Ultrasonic investigations on elastic properties of (Bi,Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu oxide ceramic superconductors

Ultrasonic velocities have been measured in single phaseBi_(1.7)Pb_(0.3)Sr_2 CaCu_2O_(8+x) and Bi_(1.7)Pb_(0.3)Sr_2Ca_2O_(10+x) polycrystalline samples.Anomalous changes of both longitudinal and transverse velocities wereobserved near 200K,which indicates that some structural phase transitiomight occur.The elastic constants of these samples have been determinedfrom the measured ultrasonic velocity data,which are much smaller thanthose of YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-y)and BaTiO_3,manifesting that the interlayer coup-ling will dramatically decrease when the c-axes of the unit cells of theseperovstite-like multilayer ceramics increase.The values of Poisson ratio,however,of those ceramics are very close,implying similar interatomicbonding forces.Corrected to void-free state,the Debye temperature ofthese materials is estirnated as 270±20k.The temperature dependence ofDebye temperatures for these materials is also calculated by using thesame method and reported for the first time.     

Zero—field—cooled and field—cooled magnetizations and magnetic susceptibility of itinerant ferromagnet SrRuO3

Zero-field-cooled(ZFC) magnetization,field-cooled(FC) magnetization,ac magnetic susceptibility and major hysteresis loops of itinerant ferromagnet SrRuO3 have been measured at magnetic ordering temperatures ranging from 5 to 160K.An empirical model is proposed to calculate the measured ZFC magnetization.The result indicates that the calculated ZFC magnetization compares well with the measured one.Based on the generalized Preisach model.both the ZFC and FC curves are reproduced by numerical simulations.The critical temperature and critical exponents are determined by measuring the ac magnetic susceptibility in different bias magnetic fields at temperatures in the vicinity of the point of phase transition.     

Dielectric and Pyroelectric Properties of （Pb0.50Sr0.50）TiO3 Ceramics

Lead strontium titanate （Pb0.50Sr0.50）TiO3 （PST） ceramics are prepared by the traditional ceramic processing. The dielectric constants and dielectric loss have been investigated in a temperature range from 25℃ to 300℃. The maximum dielectric constants for unpoled and poled samples are 9924 and 9683, respectively. The temperatures of phase transition for unpoled and poled samples are observed at 153℃ and 157℃, respectively. The phasetransition temperatures for unpoled and poled samples are not equal, which results from the polarization state of the domains. The remnant polarization and the coercive electric field are 18 uC/cm^2 and 6 kV/cm, respectively, from polarization-electric field （P - E） hysteresis loop. The temperature dependence of pyroelectric coefficients of the PST ceramics is measured by a dynamic technique. The dielectric constant and loss Lan δ of the poled PST ceramics are 813 and 0.010, respectively. The pyroelectric coefficients and figure of merit are 294 uC/cm^2 K and 13.6 × 10^-6 pa^-0.5, respectively, at room temperature 25℃and frequency lOOHz.     

Magnetism and magnetoresistance of Er1-xSmxMn6Ge6(x=0.2－1.0) compounds

Magnetic and transport properties of Er_{1-x}Sm_xMn_6Ge_6(x=0.2-1.0) have been investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and magnetization measurement. Analysis of the XRD patterns indicates that the samples with x≤0.4 mainly consist of HfFe_6Ge_6-type phase and the samples with 0.6≤x≤1.0 mainly consist of YCo_6Ge_6-type phase (P6/mmm). The lattice constants and the unit cell volume increase with increasing Sm content. The antiferro－ferri－ferromagnetic transitions can be observed with increasing Sm content. The samples with x=0.2 and 0.4 order antiferromagnetically at 420 and 425K, respectively. The samples with x=0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 order from ferri- to ferromagnetically over the whole magnetic ordering temperature range. The corresponding Curie temperatures are 435, 441 and 446K, respectively. The magnetoresistance (MR) isotherms of the sample with x=0.8, measured at various temperatures, are analysed. The magnitude of MR is found to be positive below 55K and gradually increases to a relatively large value of about 5.02% at 5K in a field of 5T as the temperature is lowered. A possible explanation for the positive MR is given.     

Optical properties of carbon nanotubes and BaTiO3 composite thin films

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and BaTiO₃ composite films have been prepared by pulsed-laser deposition technique at room temperature and high temperature of 600℃, separately. The structures of the composite films are investigated by using scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The optical behaviours of the samples produced at different temperatures are compared with Raman spectroscopy, and UV-visible absorption. And the observation by Z-scan technique reveals that the composite films have a larger optical nonlinearity, and the samples prepared at high temperatures have better transmittance and opposite sign imaginary part of optical third-order nonlinearity.     

