Properties of shock-compressed liquid krypton at pressures of up to 90 GPa

The following quantities of shock-compressed liquid krypton are measured behind a plane shock front at pressures up to 90 GPa: compressibility up to densities of 7 g/cm³, brightness (color) temperatures of 6000–24000 K, and electrical conductivities of 40–60000 (Ω·m)⁻¹. X-t diagram methods are used to estimate sound speeds of up to 5.5 km/s at pressures of 30–75 GPa. The optical absorption coefficients in the violet and red (30–300 cm⁻¹) are measured at pressures of 20–90 GPa from the rise in brightness of the shock front luminosity. The optical reflection coefficient of the shock front (∼13%) at a pressure of 76.1 GPa is measured for the first time. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 551–562 (August 1999)     

Behavior of decomposed ammonia borane at high pressure

High pressure behavior of ammonia borane after thermal decomposition was studied by Raman spectroscopy at high pressure up to 10 GPa using diamond anvil cell (DAC). The ammonia borane was decomposed at around 140 °C under the pressure at ∼0.7 GPa. Raman spectra show the hydrogen was desorbed within 1 h. The hydrogen was sealed in DAC well and cooled down to room temperature. Applying higher pressure up to ∼10 GPa indicates interactions between the products and loss of dihydrogen bonding. No rehydrogenation was detected in the pressure range investigated.     

More on the TR-OSL signal from BeO ceramics

Time Resolved Optically Stimulated Luminescence (TR-OSL) from BeO ceramics was investigated using blue (445 nm) and near-IR light (852 nm) for stimulation. Stimulation spectrum of the TR-OSL signal – as measured in the interval 700 to 420 nm- was observed to increase monotonically with the decreasing stimulation wavelength. In addition to the “fast” and “slow” components observed with blue light stimulation, IR stimulated TR-OSL spectra of irradiated BeO ceramics were observed to have two components with average lifetimes around ∼2.5 μs and ∼17 μs. Emission spectra of the both IR stimulated TR-OSL components were observed to have a broad emission band peaking around 330 nm. Thermal stability of the IR stimulated TR-OSL signal was studied by making preheating experiments in the range from 100 °C to 190 °C. It was observed that the IR stimulated OSL signal is stable up to ∼150 °C and decay afterwards. Radiation dose response of the IR stimulated luminescence signal was obtained in the range from 5 to 500 Gy. Both blue and IR stimulated TR-OSL signals grew up to 100 Gy and exhibited saturation for higher doses. Additionally, measurement temperature dependence of the components was also investigated and for the ∼2 μs component thermal assistance with activation energy around 0.16 eV was observed. It seems that the fast component of the blue stimulated TR-OSL component can be correlated to the ∼2 μs IR stimulated TR-OSL component.     

Micromachined silicon lenses for terahertz applications

Silicon microlenses are a very important tool for coupling terahertz (THz) radiation into antennas and detectors in integrated circuits. They can be used in a large array structures at this frequency range reducing considerably the crosstalk between the pixels. Drops of photoresist have been deposited and their shape transferred into the silicon by means of a Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) process. Large silicon lenses with a few mm diameter (between 1.5 and 4.5 mm) and hundreds of μm height (between 50 and 350 μm) have been fabricated. The surface of such lenses has been characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), resulting in a surface roughness of about ∼3 μm, good enough for any THz application. The beam profile at the focal plane of such lenses has been measured at a wavelength of 10.6 μm using a tomographic knife-edge technique and a CO₂ laser.     

