Directional Propagation Characteristics of Flexural Waves in Two-Dimensional Thin-Plate Phononic Crystals

The propagation characteristics of flexural waves in two-dimensional thin-plate phononic crystals （PCs） are analysed with the plane wave expansion （PWE） method to yield phase constant surfaces, which predict high directivity of flexural wave propagation for certain frequencies outside the band gap. The prediction is validated through the computation of the harmonic responses of a finite structure with 9 × 9 unit cells. The results indicate that directional propagation of flexural waves is an while specific effects of the directional propagation in inherent characteristic of two-dimensional thin-plate PCs a finite structure vary with the positions of excitations.     

Calculation of the temperature and thermal expansion of a STM tip heated by a short laser pulse

A mathematical model for the calculation of the temperature field in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip under laser illumination is developed. The duration of the laser pulse is a few nanoseconds or shorter. A Gaussian distribution of the laser light intensity in time and space is assumed. Two different mechanisms of tip heating are taken into account: 1. due to an enhanced electric field on the tip; 2. due to heating of the side surface of the tip by the focused spot of laser light. An average tip temperature is calculated using the heat conductivity equation. The enhanced electric field on the tip is calculated by the method of boundary integral equations. Received: 20 August 2002 / Revised version: 4 December 2002 / Published online: 19 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-2551/962-490, E-mail: sklein@fh-muenster.de     

Thermal and carrier transport originating from photon recycling and non-radiative recombination in laser micromachining of GaAs thin films

Coupled thermal and carrier transports (electron/hole generation, recombination, diffusion and drifting) in laser photoetching of GaAs thin film is investigated. A new volumetric heating mechanism originating from SRH (Shockley–Read–Hall) non-radiative recombination and photon recycling is proposed and modeled based on recent experimental findings. Both volumetric SRH heating and Joule heating are found to be important in the carrier transport, as well as the etching process. SRH heating and Joule heating are primarily confined within the space-charge region, which is about 20 nm from the GaAs surface. The surface temperature rises rapidly as the laser intensity exceeds 10⁵ W/m². Below a laser intensity of 10⁵ W/m², the thermal effect is negligible. The etch rate is found to be dependent on the competition between photovoltaic and photothermal effects on surface potential. At high laser intensity, the etch rate is increased by more than 100%, due to SRH and Joule heating. Received: 24 January 2002 / Accepted: 11 April 2002 / Published online: 10 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-310/206-2302, E-mail: xiang@seas.ucla.edu     

Depth profiling the thermal reflection coefficient of an opaque solid via an inverse thermal wave scattering theory based on the Method of Images

A new formulation of the inverse problem of depth profiling the thermal properties of an opaque solid based on one-dimensional photo-generated thermal waves is presented. The inverse problem as posed is linear in a set of lumped thermal reflection coefficients which account for the return of energy to the surface by all significant heat conduction channels. An analysis based on the Method of Images relates these coefficients to individual values of the interface thermal reflection coefficients in the material. No weak backscattering assumption is invoked to linearize the problem. The method yields a unique solution subject to a given condition of regularization. Solutions recovered by the method are stable at experimentally feasible error levels. Received: 27 September 1999 / Published online: 16 June 2000     

Heat Conductivity of One-Dimensional Carbon Chain in an External Potential

The heat transport m a one-dimensional （ID） carbon nanowire （CNW） lying in an external potential with different amplitudes and periods is studied by the non-equilibrium molecular dynamics method. It is found that the thermal conductivity of CNW is always anomalous, increasing with the CNW length and obeying the power law k- N, in which a decreases with the increasing external potential amplitude. The thermal conductivity could be enhanced by the external potential with rather larger amplitudes, which means that an applied external potential could be an efficient tool to improve the heat conductivity of a real 1D material In addition, the effect of different periods of the external potential is studied, finding the external potential with an incommensurate period leads to the smaller a value.     

Measurement of rotational temperature in CO2 waveguide laser medium

A small-signal gain in CO₂ waveguide laser medium has been measured on rotational-vibrational transitions in the P-branch of the (0, 0, 1)-(0, 2⁰, 0) band. It has been found that the rotational temperature is well defined in the waveguide laser system where high excitation power is injected and a large amount of energy is flowing through vibrational, rotational, and translational degrees of freedom. The rotational temperature is slightly higher than the translational temperature.     

