Columnar Structures and Stress Relaxation in Thick GaN Films Grown on Sapphire by HVPE

Thick GaN films with high quality are directly grown on sapphire in a home-built vertical hydride vapour phase epitaxy （HVPE） reactor. The optical and structural properties of large scale columnar domains near the interface are studied using cathodoluminescence and micro-Raman scattering. These columnar domains show a strong emission intensity due to extremely high free carrier concentration up to 2 × 10^19 cm^-3, which are related with impurities trapped in structural defects. The compressive stress in GaN film clearly decreases with increasing distance from interface. The quasi-continuous columnar domains play an important role in the stress relaxation for the upper high quality layer.     

立方氮化硼的振动光谱及反射光谱的研究

 将黑色、黄色、棕色三种小于50 μm立方氮化硼粉末为样品，研究了其红外光谱、拉曼光谱、反射光谱，结果表明：（1）样品的红外光谱中，1 818 cm^-1和1 548 cm^-1属于cBN的晶格本征振动，而立方氮化硼的晶格本征振动外的晶体缺陷吸收则发生在~800 cm^-1，1 580 cm^-1~1 740 cm^-1和大于2 400 cm^-1处。（2）拉曼光谱测试表明，在1 052 cm^-1和1 304 cm^-1附近出现的散射与cBN不具有反演中心及cBN具有立方结构这样的事实相一致，并且这种散射伴随着布里渊区中心声子的横向和纵向发射。144 cm^-1附近出现的散射，被认为是由于局部振荡模式的出现，在反斯托克斯区造成的信号，这与晶格中杂质缺陷有关。（3）依据得到的反射光谱，计算了cBN单晶禁带宽度，发现这三种cBN都具有大于金刚石的禁带宽度值，分别为：E_g(黑)=6.21 eV，E_g(黄)=5.73 eV，E_g(棕)=5.71 eV。     

An Artificially Garnet Crystal Materials Using In Terahertz Waveguide

A hypothesis is brought forward that the materials with low propagation loss in both optical and microwave band may exhibit good performance in terahertz （THz） band because THz wave band interspaces those two wave bands. For the purpose-of exploring a kind of low-loss material for THz waveguide, Lu2.1Bi0.9Fe5O12（LuBiIG） garnet films are prepared by liquid phase epitaxy （LPE） method on a gadolinium gallium garnet （GGG） substrate from lead-free flux because of the good properties in both optical and microwave bands. In microwave band, the ferromagnetic resonance （FMR） linewidth of the film 2△H = 2.8-5.1Oe; in optical band, the optical absorption coefficient is 600cm^-1 at visible range and about 100-170cm^-1 when the wavelength is longer than 800nm. In THz range, our hypothesis is well confirmed by a THz-TDS measurement which shows that the absorbance of the film for THz wave is 0.05-0.3 cm 1 and the minimum value appears at 2.3 THz. This artificial ferromagnetic material holds a great promise for magnetic field tunable THz devices such as waveguide, modulator or switch.     

Contrast and phase characterization of a high-peak-power 20-fs laser pulse

We fully characterize a high-peak-power, ultrashort laser pulse in a Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse amplification laser system. The contrast, temporal, and spectral phases of the 20-fs pulse are determined by using high-dynamic-range cross-correlation and frequency-resolved optical gating techniques. Minimization of the total phase error can be achieved by balancing the phase terms of the group delay dispersion and quartic. The laser system is currently being applied to perform high-field atomic ionization experiments at 10²⁰ W/cm².     

Three-Step Growth Optimization of AlN Epilayers by MOCVD

A three-step growth process is developed for depositing high-quality aluminium-nitride （AlN） epilayers on （001） sapphire by low pressure metalorganic chemical vapour deposition （LP-MOCVD）. We adopt a low temperature （LT） A1N nucleation layer （NL）, and two high temperature （HT） A1N layers with different V/Ⅲ ratios. Our results reveal that the optimal NL temperature is 840-880℃, and there exists a proper growth switching from low to high V/Ⅲ ratio for further reducing threading dislocations （TDs）. The screw-type TD density of the optimized AIN film is just 7.86×10^6 cm^-2, about three orders lower than its edge-type one of 2×10^9 cm^-2 estimated by high-resolution x-ray diffraction （HRXRD） and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy （TEM）.     

