Effects of pulse energy ratios on plasma characteristics of dual-pulse fiber-optic laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Laser-induced plasmas of dual-pulse fiber-optic laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy with different pulse energy ratios are studied by using the optical emission spectroscopy(OES)and fast imaging.The energy of the two laser pulses is independently adjusted within 0–30 m J with the total energy fixed at 30 m J.The inter-pulse delay remains 450 ns constantly.As the energy share of the first pulse increases,a similar bimodal variation trend of line intensities is observed.The two peaks are obtained at the point where the first pulse is half or twice of the second one,and the maximum spectral enhancement is at the first peak.The bimodal variation trend is induced by the change in the dominated mechanism of dual-pulse excitation with the trough between the two peaks caused by the weak coupling between the two mechanisms.By increasing the first pulse energy,there is a transition from the ablation enhancement dominance near the first peak to the plasma reheating dominance near the second peak.The calculations of plasma temperature and electron number density are consistent with the bimodal trend,which have the values of 17024.47 K,2.75×10¹⁷cm;and 12215.93 K,1.17×10¹⁷cm;at a time delay of 550 ns.In addition,the difference between the two peaks decreases with time delay.With the increase in the first pulse energy share,the plasma morphology undergoes a transformation from hemispherical to shiny-dot and to oblate-cylinder structure during the second laser irradiation from the recorded images by using an intensified charge-coupled device(ICCD)camera.Correspondingly,the peak expansion distance of the plasma front first decreases significantly from 1.99 mm in the single-pulse case to 1.34 mm at 12/18(dominated by ablation enhancement)and then increases slightly with increasing the plasma reheating effect.The variations in plasma dynamics verify that the change of pulse energy ratios leads to a transformation in the dual-pulse excitation mechanism.     

Magnetotransport properties of two-dimensional electron gas in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructures

Magnetotransport measurements are carried out on the AlGaN/AlN/GaN in an SiC heterostructure, which demonstrates the existence of the high-quality two-dimensional electron gas (2DGE) at the AlN/GaN interface. While the carrier concentration reaches 1.32 × 10¹³ cm ^{- 2} and stays relatively unchanged with the decreasing temperature, the mobility of the 2DEG increases to 1.21 × 10⁴ cm²/(V·s) at 2 K. The Shubnikov—de Haas (SdH) oscillations are observed in a magnetic field as low as 2.5 T at 2 K. By the measurements and the analyses of the temperature-dependent SdH oscillations, the effective mass of the 2DEG is determined. The ratio of the transport lifetime to the quantum scattering time is 9 in our sample, indicating that small-angle scattering is predominant.     

Crystal structures and sign reversal Hall resistivities in iron-based superconductors Li_x(C_3H_(10)N_2)_(0.32)FeSe(0.15 <x< 0.4)

Heavy electron-doped FeSe-derived materials have attracted attention due to their uncommon electronic structures with only ‘electron pockets', and they are different from other iron-based superconductors. Here, we report the crystal structures, superconductivities and normal state properties of two new Li-doped FeSe-based materials, i.e.,Li0.15(C_3H_(10)N_2)_(0.32) FeSe(P-4) and Li_x(C_3H_(10)N_2)_(0.32) FeSe(P4/nmm, 0.25 x 0.4) with superconducting transition temperatures ranging from 40 K to 46 K. The determined crystal structures reveal a coupling between Li concentration and the orientation of 1,3-diaminopropane molecules within the largely expanded FeSe layers. Superconducting fluctuations appear in the resistivity of the two superconductors and are fitted in terms of the quasi two-dimensional(2 D) Lawrence–Doniach model. The existence of a crossing point and scaling behavior in the T-dependence of diamagnetic response also suggests that the two superconductors belong to the quasi-2 D system. Interestingly, with the increase of temperature, a sign of Hall coefficient(R_H) reversing from negative to positive is observed at ～185 K in both phases, suggesting that‘hole pockets' emerge in these electron-doped FeSe materials. First principle calculations indicate that the increase in FeSe layer distance will lift up a ‘hole band' associated with d_(x~2-y~2) character and increase the hole carriers. Our findings suggest that the increase in two dimensionalities may lead to the sign-reversal Hall resistivity in Li_x(C_3H_(10)N_2)_(0.32) FeSe at high temperature.     