Temperature effect on emission lines and fluorescence lifetime of the ~4F_(3/2) state of Nd:YVO_4

By measuring the absorption and fluorescence spectra and the fluorescence lifetime of 4F3/2 state of Nd3+ ions in YVO4 (2 at.-%) crystal at different temperature, the effects of temperature on the spectra and the lifetime of F3/2 state have been investigated. As the temperature is increased, the line width of the 4F3/2 -4I11/2 transitions is found to increase and the spectral line toward the longer wavelength, which are duo to the ion-phonon interaction. The variation fluorescence lifetime of the 4F3/2 state of Nd:YVO4 is found to be anomalous in the measured range 8 - 300 K. It is about 81 us at room temperature and decreases to 30 us at 8 K. The experimental results are explained by ascribing to the thermal mixing between the two Stark levels of 4F3/2 state with different lifetime.     

Critical behaviours and magnetic properties of three-dimensional bond and anisotropy dilution Blume——Capel model in the presence of an applied field

This paper studies the critical behaviours and magnetic properties of three-dimensional bond and anisotropy dilution Blume--Capel model (BCM) in the presence of an applied field within the effective field theory. The trajectory of tricritical point, reentrant transitions and degenerate patterns of anisotropy are obtained both for the bond and the anisotropy dilutions. The global phase diagrams demonstrate unusually reentrant phenomena. The temperature dependences of magnetization curves undergo remarkable spin glass behaviour at low temperatures, and transform from ferromagnetism to paramagnetism at high temperature in applied fields. Temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility curve is in qualitative agreement with experimental result.     

Shock Melting Temperature of Initially Porous Iron and Indication for Melting Curve of Iron at High Pressures

The melting curve of iron is crucial for modelling of the earth‘s internal heat structures and to understand melting of solids at high pressures. However, the measured melting temperatures of iron at high pressures are disparate so far. We measured the shocked interface (porous iron/sapphire window) temperatures of a kind of porous iron.By using a model for shock temperature measurement [High Pressures Res. 2 (1990) 159] and the previous results of sound velocity measurements [Chin. Phys. Lett. 18 (2001) 852], we determine the melting temperatures of iron at shock compression high pressures of 145 and 171 GPa. They are consistent with the results reported by other shock compression experiments. Based on the possible different melting mechanisms of iron in diamond anvil cell and in shock compression, the corrected melting temperatures of iron at high pressures become more consistent.     

Performance of optical amplifier employing silica host magnesium-aluminum-germanium co-doped erbium-doped fiber

Two silica host magnesium(Mg)-aluminum(Al)-germanium(Ge) co-doped erbium-doped fibers (EDFs) have been fabricated, which have different Mg concentrations. The concentration of all the compositions in the preform is measured through electronics probe micro analysis (EPMA). The maximum Mg concentrations of fibers A and B are 3.98 and 1.28 mol%, respectively. The performance characteristics including absorption spectrum and gain are measured and analyzed. The absorption coefficients of fibers A and B are 13.3 and 14.3 dB/m respectively at wavelength of 1532 nm. The max gains of these two erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are 30.1 and 35.9 dB with input signal power of -30 dBm and pump power of 100 mW at 980 nm. Fiber B with maximum Mg concentration 1.28 mol% has better performance than fiber A. Fiber B has high absorption coefficient and high gain characteristics. The optimum fiber B length of C-band EDFA is 7 m and that of L-Band EDFA is about 30 m, which is much shorter than standard commercial EDFAs.     

Critical exponents of ferroelectric transitions in modulated SrTiO3：Consequences of quantum fluctuations and quenched disorder

The ferroelectric transitions of several SrTiO3-based ferroelectrics are investigated experimentally and theoretically, with special attention to the critical scaling exponents associated with the phase transitions, in order to understand the competition among quantum fluctuations (QFs), quenched disorder, and ferroelectric ordering. Two representative systems with sufficiently strong QFs and quenched disorders in competition with the ferroelectric ordering are investigated. We start from non-stoichiometric SrTiO3(STO) with the Sr/Ti ratio deviating slightly from one, which is believed to maintain strong QFs. Then, we address Ba/Ca co-doped Sr1-x(Ca0.6389Ba0.3611)xTiO3(SCBT) with the averaged Sr-site ionic radius identical to the Sr2+ ionic radius, which is believed to offer remarkable quenched disorder associated with the Sr-site ionic mismatch. The critical exponents associated with polarization P and dielectric susceptibility ε, respectively, as functions of temperature T close to the critical point Tc, are evaluated. It is revealed that both non-stoichiometric SrTiO3 and SCBT exhibit much bigger critical exponents than the Landau mean-field theory predictions. These critical exponents then decrease gradually with increasing doping level or deviation of Sr/Ti ratio from one. A transverse Ising model applicable to the Sr-site doped STO (e.g., Sr1-xCaxTiO3) at low level is used to explain the observed experimental data. It is suggested that the serious deviation of these critical exponents from the Landau theory predictions in these STO-based systems is ascribed to the significant QFs and quenched disorder by partially suppressing the long-range spatial correlation of electric dipoles around the transitions. The present work thus sheds light on our understanding of the critical behaviors of ferroelectric transitions in STO in the presence of quantum fluctuations and quenched disorder, whose effects have been demonstrated to be remarkable.     