Nitrogen-Doped Chemical Vapour Deposited Diamond： a New Material for Room-Temperature Solid State Maser

Electron spin resonance （ESR） in polycrystalline diamond films grown by dc arc-jet and microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition is studied. The films with nitrogen impurity concentration up to 8 × 10^18 cm^-3 are also characterized by Raman, cathodoluminescence and optical absorption spectra. The ESR signal from P1 centre with g-factor of 2.0024 （nitrogen impurity atom occupying C site in diamond lattice） is found to exhibit an inversion with increasing the microwave power in an H102 resonator. The spin inversion effect could be of interest for further consideration of N-doped diamonds as a medium for masers operated at room temperature.     

Multilayer Au/TiO2Composite Films with Ultrafast Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Properties

We report on the ultrafast third-order optical nonlinearity in multilayer Au/TiO2 composite films fabricated on quartz substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique. The linear optical properties of the films are determined and optical absorption peaks due to surface plasmon resonance of Au particles are observed at about 590hm. The third-order optical nonlinearities of the films are investigated by z-scan method using a femtosecond laser （50 fs） at the wavelength of 800 nm. The sample showed fast nonlinear optical responses with nonlinear absorption coefficient and nonlinear refractive index being -3.66 × 10^-10 m/W and -2.95 × 10^-17 m^2/W, respectively. The results also show that the nonlinear optical effects increase with the increasing Au concentration in the composite films.     

Photopolymerization-Induced Two-Beam Coupling and Light-Induced Scattering in Polymethyl Methacrylate

Light amplification due to two-beam coupling is realized in doped polymethyl methacrylate （PMMA） glasses. A coupling gain as large as 14 cm^-1 is obtained. The dynamic behaviour of absorption and light-induced scattering due to the process of photopolymerization are also studied. The results show that the amplification and its dynamic process enable possible applications of PMMA in optical devices.     

Influence of Vacuum Organic Contaminations on Laser-Induced Damage of 1064 nm Anti-Reflective Coatings

We investigate the influence of vacuum organic contaminations on laser-induced damage threshold （LIDT） of optical coatings. Anti-reflective （AIR） coatings at 1064 nm made by Ta2 O5/SiO2 are deposited by the ion beam sputtering method. The LIDTs of AR coatings are measured in vacuum and in atmosphere, respectively. It is exhibited that contaminations in vacuum are easily to be absorbed onto optical surface because of lower pressure, and they become origins of damage, resulting in the decrease of LIDT from 24.5J/cm^2 in air to 15.TJ/cm^2 in vacuum. The LIDT of coatings in vacuum has is slightly changed compared with the value in atmosphere after the organic contaminations are wiped off. These results indicate that organic contaminations are the main reason of the LIDT decrease in vacuum. Additionally, damage morphologies have distinct changes from vacuum to atmosphere because of the differences between the residual stress and thermal decomposability of filmy materials.     

Large-area pulsed laser deposition of YBCO thin films: homogeneity and surface

YBCO thin films and buffer layers are deposited by a special PLD setup with an 8-cm line focus on cylindrical targets and substrate scanning perpendicular to it. Different kinds of substrates (SrTiO₃, MgO, LaAlO₃, Y-ZrO₂and sapphire) as large as 7᎜ cm² were coated with YBCO. Two important aspects of the presented PLD setup will be discussed in detail: the method of substrate heating and the variation of the angle between the incident laser beam and the target surface ("wobbling"). The surface of the target material has been investigated by SEM. The influence of target "wobbling" on the time stability of the plasma will be discussed. The homogeneity of the deposited YBCO films with respect to structural and electrical properties has been investigated by XRD, RBS/channeling, and spatially resolved inductive measurements of T_c and j_c. The values of j_c on 7᎜ cm²in situ buffered sapphire substrates are 2.0 MA/cm² at (77 K, 0 T) with a j_c variation of less than ᆨ%.     

