A new lubrication equation for ultra-thin gas film in hard disk drives

To overcome the complicated and time-consuming difficulties of current models, a new lubrication equation based on boundary velocity slip model for solving the ultra-thin film gas lubrication in hard disk drives is proposed by adopting the nanoscale effect function, Np. The present model is easy to calculate and applicable at nanoscale.The results of numerical calculations indicate that the present model produces a close approximation to that of the exact Boltzmann model.     

Negatron effects in CdSe1 − x Te x and ZnS1−x Se x films

Various negatron effects in films of alloys of II–VI compounds deposited from solutions as a function of the deposition mode and heat treatment are studied. It is found that the negative photocapacitance effect, which was first discovered in ZnS_1?x Se _x films, and the slowly relaxing negative photoelectric effects, which are caused by the transition of electrons located in a nanoscale surface layer from the shallow energy levels of trapping centers to deeper levels with a lower polarizability and by the presence of nanoscale clusters in these materials, which play the role of a “reservoir” for minority charge carriers, occur according to a single mechanism. A model to explain the basic laws of negative photoconductivity in CdSe_{1 ? x} Te _x films deposited from a solution is proposed. Negative residual conductivity is explained in terms of double-barrier relief model, while negative differential photoconductivity is attributed to the presence of nanoscale electric domains.     

Energy dissipation in fracture of bulk metallic glasses via inherent competition between local softening and quasi-cleavage

Compression, tension and high-velocity plate impact experiments were performed on a typical tough Zr_41.2Ti_13.8Cu₁₀Ni_12.5Be_22.5 (Vit 1) bulk metallic glass (BMG) over a wide range of strain rates from ～10^?4 to 10⁶ s^?1. Surprisingly, fine dimples and periodic corrugations on a nanoscale were also observed on dynamic mode I fracture surfaces of this tough Vit 1. Taking a broad overview of the fracture patterning of specimens, we proposed a criterion to assess whether the fracture of BMGs is essentially brittle or plastic. If the curvature radius of the crack tip is greater than the critical wavelength of meniscus instability [F. Spaepen, Acta Metall. 23 615 (1975); A.S. Argon and M. Salama, Mater. Sci. Eng. 23 219 (1976)], microscale vein patterns and nanoscale dimples appear on crack surfaces. However, in the opposite case, the local quasi-cleavage/separation through local atomic clusters with local softening in the background ahead of the crack tip dominates, producing nanoscale periodic corrugations. At the atomic cluster level, energy dissipation in fracture of BMGs is, therefore, determined by two competing elementary processes, viz. conventional shear transformation zones (STZs) and envisioned tension transformation zones (TTZs) ahead of the crack tip. Finally, the mechanism for the formation of nanoscale periodic corrugation is quantitatively discussed by applying the present energy dissipation mechanism.     

Uptake and Sequestration of Naphthalene and 1,2-Dichlorobenzene by C60

The interactions of common environmental contaminants with C₆₀ have been studied to evaluate the environmental impact of carbon nanomaterials. The adsorption and desorption interaction of the hydrophobic contaminants naphthalene and 1,2-dichlorobenzene with C₆₀ was characterized. Processes that cause the wetting and disaggregating of C₆₀ particles also affect the extent of organic contaminant sorption to C₆₀ aggregates by orders of magnitude. C₆₀ dissolved in organic solvents such as toluene can form stable nanoscale aggregates upon vigorous mixing in water. These nanoscale C₆₀ particles form stable suspensions in water and are referred to as ‘nano-C₆₀’. Desorption of contaminants from stable suspensions of nano-C₆₀ exhibits hysteresis. The experimentally observed adsorption/desorption hysteresis is described by a two-compartment desorption model: first, adsorption to the external surfaces that are in contact with water, and second, adsorption to the internal surfaces within the aggregates.     

Enhanced etching of silicon didioxide guided by carbon nanotubes in HF solution

This paper describes a new method to create nanoscale SiO₂ pits or channels using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in an HF solution at room temperature within a few seconds. Using aligned SWNT arrays, a pattern of nanoscale SiO₂ channels can be prepared. The nanoscale SiO₂ patterns can also be created on the surface of three-dimensional (3D) SiO₂ substrate and even the nanoscale trenches can be constructed with arbitrary shapes. A possible mechanism for this enhanced etching of SiO₂ has been qualitatively analysed using defects in SWNTs, combined with H₃O⁺ electric double layers around SWNTs in an HF solution.     

A study of the 42CrMo4 steel surface by quantitative XPS electron spectroscopy

Quantitative X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to characterize the native oxide film formed on 42CrMo4 steel surface by air exposure in normal conditions. In order to determine the thickness and composition of the oxide layer we have used a stacking layer model together with experimental XPS sputtering depth profiling. At a nanoscale study, to obtain quantitative results one must take into account fundamental parameters like the attenuation depth of photoelectrons. We have found that both lepidocrocit (γ-FeOOH) and magnetite (Fe₃O₄) were present and the total thickness of the oxide layer was 16 monolayers.     

