Magneto-optical activity of crude oil and its heavy fractions

We have experimentally studied optical and magneto-optical spectra of solutions of crude oils of different origin and their heavy fractions in the visible spectral range. Magnetic circular dichroism of oil in the wavelength range ??550 nm has been revealed. We show that the shape of the spectra of this dichroism depends on the origin of crude oil, with the magnetic dichroism magnitude being proportional to the concentration of the oil in the solution. A comparison of the data of magneto-optical spectroscopy with electron paramagnetic resonance spectra and chemical composition of samples has allowed us to conclude that the observed magneto-optical activity is determined by the occurrence of VO²⁺ complexes in the oil samples. The revealed magneto-optical activity of crude oil can form the basis of a unique method of analysis of the composition and properties of oils of different origin and heavy fractions thereof.     

Vacuum ultraviolet smoothing of nanometer-scale asperities of Poly(methyl methacrylate) surface

Smoothing of the nanometer-scale asperities of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film using vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) with the wavelength λ = 123.6 nm was studied. The exposure time and the residual air pressure in an working chamber were varied during the process of VUV treatment. A nanostructured surface of PMMA film is used as a sample to be exposed. The nanostructured surface of the PMMA film was obtained by treating the initially smooth spin-coated film in oxygen radio-frequency plasma. The degree of VUV exposure is estimated using changes in the morphology and roughness of the nanostructured surface, which were determined by atomic-force microscopy (AFM). Recognition of morphological surface features on the AFM-images and determination of main geometrical characteristics of these features are performed by using virtual feature-oriented scanning method. It is discovered by morphology and Fourier spectra that the nanostructured surface of the PMMA film is partially ordered. The developed VUV smoothing procedure can be used to treat the electron-beam, UV, and X-ray sensitive PMMA resists, PMMA elements of microelectromechanical systems, biomedical PMMA implants, as well as to certify nanotechnological equipment incorporating UV radiation sources.     

Specific features of polarization anisotropy in optical reflection and transmission of colloidal photonic crystals

This paper reports on the measurements (in linearly polarized light) of the transmission and reflection spectra of colloidal photonic crystals with three-dimensional and one-two-dimensional photonic band structure, i.e., opal films and Langmuir-Blodgett crystals with a refractive index contrast of ∼1.5: 1.0. It has been shown that the polarization anisotropy is enhanced considerably in the diffraction resonance range both in transmitted and reflected light, and that the anisotropy in the resonance range can be as high as 99%. The interaction of photonic crystal eigenmodes has been found to affect the polarization anisotropy. The assumption has been made that the coincidence of the maxima in polarization anisotropy of the resonant and nonresonant light reflection in colloidal crystals originates from the disorder in their lattices. The generality of the results obtained is confirmed by the fact that the polarization anisotropy manifests itself in the same way in colloidal crystals with different lattice symmetries.     

Quantum theory of the magneto-optical effect and magnetization of Nd-substituted yttrium iron garnet

The magneto-optical and magnetic properties of Nd ³⁺ ions in Y ₃Fe ₅O ₁₂ garnet are analyzed by using quantum theory. In the spontaneous state, the magneto-optical effects originate mainly from the intra-ionic electric dipole transitions between the 4 f ³ and 4 f ²5d states split by the spin-orbit, crystal field, and superexchange interactions. For the excited configuration, the coupling scheme of Yanase is extended to the Nd ³⁺ ion. The magneto-optical resonance frequencies are mainly determined by the splitting of the 5d states induced by the crystal field. The theoretical results of both Nd magnetization and Faraday rotation are in good agreement with experiments. The observed Faraday rotation is proved to be of the paramagnetic type. Although the value of the magneto-optical resonance frequency derived from a macroscopic analysis is approximately confirmed by our theoretical study, a new assignment about the transitions associated with this resonance is unambiguously determined. The spin-orbit coupling of the ground configuration has a great influence on both the Faraday rotation and magnetization, but, unlike the theoretical results obtained in some metals and alloys, the relation between the Faraday rotation and the spin-orbit coupling strength is more complex than a linear one. The magnitude of the magneto-optical coefficient increases as the spin-orbit interaction strength of the ground configuration decreases when the strength is not very weak. Finally, the temperature dependence of the magneto-optical coefficient and the effect of the mixing of different ground-term multiplets induced by the crystal field are analyzed. Received 8 November 2000     

Surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering spectroscopy of single R6G molecules

Surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) adsorbed on colloidal silver clusters has been studied. Based on the great enhancement of the Raman signal and the quench of the fluorescence, the SERRS spectra of R6G were recorded for the samples of dye colloidal solution with different concentrations. Spectral inhomogeneity behaviours from single molecules in the dried sample films were observed with complementary evidences, such as spectral polarization, spectral diffusion, intensity fluctuation of vibrational lines and even ``breathing' of the molecules. Sequential spectra observed from a liquid sample with an average of 0.3 dye molecules in the probed volume exhibited the expected Poisson distribution for actually measuring 0, 1 or 2 molecules. Difference between the SERRS spectra of R6G excited by linearly and circularly polarized light were experimentally measured.     

Electro- and magneto-optical switching of defect modes in one- dimensional photonic crystals

The transmission spectra of polarized light waves in a photonic crystal/liquid crystal (PC/LC) cell placed between crossed polarizers and controlled by an electric or magnetic field have been studied experimentally and theoretically. Electro- and magneto-optical switching based on the interference of polarized defect modes has been demonstrated. The transmission spectra of the PC/LC cell have been calculated as a function of the voltage applied to the LC layer and the magnetic field strength. The results of the calculations agree well with the experimental data.     

柱状磁光颗粒的局域表面等离激元共振及尺寸效应

柱状磁光颗粒的局域表面等离激元共振为二维磁光光子晶体的手征性边缘模的生成提供了重要的机制. 但目前对此类颗粒的局域表面等离激元共振效应的研究局限于长波长近似下的结果, 且缺乏对发生共振时的远场与近场特征的深入了解. 本文从散射理论出发, 计算并分析了柱状磁光颗粒发生局域表面等离激元共振的条件与特殊的场特征, 并讨论了颗粒尺寸对共振峰的影响. 计算结果解释了实验中观察到的二维磁光光子晶体的共振带隙与在长波长近似下得到的局域表面等离激元共振频率的明显偏移, 并展示了颗粒在较大尺寸下形成的高阶共振峰, 这可能有助于利用共振效应在磁光光子晶体中实现多模的手征边缘态.     

Effect of defects of plasmon resonance colloidal crystals on their extinction spectra

The effect of the temperature of a silver sol on its extinction spectra during formation of aggregates of plasmon resonance nanoparticles with varying degree of order and the effect exerted on these spectra by changes in the structure of a colloidal crystal during its heating, which lowers elastic properties of a polymer adsorption layer of particles are studied.     

Variation of extinction spectra of plasmon resonance colloidal crystals upon structural transitions

The effect of the temperature of a silver sol on its extinction spectra during formation of aggregates of plasmon resonance nanoparticles with varying degree of order and the effect exerted on these spectra by changes in the structure of a colloidal crystal during its heating, which lowers elastic properties of a polymer adsorption layer of particles are studied.     

Emission studies on ZnO-inverse photonic crystals derived from self-assembly

Photonic crystals fabricated from the colloidal spheres of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) using the inward-growing self-assembly technique were subsequently in-filled with zinc oxide (ZnO) prepared by the sol-gel process. The polymer template was removed by heat treatment and chemical method to get ZnO-inverse photonic crystal. The structural quality of the inverse photonic crystal obtained by the chemical method was found to be superior to that obtained by heat treatment. The ZnO-inverse photonic crystal obtained by the chemical method was further treated at an elevated temperature to ensure the crystalline nature of ZnO. Laser-induced emission studies on ZnO-inverse photonic crystals were carried out at an excitation wavelength of 325 nm. The emission spectra showing UV and visible bands at collection angle of 45° from the direction of excitation helped to establish the role of crystalline ZnO.     

