Barium ferrite (BaFe12O19) thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition on MgO buffered Si substrates

Barium ferrite (BaFe₁₂O₁₉) thin films have been deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on Si substrates with MgO underlayers. The films were deposited in oxygen atmosphere by excimer laser (=248 nm, pulse duration=23 ns) in the temperature range 750–900 °C. The experiments showed that the substrate temperature has remarkable effect on the films magnetic and structural properties. The BaFe₁₂O₁₉ films deposited at 900 °C in 200 mTorr oxygen showed some perpendicular orientation, with a perpendicular squareness of 0.5 and an in-plane squareness of 0.3. Such thin BaFe₁₂O₁₉ films have platelet grains with a size of about 300 nm. The perpendicular saturation magnetization and coercivity are 185 emu/cm³ and 1.4 kOe, respectively. PACS 81.15.Fg.; 75.70.Ak; 75.50.Pp; 68.55.j     

Tunable UV radiation at short wavelengths (188–240 nm) generated by sum-frequency mixing in lithium borate

Sum-frequency mixing (₃=₁+₂) of UV laser radiation (₁=266 nm and 213 nm) and tunable coherent infrared light (₂=1.2–2.6 m) in lithium borate (LBO) generates radiation at short wavelengths (₃=188–242 nm). The UV radiation at ₁ is produced by the fourth and fifth harmonic of a pulsed Nd-YAG laser. The infrared light is generated with an optical parametric oscillator of beta barium borate. The phase-matching angle is measured as function of ₃ and compared with calculated values. For UV laser radiation at shorter wavelengths (173 nm₁213 nm) the calculations predict an extension of the tuning range of the sum-frequency generated at ₃ to wavelengths as short as the LBO transmission cutoff at 160 nm.     

Reactive pulsed laser deposition and laser induced crystallization of SnO2 transparent conducting thin films

Transparent conducting SnO₂ thin films with a thickness between 1000–2000 Å were deposited on glass, quartz and silicon substrates using standard pulsed laser deposition techniques with two different targets (Sri and SnO₂) and with three different laser wavelengths (1.06, 0.532 and 0.266 ) from a Q-switched Nd: YAG laser. Tin dioxide films with optical transmission over most of the visible spectrum exceeding 80% were obtained using a Sn target and a background oxygen pressure of 20 Pa. The electrical resistivity () depended strongly on the substrate temperature during deposition, with the lowest values of of about 10^–2 -cm obtained when the substrate was maintained at 400°C during deposition. Using SnO₂ targets, predominantly amorphous phase SnO₂ films were deposited on Si substrates and then transformed into polycrystalline Sn₃O₄ by laser induced crystallization ( = 1.06 m). Whereas these later films were essentially non-conducting as deposited ( > 400 -cm), the electrical resistivity was permanently reduced after laser induced crystallization by a factor greater than 1000 to a value of approximately 4 × 10^–1 -cm.     

Infrared photoemission of holes from ultrathin (3–20 nm) Pt/Ir-compound silicide films into silicon

The infrared responsivity is measured at low temperature on Schottky barrier detectors having ultrathin (3–20 nm) PtSi, IrSi, and compound silicide films as a metal electrode on p-type silicon. The total yield for internal hole photoemission is 1% per incident photon for PtSi and 0.1% for IrSi at a wavelength of =4 m. The cut-of wavelengths are =5.4 m and =8.2 m for PtSi and IrSi, respectively. The compound silicides fabricated by sequential evaporation of Pt and Ir and subsequent annealing at T=450° C show characteristics identical to that of PtSi.A Monte Carlo computer modelling is performed to simulate the scattering mechanisms in the thin silicide film leading to hole photoemission across the Schottky barrier into silicon. The optimum emission yield is observed for ultrathin films of the order of a few nanometers. The optimum film thickness is close to the escape depth d _esc2–3×L _el5 nm which scales with the mean free path L _el for quasi elastic scattering. The enhancement of the internal photoemission in ultrathin silicide films is predominantly due to the increase of the optical photoexcitation density rather than to an increase of the electrical emission yield in thin films.     

Surface plasmon resonance of sputtered Ag films: substrate and mass thickness dependence

The influence of substrate on the tunability of the localized surface plasmon resonance wavelength, _SPR, of silver island films was investigated by magnetron sputtering the films on various substrates. It reveals that increasing refractive index of the substrate, n_sub, not only leads to redshift, but also an extension of the tunable range in _SPR. Such effects can be greatly enhanced by increasing the mass thickness of the metallic islands. The resonance wavelength of an island film can be readily adjusted from the visible to the near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The sensitivity factor, _SPR/_av, where _av is the interisland dielectric constant, was found to increase approximately linearly with the silver mass thickness up to 4 nm, from 60 nm to about 160 nm per dielectric constant unit. PACS 61.46.+w; 81.07.-b; 36.40.GK     

Nature of 2-Aminoxanthone Fluorescence

Absorption and fluorescence spectra of 2-aminoxanthone in solutions of different types at 77–350 K were studied. The existence of three bands (_{1 max} = 417 nm, ₁ = 14 ns; _{2 max} = 528 nm, ₂ = 13 ns; and _{3 max} = 565 nm, ₃ = 6 ns) in fluorescence of 2-aminoxanthone solutions has been established. It was shown that the first short-wave band was determined by deactivation of singlet excitation of an aminoxanthone molecule. The band with _{3 max} = 565 nm (depending on the concentration) is connected with excimer-type aggregates, which are formed by aminoxanthone molecules grouped with the help of dipole molecules of solvent or by weak hydrogen bonds between aminoxanthone molecules. The emission in band _{2 max} = 528 nm is caused by reversible changes in the 2-aminoxanthone molecule and probably is connected with an intramolecular proton transfer.     