Photoelastic effect and mirage deflection in anisotropic materials

The collinear mirage technique is widely used to measure the thermal diffusivity of semi-transparent materials. However, in a recent paper [A. Salazar, M. Gateshki and A. Sánchez-Lavega: Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 2665 (2000)], it was shown that for isotropic materials, because of the influence of photoelastic effect, the method was sensitive to the polarization state of the probe beam. The present paper extends the previous work to include anisotropic materials. In particular, we focus on the experimental conditions under which the thermal diffusivity of each crystal system can be measured using the phase method. Our theoretical model indicates that while the thermal diffusivity of isotropic materials can be measured using an unpolarized probe beam, for anisotropic materials, even the use of an unpolarized probe beam does not guarantee the validity of the method in all crystal systems. Experimental measurements performed on cubic, hexagonal and monoclinic crystals confirm the validity of the model. Received: 17 March 2001 / Accepted: 17 March 2001 / Published online: 25 July 2001     

Linear Tikhonov regularization against an edge field: an improved reconstruction algorithm in photothermal depth profilometry

This work introduces the concept of edge-field regularization into photothermal inverse depth profilometry problems. An edge field allows prior information concerning the depth location of material interfaces in a sample to be introduced into a Tikhonov regularization problem by a simple binary encoding. The edge-field regularization allows Nth-order Tikhonov stabilization constraints to be applied independently to multiple zones or segments of a depth profile between defined interface positions. This allows the reconstruction of continuous depth-profile information within known layers, without the globally imposed smoothing and edge oscillations of the classical regularization methods. This method successfully reconstructs both the amplitude of the interface discontinuities and the photothermal depth-contrast variations within the bounding edges, to a resolution limited by the resolving kernel for the underlying Nth-order Tikhonov constraint. The edge-field regularization dramatically reduces the errors associated with profiling photothermal contrast in bounded zones that are depth-displaced in the sample. Received: 19 September 2002 / Published online: 5 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-514/398-3797, E-mail: joan.power@mcgill.ca     

Ultrafast relaxation dynamics of electronic excitations in noble-metal clusters

We investigate non-equilibrium relaxation processes in optically excited large gold and silver clusters. Time-resolved pump-probe experiments and model calculations show that optical excitation of the clusters by femtosecond laser pulses results in a heating of the electron system, which is followed by electron cooling via phonon emission. The electron heating leads to an enhanced damping of the surface-plasmon resonance in the clusters. This enhanced damping is caused by an enhancement of the Landau damping and electron scattering rates at high electron temperatures. Furthermore, we find that the rate of electron cooling in the clusters changes with electron temperature; this is a consequence of the temperature-dependent specific heat of the conduction electrons. Finally, pump-probe experiments on ellipsoidal silver clusters show that the thermal expansion of the heated clusters triggers mechanical vibrations at the acoustic eigenfrequencies of the clusters. Received: 6 December 1999 / Published online: 7 August 2000     

Etching of buried photoresist layers and its application to the formation of three-dimensional layered structures

The fabrication of three-dimensional layered structures with 180-nm-thick TaO_x top layers supported by 1.5-μm-thick Mo pillars formed on a glass substrate is presented. The photoresist used for planarization was successfully removed through the TaO_x layers using heat treatment at 270 °C with mixed vapors of ethyl alcohol and pure water at high pressure for 3 h. Vacancies underlying the TaO_x layers were consequently formed. The possibility of rapid and lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon films was demonstrated when the silicon films formed on the TaO_x overlaying the vacancy regions were irradiated using a frequency-doubled YAG laser at 250 mJ/cm². Energy sensors using Cr/Al metal wires, with a high sensitivity of 0.07 mW/cm², were also demonstrated using the present structure with vacancy regions for reduction of heat diffusion. Received: 22 January 2001 / Accepted: 24 January 2001 / Published online: 27 June 2001     

Temperature distribution and thermal-induced defects in photorefractive barium titanate crystals illuminated with intense cw or pulsed laser irradiations

The temperature distribution in a parallelepipedic crystal irradiated with a Gaussian repartition of light is calculated by solving the three-dimensional heat equation and taking into account the losses through the sides of the samples. The theoretical and experimental maps of temperature are satisfactorily compared. For barium titanate crystals, the resistance to intense cw laser (25.7 kW/mm² at 514.5 nm) and to Nd:YAG pulsed laser (peak power of 9.2 MW at 532 nm) is investigated. The defects induced by the irradiation are analysed. Under pulsed illumination, the damage threshold is found to be 0.54 GW/cm² in a nominally undoped BaTiO₃ and 0.44 GW/cm² in a rhodium-cobalt doped BaTiO₃ crystal. Received: 7 March 2000 / Revised version: 14 April 2000 / Published online: 16 August 2000     

Thermal Conductivity Measurement of Submicron-Thick Aluminium Oxide Thin Films by a Transient Thermo-Reflectance Technique

Thermal conductivity of submicron-thick aluminium oxide thin films prepared by middle frequency magnetron sputtering is measured using a transient thermo-reflectance technique. A three-layer model based on transmission line theory and the genetic algorithm optimization method are employed to obtain the thermal conductivity of thin films and the interracial thermal resistance. The results show that the average thermal conductivity of 330- 1000nm aluminium oxide thin films is 3.3 Wm^-1K^-1 at room temperature. No significant thickness dependence is found. The uncertainty of the measurement is less than 10%.     

