Dielectric/piezoelectric properties and temperature dependence of domain structure evolution in lead free single crystal

(K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃ (KNN) single crystals were grown using a high temperature flux method. The dielectric permittivity was measured as a function of temperature for [001]-oriented KNN single crystals. The ferroelectric phase transition temperatures, including the rhombohedral–orthorhombic T_R−O, orthorhombic–tetragonal T_O−T and tetragonal–cubic T_C were found to be located at −149  C, 205 C and 393 C, respectively. The domain structure evolution with an increasing temperature in [001]-oriented KNN single crystal was observed using polarized light microscopy (PLM), where three distinguished changes of the domain structures were found to occur at −150  C, 213 C and 400 C, corresponding to the three phase transition temperatures.     

Experimental test of the variability ofG using Viking lander ranging data

Results are presented from the analysis of solar system astrometric data, notably the range data to the Viking landers on Mars. A least-squares fit of the parameters of the solar system model to these data limits a simple time variation in the effective Newtonian gravitational constant to (0.2 ± 0.4) × 10^–11 year^–1 and a rate of drift of atomic clocks relative to the implicit clock of relativistic dynamics to (0.1 ± 0.8) × 10^–11 year^–1. The error limits quoted are the result of uncertainties in the masses of the asteroids.This paper is reprinted with minor editorial modifications fromPhysical Review Letters,51, 1609 (1983).     

Low temperature homoepitaxy of GaN by LP-MOVPE using Dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen

Thin films of GaN with the V/III≈10 ratio were grown by low-pressure metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (LP-MOVPE) using N₂ and Dimethylhydrazine (DMHy) as a carrier gas and nitrogen precursor, respectively. For the growth temperatures in the range from 550 to 690 C the GaN layers exhibited good surface morphology. In the temperature range from approximately 550 to 610 C, the growth rate increases with increasing temperature, characteristic of the process limited by surface kinetics with the activation energy of approximately 36 kcal/mol. For the temperatures between 620 and 690 C, the growth rate was nearly independent of temperature, which is indicative of a mass transport limited growth. The activation energy was about 4.6 kcal/mol. Micro Raman spectroscopy revealed a significant relaxation of the selection rules for the scattering by the optical phonons in the films grown at lower temperatures. Variation of the intensity ratio for and E₁ phonon modes has been attributed to the changes in the structural quality of the films grown at different temperatures.     

Search for solar axions produced in the p + d → <Superscript>3</Superscript>He + A reaction

A search for the axioelectric absorption of 5.5-MeV solar axions produced in the p + d → ³He + γ (5.5 MeV) reaction was performed with two BGO detectors placed inside a low-background setup. Constraints on the axion-electron coupling constant were obtained for axions with masses in the (0.1–1.0)-MeV range: g _Ae ≤ (1.8–9.0) × 10⁻⁷. The solar positron flux from A → e⁻ + e⁺ decay was determined for axions with masses m _A > 2m _e. Using the existing experimental data on the interplanetary positron flux, a new constraint on the axion-electron coupling constant for axions with masses in the (1.2–5.4)-MeV range was obtained: g _Ae ≤ (1–5) × 10⁻¹⁷.     

Study of structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnO and SnO2 thin films

The investigation of structure, optical and electrical properties of tin and zinc oxide films on glass substrates by using magnetron sputtering are carried out. X-ray data show the formation of textured tin oxides film during deposition and its transformation to SnO₂ polycrystalline film at low temperature (200 C) if the concentration of oxygen in the chamber is high (O₂ — 100%, Ar — 0%). Optimal conditions of SnO₂ polycrystalline film deposition (pressure of Ar–O₂ mixture in chamber — 2.7 Pa, concentration of O₂ — 10%) are determined. Low resistivity of as-deposited ZnO film and increasing ZnO crystallite sizes and phase volume at temperatures higher than the melting point of Zn (419.5 C) are explained by formation of conductive Zn and ZnO particle chains and their destruction, respectively.     

Blue cathodoluminescence from thulium implanted AlxGa1−xN and InxAl1−xN

Room temperature cathodoluminescence (RTCL) was obtained from Tm implanted Al_xGa_1−xN with different AlN contents (in the range 0≤x≤0.2) and from implanted In_xAl_1−xN with different InN contents (x=0.13 and 0.19) close to the lattice match with GaN. The Tm³⁺ emission spectrum depends critically on the host material. The blue emission from Al_xGa_1−xN:Tm peaks in intensity for an AlN content of x0.11. The emission is enhanced by up to a factor of 50 times with an increase of annealing temperature from 1000 to 1300 C. The blue emission from In_0.13Al_0.87N:Tm, annealed at 1200 C, is more than ten times stronger than that from Al_xGa_1−xN:Tm, x≤0.2. However, the intensity decreases significantly as the InN fraction increases from 0.13 to 0.19.     

