Nanofoaming dynamics in biopolymers by femtosecond laser irradiation

We have recently shown that irradiation of self-standing films of the biopolymers collagen and gelatine with single femtosecond laser pulses produces a nanofoaming layer with regular bubble size which can be controlled by wavelength selection. Following these initial studies, here we report on the temporal evolution of the foaming effect by measurements in situ and in real time of the change in the transmittance of a cw probe HeNe laser through the irradiated films. Self standing films of the biopolymers were irradiated with 90 fs laser pulses at 800, 400, and 266 nm. For fluences below and above the modification threshold a permanent attenuation of the transmission occurs (increasing with fluence). The initial decay of the transmission is fast (around few tens of ns), and is followed by dynamics in the longer timescale (micro and milliseconds). The temporal evolution of the transmission measured upon fs laser irradiation is similar with that determined in the irradiation of the biopolymer films at 248 nm with 25 ns laser pulses. The method allows separating in time the different processes occurring after irradiation that lead to a permanent nanofoaming structure, while the results allow us to understand the mechanisms of femtosecond laser processing of the biopolymers and their interest in biomedical applications.     

Erratum to Formation and control of Au and Ag nanoparticles inside borate glasses using femtosecond laser and heat treatment

We report the spectroscopic properties of femtosecond laser-irradiated sodium-alumino-borate glass doped with silver and gold ions. We precipitated gold and silver nanoparticles by laser irradiation and annealing at 400°C for 30 min. The irradiation and annealing treatment produced different absorption and emission characteristics in Au³⁺ doped and Au³⁺, Ag⁺ codoped glasses, and the possible mechanisms of the observed results are discussed. The size of the nanoparticles was estimated by TEM and absorption band analysis.     

Nanostructuring of FePt thin films by plasma focus device: pulsed ion irradiation dependent phase transition and magnetic properties

The effects of the different number (1, 2 and 3) of H⁺ ion irradiation shots on pulsed laser deposited FePt thin films, using pulsed plasma focus device, are investigated. The FePt thin films were exposed to energetic H⁺ ions in a plasma focus device at a fixed distance of 4 cm from the top of central electrode. It was deduced that single shot ion irradiation based transient thermal treatment induces an effect similar to the conventional annealing at 400°C. Well-separated nanoparticles are formed, and the significant enhancement of the coercivity, by about two orders of magnitude, at a lower annealing temperature of 400°C has been observed in the single shot ion irradiated samples. The increase of plasma focus ion irradiation shots lead to the amorphorization in irradiated FePt samples due to excessive energy transfer causing more defects and lattice distortion, and a decreasing coercivity trend in irradiated and annealed samples are observed due to reduction in the texture coefficient of magnetic easy axis (001) orientation fct phase.     

Simulating 3D intense beam dynamics simulation using the moments method

The program of the 3D intense beam dynamic simulation based on the moments method is presented. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

A possible way to promote antihydrogen formation via metastable antiprotonic helium atoms

A new way to promote antihydrogen formation via the recently discovered long-lived metastable states of antiprotonic helium atoms is discussed. Recombination processes such ase ^– ¯pHe⁺⁺ +e ⁺ e ^– e ⁺ ¯p + He⁰ are possible in this respect.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. P. Kienle on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Effect of nickel nanofillers on the dielectric and magnetic properties of composites based on rubber in the X-band

Nickel–rubber nanocomposites were synthesized by incorporating ferromagnetic nickel nanoparticles in a natural rubber as well as neoprene rubber matrix. Complex dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability of these composites were evaluated in the X-band microwave frequencies at room temperature using cavity perturbation technique. The dielectric loss in natural rubber is smaller compared to neoprene rubber. A steady increase in the dielectric permittivity is observed with increase in the content of nickel in both the composites. The magnetic permeability exhibits a steady decrease with increase in frequency and magnetic loss shows a relaxation at 8 GHz. The suitability of these composites as microwave absorbers is modeled based on the reflection loss which is dependant on the real and imaginary components of the complex dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability.     

