Meniscus instability in a thin elastic film

A new kind of meniscus instability leading to the formation of stationary fingers with a well-defined spacing has been observed in experiments with elastomeric films confined between a plane rigid glass and a thin curved glass plate. The wavelength of the instability increases linearly with the thickness of the confined film, but it is remarkably insensitive to the compliance and the energetics of the system. However, lateral amplitude (length) of the fingers depends on the compliance of the system and on the radius of curvature of the glass plate. A simple linear stability analysis is used to explain the underlying physics and the key observed features of the instability.     

Decay processes of photoluminescence in a nanocrystalline SiC thin film

Nanocrystalline (nc)-SiC film has been deposited by helicon wave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique and intense blue-white light emission is obtained. Microstructure analyses show that the 3C–SiC particles are embed in amorphous SiC matrix, and the average size of the nc-SiC is 3.96 nm. The photon energy of the main photoluminescence (PL) band is higher than the band gap of bulk SiC, which indicates that the optical emission mainly occurs in quantum states of 3C–SiC nanocrystals. In addition, the band tail states of amorphous SiC also contribute to the optical emission. Three decay processes are obtained from time-resolved PL spectra by deconvolution treatment, and the decay components correspond to the quantum confinement effect (QCE), surface states of nc-SiC particles, and band tail of amorphous SiC, respectively. The fractional integrated PL intensity of QCE related decay process decreases dramatically in the lower PL photon energy, indicating that the QCE mainly contributes to the short wavelength optical emission.     

Measurement of the dynamic elastic constants of short isotropic cylinders

A method based on a single test is proposed to characterize the elasticity of an isotropic homogeneous material in the shape of a cylinder of any slenderness (length-diameter) ratio. Firstly, the Rayleigh-Ritz method is used to determine the natural frequencies of the cylinders vibrating axisymmetrically. The study is focused on cylindrical samples with diameter and length of similar magnitude so that the shear modulus and the Poisson ratio can be calculated simultaneously. Subsequently, the theoretical results for cylinders of slenderness ratio between 0.1 and 3 are analyzed in order to obtain the data required to determine the elastic constants from one of the two lowest measured natural frequencies and their quotient. The analysis of the results demonstrates that any slenderness ratio is useful in the calculation of the elastic constants, although in some cases the third natural frequency should be used. Furthermore, the influence of the length-diameter quotient on the sensitivity of the method is analyzed by evaluating the systematic uncertainties for both dynamic elastic constants. Finally, the method is experimentally tested by characterizing two steel cylinders with slenderness ratios 0.1 and 1, respectively. The results demonstrate that uncertainties for both Poisson ratio and the shear modulus are smaller when the slenderness ratio is 1.     

Morphological effects on surface-plasmon-polariton waves at the planar interface of a metal and a columnar thin film

A theoretical study predicts that surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) waves may propagate along the interface of a columnar thin film (CTF) and a metal over a range of propagation directions relative to the morphology of the CTF. The range of propagation directions depends on the tilt of the columns in the CTF. The phase speed of the SPP wave varies mainly as a function of the tilt of the CTF columns. Both the confinement of the SPP wave to the interface and the decay of the SPP wave along the direction of propagation depend strongly on the direction of propagation relative to the morphologically significant plane of the CTF. The greater the columnar tilt in relation to the interface, the shorter is the range of propagation. Because of CTF porosity and the ability to engineer this biaxial dielectric material, the CTF–metal interface may be more attractive for sensor applications than the traditional dielectric–metal interface used for SPP-wave-based sensors.     

Measurements of elastic constants in thin films of colossal magnetoresistance material

Measurements of elastic constants of strained 200 and 400 nm thin films, as well as unstrained samples, of the colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) material La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 are presented. Since the peak resistance temperature of a strained CMR film decreases as the film thickness decreases, it is of interest to see if features in the elastic constants, reflecting structural or magnetic changes, follow the peak resistance temperature. It is observed that features in the elastic constants appear not only at the peak resistance temperatures of the CMR samples, but also at a temperature about 17 K higher. A new technique, thin-film resonant ultrasound spectroscopy, was used to make the measurements.     

