EPR of cadmium ferric voltaite above the ferrimagnetic transition

A single isotropic EPR line of Fe³⁺ in synthetic cadmium ferric voltaite, (NH₄)₂Cd₅Fe₃Al(SO₄)₁₂ · 18H₂O, was observed in a wide temperature range from 295 to 1.57°K. The ferrimagnetic transition temperature of CdFe voltaite was determined to be ～ 0.7°K using the temperature dependence of the g-factor and the line width. The cubic crystal field parameter, a, for Fe³⁺ in CdFe voltaite is extracted from the EPR line width measurement using the exchange-narrowed line width model of Anderson and Weiss. The parameter a for Fe³⁺ in CdFe voltaite at 4.2°K is 157 × 10^-4cm^-1 which is consistent with the corresponding values for Fe³⁺ in other cubic structures.     

Synthesis of superconducting compounds by thermolysis of volatile hydrides and organometallic compounds on glowing wires

The synthesis of high temperature superconducting phases in the NbGe, NbSn, VSi, VGe, VSn, NbC and MoC systems is described by method consisting in the thermolysis of volatile hydrides or organometallic compounds on resistively heated wires. For face-centred cubic NbC a higher transition temperature than previously reported was obtained. The A15 phase boundary of NbGe is extended towards the stoichiometric 3:1 composition, affording samples of Nb₃ Ge with a T_c onset of 15.8°K.     

The adsorption of nitric oxide on a silicon (100) 2 × 1 surface studied with Auger electron spectroscopy

We present an Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) study of the adsorption of nitric oxide (NO) on a clean Si(100)2 × 1 surface at 300 and 550 K. Accurate measurement reeveal well resolved fine structure at Auger SiL_2.3VV transitions at 62 and 83 eV. These peaks can be attributed to SiO and SiN bonds. Furthermore, it is argued that the broadening in the SiLi_2.3VV Auger transition at 83 eV at 300 K may be composed of two nearby peaks, which could be attributed to two different kinds of chemical bonding, SiN and SiO. The absence of a peak at 69 eV at room temperature strongly suggests the NO adsorption on a Si(100)2 × 1 surface to be molecular. Dissociation of NO on the Si(100)2 × 1 surface is observed at 550 K.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of 73Ge in Ge[Co2]O4

Nuclear magnetic resonance of ⁷³Ge in Ge[Co₂]O₄ was investigated between 77°K and 290°K. Analysis on resonance shifts showed a presence of considerable everlap between the oxygen and germanium ions, suggesting the long-range superexchange interaction via CoOGeOCo paths.     

Blue photoluminescence from SiGeSiO2 co-sputtered films

A blue photoluminescence band centered at 440 nm was observed from SiGeSiO₂ co-sputtered films at room temperature. This band gains intensity after the film was annealed at a temperature around 900°C in N₂ atmosphere. From analysis of photoluminescence excitation, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectra, it turns out that the luminescence is probably from some interfacial state between Si_1−xGe_x nanoparticles and the SiO₂ matrix.     

Orientation of adsorbed ethylene oxide on Ni(110) by X-ray photoelectron diffraction

The adsorption of ethylene oxide on Ni(110) was studied at 95 K and monolayer coverage by angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A slow radiation-induced decomposition at hv = 1486.7 eV to most likely methoxy was noted. The orientation of the adsorbed ethylene oxide was determined by measuring forward scattering enhancements in the O 1s intensity distribution. Peaks in polar (θ) as well as azimuthal (φ) scans occurred at four angular positions in 2π above the surface: (θ = 54°, φ = 36°, 144°, 216°, 324°). These positions were evaluated to yield the tilt angle of the molecule at 48°_relative to normal, and the COC bond angle of adsorbed C₂H₄O of about 57°. The molecule is tilted towards the [001] and [001̄] directions (two domains), with a mirror plane in the [001] azimuth.     

Dielectric properties of CsH2PO4 and CsD2PO4

Orthorhombic CsH₂PO₄ undergoes a ferroelectric transition at T_c = ?119.5°C, whereas the ferroelectric transition temperature in isomorphous CsD₂PO₄ is T_c = ?5.55°C. The transitions are of first order in both cases. The rather large isotope effect demonstrates the importance of the OHO bonds in the transition mechanism.     