Nanosecond UV laser damage and ablation from fluoride crystals polished by different techniques

Ablation thresholds and damage behavior of cleaved and polished surfaces of CaF₂, BaF₂, LiF and MgF₂ subjected to single-shot irradiation with 248 nm/14 ns laser pulses have been investigated using the photoacoustic mirage technique and scanning electron microscopy. For CaF₂, standard polishing yields an ablation threshold of typically 20 J/cm². When the surface is polished chemo-mechanically, the threshold can be raised to 43 J/cm², while polishing by diamond turning leads to intermediate values around 30 J/cm². Cleaved surfaces possess no well-defined damage threshold. When comparing different fluoride surfaces prepared by diamond turning it is found that the damage resistivity roughly scales with the band gap. We find an ablation threshold of 40 J/cm² for diamond turned LiF while the MgF₂ surface can withstand a fluence of more than 60 J/cm² without damage. The damage topography of conventionally polished surfaces shows flaky ablation across the laser-heated area with cracks along the cleavage planes. No ablation is observed in the case of chemo- mechanical polishing; only a few cracks appear. Diamond turned surfaces show small optical absorption but mostly cracks and ablation of flakes and, in some cases, severe damage in the form of craters larger than the irradiated area. The origin of such different damage behavior is discussed.     

Epitaxial ZnO thin films grown by pulsed electron beam deposition

In this work, the pulsed electron beam deposition method (PED) is evaluated by studying the properties of ZnO thin films grown on c-cut sapphire substrates. The film composition, structure and surface morphology were investigated by means of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Optical absorption, resistivity and Hall effect measurements were performed in order to obtain the optical and electronic properties of the ZnO films. By a fine tuning of the deposition conditions, smooth, dense, stoichiometric and textured hexagonal ZnO films were epitaxially grown on (0001) sapphire at 700 °C with a 30° rotation of the ZnO basal plane with respect to the sapphire substrate. The average transmittance of the films reaches 90% in the visible range with an optical band gap of 3.28 eV. Electrical characterization reveals a high density of charge carrier of 3.4 × 10¹⁹ cm^?3 along with a mobility of 11.53 cm²/Vs. The electrical and optical properties are discussed and compared to ZnO thin films prepared by the similar and most well-known pulsed laser deposition method.     

Fs-Laser structuring of ridge waveguides

Thin films made by PLD from Er:ZBLAN and Nd:Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂ are micro machined to form optical wave guiding structures using Ti:sapphire and Yb:glass fiber laser radiation. For the manufacturing of the ridge waveguides grooves are structured by ablation using femtosecond laser radiation. The fluence, the scanning velocity, the repetition rate, and the orientation of the polarization with respect to the scanning direction are varied. The resulting structures are characterized using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Damping and absorption coefficients of the waveguides are determined by observing the light scattered from the waveguides due to droplets in the thin films and the surface roughness of the structured edges. To discriminate between damping due to droplets and the structured edges, damping measurements in the non-structured films and the structured waveguides are performed. Ridge waveguides with non-resonant damping losses smaller than 3 dB/cm are achieved. Due to the high repetition rate of the Yb:glass fiber laser, the manufacturing time for one waveguide has been decreased by a factor of more than 100 compared to earlier results achieved with the Ti:sapphire laser.     

Annealed Treatment Effect in Poly（3-hexylthiophene）：Methanofullerene Solar Cells

Polymer photovoltaic devices based on poly（3-hexylthiophene） （P3HT） ： [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyricacid methyl ester （PCBM） 1：1 weight-ratio blend are reported. The effects of various annealing treatments on the device performance are investigated. Thermal annealing shows significant improvement of the device performances. For devices at 130℃ annealing, maximum power conversion efficiency （PCE） of 3.3% and All factor up to 60.3% is achieved under air mass 1.5, 100 m W/cm^2 illumination. We discuss the effect of thermal annealing by the results of ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy （UV-vis）, dark current-voltage curve, atomic force microscopy （AFM）.     