Study on the formation during the production of lead-free piezoceramics at the morphotropic phase boundary

Because of the environmental concerns, the manufacture of ceramics based on lead titanate zirconate [Pb(Zr_1−xTi_x)O₃−PZT] has been condemned because of the lead toxicity. In this context, the electromechanical properties of sodium, potassium and lithium niobate [(Na_0.5−x/2K_0.5−x/2Li_x)NbO₃−NKLN] at the morphotropic phase boundary granted these materials the position of most suitable candidate to replace PZT. However, the production of these ceramics is rather critical mainly because of a natural tendency of forming secondary phases. To help with the studies of the synthesis of this lead-free piezoceramic, this work presents an evaluation of the crystallization of the (Na_0.47K_0.47Li_0.06)NbO₃ phase by solid-state reactions. TG-DTA, XRD, dilatometric and ferroelectric hysteresis analyses indicated that a secondary phase (K₃Li₂Nb₅O₁₅) crystallizes at temperatures above 850 C and also during the sintering of the powders compacts at 1080 C. To prevent the formation of this phase, the addition of Na₂Nb₂O₆.nH₂O microfibers obtained through a microwave hydrothermal synthesis was performed in the sintering process. After to this addition, the suppression of the K₃Li₂Nb₅O₁₅ phase occurred and an increase of the NKLN electrical properties was then obtained.     

Quark Masses in Terms of Gauge Constants and Cabibbo Angle

Fritzsch type of mass matrices for the 2×2 case and appropriate Lagrangians enable the choice of Yukawa constants of the Lagrangians in terms of the gauge constants. The mass matrices for the four quarks are shown to be proportional to V_L. The Cabibbo angle is computed to be 13^∘36′.     

A lithium experiment in the program of solar neutrino research

Experiments sensitive to pp neutrinos from the Sun are very promising for precise measurement of the mixing angle ϑ ₁₂. A νe ⁻ scattering experiment (XMASS) and/or a charged-current experiment (indium detector) can measure the flux of electron pp neutrinos. One can find the total flux of pp neutrinos from a luminosity constraint after the contributions of ⁷Be and CNO neutrinos to the total luminosity of the Sun are measured. A radiochemical experiment utilizing a lithium target has high sensitivity to the CNO neutrinos; thus, it has a good promise for precise measurement of the mixing angle and for a test of the current theory of evolution of the stars. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

UV-Raman scattering study of lattice recovery by thermal annealing of Eu -implanted GaN layers

Lattice recovery of Eu-implanted GaN has been studied by means of Raman scattering under UV excitation. GaN epilayers implanted at 300 keV with doses ranging from 2×10¹⁴ to 4×10¹⁵ cm⁻² and subsequently annealed at 1000 C for 20 min show an increasing degree of disorder as the implantation dose increases. Higher temperature annealings up to 1300 C were also investigated in samples having an AlN capping layer. Disorder related modes, observed in samples annealed at 1000 C, disappear at higher annealing temperatures, indicating an incomplete lattice recovery at 1000 C. The Raman scattering spectra show resonant A₁(LO) multiphonon scattering up to sixth order, whose relative intensities depend on the implantation dose. The intensity ratios between multiphonon peaks observed for the highest implantation doses suggest a spread of the resonance, which could be related to a heterogeneous strain distribution, also indicative of incomplete lattice recovery.     

Electrical properties and degradation behavior of hydrogenated amorphous Si alloys for solar cells

The electrical properties and the degradation behavior of hydrogenated amorphous silicon alloys (a-Si_1–x A _x : H, with A=C, Ge, B, P) in designs of pin, pip, nin, and MOS structures are investigated by measuring the dark and light I(V) characteristics and the spectral response as well as the space-charge-limited current (SCLC), the time of flight (TOF) of carriers and the field effect (FE). These investigations give an overview of our recent work combined with new results emphasizing the physics of the a-Si:H pin solar cells. We discuss the stabilizing influence on the degradation behavior achieved by profiling the i layers of the pin solar cells with P and B. Two kinds of pin solar cells, namely glass/SnO₂/p(C)in/metal and glass/metal/pin/ITO, are investigated and an explanation of their different spectral response behavior is given. SCLC measurements lead to the conclusion that trapping is also involved in the degradation mechanism, as is recombination. TOF experiments on a-Si_1–x Ge _x : H pin diodes indicate that the incorporation of Ge widens the tail-state distribution below the conduction band. FE measurements showed densities of gap states of about 5×l0¹⁶cm^–3eV^–1.     

