Langmuir probe and spectroscopic studies of RF generated helium-nitrogen mixture plasma

This paper reports the effect of helium percentage variation in a capacitive RF helium-nitrogen mixture plasma on various plasma parameters and concentration of nitrogen active species (N₂(C³Π _u) and N₂ ⁺(B²Σ _u ⁺)). Langmuir probe is used for determination of electron energy distribution functions, effective electron temperature, plasma potential and electron density. Optical emission spectroscopy is used for determination of electron temperature from Boltzmann's plot of He–I lines and the relative changes in the concentration of active species by measuring the emission intensities of nitrogen (0-0) bands of the second positive and the first negative systems. The results demonstrate that electron temperature, electron density and concentration of active species increase significantly with increase in helium percentage in the mixture and RF power.     

Far-infrared optical properties of YVO4 single crystal

Near-normal incident infrared reflectivity spectra of a (001) YVO₄ single crystal have been measured at different temperatures in the frequency region between 100 and 6000 cm^-1. The reflectivity spectra are analyzed with the factorized form of the dielectric function, and the dielectric properties and optical conductivity of the YVO₄ crystal are obtained. From the TO/LO splitting, effective charges at different temperatures are calculated to study the ionicity of YVO₄. The internal modes of the VO₄^3- ion and the external modes of the Y(VO₄) lattice are compared with SiO₄^4- in zircon and with other rare-earth vanadates.     

Photonic band structure in the nearly plane wave approximation

For photons propagating in a periodic dielectric lattice, the dispersion curve forms photonic bands separated by forbidden gaps. When the dielectric lattice deviates only slightly from being homogenous, the photonic band structure resembles the linear dispersion relation for photons folded into the first Brillouin zone, i.e., the so-called empty lattice bands. Using group theoretical technique, we calculate the splitting of the accidental degeneracies in the empty lattice bands at symmetry points for a simple cubic dielectric lattice. Received 23 June 1998     

Electromagnetic field distributions in waveguide-based axial-type microwave plasma source

We present results from simulations of 2D distributions of the electromagnetic field inside a waveguide-based axial-type microwave plasma source (MPS) used for hydrogen production via methane reforming. The studies are aimed at optimization of discharge processes and hydrogen production. We derive equations for determining electromagnetic field distributions and next determine the electromagnetic field distributions for two cases – without and with plasma inside the MPS. For the first case, we examine the influence of the length of the inner conductor of the coaxial line on electromagnetic field distributions. We have obtained standing wave patterns along the coaxial line and found resonances for certain positions of the coaxial line inner conductor. For the case with plasma inside the MPS, we perform calculations assuming that distributions of plasma parameters are known. Simulations are done for several values of maximum electron density. We have found that for values of electron density greater than strong skin effect in the plasma is observed. Consequently, plasma may be treated as an extension of the inner conductor of the coaxial line. We have used FlexPDE software for the calculations.     

Plasma-induced graft-polymerization of polyethylene glycol acrylate on polypropylene substrates

A detailed study of argon plasma-induced graft-polymerization of polyethylene glycol acrylate (PEGA) on polypropylene (PP) substrates (membranes and films) is presented. The process consists of four steps: (a) plasma pre-activation of the PP substrates; (b) immersion in a PEGA solution; (c) argon plasma-induced graft-polymerization; (d) washing and drying of the samples. Influence of the solution and plasma parameters on the process efficiency evaluated in terms of amount of grafted polymer, coverage uniformity and substrates wettability, are investigated. The plasma-induced graft-polymerization of PEGA is then followed by sample weighting, water droplet adsorption time and contact angle measurements, attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses. The stability of the obtained thin films was evaluated in water and in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) at 37 °C. Results clearly indicates that plasma-induced graft-polymerization of PEGA is a practical methodology for anti-fouling surface modification of materials.     