Excess properties of methanol-water binary system at various temperatures

Summary  In this study the viscosities of binary mixtures of methanol and water have been measured in the temperatures ranging from 15 to 45°C. The structural changes occurring as a consequence of molecular interactions in the solutions have been discussed in detail. Nevertheless, it would be of interest to see whether the information obtained from viscosity studies can be corroborated with that obtained from dielectric-constant data. With this aim, the present study on the dielectric behaviour of methanol-water binary solutions has been undertaken. The static dielectric constants, densities and refractive indices have been also measured on the methanol-water mixtures expressed by the mole fraction of methanol (0<x₂<1). Excess dielectric constants, excess volumes, excess viscosities and excess Gibbs energies of activation of the viscous flow and Kirkwood correlation factors have been evaluated using experimental results since these calculations may lead to conclusions concerning the deviation of the system from an ideal-mixture behaviour.     

Improvement of electrical properties of silicon-based thin-film transistors by modifying technological fabrication processes

This paper is a review of technological process evolution associated to electrical performance improvement of silicon-based thin-film transistors (TFTs) that were performed mainly in the GM/IETR laboratory. The main objective in agreement with the fields of applications is to fabricate TFTs at a temperature low enough to be compatible with the substrates, glass substrates in a first place and flexible substrates in a second one, which implies several approaches. In fact, the electrical properties of the TFTs, mainly field-effect mobility of carriers in the channel, I _on/I _off drain current ratio, and subthreshold slope, are strongly dependent on the quality and the nature of the channel material, on the material quality and thus on the density of states at the interface with the gate insulator, and on the quality of the gate insulator itself. All the improvements are directly linked to all these aspects, which means an actual combination of the efforts. For the glass substrate, compatible technology processes such as deposition techniques, or solid phase, or laser crystallizations of active layers were studied and compared. The paper details all these approaches and electrical performances. In addition, some results about the use of a silicon–germanium compound as channel active layer and airgap transistors for which the insulator is released, complete the presentation of the evolution of the silicon-based TFTs during the last twenty years.     

Calculation by plane wave Born approximations of electron-impact ionization of silver and copper

The plane wave Born approximation is used to calculate total electron impact ionization cross section of silver and copper. Wavefunctions of the target and residual ions were modeled by non orthogonal Hartree-Fock and Dirac-Fock orbitals. The wave functions of the atom and residual ion are calculated with allowance for relaxation effects. The one-electron wavefunction of the continuous spectrum for the ejected electron is obtained using single-configuration Hartree-Fock and Dirac-Fock method. The orthogonalization of the ejected electron wave functions to all occupied orbitals of the target atom is performed. Results of calculations are compared to available experimental measurements and theoretical calculations performed by non relativistic one-electron PWBA, where the ejected electrons is modeled by the hydrogenic Coulomb wave function.     

Half-lives andQ β measurements for new nuclei of89Tc and89mTc

Neutron deficient isotopes of⁸⁹Tc and^89mTc have been produced through the⁶⁰Ni(³²S,p 2n)⁸⁹Tc at 95 MeV and the⁵⁸Ni(³⁵Cl, 2p 2n)⁸⁹Tc reaction at 135 MeV. A rotating catcher foil system was used to collect the activities and transfer them to a measuring position for- spectroscopy. The half-lives of⁸⁹Tc and^89mTc were measured to be 12.8±0.9 s and 12.9±0.8 s, respectively. The total decay energy, Q_EC, for⁸⁹Tc was determined to be 7.51±0.21 MeV.The authors would like to express their thanks to technical staff of the Tandem Accelerator Center at the University of Tsukuba for their operation of the accelerator and assistance during the experiment. This work is partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Grant No. 01790180.     