Time-resolved OSL studies on BeO ceramics

Time-Resolved Optically Stimulated Luminescence (TR-OSL) from BeO ceramics was investigated using a blue laser (445 nm) as stimulation light source. It was observed that, at relatively low dose levels (up to ∼25 Gy) the TR-OSL decay curve can be approximated with a single exponential decay function with a lifetime of ∼26 μs at room temperature. Beyond 25 Gy a new decay component with a lifetime of a ∼2 μs was observed in addition to the ∼26 μs component. Thermal stability, radiation dose response, optical bleaching, measurement temperature dependence of the components of the TR-OSL signal were investigated in detail. As result of these studies, a new OSL component which becomes unstable after 150 °C was observed. OSL decay rate of this component was found to be higher than the one which becomes unstable after 300 °C. In order to obtain information about the temperature dependence of the luminescence efficiency, luminescence emission lifetime was determined in the temperature range from 30 to 130 °C with 10 °C steps. Using the temperature dependence of the lifetime, thermal quenching energy was determined to be around 0.56 eV for the 26 μs component. For the ∼2 μs component an enhancement in the component intensity was observed pointing to a thermally assisted process with activation energy of 0.15 eV.     

Laser shock wave consolidation of nanodiamond powders on aluminum 319

A novel coating approach, based on laser shock wave generation, was employed to induce compressive pressures up to 5 GPa and compact nanodiamond (ND) powders (4-8 nm) on aluminum 319 substrate. Raman scattering indicated that the coating consisted of amorphous carbon and nanocrystalline graphite with peaks at 1360 cm⁻¹ and 1600 cm⁻¹ respectively. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a wavy, non-uniform coating with an average thickness of 40 μm and absence of thermal effect on the surrounding material. The phase transition from nanodiamond to other phases of carbon is responsible for the increased coating thickness. Vicker's microhardness test showed hardness in excess of 1000 kg_f/mm² (10 GPa) while nanoindentation test indicated much lower hardness in the range of 20 MPa to 2 GPa. Optical surface profilometry traces displayed slightly uneven surfaces compared to the bare aluminum with an average surface roughness (R_a) in the range of 1.5-4 μm depending on the shock wave pressure and type of confining medium. Ball-on-disc tribometer tests showed that the coefficient of friction and wear rate were substantially lower than the smoother, bare aluminum sample. Laser shock wave process has thus aided in the generation of a strong, wear resistant, durable carbon composite coating on aluminum 319 substrate.     

Gold under high pressure

Abstract

First principle predictions for the equation of state of gold using solid and liquid state theories are compared up to combined pressures and temperatures of 600 GPa and 17 000 K with static diamond anvil cell compression, ultrasonic measurements and shock Hugoniot data which include a recent laser driven shock Hugoniot points at 600 GPa. Excellent agreement between theoretical and experimental data is observed. The theoretically estimated 300 K isotherm agrees to within 2 GPa with the isotherm that has been measured to 70 GPa using the diamond anvil cell. The structural energy estimates show that the normal f.c.c. phase remains stable under pressure. The estimate of the shock Hugoniot temperature of gold at 600 GPa based on a liquid state model is consistent with the measurements of laser induced shock luminescence, which in fact provides an experimental determination of the temperature of gold above its Hugoniot melting point. The powerful means provided by theory in the prediction of material properties of gold at ultra high pressures and temperatures is significant because gold is an efficient converter of laser energy into soft X-rays and is a potential candidate as a standard for high pressure, high temperature work.     

High-pressure elasticity of poly(methyl methacrylate) up to 31.5 GPa studied by Brillouin spectroscopy

High-pressure acoustic properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was investigated up to 31.5 GPa by using a Fabry-Perot interferometer and a diamond anvil cell. Both backscattering and forward, symmetric scattering geometries were used to derive the pressure dependences of the longitudinal sound velocity, the refractive index, and the density over the investigated pressure range. These physical properties showed rapid increases upon compression up to ∼5 GPa, above which they exhibited sluggish increases upon further increase. The crossover behavior at ∼5 GPa was attributed to the change in the densification of PMMA caused by complete collapse of free volume in this polymeric material.     

Temperature in molybdenum at high shock pressure: Experiment and theory

Shock temperature of molybdenum is deduced to be 7853±813 K from release temperature at 374 GPa via pyrometry experiment. Theoretically, temperatures along the Hügoniot are calculated up to pressures of 500 GPa, over the shock melting pressure region, with contributions from electrons considered. At low pressures, the calculated results are consistent with NRS temperature measurements and pyrometry measurements, and accord with SESAME EOS and theoretical calculations taking the strength of the sample into account. At pressures above 100 GPa the results are much different from calculations without the contribution from the electrons, but consistent with the shock temperature deduced from experimental results in this work.     