Optical Nonlinear Properties of CdSeS/ZnS Core/Shell Quantum Dots

The optical nonlinear properties of CdSeS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) areinvestigated by Z-scan technique using fundamental harmonic generation(1064nm) of mode-locked Nd:YAG laser for the first time. The experimental results show that two photon absorptions (TPA) occur at input intensity up to 12.5GW/cm². CdSeS/ZnS QDs have an average TPA cross section of 13710GM and large nonlinear refractive index on order of 10^-7esu. The large optical nonlinearities perhaps allow the CdSeS/ZnS QDs to be one kind of candidate material for bioimaging and fluorescence label, optical limiting and all-optical switching.     

Growth and Characteristics of Freestanding Hemispherical Diamond Films by Microwave Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition

Freestanding hemispherical diamond films have been fabricated by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition using graphite and molybdenum （Mo） as substrates. Characterized by Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, the crystalline quality of the films deposited on Mo is higher than that on graphite, which is attributed to the difference in intrinsic properties of the two substrates. By decreasing the methane concentration, the diamond films grown on the Mo substrate vary from black to white, and the optical transparency is enhanced. After polishing the growth side, the diamond films show an infrared transmittance of 35-60% in the range 400-4000 cm^- 1.     

Photoinduced Birefringence and Broadband All-Optical Photonic Switch in a Bacteriorhodopsin/Polymer Composite Film

Photoinduced birefringence with large optical nonlinearity in a bacteriorhodopsin/polymer composite film is observed. A high refractive index change of 8.5×10^-5 photoinduced by 476nm pumping beam is reached at the low intensity of 6.5mW/cm². Based on it, a broadband all-optical photonicswitch is realized with an optical controlling switch system. Because of controlling beam's selectivity in switching, the transporting beams of different wavelengths with different intensities and shapes can be modulated by adjusting the wavelength and intensity of the controlling beam.     

High Resolution Mode-Selective Excitation by Adaptive Femtosecond Pulse Shaping

High resolution mode-selective excitation in the mixture of C6H6 （992 cm^-1） and C6D6 （945 cm^-1） is experimentally achieved by adaptive femtosecond pulse shaping based on the genetic algorithm （GA）, and second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating （SHG-FROG） is adopted to characterize the original and optimal laser pulses, and its mechanism is experimentally validated by tailoring the frequency components of the pump pulses at the Fourier plane. It is indicated that two-pulse coherent mode-selective excitation of the Raman scattering mainly depends on the effective frequency components of the pump pulse related to specific molecular vibrational mode. The experimental results have attractive potential applications in the complicated molecular system.     

Controlled Evolution of Silicon Nanocone Arrays Induced by Ar+ Sputtering at Room Temperature

Controlled evolution of silicon nanocone arrays induced by Ar^＋ sputtering at room temperature, using the coating carbon as a mask, is demonstrated. The investigation of scanning electron microscopy indicates that the morphology of silicon nanostructures can be controlled by adjusting the thickness of the coating carbon film. Increasing the thickness of the coating carbon film from 50-60 nm, 250-300 nm and 750-800 nm to 1500 nm, the morphologies of silicon nanostructures are transformed from smooth surface ripple, coarse surface ripple and surface ripple with densely distributed nanocones to nanocone arrays with a high density of about 1 × 10^9- 2 × 10^9 cm^-2.     

Strengthening sapphire at elevated temperatures by SiO2 films

SiO₂ films have been prepared on sapphire by radio frequency magnetron reactive sputtering in order to increase the optical and mechanical properties of infrared windows and domes of sapphire at elevated temperatures. Infrared transmission and flexural strength of uncoated and coated sapphires have been investigated at different temperatures. SiO₂ films were shown to have apparent antireflective effect on sapphire substrate at room temperature. With increasing temperature, the coated sapphires have larger average transmission than the uncoated ones. The temperature was proven to only weakly affect the absorption coefficient and antireflection capability of the deposited films. It is also indicated that the flexural strengths of the c-axis sapphire samples coated with SiO₂ films are increased by 1.2 and 1.5 times than those of uncoated at 600 and 800 °C, respectively.