Crystal chirality and optical rotation sense in isomorphous Bi12SiO20 and Bi12GeO20

Laevorotatory crystals of isomorphous Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ and Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ are shown, by use of the anomalous X-ray scattering component in the structure amplitudes, to have identical chirality (handedness of atomic arrangement) in contrast with the case of NaC10₃ and NaBrO₃, in which crystals of the same chirality rotate plane polarized light in opposite senses.     

中子非弹性散射对Bi12GeO20和Bi12SiO20旋声性的研究

通过用中子非弹性散射测量旋声晶体高对称方向的横声学支声子色散曲线的劈裂,从三个方面研究了同构异质晶体Bi₁₂GeO₂₀和Bi₁₂SiO₂₀的旋声特性。值得注意的是,沿〈111〉方向传播的左旋、右旋圆偏振声子具有不同的衰减。其中传播速度快的圆偏振声子衰减较大,该结论为这两种晶体所证实,这是在晶体旋声性研究中首次观察到的现象。实验还直接确定了衰减较大的这支声子的寿命约为2×10^-11S。 关键词：     

Reversible photochromic effects in doped single crystals of bismuth germanium (Bi12GeO20) and bismuth silicon oxide (Bi12SiO20)

Absorption of Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ and Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ single crystals doped with Mn and Cr were investigated before and after illumination with visible light. Pronounced photochromic effects were found. The effects are explained in terms of light induced charge transfer Mn⁴⁺→Mn⁵⁺ and Cr³⁺→Cr²⁺.     

Light-induced charge transfer processes in Mn-doped Bi12GeO20 and Bi12SiO20 single crystals

The optical absorption and ESR spectra of Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ and B₁₂SiO₂₀ doped with Mn have been measured before and after illumination with visible light. Uniaxial stress measurements on a sharp line observed at 8026 cm^?1 were performed. The observed ESR spectrum is a superposition of six lines resulting from the hyperfine interaction of manganese ions in tetrahedral positions. The g-factor and hyperfine constant are g = 1.999 ± 0.003 and A = 78 Gs. Analysis of the light-induced absorption spectrum leads to the conclusion that a small hole polaron bound to an Mn impurity at a tetrahedral site is responsible for the very broad absorption band which appears after illumination. The sharp line is interpreted as due to a transition inside the Mn⁺ center in tetrahedral coordination. Bands in the region 10,000–16,000 cm^?1 are due to Mn³⁺ centers in interstitial positions, whose symmetry can be treated to a first approximation as tetragonal. The following crystal field parameters for this center were found: B = 565 cm^?1, Dq = 1400 cm^?1, Dt = ?330 cm^?1, Ds = 4170 cm^?1 and C = 2260 cm^?1. The illumination conditions which are needed for homogeneous coloration of the sample are also discussed.     

Real-time image subtraction in four-wave mixing with photorefractive Bi12GeO20 crystals

Based on a classical two-exposure holographic technique, real-time image subtraction is obtained in four-wave mixing of a reflection hologram type with highly sensitive photorefractive Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ crystals. This method takes advantage of the relatively slow response and erasure times of holographic recording in Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ crystals.     

Polarization characteristics of volume holograms in Bi12SiO20

The polarization sensitivity of holographic recording in Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ is experimentally studied. The shape of the obtained curves depends on the magnitude of the applied electric field, crystal thickness, spatial frequency of the recorded gratings, and the order of diffraction.     

Light diffraction and nonlinear image processing in electrooptic Bi12SiO20 crystals

Some characteristic peculiarities of the volume phase holograms in a high-sensitive electrooptic Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ crystals such as polarization properties of the diffracted light beam and nonlinear phenomena in the stationary stage of the hologram formation are investigated. Spatial frequency mixing or combinational hologram writing by means of non-linearity of the holographic process is discussed as a new promising technique of the volume holography. In particular two important problems of Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ crystals: nondestructive readout at the wavelength different from that of the writing beams and correlation analysis of complex two-dimensional pictures can be solved by this method.     

Light induced charge transfer processes in Cr doped Bi12GeO20 and Bi12SiO20 single crystals

Optical absorption and ESR spectra of Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ doped with Cr were measured before and after illumination with visible light. It was found that Cr⁴⁺ ions in tetrahedral position are responsible for light induced ESR and optical spectra. The g-factor of the center is 1.945 ± 0.002. Crystal field parameters for the Cr⁴⁺ center are D_q = 820 cm^?1 and B = 429cm^?1. The photochromic effect is explained in terms of a Cr⁵⁺?Cr⁴⁺ charge transfer process.     

Temperature dependent Raman scattering in polycrystalline Bi4Ti3O12 thin films

Polycrystalline Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ thin films were prepared on quartz substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The films were crystallized in the orthorhombic layer perovskite structure confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The Raman spectra are strongly dependent on temperature. A subtle phase transition in the temperature range 473-573 K exists in polycrystalline BTO thin films, which is evidenced by the disappearance of the Raman band at 116 cm⁻¹ and appearance of a new Raman band at 151 cm⁻¹. The two broad Raman bands centered at the 57 and 93 cm⁻¹ at 300 K break up into clusters of several sharp Raman peaks at 77 K, due to monoclinic distortion of orthorhombic structure at low temperature in the as-prepared Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ thin films.     

Bi12GeO20晶体的位错蚀斑与对称群

用化学浸蚀法系统的研究了Bi₁₂GeO₂₀晶体{100},{100},{111}等晶面独特浸蚀斑规律并用对称群理论进行分析.理论预示的蚀斑形态与实验结果符合很好.显示位错蚀斑是由{112}晶面组成,即晶体的惯态面为{112}.     