Analysis of the inhomogeneous barrier and phase composition of W/4H-SiC Schottky contacts formed at different annealing temperatures

The electrical characteristics of W/4H-SiC Schottky contacts formed at different annealing temperatures have been measured by using current-voltage-temperatures(I-V -T) and capacitance-voltage-temperatures(C-V -T) techniques in the temperature range of 25℃-175℃. The testing temperature dependence of the barrier height(BH) and ideality factor(n) indicates the presence of inhomogeneous barrier. Tung's model has been applied to evaluate the degree of inhomogeneity, and it is found that the 400℃ annealed sample has the lowest T0 of 44.6 K among all the Schottky contacts. The barrier height obtained from C-V -T measurement is independent of the testing temperature, which suggests a uniform BH.The x-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis shows that there are two kinds of space groups of W when it is deposited or annealed at lower temperature(≤500℃). The phase of W_2C appears in the sample annealed at 600℃, which results in the low BH and the high T_0. The 500℃ annealed sample has the highest BH at all testing temperatures, indicating an optimal annealing temperature for the W/4H-SiC Schottky rectifier for high-temperature application.     

Practical absorption limits of MPP absorber

The construction and properties of microperforated panel (MPP) absorber are discussed. The absorption limit of the absorber had been shown that low values of the perforate constant k = d(f/10)1/2 and the orifice diameter d (in mm) are essential for MPP to have high absorption in wide frequency band. To find the exact limits, take 1 for k as a start, because both specific resistance and high absorption require k around one. And the orifice diameter d is chosen as 0.1 mm, so that the peak absorption coefficient (resonance absorption) is at 1000 Hz, and high sound frequency may be in the absorption region. Is it possible for a single layer of such an MPP to cover the whole absorption region required in practice? The half-absorption limit is not a good criterion, because low absorption comes in also in some cases. The 0.5 absorption coefficient limit is suggested for practical region, as a standard for comparison. Absorption curves were drawn for different load resistances, of absorption coefficients versus frequency. Ordinary MPP absorber absorbs in slightly over two octaves, and the new absorber with r = 1 (specific resistance equal to the characteristic impedance in air)is slightly better than these, 2.5 octaves. The new absorbers with r > 1, are much better than these, and some satisfies high absorption in broad frequency range. Realization of these will mean great progress of MPP absorbers.     

Characterization of structural transitions and lattice dynamics of hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite CH_3NH_3PbI_3

By combining temperature-dependent x-ray diffraction(XRD) with temperature-dependent Raman scattering, we have characterized the structural transitions and lattice dynamics of the hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite CH_3NH_3PbI_3.The XRD measurements cover distinct phases between 15 K and 370 K and demonstrate a general positive thermal expansion.Clear anomalies are found around the transition temperatures.The temperature evolution of the lattice constants reveals that the transition at 160 K/330 K is of the first-/second-order type.Raman measurements uncover three strong lowfrequency modes, which can be ascribed to the vibration of the Pb/I atoms.The temperature evolution of the modes clearly catches these transitions at 160 K and 330 K, and confirms the transition types, which are exactly consistent with the XRD results.The present study may set an experimental basis to understand the high conversion efficiency in methylammonium lead iodide.     

Thermally Stable Guest-Host Polyetherketone Poled Polymer for Electro-Optical Applications

The high glass transition temperature polymer polyetherketone doped with disperse red 13 (DR13/PEK-c) has been prepared by the spin-coating method.Through in situ second-harmonic generation,the corona poling temperature was optimized by measuring the temperature dependence of the in situ second-harmonic generation signal intensity under the poling electric field.The linear electro-optic coefficients of the poled polymer films have been determined at 632.8 nm by using a simple interferometric technique.The polymer system was measured after 13000h,and found that it remained at 80% of its initial value.     