Principal surface wave velocities in the point focus acoustic materials signature V(z) of an anisotropic solid

This paper deals with the point focus beam (PFB) acoustic materials signature V(z) of an anisotropic solid, and in particular how it tends to be dominated by a limited number of principal surface rays. These rays are associated with propagation directions in which the Rayleigh wave (RW), pseudo-surface acoustic wave (PSAW) or a lateral wave slowness has an extremum. The phenomenon is interpreted in terms of the complex azimuthally averaged reflectance function of the surface, and also explained on the basis of a ray model. We illustrate the phenomenon with a number of examples, pertaining to the surfaces of single crystal copper and a carbon-fibre epoxy composite. In the case of copper, which has a much larger acoustic impedance than the water couplant, the oscillations in V(z) are dominated by principal RW and PSAW, whereas for the composite there is no RW or pseudo-SAW to be discerned with acoustic microscopy (AM), and V(z) is dominated by principal lateral waves. The utility of PFB AM in the study of anisotropic solids is further elaborated with examples showing how V(z) is sensitive to surface orientation, and how V(z) is affected by the presence of a surface over layer. The phenomena examined in this paper expand the scope for determining materials characteristics, such as elastic constants, crystallographic orientation, residual stress and over layer properties, from PFB V(z) measurements.     

Modeling of Lamb wave propagation in plate with two-dimensional phononic crystal layer coated on uniform substrate using plane-wave-expansion method

We show that the conversional three-dimensional plane wave expansion method can be revised to investigate the lamb wave propagation in the plate with two-dimensional phononic crystal layer coated on uniform substrate. We find that an imaginary three-dimensional periodic system can be constructed by stacking the studied plates and vacuum layers alternately, and then the Fourier series expansion can be performed. The difference between our imaginary periodic system and the true three-dimensional one is that, in our system, the Bloch feature of the wave along the thickness direction is broken. Three different systems are investigated by the proposed method as examples. The principle and reliability of the method are also discussed.     

Fully Developed Convective Heat Transfer of Power Law Fluids in a Circular Tube

We present a theoretical analysis for fully developed convective beat transfer in a circular tube for power law fluids by assuming that the thermal diffusivity is a function of temperature gradient. The analytical eolution is obtained and the heat transfer behaviour is investigated under a constant heat flux boundary condition. It is shown that the Nusselt number strongly depends on the value of power law index n. The Nusselt number sharply decreases in the range of 0 〈 n 〈 0.1. However, for n 〉 0.5, the Nusselt number decreases monotonically with the increasing n, and for n 〉 20, the values of Nusselt number approach a constant.     

A 2D spring model for the simulation of ultrasonic wave propagation in nonlinear hysteretic media

A two-dimensional (2D) approach to the simulation of ultrasonic wave propagation in nonclassical nonlinear (NCNL) media is presented. The approach represents the extension to 2D of a previously proposed one dimensional (1D) Spring Model, with the inclusion of a PM space treatment of the intersticial regions between grains. The extension to 2D is of great practical relevance for its potential applications in the field of quantitative nondestructive evaluation and material characterization, but it is also useful, from a theoretical point of view, to gain a better insight of the interaction mechanisms involved. The model is tested by means of virtual 2D experiments. The expected NCNL behaviors are qualitatively well reproduced.     

An energy approach to the modelling of particle removal by pulsed laser irradiation

An energy model to explain particle removal mechanism has been developed. This model is based on a detailed investigation of contact deformation of a particle on a solid surface, as well as particle motion during the process of substrate surface expansion under uniform laser irradiation. Calculation results show that small particles mainly gain kinetic energy during pulsed laser irradiation, whereas large particles mainly gain elastic deforming potential energy. The particle removal condition is derived from the viewpoint of energy. The relationship of particle removal efficiency with laser fluence and particle size is discussed. Theoretical results are compared with experimental results. Received: 30 July 1998 / Accepted: 14 December 1998 / Published online: 17 March 1999     

Artificially nanostructured Cu:Al2O3 films produced by pulsed laser deposition

The processes leading to the formation of Cu:Al₂O₃ composite films on Si (001) with a well defined nanostructure by alternate pulsed laser deposition (a-PLD) in vacuum are investigated. Alternately amorphous Al₂O₃ layers and Cu nanocrystals nucleated on the Al₂O₃ surface are formed, according to the PLD sequence. The Al₂O₃ deposited on the Cu nanocrystals fills in the space between them until they are completely buried, and subsequently, a continuous dense layer with a very flat surface (within 1 nm) is developed. The nucleation process of the nanocrystals and their resulting oblate ellipsoidal shape are discussed in terms of the role of the energetic species involved in the PLD process and the metal–oxide interface energy. Received: 4 July 2000 / Accepted: 5 July 2000 / Published online: 13 September 2000     

Bi nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous Ge matrix grown by pulsed laser deposition

Received: 1 September 1997/Accepted 8 September 1997     

A constrained variational principle for heat conduction

The heat equation is re-studied in this Letter in view of variational theory. By the semi-inverse method, a variational principle for the heat conduction is obtained, which is first appeared in the literature. The physical understanding of the obtained variational principle still needs further explanation.