Luminescence of Higher Plants upon Excitation by Laser Radiation with Different Energy and Time Parameters

The luminescence response of the leaves of higher plants exposed to laser radiation with different energy and time parameters has been investigated at a wavelength of 685 nm. The plants were irradiated by laser radiation at 1060, 632, and 530 nm. Radiation at = 632 nm was used as the control. It is shown that radiation at = 1060 nm suppresses photosynthesis, whereas that at = 530 nm stimulates it.     

Deposition of biopolymer thin films by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation

We report on the successful deposition of high quality type I fibrilar collagen thin films by Matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE). Thin films deposition was performed in a N₂ ambient (20 Pa) using a KrF* laser source (=248 nm,20 ns) operated at a repetition rate of 3 Hz, the incident laser energy at a value within the range (20-35)mJ , and the laser spot area was (3.5-18.5)±0.1 mm². The collagen films were deposited on double face polished 100 single crystalline Si wafers and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. We demonstrate that our thin films are composed of collagen, with no impurities and the roughness can be controlled by the deposition conditions. PACS 52.38.Mf; 82.35.Pq; 83.80.Lz     

Growth of carbon nanotubes on Fe or Ni-coated Si substrate by feeding with carbon from a graphite ablation plume

By feeding with carbon clusters from the ArF excimer laser (=193 nm) ablation of graphite target, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown on Fe and Ni films deposited on SiO₂/Si substrates, which were set inside a quartz tube with Ar gas pressure of 500 Torr operating at 1100 °C. Optical emission spectroscopic observation of the ablation plume of graphite and Ni/Y catalyst was performed in the Ar gas for a pressure range of 0–600 Torr at room temperature and 1000 °C. The emission band intensity of C₃ (ù_u) at the distance of 2 mm from the target increased with increasing Ar gas pressure. PACS 79.20.Ds; 81.07.De; 39.30.+w     

Excimer laser projection-patterned deposition of Al via photolytically driven decomposition of trialkylamine alane as adsorbate precursor

Aluminum films have been deposited from trimethylamine alane (CH₃)₃N · AlH₃ and triethylamine alane (C₂H₅)₃N · AlH₃ precursors on Al₂O₃, GaAs and quartz substrates using XeCl (=308 mn) and KrF (=248 nm) excimer lasers. Substrate surface irradiation induces the decomposition of the precursor in the adsorbed phase. The technique allows projection patterned deposition of Al at room temperature. Al deposition proceeds in two steps: surface nucleation, which is a pure photolytic process, and the succesive Al growth, which is photolytically driven but is thermally activated at low laser energy densities (<60 mJ/cm²). The nucleation process strongly depends on the substrate and laser wavelength. Mirror like Al films are deposited at rates up to about one Al monolayer per pulse which corresponds to rates up to 2 m/min when photolyzing at 100 Hz. Al films with good adhesion and resistivities down to 7.5 cm (2.5 times bulk), were deposited. The process has good spatial selectivity. Patterns with 1 m resolution have been generated.     

Geometry and combinatorics of Julia sets of real quadratic maps

For real a correspondence is made between the Julia setB forz(z–)², in the hyperbolic case, and the set of-chains±(±(±..., with the aid of Cremer's theorem. It is shown how a number of features ofB can be understood in terms of-chains. The structure ofB is determined by certain equivalence classes of-chains, fixed by orders of visitation of certain real cycles; and the bifurcation history of a given cycle can be conveniently computed via the combinatorics of-chains. The functional equations obeyed by attractive cycles are investigated, and their relation to-chains is given. The first cascade of period-doubling bifurcations is described from the point of view of the associated Julia sets and-chains. Certain Julia sets associated with the Feigenbaum function and some theorems of Lanford are discussed.Supported by NSF grant No. MCS-8104862.Supported by NSF grant No. MCS-8203325.     

Painlevé test and energy level motion

From the eigenvalue H|_n()=E_n() |_n(), where HH₀+V, one can derive an autonomous system of first-order differential equations for the eigenvaluesE _n() and the matrix elements V_mn(), where is the independent variable. We perform a Painlevé test for this system and discuss the connection with integrability. It turns out that the equations of motion do not pass the Painlevé test, but a weaker form. The first integrals are polynomials and can be related to the Kowalewski exponents.     