Temperature dependence of the anisotropic electrodynamics in the ladder compounds

The optical reflectivity as a function of temperature of the title compound for x =0, 5 and 12 has been measured over a broad spectral range from 4 meV up to 12 eV. Our findings suggest a very anisotropic dynamics of the charge excitation spectrum when measuring along or perpendicular to the ladders. Moreover, a metal-insulator transition develops at low temperatures, leading to a suppression of Drude spectral weight in the far and mid-infrared spectral range. We identify this behaviour as a consequence of the localization effects for small Ca substitution, and of the possible formation of a charge density wave condensate for large Ca substitution. Received: 18 June 1998 / Accepted: 17 July 1998     

Optical conductivity of the Bechgaard salts: the sum rules revisited

The validity of the optical sum rules has been addressed eversince and was always matter of debate. Particularly controversial is the proof that the partial sum rules can be extended to both optical conductivity and energy loss function. We show in this paper that for both transverse (optical conductivity) and longitudinal (energy loss function) absorption processes the corresponding sum rule can be theoretically established and through appropriate conditions for the integration limits exactly verified. We also focus our attention on the one-dimensional case within the microscopic Hubbard model. An application of these concepts to the quasi one-dimensional systems, for which we have chosen the organic (TMTSF)₂PF₆ material, will also be presented. Received: 19 December 1997 / Received in final form: 9 March 1998 / Accepted: 23 March 1998     

Transport and optical conductivity in

We present the results of a dc transport and optical investigation of WO₃ and Na_xWO₃ with x =0.01. Upon Na-doping we find a (Drude) metallic component in the optical conductivity, while the transport data display a crossover from an activated to a variable range hopping regime around 210 K. We suggest the possible formation of polarons (and bipolarons) and speculate that superconductivity could be induced, provided the dc percolation threshold is achieved. Received 28 March 2000     

AFM and contact angle investigation of growth and structure of pp-HMDSO thin films

HMDSO was plasma polymerized on silicon wafer and polyethylene (PE) substrates. The chemical structure of the pp-HMDSO was analyzed with Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The morphological structure of the thin films deposited on the different substrates was investigated by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), indicating different coverage mechanisms. In order to investigate the growth process of the pp-HMDSO, films of different thickness were also deposited, varying the plasma deposition time from 10 s to 1800 s. Thickness and structure of such deposits was detected with AFM. Finally, hydrophobic characteristics of the different samples were evaluated by means of contact angle measurements and correlated with the morphological characteristics.     

Electronic structure,ferroelectricity and optical properties of CaBi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Ta<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>9</Subscript>

Using first-principles calculations based on density-functional theory in its local-density approximation, we investigated the Electronic structure, ferroelectricity and optical properties of CaBi₂Ta₂O₉ (CBT) for the first time. It is found that CBT compound has an indirect band gap of 3.114 eV and the O 2s and 2p states are strongly hybridized with the 6s states of Bi which belong to the (Bi₂O₂)²⁺ planes. The quite strong Ta–O and Bi–O hybridization is the primary source for ferroelectricity. Our results imply that the interaction between Bi and O is highly covalent. The anisotropy occurs mainly above 4 eV in the optical properties. The different optical properties have been discussed.     

Optical properties of the charge-density-wave polychalcogenide compounds R 2Te 5 (R=Nd, Sm and Gd)

We investigate the rare-earth polychalcogenide R₂Te₅ (R=Nd, Sm and Gd) charge-density-wave (CDW) compounds by optical reflectivity measurements. We obtain the optical conductivity through Kramers-Kronig transformation of the reflectivity spectra. From the real part of the optical conductivity we then extract the excitation energy of the CDW gap and estimate the fraction of the Fermi surface which is gapped by the formation of the CDW condensate. In analogy to previous findings on the related RTe_n (n=2 and 3) families, we establish the progressive closing of the CDW gap and the moderate enhancement of the metallic component upon chemically compressing the lattice.     