冲击压缩下金属的电导率测量

 探索了一种在兆巴压力冲击压缩下测量金属电导率的新方法——四电极垂向引线法，并用刻槽单晶蓝宝石作绝缘腔体，以消除分流效应对测量结果的影响。用二级轻气炮作为加载手段，测量了铁在终态平衡压力为101～208 GPa压力区间内的电导率（电导率从1.45×10⁶ S/m变化到7.65×10⁵ S/m）。将测量铁电导率的压力范围扩展到了200 GPa以上。实验结果表明，关于金属电导率的Bloch-Grüneisen公式在高达200 GPa冲击压力下仍然有效（对于ε-铁）。     

Theoretical investigation of the electronic structure and structural phase stability of CeGa2 under pressure

Recently, Chandra Shekar et al. (Phys. Stat. Sol. B 241(2004)2893), studied the structural stability of CeGa₂ under high pressure up to ∼32 GPa and reported a structural transition from hexagonal AlB₂-type to omega trigonal-type starting at ∼16 GPa with a volume collapse of ∼6%. The high-pressure omega triginal phase is found to coexist with the parent phase up to 32 GPa. In this paper, we report the results of our band structure calculations on this system as a function of reduced volume by the tight-binding linear muffin–tin orbital (TB-LMTO) method, in order to look into this structural transition and to understand it in terms of changes in its electronic structure. Our calculations indicate a structural transition at ∼30.6 GPa with a volume collapse of 3.5%, in good agreement with the experimental results. The possible mechanism of the phase transition may be due to f→d electron transfer under pressure. The theoretically calculated ground-state properties, namely the lattice parameters and the bulk modulus are also in good agreement with the experimental values.     

Equations of State and the Phase Diagram of Dielectric and Metallic Helium-4

A new form of the semiempirical equation of state for the liquid phase of helium-4 is proposed that is based on the assumption that the structure of this phase consists of a mixture of dielectric and metallic components. It is postulated that solid dielectric helium with density higher than 5.3 g/cm³ becomes a metal. The values of the parameters of the equations of state for both solid phases and the liquid phase of helium are calculated. The unknown values of the initial data for helium are taken by analogy with the parameters for deuterium. The phase diagram, shock adiabat, isentropes, isotherms, and electrical conductivity in these processes are calculated with the use of the equations of state of solid and liquid phases of helium-4. The results of calculation are compared with experimental data in the range of pressures of up to 35 GPa for an isotherm, up to 150 GPa for a shock adiabat, up to 42 GPa for the melting curve, and up to 2000 GPa for isentropes, and showed quite satisfactory agreement. Numerical extrapolation of the melting curve is performed to a range of ultrahigh pressures of up to 8000 GPa.     

Pressure dependence of acoustic behaviors and refractive index of amorphous Kel F-800 copolymer studied by Brillouin spectroscopy

The pressure dependences of the longitudinal sound velocity and the refractive index of amorphous Kel F-800 copolymer were investigated for pressures up to 13 GPa using high-pressure Brillouin spectroscopy combined with a diamond-anvil-cell technique. The sound velocity increased rapidly with increasing pressure at pressures below ～2 GPa, whereas it showed a mild change at higher pressure values. This was attributed to substantial collapse of effective free volume in this amorphous material. The refractive index could be measured by comparing the Brillouin spectra measured from backward and forward, symmetric scattering geometries. The pressure–density relationship could be obtained by using Lorentz–Lorenz equation based on an assumption of constant polarizability, which was consistent with that reported by previous study.     

High-density uniformly aligned silicon nanotip arrays and their enhanced field emission characteristics

High-density (∼10⁸/cm²), uniformly aligned silicon nanotip arrays are synthesized by a plasma-assisted hot-filament chemical vapor deposition process using mixed gases composed of hydrogen, nitrogen and methane. The silicon nanotips grow along 〈112〉, and are coated in situ with a ∼3 nm thick amorphous carbon film by increasing the methane concentration in the source gases. In comparison to the uncoated silicon nanotips arrays, the coated tips have enhanced field emission properties with a turn-on field of 1.6 V/μm (for 10 μA/cm²) and threshold field of 3 V/μm (for 10 mA/cm²), suggesting their potential applications for flat panel displays.     