Effect of operating temperatures on the coefficient of performance of active carbon-methanol systems

Experimental and predicted results of an active carbon (AC35)-methanol pair as a function of operating temperatures are discussed.Experimental COP's higher than 0.5 are obtained when the evaporating temperature lift is less than 25°C. The COP is seen to be very sensitive to the evaporating and adsorbing temperatures. The regenerating temperature is of the order of 100°C which makes that pair a good candidate for solar cooling applications.A comparison between the results obtained with that pair and predicted performances of three other pairs (NH₃H₂O, ZeoliteH₂O and another active carbon-methanol pair) shows that:

• 1.(1) two adsorber cycles give higher COP's than the NH₃H₂H₂O continuous cycle;
• 2.(2) intermittent adsorptive cycles give higher COP's than the NH₃H₂O continuous cycle as long as the evaporating temperature lift is less than 50°C;
• 3.(3) among the solid adsorbents, the active carbon-methanol pairs seem to be the most promising for cooling applications. The choice of the active carbon depends on the evaporating temperature lift: AC35 is very well adapted for temperature lifts larger than 30°C; ACLH could be better adapted to smaller evaporating temperature lifts, as suggested by Passos et al.

     

Structural phase transition in YBa2Cu3O7−δ: the role of dimensionality for high temperature superconductivity

We have performed detailed high temperature X-ray diffraction to study the nature of the structural phase of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ. The results indicate the existence of a reversible orthorhombic to tetragonal phase transition at a temperature close to 750°C. If the high temperature tetragonal phase is quenched-in at low temperatures the critical superconducting temperature is considerably reduced from 92.5 K. This suggests that the one dimensional CuO chains present in the orthorhombic structure are necessary for high temperature superconductivity.     

Measurements of intensities and nitrogen-broadened linewidths in the CO fundamental at low temperatures

Intensities and nitrogen-broadened half-widths of lines R(0), R(8) and R(16) in the fundamental band of ¹²C¹⁶O have been measured at 83°K, 100°K, 150°K, 200°K and 298°K. The intensities of several other lines in the P- and R-branches of the band have also been measured at 298°K. The absolute intensity derived from the line intensity data using the Herman-Wallis formula is S^°_v = 273 ± 10 cm^-2atm^-1 at S.T.P. A separate measurement employing the Wilson-Wells-Penner-Weber method has yielded S^°_v = 277 ± 4 cm^-2 atm^-1 at S.T.P. Both of these values are within 6 per cent of most of the previously published direct measurements of this parameter. The values for the line intensities reported earlier by other authors are lower by nearly 16 per cent.     

Light emission from a-Si:C:O:H films fabricated by C2F6 and O2/C2F6 plasma treating silicone oil liquid

Amorphous Si:C:O:H films were fabricated at low temperature by C₂F₆ and O₂/C₂F₆ plasma treating silicone oil liquid. The a-Si:C:O:H films fabricated by C₂F₆ plasma treatment exhibited white photoluminescence at room temperature, while that by O₂/C₂F₆ plasma treatment exhibited blue photoluminescence. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy studies showed that the sp³ and sp² hybridized carbons, SiC bond, SiO bond and carbon-related defects in a-Si:C:O:H films correlated with photoluminescence. It is suggested that the blue emission at 469 nm was related to the sp³ and sp² hybridized carbons, SiC bond, carbon dangling bonds as well as SiO short chains and small clusters, while the light emitting at 554 nm was related to the carbon-related defects.     