Transient 3D/2D simulation of laser-induced ablation of silicon

A numerical software has been developed to simulate heating, enthalpy-based phase changes and ablation of silicon during pulsed or continuous-wave laser irradiation. The unsteady heat transfer equation is solved by finite differences in two or three dimensions with full resolution of the thin liquid layer. An intelligent adaptive grid refinement and a semi-analytic treatment of the surface elements have been implemented to simulate laser cuts with lots of laser pulses in moderate computing time. The code has been successfully verified by comparisons with an analytic solution and with experimental data. Details of the mathematical model, the implementation in Matlab^®and comparisons with experimental laser cuts are presented in this paper.     

Finite element simulation for estimating the mechanical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes

A finite element simulation technique for estimating the mechanical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes is developed. In the present modeling concept, individual carbon nanotube is simulated as a frame-like structure and the primary bonds between two nearest-neighboring atoms are treated as beam elements, the beam element properties are determined via the concept of energy equivalence between molecular dynamics and structural mechanics. As to the simulation of the interlayer van der Waals force which has intrinsic nonlinearity and complicated applying region, a simplifying method is proposed that the interlayer pressure caused by van der Waals force instead of the force itself is to be considered, and we make use of the linear part of the interlayer pressure near the equilibrium condition to avoid the nonlinearity in problem, then linear spring elements whose stiffness is determined by equivalent force concept can be utilized to simulate the interlayer van der Waals force such that significant modeling and computing effort is saved in performing the finite element analysis. Numerical examples for estimating the mechanical properties of nanotubes, such as axial and radial Young’s modulus, shear modulus, natural frequency, buckling load, etc., are presented to illustrate the accuracy of this simulation technique. By comparing to the results found in the literature and the possible analytical solutions, it shows that the obtained mechanical properties of nanotubes by the present method agree well with their comparable results. In addition, the relations between these mechanical properties and the nanotube size are also discussed.     

Evidence for a two-phonon octupole vibrational state in208Pb

Collective properties of^206,208Pb have been investigated with gamma-ray spectroscopy using nuclear and electromagnetic excitation by²⁰⁸Pb projectiles. From the measurement of particle-particle- and particle-particle- coincidences a new energy level in²⁰⁸Pb at 5.683 MeV was observed and the data suggest an interpretation as a 2-phonon octupole vibrational state with spin 4⁺ or 6⁺. For this state one finds the same dynamical deformation parameter ₃ as for the first-excited collective 3^– state. The results are compared to predictions of models which consider, in particular, the aspects of the quadrupole interaction and the interaction of the 2-particle pairing vibration with the 2-phonon octupole vibration. For the²⁰⁶Pb+²⁰⁸Pb system at 6.2 MeV/u the nuclear potential could be determined from the measured inelastic cross sections.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. P. Kienle on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Corrosion development between liquid gallium and four typical metal substrates used in chip cooling device

The limitation of the currently available thermal management method has put an ever serious challenge for computer chip designers. A liquid metal with low melting point around room temperature was recently identified as a powerful coolant of driving heat away because of its superior thermo-physical properties and the unique ability to be driven efficiently by a completely silent electromagnetic pump. However, the adoption of gallium, one of the best candidates as metal coolant so far, may cause serious corrosion to the structure materials and subsequently affect the performance or even dangerous running of the cooling system. To address this emerging critical issue, here the compatibility of gallium with four typical metal substrates (6063 Aluminum-Alloy, T2 Copper-Alloy, Anodic Coloring 6063 Aluminum-Alloy and 1Cr18Ni9 Stainless Steel) was comprehensively investigated in order to better understand the corrosion mechanisms and help find out the most suitable structure material for making a liquid metal cooling device. To grasp in detail the dynamic corrosion behavior, an image acquisition and contrasting method was developed. Moreover, corrosion morphology analyses were performed by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM). The chemical compositions of the corroded layers were evaluated using energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). According to the experiments, it was found that, the corrosion of the 6063 Aluminum-Alloy was rather evident and serious under the temperature range for chip cooling. The loose corrosion product will not only have no protection for the inner substrate, but also accelerate the corrosion process. Compared to the 6063 Aluminum-Alloy, T2 Copper-Alloy showed a slow and general corrosion, but part of the corrosion product can shed from the substrate, which will accelerate corrosion action and may block the flowing channel. Anodic Coloring 6063 Aluminum-Alloy and 1Cr18Ni9 Stainless Steel were found to have excellent corrosion resistance among these four specimens. No evident corrosion phenomena were found under the examination of SEM and EDS when exposed for 30 days at the temperature of 60°C, which suggests their suitability as structure materials for the flow of liquid metal. However, as for the Anodic Coloring 6063 Aluminum-Alloy, surface treatment and protection are of vital importance. The present study is of significance for making a liquid metal chip cooling device which can actually be used in the future computer industry.     

