X-ray diffraction analysis of the surface acoustic wave propagation in langatate crystal

X-ray diffraction on a langatate crystal (La₃Ga_5.5Ta_0.5O₁₄, LGT) modulated by a Λ=12 μm Rayleigh surface acoustic wave (SAW) was studied in a double axis X-ray diffractometer scheme at the BESSY synchrotron radiation source. SAW propagation in the crystal causes sinusoidal modulation of the crystal lattice and the appearance of diffraction satellites on the rocking curves, with their number, angular positions, and intensities depending on the wavelength and amplitude of acoustic vibrations of the crystal lattice. Strong absorption of X-ray radiation in LGT enables the observation of the diffraction spectra extinction at certain SAW amplitudes. X-ray diffraction spectra analysis makes it possible to determine SAW amplitudes and wavelengths, to measure the power flow angles, and investigate the diffraction divergence in acoustic beam in LGT.     

Surface acoustic wave device properties of (B, Al)N films on 128° Y-X LiNbO3 substrate

A c-axis orientated aluminium nitride (AlN) film on a 128° Y-X lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) surface acoustic wave (SAW) device which exhibit a large electromechanical coupling coefficient (k²) and a high SAW velocity property, is needed for future communication applications. In this study, a c-axis orientated (B, Al)N film (with 2.6 at.% boron) was deposited on a 128° Y-X LiNbO₃ substrate by a co-sputtering system to further boost SAW device properties. The XRD and TEM results show that the (B, Al)N films show highly aligned columns with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. The hardness and Young's modulus of (B, Al)N film on 128° Y-X LiNbO₃ substrates are at least 17% and 7% larger than AlN films, respectively. From the SAW device measurement, the operation frequency characteristic of (B, Al)N film on 128° Y-X LiNbO₃ is higher than pure AlN on it. The SAW velocity also increases as (B, Al)N film thickness increases (at fixed IDT wavelength). Furthermore, the k² of (B, Al)N on the IDT/128° Y-X LiNbO₃ SAW device shows a higher value than AlN on it.     

Characterization of diode arrays using nondestructive saw technique

Nondestructive Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) technique is used to determine the storage lifetime of silicon p-n diode arrays. Diode arrays are extensively used in low light-level imaging and memory correlator devices. The electric fields that accompany the SAW in piezoelectrics (LiNbO₃) are used to alter or gauge the charge content of the diodes. The storage lifetime determined with this technique agrees with that using conventional techniques such as I-V and C-V.     

Study of Monte Carlo methods for generating self-avoiding walks

The concept of fractal dimensionality is used to study different statistical methods for generating self-avoiding walks (SAWs). The reliability of SAWs traced by the enrichment technique and the dynamic Monte Carlo technique is verified. The number of dynamic cycles which represent a single independent SAW ofN ₀ steps is found to be about 0.1N ₀ ³ . We show that the enrichment process for generating SAWs may be presented as a critical phenomenon.     

Advanced piezoelectric crystal Ca3TaGa3Si2O14: growth,crystal structure perfection,and acoustic properties

A five-component crystal of the lanthanum–gallium silicate family Ca₃TaGa₃Si₂O₁₄ (CTGS) was grown by the Czochralski method. The CTGS crystal, like the langasite crystal (La₃Ga₅SiO₁₄, LGS), possesses unique temperature properties and the fewer number of the Ga atoms in the unit cell makes the density much lower and, consequently, increases the velocity of acoustic wave propagation. The unit-cell parameters were determined by the powder diffraction technique. The defects in the CTGS crystal structure were studied by X-ray topography, which enables the visualization of growth banding characteristics of crystals grown by the Czochralski method. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) propagation in the CTGS crystal was investigated by the high-resolution X-ray diffraction method on the BESSY II synchrotron radiation source. The velocities of propagation and power flow angles of SAWs in the Y- and X-cuts of the CTGS crystal were determined from the X-ray diffraction spectra.     

Study of palladium nanoparticles synthesized in alkali borosilicate glass pores by the X-ray line shift method

Metallic Pd synthesized in porous glass with an average pore diameter of 7 ± 2 nm has been studied using the X-ray diffraction and X-ray line shift methods for the first time. The irregular dependence of the reflection width in X-ray patterns on the diffraction angle has been revealed. This can be caused by crystallite growth mostly in the [111] direction or by tetrahedral distortions of the fcc lattice. The shift (difference in energy) of K _α1 lines (ΔE _α1 = 19 ± 2 meV) for nanostructured Pd in comparison with the bulk material is first detected. The detected effect is considered within the assumption of the palladium electron redistribution between Pd 5s- and 4d-bands.     