金属薄板弹性各向异性检测

当平面声波入射到液体中的金属薄板上时，透射系数将随声波入射角变化，根据这一规律，能够准确地测定声波入射面与金属薄板交线方向上金属板材料的弹性常数，测得金属薄板面内不同方向的弹性常数，对金属薄板弹性各向异性情况将有一清蜥的认识，由于测试过程采用微机控制、数据采集和处理，实现了各向异性测量的全自动化，该方法测试时间短、所需样品小且加工方便，并可测试金属薄板弹性各向异性的均匀度。     

Determination of the optical constants and thickness of a thin slightly absorbing film by ellipsometric measurement

On the basis of an analysis of the properties of space constructed in coordinates of the ellipsometric angles and and the thicknessd ₁ of a thin slightly absorbing film, a graphical method of determining its index of refraction, index of absorption and thickness is proposed and discussed. From the two ellipsometric measurements, either for two different angles of incidence or for two different surrounding media, it is in principle possible to determine the chosen parameters characterizing the thin slightly absorbing film. The graphical method, however, seems to be less accurate and very laborious. The calculation is therefore proposed for an automatic computer. The ellipsometric measurements were carried out on a SAAB computer, according to a program elaborated in Algol. The results obtained and the values computed for the optical constants and the thickness of the thin slightly absorbing film are in good agreement with those found independently.     

Convenient and inexpensive determination of optical constants and film thickness of blended organic thin film

This work presents the study of optical constants and film thickness of blended organic thin films, emphasizing on the modeling procedure with modified genetic algorithm aided by absorption or transmittance spectra of both pure materials and the blends. Taking the blending of copper phthalocyanine(Cu Pc) and fullerene(C60) as an example, a simple, convenient and low-cost method for the determination of the optical constants and film thickness of blended organic thin films was demonstrated. New scheme for optical modeling of blended organic thin film was proposed by introducing peak energies of Cody-Lorentz oscillators of the pure materials, which were determined by fitting the film absorption of pure materials. These oscillators of pure materials could be recognized in the transmittance spectrum of their blends, and were further used as the initial searching ranges in the simulation of blended films. As a result, the constraint bounds of the unknown parameters were significantly reduced and modeling efficiency as well as fitting accuracy was improved. For instance, the fitting of the transmittance curves of blended films with different blending ratios reached reliable results in comparison with extinction coefficients obtained from experiment.     

Capillary wrinkling scaling laws of floating elastic thin film with a liquid drop

正The deformation patterns of elastic membranes under tension is called wrinkling.Wrinkling,which is caused by capillary surface tension,is called capillary wrinkling(Figure 1).In recent years wrinkling patterns have drawn particular attention[1-11],since it can be an useful tool to infer material parameters that might otherwise be inaccessible.For example,the commonly observed tearing instability of an elastic     

Measurement of indoor Rn using CR-39 under a thin film geometry

In this work an assembly for indoor ²²²Rn measurement is presented. This assembly is made up of two acrylic plates (14 cm×14 cm) separated by a distance of 4 mm. To prevent radon daughters from outside entering the assembly (and produce alpha particle tracks striking the CR-39 detector placed in the central region of one of these plates), the borders of these plates were progressively closed, leaving open only a rectangular aperture of 5 mm×4 mm. The size of this opening was determined experimentally, by exposing in two indoor environments assemblies with different apertures as follows: (i) all borders open; (ii) two borders closed; (iii) three borders closed; (iv) four borders closed but one containing a 6 cm×4 mm opening; (v) four borders closed but one containing a 2.5 cm×4 mm opening and (vi) four borders closed but one containing a 0.5 cm×4 mm opening. Track density shows a noticeable decrease between assembly (i) and assembly (iii), remaining constant for smaller openings. Only ²²²Rn, a noble gas, should enter the assembly independently of the opening size.     

Third-order elastic constants and pressure derivatives of the second-order elastic constants of β-tin

The second- and third-order elastic constants and pressure derivatives of second-order elastic constants of tetragonal β-tin have been obtained using the deformation theory. The strain energy density derived using the deformation theory is compared with the strain dependent lattice energy obtained from the elastic continuum model approximation to get the expressions for the second- and third-order elastic constants. Higher order elastic constants are a measure of the anharmonicity of a crystal lattice. The 12 non-vanishing third-order elastic constants and the six pressure derivatives of the second-order elastic constants in tetragonal β-tin are obtained in the present work and are compared with the available experimental values. The second-order elastic constant C₃₃ obtained in the present study is in reasonable agreement with the experimental values. The third-order elastic constants are generally one order of magnitude greater than the second-order elastic constants as expected of a crystalline solid. The third-order elastic constant C₃₃₃ is higher in magnitude than all other values. This shows a greater anharmonicity of β-tin along the c-axis direction of the crystal.     