Catalytic action of gold atoms on the oxidation of Si(111) surfaces

Auger spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and ion depth profiling techniques, under ultra high vacuum conditions, have been used in a comparative study of the oxidation of clean and gold precovered silicon (111) surfaces. Exposure of a Si surface covered by a few Au monolayers to an oxygen partial pressure induces the formation of SiO₄ tetrahedra even at room temperature. In contrast, oxidation under the same conditions of a clean Si(111) surface leads to the well known formation of a chemisorbed oxygen monolayer. In the case of the Au covered surfaces, the enhancement of the oxide growth is attributed to the presence of an AuSi alloy where the hybridization state of silicon atoms is modified as compared to bulk silicon. This Au catalytic action has been investigated with various parameters as the substrate temperature, oxygen partial pressure and Au coverage. The conclusions are two fold. At low temperature (T < 400°C), gold atoms enhance considerably the oxidation process. SiO₄ tetrahedra are readily formed even at room temperature. Nevertheless, the SiO₂ thickness saturates at about one monolayer, this effect being attributed to the lack of Si atoms alloyed with gold in the reaction area. By increasing the temperature (from 20°C to ～400°C), silicon diffusion towards the surface is promoted and a thicker SiO₂ layer can be grown on top of the substrate. In the case of the oxidation performed at temperature higher than 400°C, the results are similar to the one obtained on a clean surface. At these temperatures, the metallic film agglomerates into tridimensional crystallites on top of a very thin AuSi alloyed layer. The fact that the latter has no influence on the oxidation is attributed to the different local arrangement of atoms at the sample surface.     

Intensity measurements in the 4·54μ fundamental of CH3D at low temperatures

The integrated intensities of the J-multiples R(4) through P(12), including the Q-branch, of the 4·54μ fundamental of CH₃D have been measured at 100°K, 150°K, 200°K, 250°K, and 298°K. Comparison of the measured line strengths with values calculated using symmetric-top formulae suggests strong intensity anamolies.     

Structural and photoluminescence properties of silicon nanocrystals embedded in SiC matrix prepared by magnetron sputtering

Si nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in an SiC matrix were prepared by the deposition of Si-rich Si_1?xC_x/SiC nanomultilayer films using magnetron sputtering, subsequently followed by thermal annealing in the range of 800～1200 °C. As the annealing temperature increases to 1000 °C, Si NCs begin to form and SiC NCs also start to emerge at the annealing temperature of 1200 °C. With the increase of annealing temperature, two photoluminescence (PL) peaks have an obvious redshift. The intensity of the low-energy PL peak around 669～742 nm gradually lowers, however the intensity of high-energy PL peak around 601～632 nm enhances. The low-energy PL peak might attribute to dangling bonds in amorphous Si (a-Si) sublayers, and the redshift of this peak might be related to the passivation of Si dangling bonds. Whereas the origin of the high-energy PL peak may be the emergence of Si NCs, the redshift of this peak correlates with the change in the size of Si NCs.     

Microwave spectrum of dimethyldichlorosilane

The microwave spectrum of dimethyldichlorosilane has been observed and the rotational constants and centrifugal distortion constants have been determined for ³⁵Cl₂ and ³⁵Cl³⁷Cl species. From these constants, the molecular structure is determined as $\text{r(}\text{SiCl}\text{) = 2.055 ± 0.003}\text{A}\text{?}$, $\text{r(}\text{SiC}\text{) = 1.845 ± 0.005}\text{A}\text{?}$, ∠ClSiCl = 107.2 ± 0.3°, ∠CSiC = 114.7 ± 0.3°. An analysis of the ³⁵Cl₂ quadrupole splittings leads to quadrupole coupling constants of χ_aa = ?19.6 ± 0.3 MHz, χ_bb = ?3.7 ± 1.4 MHz, χ_cc = 23.3 ± 1.4 MHz, χ_bond = ?38.0 ± 1.6 MHz, and η_bond = 0.22 ± 0.08.     

Mössbauer study of the intermetallic compound Nd2Fe14B. II. Temperature dependence and spin reorientation

The ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer effects of Nd₂Fe₁₄B were measured in a temperature range of 4.2−300 K. Below the spin reorientation transition temperature T_sc = 148 K, the spectra were satisfactorily analyzed with twelve Zeeman sextuplets due to splitting of six crystallographic Fe-sites into twelve non-equivalent sites. It was shown that the magnetic moments of the Fe and the Nd atoms are non-collinearly coupled in the magnetic structure with canted moments below T_sc. The directions of the moments at 4.2 K are inclined at 27° for Fe and at 58° for Nd from the c-axis to the [110] direction. The average moments are 2.27μ_B for Fe and 3.3μ_B for Nd at 4.2 K. The increase of the average hyperfine field with decreasing temperature is suppressed below T_sc, and its value at 4.2 K is reduced by 1% from the value of 337 kOe which is observed in Y₂Fe₁₄B and also estimated for Nd₂Fe₁₄B by extrapolating the values above T_sc. On the other hand, the Nd moment increases abruptly around T_sc as the temperature decreases. The directions of the principal axes of electric field gradients on the six distinct Fe-sites were also obtained. The anomalous temperature dependence of quadrupole splittings and isomer shifts was observed around T_sc. They were discussed in a framework of the changes in the band structure and the lattice parameters incidental to the spin reorientation transition.     

