam combiner in a short-coherence interferometer that performs optical coherence-domain reflectometry (OCDR) through turbid media. This approach combines the high spatial resolution and sensitivity of coherence-domain reflectometry with photorefractive quantum-well-based adaptive homodyne detection. A depth resolution of 28 microm and penetration through 16 mean free paths in a turbid medium have been obtained in this adaptive OCDR application.     

Direct-to-video holographic readout in quantum wells for three-dimensional imaging through turbid media

Customized photorefractive quantum-well devices have been developed for real-time video acquisition of coherence-gated, three-dimensional images in turbid media. Large-field-of-view holographic imaging with direct video capture is now possible. We have evaluated the role of intensity-limited device performance in Fourier-plane and image-plane holography in such devices and, using near-infrared light, have imaged through turbid phantoms of 13 mean free paths' scattering depth with 50-microm transverse and 60-microm depth resolution.     

Evidence for macroscopic quantum tunneling of phase slips in long one-dimensional superconducting Al wires

Quantum phase slips have received much attention due to their relevance to superfluids in reduced dimensions and to models of cosmic string production in the early universe. Their establishment in one-dimensional superconductors has remained controversial. Here we study the nonlinear current-voltage characteristics and linear resistance in long superconducting Al wires with lateral dimensions approximately 5 nm. We find that, in a magnetic field and at temperatures well below the superconducting transition, the observed behaviors can be described by the nonclassical, macroscopic quantum tunneling of phase slips, and are inconsistent with the thermal activation of phase slips.     

Direct time–space conversion of ultra-fast pulses based on interferometric time-of-flight cross correlation using a fast optical addressable spatial light modulator

To realize an ultra-fast spatio-temporal photonic interface system, we propose direct time–space conversion of ultra-fast pulses based on the interferometric time-of-flight cross correlation technique using a fast optical addressable spatial light modulator (OA-SLM). We show preliminary experiments using transverse-field photorefractive MQW devices as an OA-SLM compatible with ultra-fast pulses.     

New ideas in neutrino detection

What is new in the field of neutrino detection? In addition to new projects probing both the low and high ends of the neutrino energy scale, an inexpensive, effective technique is being developed to allow tagging of antineutrinos in water Cherenkov (WC) detectors via the addition to water of a solute with a large neutron cross-section and energetic γ daughters. Gadolinium is an excellent candidate since in recent years it has become very inexpensive, now less than $8 per kilogram in the form of commercially available gadolinium trichloride. This non-toxic, non-reactive substance is highly soluble in water. Neutron capture on gadolinium yields an 8.0 MeV gamma cascade easily seen in detectors like Super-Kamiokande. The uses of GdCl₃ as a possible upgrade for the Super-Kamiokande detector — with a view toward improving its performance as an antineutrino detector for supernova neutrinos and reactor neutrinos — are discussed, as are the ongoing R&;D efforts which aim to make this dream a reality within the next two years.