Recent progress in the fabrication of SERS substrates based on the arrays of polystyrene nanospheres

Micro/nanostructures have broad applications in diverse application fields, such as surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), photocatalysis, field emission, photonic crystals, microfluidic devices, electrochemical devices, etc. Using polystyrene (PS) spheres formed monolayer colloidal crystal templates as masks, scaffolds, or molds with different materials growth techniques, many different periodic nanostructured arrays can be obtained with the building units varied from nanoparticles, nanopores, nanorings, nanorods, to nanoshells. Significant progresses have been made on the synthesis of micro/nanostructures with efficient SERS response. In this review, we mainly focus on the various PS template-based fabrication techniques in realizing micro/nanostructured arrays and the SERS applications.     

Gold nanostructures on chemically reinforced PDMS microwell arrays

This paper describes a facile strategy for fabricating arrays of two- and three-dimensional gold nanostructures using PDMS-infiltrated polystyrene (PS) colloidal crystals. PDMS molding of colloidal crystal, gold vapor deposition, and subsequent calcination of PS produced gold thin layers over hexagonal PDMS microwell arrays with hemispherical air-voids of approximately 140 nm on glass substrates. Vapor deposition of perfluoroalkylsilane thin layers improved the thermal stability of the colloidal template over 100 °C, providing a route to preparation of hollow architectures with gold thin layers supported by PDMS nanostructures. Surface modification of the PDMS using poly(allylamine hydrochloride) induced two-dimensional colloidal crystals of PS and PMMA spheres through electrostatic interactions. Particle aggregation of 13 nm gold nanoparticles in the PDMS microwells demonstrated a surface plasmon resonance band red-shifted to 810 nm, in comparison with that on the flat surface at 720 nm.     

Raman scattering of the MoS2 and WS2 single nanotubes

We report here the results of the first resonance Raman study on single MoS₂ and WS₂ nanotubes and microtubes synthesized by chemical transport reaction. These multiwall tubes represent the longest known inorganic nanotubes grown up to several millimetre lengths with diameters ranging from less than ten nanometers to several micrometers. The nanotubes grown at nearly equilibrium conditions contain extremely low density of structural defects. The selected area diffraction on the thick-wall nanotubes revealing the rhombohedral (3R) stacking, otherwise stable at elevated pressure above 4 GPa, provides indirect evidence of the presence of strain incorporated into the nanotube wall. Results are compared with phonon spectra of plate-like crystals of the same compound. The observed up-shift of Raman peaks in the tubes spectra is explained by the presence of strain. Well preserved crystal structure of tubes is confirmed by comparison with phonon spectra of nanostructured materials from literature.     

Polarization anisotropy of optical transmission in opals and Langmuir-Blodgett crystals

The transmission spectra of thin-film colloidal photonic crystals with three-dimensional and one-dimensional-two-dimensional photonic energy band structures, i.e., opals and Langmuir-Blodgett crystals with a refractive index contrast of ∼1.5: 1.0, have been measured in linearly polarized light. It has been demonstrated that the polarization anisotropy in the light transmitted through the crystal is uniquely related to the diffraction resonance and that the degree of polarization can exceed 90%. A higher degree of polarization is provided by lattices that are characterized by a smaller attenuation of light polarized in the plane of incidence. It has been revealed that the diffraction resonances from the crystal planes for which the dispersions are in anticrossing with the dispersion of the growth planes acquire the same anisotropy. The general character of the results obtained has been confirmed by the fact that the polarization anisotropy identically manifests itself in colloidal crystals that have different symmetries and lattice orderings.     