Al Schottky contact on p-GaSe

A new Schottky diode, Al/p-GaSe, was presented in this study. It shows an effective barrier height of 0.96 eV with an ideality factor of 1.24 over five decades and a reverse leakage current density of 4.12×10⁻⁷ A/cm² at −2 V after rapid thermal annealing at 400 C for 30 s. The generation–recombination effect of the Schottky diode was decreased as the annealing temperature was increased. The formation of Al_1.33Se₂ was observed by X-ray diffraction analysis after the diode was annealed at 400 C for 30 s. Owing to the grains’ growth, the surface morphology of the 400 C-annealed diode was rougher than that of the unannealed diode, which was observed both by the AFM and the SEM analysis.     

Dynamical mechanism for varying light velocity as a solution to cosmological problems

A dynamical model for varying light velocity in cosmology is developed, based on the idea that there are two metrics in spacetime. One metric g_μν describes the standard gravitational vacuum, and the other describes the geometry through which matter fields propagate. Matter propagating causally with respect to can provide acausal contributions to the matter stress-energy tensor in the field equations for g_μν, which, as we explicitly demonstrate with perfect fluid and scalar field matter models, provides a mechanism for the solution of the horizon, flatness and magnetic monopole problems in an FRW universe. The field equations also provide a ‘graceful exit' to the inflationary epoch since below an energy scale (related to the mass of ψ_μ) we recover exactly the standard FRW field equations.     

Hydrodynamic vacuum sources of dark matter self-generation in an accelerating universe without a Big Bang

We have obtained a generalization of the hydrodynamic theory of vacuum in the context of general relativity. While retaining the Lagrangian character of general relativity, the new theory provides a natural alternative to the view that the singularity is inevitable in general relativity and the theory of a hot Universe. We show that the macroscopic source-sink motion as a whole of ordinary (dark) matter that emerges during the production of particles out of the vacuum can be a new source of gravitational vacuum polarization (determining the variability of the cosmological term in general relativity). We have removed the well-known problems of the cosmological constant by refining the physical nature of dark energy associated precisely with this hydrodynamically initiated variability of the vacuum energy density. A new exact solution of the modified general relativity equations that contains no free (fitting) parameter additional to those available in general relativity has been obtained. It corresponds to the continuous and metric-affecting production of ultralight dark matter particles (with mass m ₀ = (ħ/c ²) $ \sqrt {12\rho _0 k} $ \sqrt {12\rho _0 k} ≈ 3 × 10⁻⁶⁶ g, k is the gravitational constant) out of the vacuum, with its density ρ₀, constant during the exponential expansion of a spatially flat Universe, being retained. This solution is shown to be stable in the regime of cosmological expansion in the time interval −∞ < t < t _max, when t = 0 corresponds to the present epoch and t _max= 2/3H ₀ cΩ_0m ≈ 38 × 10⁹ yr at Ω_0m = ρ₀/ρ_c ≈ 0.28 (H ₀ is the Hubble constant, ρ_c is the critical density). For t > t _max, the solution becomes exponentially unstable and characterizes the inverse process of dark matter particle absorption by the vacuum in the regime of contraction of the Universe. We consider the admissibility of the fact that scalar massive photon pairs can be these dark matter particles. Good quantitative agreement of this exact solution with the cosmological observations of SnIa, SDSS-BAO, and the decrease in the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe has been obtained.     

First measurements of the HCFC-142b trend from atmospheric chemistry experiment (ACE) solar occultation spectra

The first measurement of the HCFC-142b (CH₃CClF₂) trend near the tropopause has been derived from volume mixing ratio (VMR) measurements at northern and southern hemisphere mid-latitudes for the 2004–2008 time period from spaceborne solar occultation observations recorded at 0.02 cm⁻¹ resolution with the ACE (atmospheric chemistry experiment) Fourier transform spectrometer. The HCFC-142b molecule is currently the third most abundant HCFC (hydrochlorofluorocarbon) in the atmosphere and ACE measurements over this time span show a continuous rise in its volume mixing ratio. Monthly average measurements at northern and southern hemisphere mid-latitudes have similar increase rates that are consistent with surface trend measurements for a similar time span. A mean northern hemisphere profile for the time span shows a near constant VMR at 8–20 km altitude range, consistent on average for the same time span with in situ results. The nearly constant vertical VMR profile also agrees with model predictions of a long lifetime in the lower atmosphere.     