The elastic constants of the alkali-metals

Experimental results of the elastic constants c₁₁, c₄₄ and c are compared with theoretical predictions. It is shown that the alkali-metals obey a law of corresponding states rather closely, if lithium is excluded to some extent. The absolute magnitudes of the reduced elastic constants and their temperature dependence are finally discussed in the light of recent more sophisticated theories and other experimental evidence.     

The elastic constants of the alkali-metals

Experimental results of the elastic constants c₁₁, c₄₄ and c are compared with theoretical predictions. It is shown that the alkali-metals obey a law of corresponding states rather closely, if lithium is excluded to some extent. The absolute magnitudes of the reduced elastic constants and their temperature dependence are finally discussed in the light of recent more sophisticated theories and other experimental evidence.     

ZnS thin film prepared through a self-assembled thin film precursor route

Poly(zinc 1,6-hexanedithiolate) thin film, a precursor to prepare ZnS thin film, was self-assembled on a quartz substrate. The UV-vis spectra monitored the annealing process of the poly(zinc 1,6-hexanedithiolate) film, which revealed that the ZnS thin film began to form at approximately 515 K. The result of XRD confirmed the crystallinity of ZnS. With increase of annealing temperature, a red shift of the emission spectra was observed.     

Resonant-ultrasound spectroscopy for studying annealing effect on elastic constant of thin film

In this paper, we study the elastic property of thin films using resonant-ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS). RUS determines the elastic constants of a solid from its resonance frequencies of free vibration. There were two problems to be solved for applying RUS to thin films: accurate measurement of the resonance frequencies and mode identification of each resonance frequency. We solve these problems using the tripod needle transducers and the laser-Doppler interferometry (LDI). In this paper, we describe the RUS/LDI measurement setup we developed, and show the relationship between the elastic constant and annealing temperature for Cu thin films. Then, we discuss the effects of recrystallization and recovery on the elastic constant referring the X-ray diffraction measurement.     

Zero-field elastic constants of uvite

The theories of Kyame [1] and Koga et al. [2] on stress wave propagation in piezoelectric media are critically studied and compared with each other. Solutions of the modified Christoffel's equations predicted by each theory for piezoelectric crystals in class 3m are derived. The velocities of ultrasonic waves propagated through a gem quality uvite specimen in particular directions were measured at 293 K using the pulse-echo overlap method. All of the independent zero-field elastic moduli were calculated from the measured wave velocities and compared with the available data in the literature. The values of the elastic constants in 10¹²$\text{dyn}\text{cm}{}^2$ were found to be C₁₁ = 3.016 ± 0.2% C₆₆ = 1.028 ± 0.3% C₃₃ = 1.698 ± 0.2% C₁₃ = 0.47 ± 3% C₄₄ = 0.655 ± 0.3% c₁₄ = ?0.089 ± 6%. The calculated bulk modulus, shear modulus and Poisson's ratio, using the Voigt-Reuss-Hill (VRH) approximation, are K_H = 1.226 × 10¹²$\text{dyn}\text{cm}{}^2$, G_H = 0.826 × 10¹²$\text{dyn}\text{cm}{}^2$ and σ_H = 0.224. The Debye temperature is 764 K.     

Measurement of elastic constants of nematic liquid crystals with use of hybrid in-plane-switched cell

A new method for quick and pretty accurate measurements of splay, twist and bend elastic constants of nematic liquid crystals is experimentally verified. The main concept relies on exploiting only the electric field and determining magnitudes of nematic elastic constants from threshold fields for Freedericksz transitions in only one hybrid in-plane-switched cell. In such cell the deformations of an investigated liquid crystal are controlled by three separated pairs of electrodes confining measurement domains. In two of them inter-digital electrodes are mounted on one cell cover. Splay, twist and bend elastic constants can be measured by a proper choice of electrodes?? configuration together with orienting cover coatings (without applying magnetic fields). In this paper, we describe layout of our cells and results of experimental tests by using different liquid crystals: 5CB and 6CHBT (with positive dielectric anisotropy), Demus?? esters (with negative dielectric anisotropy) and new liquid crystals mixtures produced in our university.     

Crystalline SiC thin film deposition by laser ablation: influence of laser surface activation

2 ) of the growing SiC film improved the film microstructure equivalent to an increase of the substrate temperature by 150–200 °C. Received: 18 August 1997/Accepted: 8 September 1997