Acoustic wave effects on catalysis: design of surfaces with artificially controllable functions for chemical reactions

The effects of surface acoustic wave (SAW) and resonance oscillation (RO) of bulk acoustic waves on the catalysis of metals were studied in an attempt to design a catalyst surface with artificially controllable functions for chemical reactions. In ethanol decomposition on a thin Cu film catalyst deposited on the propagation path of a shear horizontal leaky SAW, the SAW-on increased the activity for ethylene production remarkably but a little for acetaldehyde production. A poled ferroelectric z-cut LiNbO₃ with a thickness extensional mode RO (TERO) and a x-cut LiNbO₃ with a thickness shear mode RO (TSRO) were employed as a substrate, on which a thin Ag film catalyst was deposited. For ethanol decomposition, TERO increased ethylene production activity and the selectivity for ethylene production from 79 to 96%, whereas TSRO caused little activity enhancement for both ethylene and acetaldehyde production. The combination with the results of laser Doppler measurements showed that the activity enhancement and selectivity changes with SAW and RO of the acoustic waves are associated with dynamic large lattice displacement vertical to the surface.     

Silicon-germanium nanostructures with high germanium concentration

The impact of nucleation conditions on the quality of epitaxial layers of germanium and GeSi alloys containing a high Ge mole fraction grown on (100) silicon substrates using electron-beam epitaxy is considered. The Ge_xS_{1 -x}/Ge superlattices are grown on a Ge_ySi_{1 -y} (x > y) relaxed buffer layer. X-ray diffractometry, atomic force microscopy and Auger spectroscopy are the main techniques used to study the properties of the grown structures.     

Features of surface acoustic wave propagation in lithium niobate damaged by an electron beam

The propagation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in a thin-film aluminum waveguide of Δv/v type fabricated on a 128° Y-X LiNbO₃ plate by lift-off lithography and direct writing by a 20-keV electron beamis studied experimentally. The temperature dependence of the phase of the signal passed through an SAW delayline exhibits steps and hysteresis. The line consists of such a waveguide and two interdigital transducers with acenter frequency of 486 MHz and is exposed to a nitrogen flow. The vapors of water-containing analytes introduced into the nitrogen flow cause anomalous phase changes. These changes are of opposite sign and more thanone order of magnitude greater than the phase changes observed under similar conditions in specimens fabricated by optical lithography. It is concluded that these phenomena offer possibilities for designing SAW humidity sensors with a low threshold of sensitivity.     

Peculiarities of applying the ω n k criterion for the electron identification problem based on the transition radiation detector in the compressed baryonic matter experiment

The problem of electron identification under conditions of a dominating pion background with the help of a multilayered transition radiation detector (TRD) in the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment is considered. With this aim, various mathematical methods, including methods based on the nonparametric goodness-of-fit ?? _n ^k criterion, have been elaborated and investigated. The characteristic properties of distributions of energy losses by electrons and pions in the TRD radiators are considered, and specific features of applying traditional statistical methods, methods based on the ?? _n ^k criterion, and artificial neural networks to the analyzed problem are discussed. The results of a comparative analysis of the power of these methods are presented, and recommendations for their usage are given.     

Surface and quasi-longitudinal acoustic waves in KTiOAsO4 single crystals

Surface and quasi-longitudinal acoustic wave properties have been investigated in potassium titanyl arsenate (KTiOAsO₄, KTA) single crystals for the first time. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) velocity, electromechanical coupling coefficient and power flow angle characteristics have been obtained in rotated Y-cut of KTA crystals. High SAW electromechanical coupling coefficient (0.4%) is found in Z-cut of KTA crystals. For high-frequency devices it is promising the resonators on quasi-longitudinal acoustic wave in X-cut of KTA crystals with sharp response in interdigital transducer conductance at resonance frequency.     

SAW spectral characteristics of the YZ-LiNbO3-thin-lead-film layered structure

An acousto-optical study of the effect of a lead film on propagation of high-power surface acoustic waves (SAW) along the Z direction on the Y cut of LiNbO₃ is reported. The presence of the metal film has been found to stimulate spatial oscillations of SAW components and suppress the onset of nonlinearity. If the film is more narrow than the SAW aperture, one observes considerable inflow of acoustic energy from the free surface to the film region. A study of the film-induced sound-velocity dispersion revealed it to have a linear pattern. An analysis of the results within the present theoretical models of soliton development showed that a soliton-like monopulse can form only if a very thin (～150 Å) lead film is present.     

X-ray spectroscopic study of cobalt-zinc ferrites

K-absorption edges and the associated fine structures of cobalt and iron in cobalt-zinc ferrites of composition, Zn_xCo_1-xFe₂O₄ (x = 0, 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75) have been recorded employing a 40cm curved crystal spectrograph of transmission type. It is found that the cobalt and iron ions in these samples exist in valence states two and three respectively. Bond lengths have been determined using the X-ray fine structure methods. It is noted that estimated bond lengths are close to those obtained from crystallographic data. It is pointed out that the X-ray fine structure methods can be used to complement diffraction methods for the determination of bond lengths in samples containing atoms of nearly equal scattering power.     