Evolution of structure and physical properties in Al-substituted Ba-hexaferrites

The investigations of the crystal and magnetic structures of the Ba Fe12-xAlx O19(x = 0.1–1.2) solid solutions have been performed with powder neutron diffractometry. Magnetic properties of the Ba Fe12-xAlx O19(x = 0.1–1.2) solid solutions have been measured by vibration sample magnetometry at different temperatures under different magnetic fields.The atomic coordinates and lattice parameters have been Rietveld refined. The invar effect is observed in low temperature range(from 4.2 K to 150 K). It is explained by the thermal oscillation anharmonicity of atoms. The increase of microstress with decreasing temperature is found from Rietveld refinement. The Curie temperature and the change of total magnetic moment per formula unit are found for all compositions of the Ba Fe12-xAlx O19(x = 0.1–1.2) solid solutions. The magnetic structure model is proposed. The most likely reasons and the mechanism of magnetic structure formation are discussed.     

Intra-acceptor hole relaxation in Be δ-doped GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells

This paper studies the dynamics of intra-acceptor hole relaxation in Be δ -doped GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells (MQW) with doping at the centre by time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy using a picosecond free electron laser for infrared experiments. Low temperature far-infrared absorption measurements clearly show three principal absorption lines due to transitions of the Be acceptor from the ground state to the first three odd-parity excited states respectively. The pump-probe experiments are performed at different temperatures and different pump pulse wavelengths. The hole relaxation time from 2p excited state to 1s ground state in MQW is found to be much shorter than that in bulk GaAs, and shown to be independent of temperature but strongly dependent on wavelength. The zone-folded acoustic phonon emission and slower decay of the wavefunctions of impurity states are suggested to account for the reduction of the 2p excited state lifetime in MQW. The wavelength dependence of the 2p lifetime is attributed to the diffusion of the Be atom δ -layer in quantum wells.     

OH-1 absorption bands of LiNbO3 with varying composition

This paper reports that OHabsorption bands of lithium niobate crystal have been measured at room temperature, and the band shape depending on the crystal composition has been observed. The OHabsorption bands are fitted with three Lorentzian peaks by varying position, halfwidth, and height. Nearly constant peak positions (3468, 3481 and 3490 cm-1) are obtained for all samples. It shows that the height and area of the decomposed peaks vary with the Li composition in a complex way. However, the combinations of these fitting parameters show a linear dependence on the composition up to nearly 50 mol%, which is very useful for the composition determination in a wide range. The linear relationships between the parameter combinations and Li composition are also presented quantitatively. In addition, the explanations were given for the excellent composition linearity of parameter combinations.     

Molecular dynamics study for the melting curve of MgO at high pressure

Shell-model molecular dynamics method is used to study the melting temperatures of MgO at elevated temperatures and high pressures using interaction potentials. Equations of state for MgO simulated by molecular dynamics are in good agreement with available experimental data. The pressure dependence of the melting curve of MgO has been calculated. The surface melting and superheating are considered in the correction of experimental data and the calculated values, respectively. The results of corrections are compared with those of previous work. The corrected melting temperature of MgO is consistent with corrected experimental measurements. The melting temperature of MgO up to 140GPa is calculated.     

Fabrication of Microstructures in LiF Crystals by a Femtosecond Laser

We report the space-selective formation of colour centres and refractive index change in LiF crystals at room temperature by an 800nm Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser irradiation. Optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra have been measured for the crystal before and after the laser irradiation. The absorption spectra indicate F and F3^ colour centres are induced in LiF after the laser irradiation. When the temperature of heat treatment reaches 300℃, the absorption peak disappears, indicating that the induced colour centres are bleached. The induced refractive index change is also evaluated. A mechanism for the formation of colour centres and refractive index change is proposed.     

Energy feedback and synchronous dynamics of Hindmarsh–Rose neuron model with memristor

We analyze the energy aspects of single and coupled Hindmarsh–Rose(HR) neuron models with a quadratic flux controlled memristor. The energy function for HR neuron with memristor has been derived and the dynamics have been analyzed in the presence of various external stimuli. We found that the bursting mode of the system changes with external forcing. The negative feedback in Hamilton energy function effectively stabilizes the chaotic trajectories and controls the phase space. The Lyapunov exponents have been plotted to verify the stabilization of trajectories. The energy aspects during the synchronous dynamics of electrically coupled neurons have been analyzed. As the coupling strength increases, the average energy fluctuates and stabilizes at the point of synchronization. When the neurons are coupled via chemical synapse,the average energy variations show three important regimes: a fluctuating regime corresponding to the desynchronized, a stable region indicating synchronized and a linearly increasing regime corresponding to the amplitude death states have been observed. The synchronization transitions are verified by plotting the transverse Lyapunov exponents. The proposed method has a large number of applications in controlling coupled chaotic systems and in analyzing the energy change during various metabolic processes.