Optical absorption edge of CdAs2—Based glasses: The role of material homogeneity

Results of the intrinsic absorption edge measurement of CdAs₂-based glasses are correlated with the results of metallographic examination of their homogeneity. The inhomogeneities give rise to the tail of the exponential absorption edge. Although the absorption edge is more sensitive to the presence of inhomogeneities than is the metallographic analysis, one may not distinguish among various sorts of inhomogeneities from the shape of the absorption edge only. A proper combination with metallographic analysis or with another type of experiment is necessary.     

A universe embedded in a five-dimensional flat space

Since a homogeneous isotropic universe can be embedded in a flat space of five dimensions, the question is considered under what conditions a more general universe can be embedded in a five-dimensional flat space. On the assumption that the deviation from homogeneity is small, it is found that real inhomogeneities can occur only in the case of a universe filled with radiation, or a universe containing at least two different substances with different equations of state, as for example radiation and matter. In the case of a radiation-filled universe, the inhomogeneities can be of arbitrary size and can conceivably be the precursors of galaxies.     

Single scattering of waves by random strong anisotropic inhomogeneities

Research is carried out into scattering of waves by random strong anisotropic inhomogeneities when the inhomogeneities are in the distant zone according to one (transverse) scale and at the same time they are in the near zone according to another (longitudinal) scale. To analyse the formulas of the single scattering the stationary phase method in the longitudinal coordinate integral is used. It is shown that the angle sensitivity of strong anisotropic scattering, unlike weak anisotropic scattering, strongly depends on the longitudinal statistical homogeneity of the medium.     

The investigation of inhomogeneities in silicon single crystals by the method of photoelectric conductivity

A method is described for investigating inhomogeneities in silicon single crystals which is based on the change in conductivity of the sample when the surface is illuminated. The relationship between the changes in photoelectric conductivity and the resistivity of the illuminated place, the sensitivity and resolving power of the method is discussed.     

Localization of inhomogeneities in diffuse optical tomography based on late arriving photons

An algorithm for localizing inhomogeneities in pulsed diffuse optical tomography is proposed and implemented. A distinctive feature of this technique is the formation of an initial approximation to the spatial distributions of the absorption and scattering coefficients in a biomedical object under study based on the angle-dependent homogeneity index, HI(a). The method allows one to determine the approximate optical structure of the object using late arriving photons and thus solve more rapidly the inverse problem. The suggestion that all absorbing and scattering inhomogeneities in an object under study are spherical also simplifies and enhances image reconstruction.     

Effect of granularity and inhomogeneity in excess conductivity of YBa2Cu3O7−δ+xBaTiO3 superconductor

Synthesis of polycrystalline YBCO+xBaTiO₃ (x=1.0, 2.5, 5.0) superconductor has been done and the effects of granularity and inhomogeneities due to inclusions of nano-BaTiO₃ in excess conductivity are reported in this work. The phase formation, texture and grain alignments were analyzed through XRD and SEM techniques. SEM results reveal that the grain size is reduced and morphology is improved with the incorporation of nano-BaTiO₃ particles. Superconducting order parameter fluctuation (SCOPF) studies on the electrical conductivity were investigated from the resistivity vs. temperature data in the experimental domain relatively above T_c. Log(Δσ) vs. log(ε) plots show that the 2D to 3D crossover temperature (T_LD) that demarcates dimensional nature of fluctuation inside the grains is influenced by BaTiO₃ incorporation in YBCO matrix. An upward shift of T_LD in the mean field region has been observed as a consequent dominance of 3D region with increase in 1 wt% BaTiO₃ in the composites as compared to higher inclusions. It has been analyzed that microscopic inhomogeneities produced as a result of diffusion of a fraction of Ti ions into the grains affect fluctuations in the excess conductive region. The interplay of microscopic inhomogeneities produced inside the grains and mesoscopic inhomogeneities in the grain boundaries on the excess conductivity has been explained in terms of thermal fluctuations for the composites.     