Magneto-Transport and Shubnikov–de Haas Oscillations in the Type-Ⅱ Weyl Semimetal Candidate NbIrTe_4 Flake

We report on magnetoresistance, Hall effect, and quantum Shubnikov–de Haas oscillation(SdH) experiments in NbIrTe4 single crystals, which was recently predicted to be a type-II Weyl semimetal. NbIrTe_4 manifests a non-saturating and parabolic magnetoresistance at low temperatures. The magneto-transport measurements show that NbIrTe_4 is a multiband system. The analysis of the SdH oscillations reveals four distinct oscillation frequencies. Combined with the density-functional theory calculations, we show that they come from two types of Fermi surfaces: electron pocket E_1 and hole pocket H_2.     

Low temperature magnetic and magnetostrictive properties in Pr(Fe_(1-x)Co_x)_(1.9) cubic Laves alloys

The structures,spin reorientations,magnetic,and magnetostrictive properties of the polycrystalline Pr(Fe_(1-x)Co_x)_(1.9)(x=0–1.0)cubic laves phase alloys between 5 K and 300 K are investigated.Large low-field magnetostrictions are observed at 5 K in the alloys with x=0.2 and 0.4 due to the low magnetic anisotropies of these two alloys.A large negative magnetostriction of about-1130 ppm is found in PrCo_(1.9) alloy at 5 K.The magnetizations of the alloys with 0≤x≤0.6decrease abnormally at the spin reorientation temperature T_(sr),and an abnormity is detected in the alloy with x=1.0 at its Curie temperature T_c(45 K).The substitution of Fe by Co increases the value of T_(sr) in the alloy with x value increasing from 0.0 to 0.4,and then reduces the value of Tsr with x value further increasing to 0.6.     

Anisotropic Applied Field Dependency of Two Successive Magnetic Transitions in LiCu2O2

The anisotropy of two successive transitions of the spin-ladder compound LiCu2O2 is studied by the specific heat （ C） under magnetic fields with H / / c and H / / ab （written as H^c and H^ab in the following） up to 14 T. The peak of specific heat at 24.5 K in zero field shifts to lower temperature when the field is increased and the magnitude of the peak is suppressed by the field. On the contrary, the peak of 22.5 K shifts to higher temperature, especially at 14 T. Its magnitude increases in the field of H^c, whereas it decreases in the field of H^ab. We calculate the entropy change between 21 K and 63 K. The different influence of the spin ordering by fields of different direction is obtained. Our experimental results suggest a mixed state between the long range incommensurate helimagnetic ground state and the higher-T short-range dimer liquid state. The temperature range of mixed state is shrunk with the increasing field. Possible mechanism is discussed.     

Temperature-dependent dielectric properties of Au/Si_3N_4/n-Si (metal insulator semiconductor) structures

The dielectric properties of Au/Si3N4/n-Si(MIS)structures are studied using the admittance measurements(C–V and G/ω–V)each as a function of temperature in a range from 80 K to 400 K for two frequencies(100 kHz and 1 MHz).Experimental results show that both the dielectric constant(ε)and the dielectric loss(ε)increase with temperature increasing and decrease with frequency increasing.The measurements also show that the ac conductivity(σac)increases with temperature and frequency increasing.The lnσacversus 1000/T plot shows two linear regions with different slopes which correspond to low(120 K–240 K)and high(280 K–400 K)temperature ranges for the two frequencies.It is found that activation energy increases with frequency and temperature increasing.     