The ground state energy of Sdhrödinger operators

We studye()=inf spec(-+V) and examine whene()<0 for all 0. We prove thatc ²e()–d ² for suitableV and all small ||.Research partially funded under NSF grant number DMS-9101716.     

The asymmetric contact process on a finite set

The contact process onZ has one phase transition; let _c be the critical value at which the transition occurs. Let _N be the extinction time of the contact process on {0,...,N}. Durrett and Liu (1988), Durrett and Schonmann (1988), and Durrett, Schonmann, and Tanaka (1989) have respectively proved that the subcritical, supercritical, and critical phases can be characterized using a large finite system (instead ofZ) in the following way. There are constants ₁() and ₂() such that if < _c , lim _{N N} /logN = 1/₁(); if > _c , lim _N log _N /N = ₂(); if = _c , lim _{N N} /N= and lim _{N N} /N ⁴=0 in probability. In this paper we consider the asymmetric contact process onZ when it has two distinct critical values _c1< _c2. The arguments of Durrett and Liu and of Durrett and Schonmann hold for < _c1 and > _c2. We show that for [ _c1< _c2), lim _{N N} /N=-1/, (where _i is an edge speed) and for = _c2, lim _N log _N /logN=2 in probability.     

On the invariant sets of a family of quadratic maps

The Julia setB for the mappingz (z–)² is considered, where is a complex parameter. For 2 a new upper bound for the Hausdorff dimension is given, and the monic polynomials orthogonal with respect to the equilibrium measure onB are introduced. A method for calculating all of the polynomials is provided, and certain identities which obtain among coefficients of the three-term recurrence relations are given. A unifying theme is the relationship betweenB and -chains ± (± (± ...), which is explored for –1/42 and for with ||1/4, with the aid of the Böttcher equation. ThenB is shown to be a Hölder continuous curve for ||<1/4.Supported by NSF Grant MCS-8104862Supported by NSF Grant MCS-8002731     

Structural and optical properties of evaporated Zn oxide,Ti oxide and Zn-Ti oxide films

Zn oxide, Ti oxide and Zn-Ti oxide thin films were prepared by vacuum evaporation. Their structural and optical properties have been obtained by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), the energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) method and spectrophotometry. The EDXRF method was used to study the stoichiometry of the deposited Zn-Ti oxide films. The XRD patterns show that the prepared ZnO and Zn-Ti oxide films were polycrystalline, while Ti oxide films were amorphous. Spectroscopic optical constants n() and k() as well as the energy gap E_g were evaluated from spectrophotometry in the interband transition energy region. It was discovered that ZnO–TiO thin films remain transparent in a shorter wavelength range than the ZnO thin films, resulting from the slight increase of their band gap. It was found that n, k and transmittance values for the mixed-oxide film vary smoothly between the values of the pure constituent oxides in the fundamental energy gap region. PACS 68.60.Wm; 68.55.-a; 78.66.-w     

Positron annihilation in synthetic zeolites (II) magnetic quenching effect

Positron lifetime spectra were re-measured for a series of synthetic zeolites using a large time window of observation. Magnetic quenching experiments were also performed for the zeolites, and it has been confirmed that both the ₄ and the ₃ components are due to o-Ps. The annihilation rate of the third component, ₃, showed a good correlation with the size of the largest voids, which is similar to the correlation reported for other compounds. However the annihilation rate of the longest-lived component, ₄, showed a poor correlation with the void size. The ₃ component has thus been assigned to o-Ps in the regular voids of the zeolites, and the ₄ component to that escaped to inter-particle open spaces.     

Zero measure spectrum for the almost Mathieu operator

We study the almost Mathieu operator: (H _{, ,} u)(n)=u(n+1)+u(n-1)+ cos (2n+)u(n), onl ² (Z), and show that for all ,, and (Lebesgue) a.e. , the Lebesgue measure of its spectrum is precisely |4–2|. In particular, for ||=2 the spectrum is a zero measure cantor set. Moreover, for a large set of irrational 's (and ||=2) we show that the Hausdorff dimension of the spectrum is smaller than or equal to 1/2.Work partially supported by the GIF     

Fractional noise

Fractional noiseN(t),t 0, is a stochastic process for every , and is defined as the fractional derivative or fractional integral of white noise. For = 1 we recover Brownian motion and for = 1/2 we findf ^–1-noise. For 1/2 1, a superposition of fractional noise is related to the fractional diffusion equation.     

Soliton mass and surface tension in the (λ|Ø|4)2 quantum field model

The spectrum of the mass operator on the soliton sectors of the anisotropic (|ø|⁴)₂—and the (ø⁴)₂—quantum field models in the two phase region is analyzed. It is proven that, for small enough >0, the mass gapm _s() on the soliton sector is positive, andm _s()=0(^–1). This involves estimatingm _s() from below by a quantity () analogous to the surface tension in the statistical mechanics of two dimensional, classical spin systems and then estimating () by methods of Euclidean field theory. In principle, our methods apply to any two dimensional quantum field model with a spontaneously broken, internal symmetry group.A Sloan Foundation Fellow; Research supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. MPS 75-11864.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY 76-17191