Numerical study of nanoscale lubrication and friction at solid interfaces

This study investigates lubrication and related frictional phenomena on the nanoscale using numerical simulations. Two models of lubrication, a two-layer and a three-layer, are considered, and for the three-layer model, a lubricant layer is introduced between the two solids. The kinetic frictional force shows resonance behaviour caused by multi-phonon excitations at the interface. It is found that these frictional effects cause a peculiar stick-slip motion of the driven plate and lubricants.     

Transformation of ferrihydrite to goethite and then to maghemite in a mixed FeCl2/NaOH solution

Ferrihydrite (Fe₅O₇(OH)·4H₂O) is poorly crystalline hydrated ferric oxyhydroxide. Using a treatment in a mixed FeCl₂/NaOH solution, we attempted to prepare magnetic nanoscale particles from ferrihydrite. During the treatment, the concentration of FeCl₂ was fixed at 0.1 M, and the concentration of NaOH was varied from 0.09 to 0.26 M. The as-prepared products were characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The experimental results showed that under the FeCl₂/NaOH solution treatment, the ferrihydrite transformed into nanoscale γ-Fe₂O₃ via an α-FeO(OH) intermediate phase. The as-prepared products contained rod-type α-FeO(OH), sphere-type γ-Fe₂O_3, and flake-type γ-Fe₂O₃ particles. A mechanism for a coupling of the aggregation and the transition was proposed to interpret the formation of highly crystalline nanoscale particles from the poorly crystalline smaller particles.     

A dynamic rheological model for thin-film lubrication

In this study, the effects of the non-Newtonian rheological properties of the lubricant in a thin-film lubrication regime between smooth surfaces were investigated. The thin-film lubrication regime typically appears in Stribeck curves with a clearly observable minimum coefficient of friction (COF) and a low-COF region, which is desired for its lower energy dissipation. A dynamic rheology of the lubricant from the hydrodynamic lubrication regime to the thin-film lubrication regime was proposed based on the convected Maxwell constitutive equation. This rheology model includes the increased relaxation time and the yield stress of the confined lubricant thin film, as well as their dependences on the lubricant film thickness. The Deborah number (De number) was adopted to describe the liquid-solid transition of the confined lubricant thin film under shearing. Then a series of Stribeck curves were calculated based on Tichy's extended lubrication equations with a perturbation of the De number. The results show that the minimum COF points in the Stribeck curve correspond to a critical De number of 1.0, indicating a liquid-to-solid transition of the confined lubricant film. Furthermore, the two proposed parameters in the dynamic rheological model, namely negative slipping length b (indicating the lubricant interfacial effect) and the characteristic relaxation time λ 0 , were found to determine the minimum COF and the width of the low-COF region, both of which were required to optimize the shape of the Stribeck curve. The developed dynamic rheological model interprets the correlation between the rheological and interfacial properties of lubricant and its lubrication behavior in the thin-film regime.     

Resonant scattering of nonequilibrium phonons (<Emphasis Type="Italic">λ</Emphasis><Subscript>ph</Subscript> = 10–50 nm) in nanostructured ceramics based on YSZ + Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> composites

Specific features of the transport of weakly nonequilibrium thermal phonons (λ _ph = 10–50 nm) in nanoscale ceramics at a transition from micro-to nanosizes have been investigated. On the basis of the model of spherical shells randomly distributed in space and modeling grain boundaries, whose elastic properties differ from the elastic properties of grains, features of the phonon spectrum in the wavelength range λ _ph ～ R _g have been studied. The conditions leading to the occurrence of a gap in the phonon spectrum of nanoscale materials are analyzed. It is shown that the position of the top gap edge in the phonon spectrum is determined to a large extent by the structure of phase boundaries, while the presence of inclusions (pores, other phases) with characteristic sizes smaller than that of grains of the main ceramic material shifts the gap to high frequencies in the phonon spectrum. Temperature dependences of the diffusion coefficient of nonequilibrium phonons near the top gap edge in the phonon spectrum have been measured for multiphase ceramics based on YSZ + 14.3% Al₂O₃ composites.     

Planarization of a surface of nanoporous silica–titania composition by atomic-molecular chemical assembly

The processes involved in the planarization of the surface of nanoporous SiO₂ by the atomicmolecular deposition of nanoscale TiO₂ films were studied in regimes with different degrees of penetration of TiO₂ into SiO₂ nanopores. The technological process parameters that correspond to different regimes of surface planarization were examined. The degree of penetration of TiO₂ into SiO₂ nanopores was monitored using reflection ellipsometry by measuring the depth distribution of the refraction index within the two-layer model.     

Detonation models of fast combustion waves in nanoscale Al-MoO3 bulk powder media

The combustion of nanometric aluminum (Al) powder with an oxidiser such as molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃) is studied analytically. This study focuses on detonation wave models and a Chapman-Jouget detonation model provides reasonable agreement with experimentally-observed wave speeds provided that multiphase equilibrium sound speeds are applied at the downstream edge of the detonation wave. The results indicate that equilibrium sound speeds of multiphase mixtures can play a critical role in determining speeds of fast combustion waves in nanoscale Al-MoO₃ powder mixtures.     