Interaction between impurity nitrogen and tungsten： a first-principles investigation

We investigate the stability,diffusion,and impurity concentration of nitrogen in intrinsic tungsten single crystal employing a first-principles method,and find that a single nitrogen atom is energetically favourable for sitting at the octahedral interstitial site.A nitrogen atom prefers to diffuse between the two nearest neighboring octahedral interstitial sites with a diffusion barrier of 0.72 eV.The diffusion coefficient is determined as a function of temperature and expressed as D(N)=1.66×10～(-7) exp(0.72/kT).The solubility of nitrogen is estimated in intrinsic tungsten in terms of Sieverts’ law.The concentration of the nitrogen impurity is found to be 4.82×10～(-16) A～3 at a temperature of 600 K and a pressure of 1 Pa.A single nitrogen atom can easily sit in an off-vacancy-centre position close to the octahedral interstitial site.There exists a strong attraction between nitrogen and a vacancy with a large binding energy of 1.40 eV.We believe that these results can provide a good reference for the understanding of the behaviour of nitrogen in intrinsic tungsten.     

Electronic structure and defect states of transition films from amorphous to microcrystalline silicon studied by surface photovoltage spectroscopy

In this paper, surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS) is used to determine the electronic structure of the hydrogenated transition Si films. All samples are prepared by using helicon wave plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition technique, the films exhibit a transition from the amorphous phase to the microcrystalline phase with increasing temperature. The film deposited at lower substrate temperature has the amorphous-like electronic structure with two types of dominant defect states corresponding to the occupied Si dangling bond states (D⁰/D^- and the empty Si dangling states (D⁺). At higher substrate temperature, the crystallinity of the deposited films increases, while their band gap energy decreases. Meanwhile, two types of additional defect states is incorporate into the films as compared with the amorphous counterpart, which is attributed to the interface defect states between the microcrystalline Si grains and the amorphous matrix. The relative SPS intensity of these two kinds of defect states in samples deposited above 300\du increases first and decreases afterwards, which may be interpreted as a result of the competition between hydrogen release and crystalline grain size increment with increasing substrate temperature.     

Influences of P doping on magnetic phase transition and structure in MnCoSi ribbon

The structure and magnetic properties of Mn Co Si1-xPx(x = 0.05–0.50) are systematically investigated.With P content increasing,the lattice parameter a increases monotonically while both b and c decrease.At the same time,the temperature of metamagnetic transition from a low-temperature non-collinear ferromagnetic state to a high-temperature ferromagnetic state decreases and a new magnetic transition from a higher-magnetization ferromagnetic state to a lowermagnetization ferromagnetic state is observed in each of these compounds for the first time.This is explained by the changes of crystal structure and distance between Mn and Si atoms with the increase of temperature according to the hightemperature XRD result.The metamagnetic transition is found to be a second-order magnetic transition accompanied by a low inversed magnetocaloric effect(1.0 J·kg-1·K-1at 5 T) with a large temperature span(190 K at 5 T) compared with the scenario of Mn Co Si.The changes in the order of metamagnetic transition and structure make P-doped Mo Co Si compounds good candidates for the study of magnetoelastic coupling and the modulation of magnetic phase transition.     

Nanoscale superconductivity of ?-Ga islands grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We report on the preparation and superconductivity of metastable γ-Ga islands on Si(111) substrate. The Ga grows in a typical Volmer-Weber mode at a low temperature of 110 K, resulting in formation of Ga nanoislands at various sizes with the identical γ-phase. In-situ low temperature scanning tunneling spectra reveal quantized electronic states in ultrathin Ga islands. It is found that both the lateral size and thickness of the Ga islands strongly suppress the superconductivity. Due to substantial surface energy contribution, the transition temperature Tc scales inversely with the island thickness and the minimum thickness for the occurrence of superconductivity is calculated to be two monolayers.     

Reconstruction of Intrinsic Thermal Parameters of Methane Hydrate and Thermal Contact Resistance by Freestanding 3ω Method

It is essential to obtain thermophysical properties of methane hydrate precisely with a freestanding probe for modeling and predicting thermal transport in gas hydrates. A method with a freestanding 3ω probe is presented to reconstruct the intrinsic thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal contact resistance of methane hydrate. Isolated from the thermal contact resistance, the intrinsic thermal conductivity of methane hydrate decreases between 250 K and 280 K and is 41% larger than the effective value at 253 K. More importantly, when the thermal contact resistance is isolated, the temperature dependence of intrinsic thermal conductivity shows a converse trend with the generally accepted glass-like feature at high temperature. Otherwise, thermal contact resistances measured in the experiment between the freestanding 3ω probe and the methane hydrate sample are extraordinary large. The freestanding 3ω method in this work is expected to measure the thermal property of methane hydrate more accurately.     