Exceptional sensitivity to neutrino parameters with a two-baseline Beta-beam set-up

We examine the reach of a Beta-beam experiment with two detectors at carefully chosen baselines for exploring neutrino mass parameters. Locating the source at CERN, the two detectors and baselines are: (a) a 50 kton iron calorimeter (ICAL) at a baseline of around 7150 km which is roughly the magic baseline, e.g., ICAL@INO, and (b) a 50 kton Totally Active Scintillator Detector at a distance of 730 km, e.g., at Gran Sasso. We choose ⁸B and ⁸Li source ions with a boost factor γ of 650 for the magic baseline while for the closer detector we consider ¹⁸Ne and ⁶He ions with a range of Lorentz boosts. We find that the locations of the two detectors complement each other leading to an exceptional high sensitivity. With γ=650 for ⁸B/⁸Li and γ=575 for ¹⁸Ne/⁶He and total luminosity corresponding to 5×(1.1×10¹⁸) and 5×(2.9×10¹⁸) useful ion decays in neutrino and antineutrino modes respectively, we find that the two-detector set-up can probe maximal CP violation and establish the neutrino mass ordering if sin²2θ₁₃ is 1.4×10⁻⁴ and 2.7×10⁻⁴, respectively, or more. The sensitivity reach for sin²2θ₁₃ itself is 5.5×10⁻⁴. With a factor of 10 higher luminosity, the corresponding sin²2θ₁₃ reach of this set-up would be 1.8×10⁻⁵, 4.6×10⁻⁵ and 5.3×10⁻⁵ respectively for the above three performance indicators. CP violation can be discovered for 64% of the possible δ_CP values for sin²2θ₁₃10⁻³ (8×10⁻⁵), for the standard luminosity (10 times enhanced luminosity). Comparable physics performance can be achieved in a set-up where data from CERN to INO@ICAL is combined with that from CERN to the Boulby mine in United Kingdom, a baseline of 1050 km.     

The role of a ZnO buffer layer in the growth of ZnO thin film on Al2O3 substrate

A ZnO buffer layer and ZnO thin film have been deposited by the pulsed laser deposition technique at the temperatures of 200 C and 400 C, respectively. Structural, electrical and optical properties of ZnO thin films grown on sapphire (Al₂O₃) substrate with 1, 5, and 9 nm thick ZnO buffer layers were investigated. A minute shift of the (101) peak was observed which indicates that the lattice parameter was changed by varying the thickness of the buffer layer. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to investigate the thickness of the ZnO buffer layer and the interface involving a thin ZnO buffer between the film and substrate. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns show high quality hexagonal ZnO thin film with 30 in-plane rotation with respect to the sapphire substrate. The use of the buffer can reduce the lattice mismatch between the ZnO thin film and sapphire substrate; therefore, the lattice constant of ZnO thin film grown on sapphire substrate became similar to that of bulk ZnO with increasing thickness of the buffer layer.     

Three-dimensional stationary cyclic symmetric Einstein–Maxwell solutions; black holes

From a general metric for stationary cyclic symmetric gravitational fields coupled to Maxwell electromagnetic fields within the (2 + 1)-dimensional gravity the uniqueness of wide families of exact solutions is established. Among them, all uniform electromagnetic solutions possessing electromagnetic fields with vanishing covariant derivatives, all fields having constant electromagnetic invariants F_μνF^μν and T_μνT^μν, the whole classes of hybrid electromagnetic solutions, and also wide classes of stationary solutions are derived for a third-order nonlinear key equation. Certain of these families can be thought of as black hole solutions. For the most general set of Einstein–Maxwell equations, reducible to three nonlinear equations for the three unknown functions, two new classes of solutions – having anti-de Sitter spinning metric limit – are derived. The relationship of various families with those reported by different authors’ solutions has been established. Among the classes of solutions with cosmological constant a relevant place is occupied by the electrostatic and magnetostatic Peldan solutions, the stationary uniform and spinning Clement classes, the constant electromagnetic invariant branches with the particular Kamata–Koikawa solution, the hybrid cyclic symmetric stationary black hole fields, and the non-less important solutions generated via SL(2,R)-transformations where the Clement spinning charged solution, the Martinez–Teitelboim–Zanelli black hole solution, and Dias–Lemos metric merit mention.     

Morphological control of ZnO nanostructures on silicon substrates

ZnO nanostructures are grown on Au-catalyzed Si substrates by vapour phase transport between 800 and 1150 C. Nanostructures grown at 800 C are mainly rod-like in structure with diameters of <200 nm. Increasing growth temperature yields combination growth modes with 2D structures (nanowalls/nanosheets) connecting 1D nanorods at intermediate temperatures and a 3D growth mode of foam-like appearance at the highest temperatures. The present work indicates that it may be possible to systematically control the morphology of ZnO nanostructures by varying the growth temperature.     

Search for anomalous production of single photons at and 136 GeV

This letter reports the results of the measurement of single photon production in the reaction e⁺e⁻ → γ+ invisible particles at centre-of-mass energies and 136 GeV and an integrated luminosity of 5.83 pb⁻¹, collected with the DELPHI detector at LEP. The signal is compatible with the prediction of the Standard Model for the process , and the number of neutrino families has been determined to be N_ν = 3.1 ± 0.6. Limits have been derived on anomalous neutral gauge boson couplings and on compositeness in the framework of a specific model.