Angular dependence of surface acoustic wave characteristics in AlN thin films on a-plane sapphire substrates

AlN thin films have been grown on a-plane sapphire (Al₂O₃(112̄0)) substrates. X-ray diffraction measurements indicate the films are fully c-plane (0001) oriented with a full width at half maximum of the AlN(0002) rocking curves of 0.92. The epitaxial growth relationships have been determined by the reflection high energy electron diffraction analysis as AlN[11̄00]//Al₂O₃[0001] and AlN[112̄0]//Al₂O₃[11̄00]. Angular dependence of important surface acoustic wave (SAW) characteristics, such as the phase velocity and electromechanical coupling coefficient, has been investigated on the AlN(0001)/Al₂O₃(112̄0) structure. While the SAW is excited at all propagation angles with an angular dispersion of the phase velocity in the range of 5503–6045 m/s, a higher velocity shear-horizontal (SH) mode is observed only at 0°, 105° and 180° off the reference Al₂O₃[11̄00] over a 180° angular period. The phase velocity of the SH mode shows dispersion (6089–6132 m/s) as a function of the SAW wavelength. Temperature coefficients of frequency are also demonstrated for both modes. PACS 81.15.Hi; 77.84.-s; 77.65.Dq     

Comparison of fractal analysis methods in the study of fractals with independent branching

The notion of dimension as a quantitative characteristic of space geometry is discussed. It is supposed that hadrons created in interactions between particles and nuclei can be considered sets of points possessing fractal properties in the three-dimensional phase space (p _T , η, ?). The Hausdorff-Besicovich dimension D _F is considered the most natural characteristic for determining the fractal dimension. Different methods for determining the fractal dimension are compared: box counting (BC), P-adic coverage (PaC), and system of equations of P-adic coverage (SePaC). A procedure for choosing optimum values of parameters of the considered methods is presented. These parameters are shown to be able to reconstruct the fractal dimension D _F , number of levels N _lev, and fractal structure with maximal efficiency. The features of the PaC- and SePaC-methods in the analysis of fractals with independent branching are noted.     

Studying the energy dependence of intrinsic conversion efficiency of single crystal scintillators under X-ray excitation

Single crystal scintilators are used in various radiation detectors applications. The efficiency of the crystal can be determined by the Detector Optical Gain (DOG) defined as the ratio of the emitted optical photon flux over the incident radiation photons flux. A parameter affecting DOG is the intrinsic conversion efficiency (n _C ) giving the percentage of the X-ray photon power converted to optical photon power. n _C is considered a constant value for X-ray energies in the order of keV although a non-proportional behavior has been reported. In this work an analytical model, has been utilized to single crystals scintillators GSO:Ce, LSO:Ce and LYSO:Ce to examine whether the intrinsic conversion efficiency shows non proportional behavior under X-ray excitation. DOG was theoretically calculated as a function of the incident X-ray spectrum, the X-ray absorption efficiency, the energy of the produced optical photons and the light transmission efficiency. The theoretical DOG values were compared with experimental data obtained by irradiating the crystals with X-rays at tube voltages from 50 to 140 kV and by measuring the light energy flux emitted from the irradiated screen. An initial value for n _C (calculated from literature data) was assumed for the X-ray tube voltage of 50 kV. For higher X-ray tube voltages the optical photon propagation phenomena was assumed constant and any deviations between experimental and theoretical data were associated with changes in the intrinsic conversion efficiency. The experimental errors were below 7% for each experimental setup. The behavior of n _C values for LSO:Ce and LYSO:Ce were found very similar, i.e., ranging with values from 0.089 at 50 kV to 0.015 at 140 kV, while for GSO:Ce, n _C demonstrated a peak at 80 kV.     

The role of misfit dislocations in tilt boundary formation in heterosystems with nonsingular orientations

The structural state of Ge _x Si_{1 ? x} films on miscut Si(1 1 13) substrates is studied by X-ray diffraction. Triclinic distortions that arise in the Ge _x Si_{1 ? x} film are analyzed. The coincidence of the tilt axis and the miscut axis is established. Different misfit-dislocation networks that generate tilt boundaries are considered.     

Oscillatory disruptions in the Alcator C tokamak

Periodic disruptions were observed which persisted for as long as 400 ms during plasma discharges. Soft X-ray emissions, T_e, n_e, impurity radiation and plasma position showed the pulsations. The abrupt collapse in X-ray signal (1–2 ms; period ∽10 ms) encompassed a large fraction of the plasma cross section. Plasma conditions associated with the onset of this pattern are examined.     

Determination of ionicity in zinc chalcogenides by X-ray absorption study

K-absorption edges and associated extended fine structure is recorded for zinc and zinc chalcogenides using a 40 cm, automatic scanning, Cauchois type X-ray spectrometer. It is observed that there is a correlation between the positive X-ray K-absorption edge chemical shift and Phillips' electronegativity difference C for zinc chalcogenides. The bond lengths for these compounds are determined using Lytle, Chivate et al. and Levy's methods. These bond lengths are observed to tally well with X-ray crystallographic data. The covalent energy gaps in Phillips' theory are determined using bond lengths determined by Chivate et al.'s method. Values of ionicities are obtained from X-ray spectroscopically determined values of C and E_h and are compared with Phillips' spectroscopically determined ionicities for zinc chalcogenides. It is shown that X-ray spectroscopically determined values of ionicities for these compounds show a more correct chemical trend.