On the chaining dynamics of inclusions in SmC* free standing films

A simplified model of an inclusion represented by (+1)-wedge disclination and an accompanying hyperbolic defect ((−1)-wedge disclination) in smectic C* free standing films is used to describe the early stage of the ordering process of inclusions into chains. The elastic interaction between inclusions and their associated hyperbolic defects is used to discuss the dynamics observed experimentally during the inclusion chaining when inclusions are at distances much larger than their radii. This work was also supported by Grant No. 202/02/0840 of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic and by the research project AV0Z1-010-914.     

Pulse shaping and diffraction properties of multi-layers reflection volume holographic gratings

The multi-layers coupled-wave theory is extended to systematically investigate the pulse shaping and diffraction properties of a system of multi-layers reflection volume holographic gratings (MRVHG) under ultrashort laser pulse (ULP) readout. The combined effects that the grating parameters such as the number and thickness of layers and gaps between them and the pulse duration of the input ULP have on the pulse shaping properties are considered. The pulse profiles of the diffracted and transmitted beams, the diffraction bandwidth, and the total diffraction efficiency are presented. The calculated results we have derived permit an optimal choice of grating parameters for the pulse shaping and process applications.     

Possible candidates for discrete gamma rays linking superdeformed and yrast states in an odd nucleus:193Pb

The francium isotopes^200–202Fr were produced in the reaction³⁵Cl+¹⁷⁰Yb using bombarding energies of 4.9–5.3 MeV/nucleon. Fusion products were separated in-flight from the primary beam using a gas-filled recoil separator. An alpha line with the alpha particle energy and half-life of (7468±9) keV and (19 ₋₆ ⁺¹³ ) ms, respectively, was assigned to²⁰⁰Fr. Previously reported decay properties of^201,202Fr were confirmed. Communicated by V. Metag     

Corrections to the density-functional theory electronic spectrum: copper phthalocyanine

A method for improving the electronic spectrum of standard Density-Functional Theory (DFT) calculations (i.e., LDA or GGA approximations) is presented, and its application is discussed for the case of the copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) molecule. The method is based on a treatment of exchange and correlation in a many-body Hamiltonian, and it leads to easy-to-evaluate corrections to the DFT eigenvalues. Self-interaction is largely corrected, so that the modified energy levels do not suffer from spurious crossings, as often encountered for CuPc in DFT, and they remedy the standard underestimation of the gap. As a specific example we study the sequence and position of the CuPc molecular orbitals, which are wrongly calculated by standard DFT, and show that they are correctly reproduced after our corrections are included. The suggested method is fast and simple and, while not as accurate as hybrid or semiempirical functionals for molecular levels, it can be easily applied to any local-orbital DFT approach, improving on several important limitations of standard DFT methods.     

Magnet design and beam dynamics in computed fields for the DC-350 cyclotron

The DC-350 is an isochronous cyclotron designed in the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reaction (FLNR). It is intended for accelerating ions with a mass-to-charge ratio A/Z within an interval of 5–10 and with an energy of 3–12 MeV/u at the extraction radius. These ion beams will be used in nuclear and applied physics experiments. The paper describes the results of a 3D magnet simulation. The cyclotron magnet and IM90 analiziting-bend magnet of the axial injection channel are studied here. The influence of correction coils on the cyclotron magnet is calculated. All magnet fields were calculated by MERMAID 3D code [1]. The text was submitted by the authors in English.