Electric field distribution in biased GaAs microstructures with field-pinning layers

Field-pinning layers are an approach to improve the homogeneity of the electric field in a biased semiconductor structure of length above the Kroemer criterion. Building a THz Bloch oscillator with such a structure requires superlattice regions. Nevertheless, GaAs layers are investigated here. We compare different periodic structures (alternating transit and field-pinning layers) via simulating the field distribution. It is shown that the development of propagating Gunn domains is suppressed when field-pinning layers are included, but the homogeneity of the field is still not satisfying for the purpose of building a Bloch gain THz source. Depending on the temperature, intra- and inter-period inhomogeneities occur.     

Four-probe measurements of the electrical conductivity of semiconductor layers containing inhomogeneous regions

The possibility of performing four-probe measurements of conductivity of semi-conductor layers containing inhomogeneous regions is evaluated. Exact formulas are obtained for determination of semiconductor conductivity for arbitrary position of the probe near a circular inhomogeneity, and for two probe positions near two circular inhomogeneities. An approximate formula is presented for use with semiconductors containing several inhomogeneous regions. Theory is compared with experimental results.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 7, pp. 30–33, July, 1977.     

Quantification of B0 homogeneity variation with head pitch by registered three-dimensional field mapping

In this study, we quantify the extent to which B(0) homogeneity in adult humans is dependent on head pitch relative to the B(0) vector. Three-dimensional, whole-brain B(0) field maps were acquired in five normal subjects for three generalized head pitch angles. Optimal first- and second-order shimming of the experimental B(0) maps were simulated numerically. The spatial B(0) distribution within the brain was analyzed following automated volumetric co-registration of all data. Increasing head pitch improves both the resonance offset and local homogeneity in the inferior frontal lobes, but introduces inhomogeneities in other regions of the brain which cannot be compensated by first-order shimming but are further improved by second-order shimming.     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging reference phantom

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is widely used to pinpoint active brain areas. Changes in neuronal activity modulate the local blood oxygenation level, and the associated modulation of the magnetic field homogeneity can be detected with magnetic resonance imaging. Thus, the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI indirectly measures neuronal activity. Similar modulation of magnetic field homogeneity was here elicited by other means to generate a BOLD-like change in a new phantom constructed to provide reference activations during fMRI. Magnetic inhomogeneities were produced by applying current to coils located near the phantom containing 1.5 ml of Gd-doped water. The signal-to-noise ratio of the images, produced by gradient-recalled echo-planar imaging, varied between 104 and 107 at a selected voxel when the field was and was not inhomogenized, respectively. The contrast of signals between homogeneous and inhomogeneous conditions was generally stable, except in 3% of time points. During the periods of greatest deviations an observable change would have been detected in a simultaneously measured BOLD signal. Such changes could result from the imaging method or occur through glitches in hardware or alterations in the measurement environment. With identical measurement setups, the phantom could allow comparing intersession or intersubject brain activations.     

Phonon screening in high-temperature superconductors

In good conductors optical phonons are usually screened, and therefore not observed. However, sharp features due to infrared-active modes in the copper-oxygen planes are observed in the optical conductivity of Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4 and YBa2Cu3O6.95. Oscillator strengths indicate that the screening of these modes is poor or totally absent. These materials are compared with eta-Mo4O11, in which lattice modes appear suddenly below the charge-density wave transition. It is proposed that poor screening in the cuprates originates from fluctuating charge inhomogeneities in the copper-oxygen planes.     

Disorder mapping in VCSELs using frequency-selective feedback

We report on a simple method with a high spectral and spatial resolution for mapping variations in the cavity resonance of a plano-planar broad-area laser based on frequency-selective feedback. The demonstration experiment uses a vertical-cavity surface-emitting-laser (VCSEL), in which growth induced inhomogeneities are of particular importance. It relies only on a standalone laser with a narrow-bandwidth passive filter avoiding the need for an expensive tunable laser or high-resolution spectrometer.     

非均匀性对单层膜光学特性的影响

探讨了不同规律的非均匀性对单层膜的光谱特性的影响,与均匀单层膜对比发现：折射率正变引起透射率的极大值减小,折射率负变引起透射率的极大值变大,当非均匀性很小时,透射率的极小值基本不变.对实验制备的单层膜从实验和理论上进行了对比并给出了较好的拟合,发现在薄膜和基底的界面处存在一过渡层,过渡层可近似为线性,并从理论上给予了分析解释.     