Three-dimensional modelling of inductively coupled plasma torches

A three-dimensional model has been developed for simulating the behaviour of inductively coupled plasma torches (ICPTs), using customized CFD commercial code FLUENT ^?. The helicoidal coil is taken into account in its actual 3-D shape, showing the effects of its non-axisymmetry on the plasma discharge. Steady state, continuity, momentum and energy equations are solved for argon optically thin plasmas under the assumptions of LTE and laminar flow. The electromagnetic field is obtained by solving the 3-D vector potential equation on a grid extending outside the torch region. In order to evaluate the importance of various 3-D effects on calculated plasma temperature and flow fields, comparisons of our new results with the ones obtainable from conventional 2-D models and from an improved 2-D model that includes 3-D coil effects are presented. The presence of wall temperature hot spots due to plasma discharge displacement from the torch axis is evidenced, while the use of the new 3-D code for optimization of induction coil geometry and plasma gas inlet features is foreseen. Received 5 September 2002 Published online 13 December 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: colombo@ciram.ing.unibo.it     

Simulation of the ignition transient in RF inductively-coupled plasma torches

The paper deals with the time-dependent numerical simulation of inductively-coupled plasma torches during the ignition transient, which is induced by a graphite rod and leads to the final, self-sustaining plasma condition. The study has been performed by using a 2D time-dependent fluid-magnetic code based on the SIMPLER algorithm within the assumptions of laminar flow, local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions and optically thin plasma. The graphite rod has been treated as a real obstacle for the gas and the electron emission due to the thermoionic effect has been suitably taken into account. The advantage of using a time-dependent code in order to select different plasma operating conditions that can lead to stable discharges is pointed out. Results for both argon and air discharges are presented for different torch geometries, RF frequencies and inlet gas configurations (also including the presence of a carrier gas injected along the axis of the torch). Moreover, the final self-sustaining plasma configurations obtained are compared, when available, with results coming from static models, which have been published by other authors. Received 29 December 2000     

Optical properties of the quasi-two-dimensional dichalcogenides 2H-TaSe and 2H-NbSe

We present a comprehensive analysis of the optical constants of the two-dimensional dichalcogenide materials 2 H - TaSe ₂ and 2 H - NbSe ₂ , in an attempt to address the physics of two-dimensional correlated systems. The title compounds were studied over several decades in frequency, from the far-infrared to the ultraviolet. Measurements with linearly polarized light have allowed us to obtain both the in-plane and out-of-plane components of the conductivity tensor. Although the electromagnetic response of dichalcogenides is strongly anisotropic, both the in-plane and out-of-plane components of the conductivity tensor share many common features, including the presence of a well-defined metallic component, as well as a “mid-infrared band”. We discuss the implications of these results in the context of the spectroscopic results of other classes of low-dimensional conductors such as the high-temperature superconducting cuprates. In particular, the analysis of the redistribution of the spectral weight as a function of temperature, as well as the behavior of the quasiparticles relaxation rate, points to significant distinctions between the charge dynamics of dichalcogenides and other classes of low dimensional conductors. Received 28 October 2002 / Received in final form 10 March 2003 Published online 23 May 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: degiorgi@solid.phys.ethz.ch     

Band gap variation in laser irradiated polytypic crystals of cadmium iodide

Highly purified single crystals of cadmium iodide obtained through repeated zone refining have been subjected to laser beam exposure (Argon ion laser), both for various time durations and to various beam intensities, and then subjected to band gap determination by UV spectroscopy. The band gap has been found to decrease gradually with increase in the laser beam intensity, whereas its variation with increase in time of exposure shows an unusual behaviour such that it initially falls sharply followed by a gradual rise back to its original value. The results have been analysed and interpreted in terms of indirect band gap character of the material and an unusual variation in phonon frequency. The interpretation is well supported by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies. Received: 26 May 1997 / Revised: 6 August 1997 / Accepted: 15 September 1997     

Studies on CdS nanoparticles dispersed in silica matrix prepared by sol-gel technique