“Running” holograms in photorefractive Bi12SiO20 crystals

It is shown that under uniform illumination and application of an external electric field, a phase volume hologram in a photorefractive crystal exists in the form of relaxing running wave. Effective recording of such a running hologram is possible only by an interference pattern moving synchronously with the recorded grating. The physical nature of this phenomenon, the possible enhancement of the hologram diffraction efficiency upon recording of a running pattern and the main factors limiting its value are discussed for the case of photorefractive Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ crystals.     

Temperature-dependent far-infrared properties of Bi12GeO20 single crystal

Far-infrared reflectivity spectra of bismuth germanium oxide (Bi12GeO20) single crystals are measured from room temperature down to 10 K. All the reflectivity spectra are fitted to a complex dielectric function ε(ω) in the factorised form. Phonon modes at low frequency are found to develop upon decreasing temperature and gain considerable spectrum weight below 150 K. The temperature-dependent static dielectric constants are obtained from the Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation based on the obtained oscillator parameters. The dielectric constants are found to increase upon decreasing temperature, which is attributed to the charge transfer among the ions in the unit cell with the temperature varying.     

Real-time image division in four-wave mixing with photorefractive Bi12GeO20 crystals

Real-time image division is obtained by using four-wave mixing of a reflection hologram type with photorefractive Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ crystals. This method utilizes the nonlinear characteristic of four-wave mixing which reverses the phase of the incident wave.     

Faraday rotation measurement with photorefractive Bi12TiO20: comment

In a recent paper (Opt. Laser Technol. 34 (2002) 605) Anand and Narayanamurthy described a method for measurement of Faraday rotations using a photorefractive Bi₁₂TiO₂₀. The effects they observed have nothing to do with the source intensity nor with the photorefractive nature of the crystal. The same effect could be obtained without the use of a photorefractive crystal by simple rotation of the analyzer.     

Investigation of photo-induced absorption in a Bi12TiO20 crystal

A photorefractive Bi₁₂TiO₂₀ (BTO) crystal is exposed with high intensity pulsed-laser beams 532 nm (the average intensity of the laser was 110 mW/cm², the average intensity per pulse was 2 MW/cm²), and the photo-induced dynamics of the absorption between 480 and 900 nm are studied and explained by two long-lived energy levels in the forbidden band. The relaxation times of the long-lived energy levels are experimentally found to be 10⁴ and 10⁵ s. The hysteresis character of the absorption coefficient is discussed. PACS  42.70.Mp; 42.70.Gi     

Analysis of reflectivity spectrum and band structure of Bi12GeO20

The fundamental reflectivity spectrum in the energy range 1.5–8.5 eV is reported for Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ (BGO) single crystals. From a Kramers-Kronig analysis the optical constants of BGO are computed. An energy level scheme for interband optical transitions is proposed. A value of 0.7 eV for the spin-orbit splitting of the valence band is suggested. Some features of the band structure are discussed, and the correlations between the band structures of BGO and A₂^VB₃^VI-compounds are indicated. The experimental premises for possible simplifications of a theoretical calculation of the band structure are given.     

Transient energy transfer between writing beams during hologram formation in Bi12GeO20

A large transient energy transfer between writing beams during volume phase-hologram formation in Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ has been observed. The variation of the energy transfer by applying an external field and by changing the fringe spacing of the elementary holograms have been measured and described in the framework of Kukhtarevs nonlinear theory of transient self-diffraction. The results indicate that the transient energy transfer in Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ is due to a non-stationary phase mismatch between the intensity- and refractive index grating caused by photoconductivity and that the transient energy transfer increases with increasing fringe spacing and increasing applied electric field. Up to ten-fold amplification of coherent beams has been measured, corresponding to an exponential gain of Г = 2 cm^-1. A continuous energy transfer has been observed when the phase between recording beams was changed linearly with time during recording. It is shown that light is coherently amplified for electric field strengths larger than 2.3 kV/cm and that a peak amplification factor of Г₁ = 2 cm^-1 has been reached for E₀ = 11 kV/cm.     

Dynamic moiré patterns produced by sinusoidal gratings superposition in the Bi12 TiO20 crystal

In the present note a real-time holographic moire-like pattern is shown. It is produced by the superposition of two rotated sinusoidal phase gratings and the result represents a promising technique for possible metrological applications. The experiments were performed in a diffusion-only recording mechanism in a photorefractive Bi₁₂TiO₂₀ crystal illuminated by λ = 0.633 μm from a HeNe laser light source.     

Interferometric generation of dark spatial solitons in a photorefractive Bi12TiO20 crystal

We present an interferometric way to generate dark spatial solitons by propagating two coherent beams in a photorefractive Bi₁₂TiO₂₀ crystal under application of an external electric field. Our results shown that the initial width, initial separation, and relative phase between the beams allow to control the type of dark soliton generated.     

Rapid microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of Bi12TiO20 hierarchical architecture with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities

Flower-like Bi₁₂TiO₂₀ hierarchical nanostructures composed of numerous nanobelts were synthesized at 180 °C within 1 h by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) for the first time. The as-prepared products were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy. Furthermore, the hierarchical Bi₁₂TiO₂₀ nanostructures exhibited higher photocatalytic activities in the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible-light irradiation than that of the samples prepared without CTAB. In addition, the role of CTAB cationic surfactant has been investigated thoroughly and a possible mechanism is proposed.