A double-minimum skeletal torsion in 1-silabicyclo[2.2.2]octane by microwave spectroscopy

The 1-silabicyclo[2.2.2]octane molecule HSi(CH₂CH₂)₃CH was investigated by microwave spectroscopy. The observed spectra followed the symmetric-rotor pattern with the unresolved K structures, but were accompanied by many strong vibrational satellites. A series of the prominent satellites was assigned to the excited states of the skeletal torsion. The transition frequencies and the relative intensities which were measured for the satellites were used to determine the double-minimum potential function to the skeletal torsion. The height of the potential hump and the equilibrium torsional angle, which was defined as the SiCCC dihedral angle, were determined to be 606 ± 40 cal/mole and 21.3° ± 1.0°, respectively. The results that the double-minimum nature of the potential function is more pronounced in 1-silabicyclo[2.2.2]octane than in other bicyclo[2.2.2]octane derivatives studied previously are discussed in detail in terms of the internal-rotation potential around the CC and CSi bonds and the strains in the valence angles of the C and Si atoms.     

Hall coefficients for A15 compounds: Nb-Sn and V-Si

The Hall coefficients, R_H, for A15 structure single crystal V₃Si and polycrystal V25.25 at.% Si and Nb 26 at.% Sn have been measured as functions of temperature. The data between the superconducting transition temperature, T_c, and 80 K for the Nb-Sn show a small dip centred arounf 30 K which accompanies a cubic-to-tetragonal lattice distortion commencing at about 45 K. R_H for the VSi samples, which are believed to be non-transforming, is temperature independent in the range 17–40 K and equal to 2.0 ± 0.2×10^?10m³C^?1. These result are discussed in relation to the effect of the tetragonal distortion on the band structures of these compounds.     

Giant temperature coefficient of resistance in Co-doped ZnO thin films

A novel high-performance thermistor material based on Co-doped ZnO thin films is presented. The films were deposited by the pulsed laser deposition technique on Si (111) single-crystal substrates. The structural and electronic transport properties were correlated as a function of parameters such as substrate temperature and Co-doped content for Zn_1?x Co _x O (x=0.005,0.05,0.10 and 0.15) to prepare these films. The Zn_1?x Co _x O films were deposited at various substrate temperatures between 20 and 280 °C. A value of 20 %/K for the negative temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) with a wide range near room temperature was obtained. It was found that both TCR vs. temperature behavior and TCR value were strongly affected by cobalt doping level and substrate temperature. In addition, a maximal TCR value of over 20 %?K^?1 having a resistivity value of 3.6 Ω?cm was observed in a Zn_0.9Co_0.1O film near 260 °C, which was deposited at 120 °C and shown to be amorphous by X-ray diffraction. The result proved that the optimal Co concentration could help us to achieve giant TCR in Co-doped ZnO films. Meanwhile, the resistivities of the films ranged from 0.4 to 270 Ω?cm. A Co-doped ZnO/Si film is a strong candidate of thermometric materials for non-cooling and high-performance bolometric applications.     

Temperature dependence of Debye-Waller factors at a cooperative high-spin (5T2) ⇌ low-spin (1A1) transition in dithiocyanatobis(2,2'-bipyridyl)iron(II)

Debye-Waller factors f were determined over the temperature range 4.2 to 298°K in Fe(bipy)₂(NCS)₂ from ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra (bipy = 2,2'-bipyridyl). Whereas magnetic data and other physical properties show an abrupt change at the temperature of a cooperative ⁵T₂ ? ¹A₁ transition, T_c = 214°K, a continuous change of -ln f is found. The significance of this result is discussed.