Determination of diffusion length in photovoltaic crystalline silicon by modelisation of light beam induced current

The diffusion length of minority carriers is one of the most important electrical parameters to qualify silicon for photovoltaic applications. One way to evaluate this parameter is to analyse the decay of the current induced when a focused beam is scanned away from the collector using Light Beam Induced Current (LBIC) technique. The LBIC signal was numerically calculated with 2D-DESSIS software under different boundary conditions, as a function of material thickness and surface recombination velocity in order to verify the limitations of analytical models and to fit the LBIC signal measured in thin silicon samples. Samples with thickness ranging from 55 μm to 2500 μm were evaluated with diffusion length values ranging from 70 μm to 2.5 mm. Analytical expressions of the Internal Quantum Efficiency (IQE) were also used to extract the minority carrier bulk and effective diffusion lengths from surface averaged spectral response and reflectivity data in thick solar cells.     

Thermophysical properties of the polymorphic modifications of lithium hydride in the megabar shock pressure range

The region of a high electrical conductivity of lithium hydride is experimentally determined in the pressure range 100–150 GPa and the temperature range 2000–3000 K of multiple shock compression. This result is used to construct thermodynamic potentials for the two polymorphic modifications of lithium hydride (B1, B2), and these potentials make it possible to calculate its thermophysical properties in the shock pressure range 80–1200 GPa. The calculated and experimental results are analyzed to determine the B1 ? B2 equilibrium line for the polymorphic modifications of lithium hydride at pressures up to 300 GPa and temperatures up to 2000 K.     

A new carbon nitride synthesized by shock compression of organic precursors

A series of shock recovery experiments up to ∼50 GPa were carried out on three nitrogen-rich materials of a C–N–O amorphous precursor, dicyandiamide and melamine. The powder X-ray diffractions (XRD) of recovered samples show that carbon nitride phases are formed. They are β-C₃N₄ and a new crystalline phase. The new phase is indexed as a monoclinic cell with a=0.981 nm, b=0.723 nm, c=0.561 nm, β=95.2° and V_cell=0.3966 nm³. Melamine was very stable and did not decompose up to ∼37 GPa. This new phase is considered to form during the adiabatic release process with an extremely high quenching rate (∼10⁹ K/s) and shock compression may provide a novel synthesis route for various C–N phases from appropriate organic materials.     

Liquid xenon study under shock and quasi-isentropic compression

Abstract

The shock adiabat for liquid xenon in the density range of 5.2–7.9 g/cm³ and pressure range of 8–70 GPa was investigated. The brightness temperature of a shock wave front from 5000 K to ?15,000 K, as well as the electrical conductivity behind the front from 4·10³ to 1.2·10⁵ 1/Ohm m, were measured. X-ray technique was used to measure quasi-isentropic compression of liquid xenon up to ～13 g/cm³.

The equations of state for liquid and solid phases of xenon were found. Anomalous behavior of xenon at p=8.37 g/cm³ was revealed, that is due to a structural transition.     

Thermoelectric properties of high-pressure silicon phases

The thermo emf in Czochralski-grown silicon single crystals (Cz-Si) was experimentally studied in a range of pressures up to 20 GPa. The pressure dependences revealed phase transitions in the metallic phase of silicon, which passed from tetragonal to orthorhombic and then to hexagonal lattice. The high-pressure silicon phases, as well as the metallic high-pressure phases in A_NB_8?N semiconductors, possess conductivity of the hole type. As the pressure decreases, the emf behavior reveals transitions to the metastable phases Si-XII and Si-III. Preliminary thermobaric treatment of the samples at a pressure of up to 1.5 GPa and a temperature of T=50–650°C influences the thermoelectric properties of Cz-Si at high pressures.