SiO₂/CdS-nanoparticle composite films (SiO₂:CdS=85:15, 80:20, 75:25 and 70:30) were prepared by the sol-gel route. The films were characterized by studying microstructural (XRD and TEM) and optical (transmittance and photoluminescence) properties. Band gaps of these films annealed at different temperatures (373-473 K) for different times (10-120 min) indicated that the signature of nanocrystallinity is retained throughout the range of our experimental conditions. A thermal diffusion process controlled growth in the crystallite size with increasing annealing time and temperature. The average radii of the nanoparticles varied as the cube root of the annealing time but showed exponential dependence on the inverse of annealing temperature. Photoluminescence (PL) studies of the composite films indicated excitonic transitions. Theoretical analysis of the line shapes of the PL peaks recorded at 300 K and 80 K could be accounted for by the combined effects of size distribution and phonon broadening. It was observed that the deformation potential (E _d) effectively controlled the line shapes of the PL measurements. Received 24 May 2002 Published online 27 January 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: msakp@mahendra.iacs.res.in     

Charge dynamics of the spin-density-wave state in BaFe<Subscript>2</Subscript>As<Subscript>2</Subscript>

We report on a thorough optical investigation of BaFe₂As₂ over a broad spectral range and as a function of temperature, focusing our attention on its spin-density-wave (SDW) phase transition at T_SDW = 135 K. While BaFe₂As₂ remains metallic at all temperatures, we observe a depletion in the far infrared energy interval of the optical conductivity below T_SDW, ascribed to the formation of a pseudogap-like feature in the excitation spectrum. This is accompanied by the narrowing of the Drude term consistent with the dc transport results and suggestive of suppression of scattering channels in the SDW state. About 20% of the spectral weight in the far infrared energy interval is affected by the SDW phase transition.     

Calculation of optical properties within the Local Density Approximation to Density Functional Theory: application to palladium

We calculate the optical functions of Pd using the ab initio, all-electron Full Potential Linear Muffin Tin Orbital method within the framework of the Density Functional Theory in the Local Density approximation. We test, in the case of Pd, the convergence of the dielectric function and energy loss function in different energy ranges vs. the completeness of the basis and give a quantitative estimate of the accuracy. The present approach opens the possibility of extending the energy range where the optical functions can be calculated with good accuracy without increasing the computational effort. Received 4 September 2001     

Novel concept of electric discharge oxygen-iodine laser

A novel concept of discharge oxygen-iodine laser (DOIL) is presented. The supersonic DOIL includes a discharge singlet oxygen generator (DSOG) and discharge atomic iodine generator (DAIG). The operation of DSOG is based on a fast mixing of hybrid argon plasma jet of DC electric arc and RF discharge with a neutral molecular oxygen stream. The goal of our effort is achievement of DOIL oscillations by this new discharge technique, which should provide the singlet oxygen yields exceeding 30% at the total pressures higher than 10 torr. The DAIG operation is based on a cw/pulse RF discharge dissociation of iodine donors directly inside a laser iodine injector. This method substitutes the classic dissociation of molecular iodine by energy of singlet oxygen, which saves its energy for laser generation and so can increase the laser efficiency. The laser power could be thus enhanced by up to 25% if this method is employed in a chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) operation, and even 3 times in DOIL without increase in the iodine laser pumping by singlet oxygen.     

Asymptotic behaviour and general properties of harmonic generation susceptibilities

We use the Kubo response function formalism to derive the asymptotic behaviour of the harmonic generation susceptibilities to all orders n. The results show a stringent correspondence with the ones previously obtained from the classical anharmonic oscillator model. They are characterized by a dependence and a coefficient proportional to the trace of the (n+1)th derivative of the potential energy on the equilibrium density matrix. Using the above results we derive new Kramers-Kr?nig relations and sum rules for all orders of harmonics susceptibilities. Received 17 April 2000