Sensitivity of Homogeneity Mapping of Dielectric Wafer Using Millimeter Waves

A plane electromagnetic wave normally falling on a surface of a dielectric plate has been considered to investigate the sensitivity of the dielectric constant homogeneity mapping in the dielectric wafer by measuring the phase and/or the amplitude of the millimeter wave reflected from or transmitted through it. Measurement conditions at which the highest sensitivity might be achieved are established. The sensitivity at Fabry-Perot resonance conditions as well as at frequency shifted from resonance has been considered.     

Negative magnetoresistance in magnetic semiconductors with narrow degenerate conduction bands

We propose a model to explain electrical conductivity anomalies in magnetic chalcogenide spinels near the Curie point. The model is based on strong electronelectron correlations between d-electrons in the narrow, orbitally degenerate conduction band. We demonstrate that in this system spin inhomogeneities produce scattering and lead to strong negative magnetoresistance. Experimental data on the electrical conductivity of the CdCr₂Se₄ compound in a magnetic field is compared to numerical computation. We explain the absence of magnetoresistance anomalies in p-type samples.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 10–14, December, 1986.     

Optical and thermal-transport properties of an inhomogeneous d-wave superconductor

We calculate transport properties of disordered 2D d-wave superconductors from solutions of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations, and show that weak localization effects give rise to a finite-frequency peak in the optical conductivity similar to that observed in experiments on disordered cuprates. At low energies, order parameter inhomogeneities induce linear and quadratic temperature dependencies in microwave and thermal conductivities respectively, and appear to drive the system towards a quasiparticle insulating phase.     

Effective thermal conduction in composite materials

The problem of determining the bounds and/or estimating the effective thermal conductivity (λ _eff) of a composite (multiphase) system given the volume fractions and the conductivities of the components has been investigated. A comparison between the measured data and the results predicted by theoretical models has been made for seven heterogeneous samples. The tested models include those of the effective medium theory (EMT), Hashin and Shtrikman (HS) bounds, and Wiener bounds. These models can be used to characterize macroscopic homogeneous and isotropic multiphase composite materials either by determining the bounds for the effective thermal conductivity and/or by estimating the overall conductivity of the random mixture. It turns out that the most suitable one of these models to estimate λ _eff is the EMT model. This model is a mathematical model based on the homogeneity condition which satisfies the existence of a statistically homogeneous medium that encloses inclusions of different phases. Numerical values of thermal conductivity for the samples that satisfy the homogeneity condition imposed by the effective medium theory are in best agreement with the experimentally measured ones.     

Classical properties of low-dimensional conductors: giant capacitance and non-ohmic potential drop

The electrical field arising around an inhomogeneous conductor when an electrical current passes through it is not screened, as distinct from 3D conductors, in low-dimensional conductors. As a result, the electrical field depends on the global distribution of the conductivity sigma(x) rather than on the local value of it, inhomogeneities of sigma(x) produce giant capacitances C(omega) that show frequency dependence at relatively low omega, and electrical fields develop in vast regions around the inhomogeneities of sigma(x). A theory of these phenomena is presented for 2D conductors.     

Mesoscopic thermodynamics of an inhomogeneous colossal-magnetoresistive phase

Equilibrium conductivity fluctuations of mesoscopic domains are found in film and bulk single-crystal manganite colossal magnetoresistive material. Temperature and field dependences of the Boltzmann factors for a collection of two-state fluctuators give measures of the magnetic moment and entropy differences between the states, and of the fluctuator volumes. The large resistance step size implies dramatic current inhomogeneities. Occasional anomalous temperature dependences indicate that the film inhomogeneous phase is stabilized by a repulsive interaction between conducting regions.     

The Millimeter Wave Tomography Application for the Subsurface Imaging

In the present paper new results of modeling and experimental investigation on millimeter wave subsurface tomography are submitted. Tomographic algorithm is employed for imaging of subsurface objects in the case when conductivity of probed medium is not equal to zero. The possibilities and restrictions of this algorithm for image processing are shown both as a result of modeling and as a result of experiments. A new tomography setup allowing obtaining images of different inhomogeneities in dielectric media is considered.