Multi-carrier transport in ZrTe_5 film

Single-layered zirconium pentatelluride(ZrTe_5)has been predicted to be a large-gap two-dimensional(2D)topological insulator,which has attracted particular attention in topological phase transitions and potential device applications.Herein,we investigated the transport properties in Zras a function of thickness,ranging from a few nm to several hundred nm.We determined that the temperature of the resistivity anomaly peaktends to increase as the thickness decreases.Moreover,at a critical thickness of～40 nm,the dominating carriers in the films change from n-type to p-type.A comprehensive investigation of Shubnikov–de Hass(SdH)oscillations and Hall resistance at variable temperatures revealed a multi-carrier transport tendency in the thin films.We determined the carrier densities and mobilities of two majority carriers using the simplified two-carrier model.The electron carriers can be attributed to the Dirac band with a non-trivial Berry phaseπ,while the hole carriers may originate from surface chemical reaction or unintentional doping during the microfabrication process.It is necessary to encapsulate the Zrin an inert or vacuum environment to potentially achieve a substantial improvement in device quality.     

Carrier Dynamics Determined by Carrier-Phonon Coupling in InGaN/GaN Multiple Quantum Well Blue Light Emitting Diodes

Phonon sidebands in the electrolumiescence(EL) spectra of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well blue light emitting diodes are investigated. S-shaped injection current dependence of the energy spacing(ES) between the zero-phonon and first-order phonon-assisted luminescence lines is observed in a temperature range of 100–150 K.The S-shape is suppressed with increasing temperature from 100 to 150 K, and vanishes at temperature above200 K. The S-shaped injection dependence of ES at low temperatures could be explained by the three stages of carrier dynamics related to localization states:(i) carrier relaxation from shallow into deep localization states,(ii) band filling of shallow and deep localization states, and(iii) carrier overflow from deep to shallow localization states and to higher energy states. The three stages show strong temperature dependence. It is proposed that the fast change of the carrier lifetime with temperature is responsible for the suppression of S-shaped feature.The proposed mechanisms reveal carrier recombination dynamics in the EL of InGaN/GaN MQWs at various injection current densities and temperatures.     

ULTRASONIC ATTENUATION OF SHEAR WAVES IN AMORPHOUS PdSiAg ALLOY

With the pulse-echo technique the ultrasonic attenuation of shear waves in amorphous PdSiAgalloy has been measured as a function of frequency and temperature.At room temperature an ap-proximate f-squared frequency dependence is obtained between 10 and 240 MHz.Below 150K,at fixed frequency there is a slow increase of attenuation with decreasing temperature and a smallultrasonic absorption peak at 35K.The linear dependence of the relative variation of the soundvelocity is observed from 35 to 300K;the temperature coefficient of sound velocity is—1.58×10~(-4)/K.Below 35K,the relative varation of the sound velocity begins to deviate from the linear dependence.     

Polarized spin transport in mesoscopic quantum rings with electron--phonon and Rashba spin--orbit coupling

The influence of electron--phonon (EP) scattering on spin polarization of current output from a mesoscopic ring with Rashba spin--orbit (SO) interaction is numerically investigated. There are three leads connecting to the ring at different positions; unpolarized current is injected to one of them, and the other two are output channels with different bias voltages. The spin polarization of current in the outgoing leads shows oscillations as a function of EP coupling strength owing to the quantum interference of EP states in the ring region. As temperature increases, the oscillations are evidently suppressed, implying decoherence of the EP states. The simulation shows that the magnitude of polarized current is sensitive to the location of the lead. The polarized current depends on the connecting position of the lead in a complicated way due to the spin-sensitive quantum interference effects caused by different phases accumulated by transmitting electrons with opposite spin states along different paths.     