Magnetophotonic properties of inverse magnetic metal opals

Nickel inverse opals were fabricated by templating a colloidal crystal. Perfect fcc ordering was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Several kinds of magneto-optical effects were studied: linear longitudinal and transversal Kerr effects, nonlinear longitudinal Kerr effect (magnetization-induced second harmonic generation), which were all consistent with the photonic band structure studied by reflectivity spectroscopy.     

Effect of polymer relaxation on dielectric spectroscopic study of polymer–ferroelectric liquid crystal composites

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and ferroelectric liquid crystal (P–FLC) composite films (~ 4 μm) with varying proportions of ferroelectric liquid crystal have been prepared and the dielectric response of the composite films as a function of wide frequency (100 Hz–10 MHz) and temperature (127–40 °C) have been analyzed. The dielectric spectra of such composite systems are considerably modified compared to those of the corresponding pure LC or PMMA materials. The observed paraelectric to ferroelectric transition temperature of the composites is found to be lower (~ 85 °C) compared to that of the pure LC system (~ 98 °C), which makes these composites technologically more significant. The P–FLC composites also exhibit higher relaxation frequency and smaller dielectric strength for the Goldstone mode compared to those of the corresponding pure FLC. Depending on the percentage of the constitute materials, the molecular dynamics of the composite materials changes. Dielectric contributions of both liquid crystal and PMMA matrix forming the composites have been analyzed on the basis of Havriliak and Negami function.     

Effect of dimensionality on the spectra of hybrid plasmonic-photonic crystals

Based on colloidal crystals of various dimensionality, hybrid metal-dielectric plasmonic-photonic heterocrystals have been prepared. It has been shown that the spectra of optical transmission of heterocrystals are mostly controlled by the sum of contributions of composing plasmonic and photonic crystals. At the same time, there are a number of phenomena caused by the mutual effect of heterostructure components, which lead to a deviation of observed optical properties from the linear superposition of responses of these crystals. In particular, it has been found that the anomalous transmission controlled by the plasmonic crystal decreases with increasing the dimensionality of the photonic crystal attached to it. At the same time, light reflection on a metallized surface changes light diffraction in photonic crystals and leads to Fabry-Perot oscillation amplification. It has been assumed that an intermediate layer is formed, in which Bloch modes of the photonic crystal and surface plasmon-polaritons of the plasmonic crystal are hybridized.     

Optical and magneto-optical properties of nanostructured yttrium iron garnet

Bulk dense samples of nanostructured yttrium iron garnet Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ with crystallite sizes of 20–40 nm are prepared by high-pressure torsion from a garnet powder with micron grains. The absorption and Faraday rotation spectra in the IR range and the transverse Kerr effect spectra in the visible spectral range for these samples are measured. The absorption and magneto-optical effect spectra are in agreement with the corresponding spectra of single crystals. The appearance of additional absorption bands at 2 and 3 μm is associated with the violation of the stoichiometry of the nanogarnet and the possible contamination of the initial material. The specific Faraday rotation in the transparency window is approximately 1.5 times smaller than the corresponding quantity for single crystals. The extrema in the Kerr effect spectra coincide with those for single crystals, are smaller in magnitude, and are smeared. On the whole, the prepared bulk samples are transparent in the IR spectral range and exhibit optical and magneto-optical characteristics comparable to the corresponding parameters for single crystals. The high density of point defects of the nanogarnet is primarily due to the violation of the stoichiometry and the valence state of iron ions.     

Electron-electron interaction effects in bismuth

Measurements of the far infrared magneto-optical transmission spectra of bismuth at 311 and 337 μ and in fields up to 100 kG at 4°K are described. The sensitivity of the spectra of transmitted magneto plasma waves to the electron scattering in bismuth is discussed. Particular attention is drawn to excitonic effects associated with weakly allowed hole cyclotron resonance absorption lines observed in the spectra. A simple Cooper pair like argument is given to illustrate the nature of these inter subband excitons. The features entering into a more complete theory of the excitons are also briefly discussed.