Shape effect on the size and dimension dependent order-disorder transition temperatures of bimetallic alloys

Chemically ordered bimetallic nanocrystals may be promising candidates for the future magnetic-storage applications. In order to theoretically understand the order-disorder transition in nanoscale, a model based on the previous result for the size and dimension dependent melting temperature is developed to describe the effects of sizes, shapes and dimensions on order-disorder transition temperatures (T_OD) of bimetallic alloys. The results show that T_OD drops as size decreases, shape factor increases and dimension decreases. Also, the shape effect on T_OD cannot be neglected. Among these effects on T_OD, size is the strongest, while shape is the weakest. All these conclusions have been compared and confirmed by the recent simulations and experiments.     

Restricted Three Body Problems at the Nanoscale

In this paper, we investigate some of the classical restricted three body problems at the nanoscale, such as the circular planar restricted problem for three C₆₀ fullerenes, and a carbon atom and two C₆₀ fullerenes. We model the van der Waals forces between the fullerenes by the Lennard–Jones potential. In particular, the pairwise potential energies between the carbon atoms on the fullerenes are approximated by the continuous approach, so that the total molecular energy between two fullerenes can be determined analytically. Since we assume that such interactions between the molecules occur at sufficiently large distance, the classical three body problems analysis is legitimate to determine the collective angular velocity of the two and three C₆₀ fullerenes at the nanoscale. We find that the maximum collective angular velocity of the two and three fullerenes systems reach the terahertz range and we also determine the stationary points and the points which have maximum velocity for the carbon atom, for the carbon atom and the two fullerenes system.     

Spin domain mapping of a CrO2 thin film using spin-polarized current microscopy

We investigate spin domain mapping of a CrO₂ thin film using spin-polarized current microscopy at room temperature, where conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) with a CrO₂-coated tip is used. The nanoscale spin domains of the CrO₂ thin film were crosschecked by magnetic force microscopy (MFM). Notably, the CAFM exhibits the spin domains of the CrO₂ thin film with higher resolution than the MFM, which may result from a local point contact between the nanoscale CrO₂-coated tip and surface of the CrO₂ thin film.     

Evidence for anisotropic atomic displacements and orbital distribution in the inhomogeneous CuO2 plane of the Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ system

We have used a combination of the Cu K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), and the Cu L-edge X-ray absorption measurements, with polarization vector parallel to the two orthogonal Cu–O–Cu bonds, to explore the directional instantaneous atomic displacements and the orbital distribution within the heterogeneaous CuO₂ plane of the Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ (Bi2212) system. The results show an anisotropic Cu–O bond distribution, measured by the EXAFS in the two directions, and reveal large anisotropy of the unoccupied Cu 3d orbitals. The outcome of the present measurements is consistent with the nanoscale heterogeneities with coexisting electronic components.     

Characterization of oxide thin films using optical techniques

Thin films of oxide materials are playing a growing role as critical elements in optoelectronic devices and nanoscale devices. In this work, thin films of some typical oxides such as WO₃, Ga₂O₃ and SrTiO₃ were investigated. We present measurements of those films, using various optical techniques like photoconductivity transients over a wide time range and photo-Hall measurements. Analysis of the photo-Hall and photoconductivity data permits the determination of the contribution to the photoconductivity made by the carrier mobility and concentration. A model for dispersive carrier transport was proposed to explain the relaxation of the photoconductivity in oxide thin films. In addition, photoluminescence characterization was used to study microstructures and energy band in oxide thin films. The broad emission from oxide host, consisting of several band peaks, was likely due to a recombination process with several possible paths. The dependence of the luminescent intensity on the annealing atmosphere was associated with the presence of oxygen vacancies. It is suggested that our optical analysis efforts have improved the understanding of oxide thin films, and this should lead to the necessary advancements in a variety of devices.     

Effective boundary slip and wetting characteristics of water on substrates with effects of surface morphology

ABSTRACT

In the present study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was used to investigate the relationship between wetting behaviour and slip length on patterned substrates. We adopted two solid surfaces of Si(100) and graphite due to similarities in their intrinsic contact angle. Contact angle and apparent slip length were obtained using discrete simulations with the same thermodynamic states. In the present study, a number of questions regarding surface roughness and the problem of contact angle (θ) and slip length (L_s) are discussed. These questions include the relationship between θ and surface roughness, the characteristics used to describe the difference between static and dynamic fluid fields and the reason for a lack of multilayer sticking observed in the current cases. Our results indicate that the quasi-universal θ ? L_s equation proposed by Hung et al. (2008) is applicable to cases involving a Cassie-like nanoscale roughened surface. In contrast, in cases with a Wenzel-like nanostructure, the no-slip boundary conditions are independent of variations in the contact angle. The adoption of a Wenzel–Cassie hybrid model helped to verify that the fluid density inside the cavity is a critical indicator of wettability of the wall–fluid interface. Our results also demonstrate that ρ_{f, cav} is a critical property in the measurement of hydrodynamic effects and thus its importance as an indicator of the validity of the equation θ ? L_s. The average time that water molecules are trapped and the number of averaged hydrogen bonds within cavities in a dynamic fluid field were also investigated.