Dy substitution effect on the temperature dependences of magnetostriction in Pr_(1-x)Dy_xFe_(1.9) alloys

The temperature dependences of magnetostriction in Pr_(1 x)Dy_xFe_(1.9)(0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) alloys between 5 K and 300 K were investigated.An unusual decrease of magnetostriction with temperature decreasing was found in Pr-rich alloys(0 ≤x≤ 0.2),due to the change of the easy magnetization direction(EMD).Dy substitution reduces the magnetostriction in high-magnetic field(10 kOe ≤ H≤90 kOe) at 5 K,while a small amount of Dy substitution(x = 0.05) is beneficial to increasing the magnetostriction in low-magnetic field between 10 K and 50 K.This makes the alloys a potential candidate for low temperature applications.     

Measurement of thermal expansion coefficient of nonuniform temperature specimen

A new technique is developed to measure the longitudinal thermal expansion coefficient of C/C composite material at high temperature.The measuring principle and components of the apparatus are described in detail.The calculation method is derived from the temperature dependence of the therinal expansion coefficient.The apparatus mainly consists of a high temperature environmental chamber,a power circuit of heating,two high-speed pyrometers,and a laser scanning system.A long solid specimen is resistively heated to a steady high-temperature state by a steady electrical current.The temperature profile of the specimen surface is not uniform because of the thermal conduction and radiation.The temperature profile and the total expansion are measured with a high-speed scanning pyrometer and a laser slit scanning measuring system,respectively.The thermal expansion coefficient in a wide temperature range(1000-3800 K)of the specimen can therefore be obtained.The perfect consistency between the present and previous results justifies the validity of this technique.     

Transformation behaviors,structural and magnetic characteristics of Ni-Mn-Ga films on MgO （001）

Ferromagnetic Ni-Mn-Ga films were fabricated by depositing on MgO （001） substrates at temperatures from 673 K to 923 K. Microstructure, crystal structure, martensitic transformation behavior, and magnetic properties of the films were studied. With increasing deposition temperature, the surface morphology of the films transforms from granular to continu- ous. The martensitic transformation temperature is not dependent on deposition temperature; while transformation behavior is affected substantially by deposition temperature. X-ray analysis reveals that the film deposited at 873 K has a 7M marten- site phase, and its magnetization curve provides a typical step-increase, indicating the occurrence of magnetically induced reorientation （MIR）. In situ magnetic domain structure observation on the film deposited at 873 K reflects that the marten- sitic transformation could be divided into two periods： nucleation and growth, in the form of stripe domains. The MIR occurs at the temperature at which martensitic transformation starts, and the switching field increases with the decrease of temperature due to damped thermal activation. The magnetically induced martensitic transformation is related to the difference of magnetization between martensite and austenite. A shift of martensite temperature of dT/dH = 0.43 K/T is observed, consistent with the theoretical value, 0.41 K/T.     

Steady-state entanglement and heat current of two coupled qubits in two baths without rotating wave approximation

We study the steady-state entanglement and heat current of two coupled qubits, in which two qubits are connected with two independent heat baths(IHBs) or two common heat baths(CHBs). We construct the master equation in the eigenstate representation of two coupled qubits to describe the dynamics of the total system and derive the solutions in the steadystate with stronger coupling regime between two qubits than qubit–baths. We do not make the rotating wave approximation(RWA) for the qubit–qubit interaction, and so we are able to investigate the behaviors of the system in both the strong coupling regime and the weak coupling regime, respectively. In an equilibrium bath, we find that the entanglement decreases with the bath temperature and energy detuning increasing under the strong coupling regime. In the weak coupling regime,the entanglement increases with coupling strength increasing and decreases with the bath temperature and energy detuning increasing. In a nonequilibrium bath, the entanglement without RWA is useful for entanglement at lower temperatures.We also study the heat currents of the two coupled qubits and their variations with the energy detuning, coupling strength and low temperature. In the strong(weak) coupling regime, the heat current increases(decreases) with coupling strength increasing when the temperature of one bath is lower(higher) than the other, and the energy detuning leads to a positive(negative) effect when the temperature is low(high). In the weak coupling regime, the variation trend of heat current is opposite to that of coupling strength for the IHB case and the CHB case.