Ultrafast reaction dynamics of the complete photo cycle of an indolylfulgimide studied by absorption, fluorescence and vibrational spectroscopy

The reaction dynamics of the complete photo cycle, ring-opening (C → E) and ring-closure (E → C), of N-methyl-(6-bromo-1,2-dimethyl-3-indolyl)fulgimide dissolved in acetonitrile are analysed via steady-state and ultrafast spectroscopy using transient absorption in the UV/VIS and mid-IR complemented by ultrafast fluorescence broad-band spectroscopy with a Kerr-gate setup. For the C → E ring-opening reaction induced by light at ~ 550 nm, a time constant of ~ 3 ps was found for the S₁ decay and the S₀ repopulation. Non-exponential signatures, which occur in the 10 ps time domain, were observed and are assigned to the cooling of hot molecules in the electronic ground state. The E → C reaction dynamics induced by UV-light pulses at 360 nm and 387 nm occur within less than 1 ps and are followed by vibrational cooling on the 10 ps time domain. Thus, both ring-opening and ring-closure reactions are completed within a few picoseconds. From transient IR studies and fluorescence measurements it is concluded that these pericyclic reactions occur from different geometries on the excited state potential energy surface.     

Time-resolved study of the AΠ state of CaH by laser spectroscopy

A time-resolved experiment on the A²Π state of gaseous calcium hydride has been performed by applying laser spectroscopic methods. The following zero-pressure lifetime was obtained for the CaH A²Π state: τ_υ´=0 = 33.2 (±3.2) ns and τ_υ´=1 = 33.7 (±5.2) ns. The lifetime was found to be the same for the A²Π_½ and A²Π_3/2 states.     

Lithium ion conductive glass–ceramics with Li3Fe2(PO4)3 and YAG laser-induced local crystallization in lithium iron phosphate glasses

The glasses with the composition of 37.5Li₂O–(25 − x)Fe₂O₃–xNb₂O₅–37.5P₂O₅ (mol%) (x = 5,10,15) are prepared, and it is found that the addition of Nb₂O₅ is effective for the glass formation in the lithium iron phosphate system. The glass–ceramics consisting of Nasicon-type Li₃Fe₂(PO₄)₃ crystals with an orthorhombic structure are developed through conventional crystallization in an electric furnace, showing electrical conductivities of 3 × 10^− 6 Scm^− 1 at room temperature and the activation energies of 0.48 eV (x = 5) and 0.51 eV (x = 10) for Li⁺ ion conduction in the temperature range of 30–200 °C. A continuous wave Nd:YAG laser (wavelength: 1064 nm) with powers of 0.14–0.30 W and a scanning speed of 10 μm/s is irradiated onto the surface of the glasses, and the formation of Li₃Fe₂(PO₄)₃ crystals is confirmed from XRD analyses and micro-Raman scattering spectra. The crystallization of the precursor glasses is considered as new route for the fabrication of Li₃Fe₂(PO₄)₃ crystals being candidates for use as electrolyte materials in lithium ion secondary batteries.     

Interaction of oxovanadium(IV) with carboxylic ligands in aqueous solution: A thermodynamic and visible spectrophotometric study

The hydrolysis of VO²⁺ and the complex with sulfate were studied potentiometrically, spectrophotometrically and calorimetrically, in NaCl aqueous solution (0 < I ≤ 1 mol L^− 1) and at t = 25 °C. The formation of two hydrolytic species VO(OH)⁺ and VO₂(OH)₂²⁺ and one complex with sulfate was found, with log β = − 5.65 for the reaction VO²⁺ + H₂O = VO(OH)⁺ + H⁺, log β = − 7.02 for the reaction 2VO²⁺ + 2H₂O = (VO)₂(OH)₂²⁺ + 2H⁺ and log K = 1.73 for VOSO₄⁰ species (at I = 0.1 mol L^− 1 and t = 25 °C). For these species, using calorimetric data, ΔH and TΔS values were also obtained. By using the above values, interactions of VO²⁺ with acetate (ac), malonate (mal), succinate (suc), 1,2,3-propanetricarboxylate (tca) and 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylate (btc) ligands were studied potentiometrically and spectrophotometrically. The formation of ML⁺, ML₂⁰ and MLOH⁰ for ac; ML⁰, MLH⁺, ML₂²⁻ and ML₂H⁻ for mal; ML⁰, MLH⁺ and MLOH⁻ for suc; ML⁻ and MLH⁰ for tca and ML²⁻, MLH⁻ and MLH₂⁰ for btc were found. Formation constants are reported at I = 0.1 mol L^− 1, together with SIT parameters for the dependence on ionic strength. By visible spectrophotometric measurements, λ_max and ε_max values for the relevant species in solution were determined.     

Li mobility in Li0.5 − xNaxLa0.5TiO3 perovskites (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5): Influence of structural and compositional parameters

The dependence of Li mobility on structure and composition of Li_0.5 − xNa_xLa_0.5TiO₃ perovskites (0 ≤ x ≤  0.5) has been investigated by means of neutron diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance and impedance spectroscopy. At 300 K, all samples display a rhombohedral superstructure (R-3c S.G.), where octahedra are out of phase tilted along [111] direction of the ideal cubic cell. The elimination of the octahedral tilting is responsible for the rhombohedral–cubic transformation, detected near 1000 K. In these perovskites, La and Na cations are randomly distributed in A sites, but Li ions are fourfold coordinated at unit cell faces of the cubic perovskite. Lithium conductivity, σ_300 K, decreases with the sodium content, decreasing from values typical of fast ionic conductors, 10^− 3 S/cm, to those of good insulators, 10^− 10 S/cm, when the interconnectivity between vacant A sites is lost (x > 0.3). In samples with x < 0.3, dc conductivity displays a non-Arrhenius behaviour, decreasing activation energy from ~ 0.37 to 0.25 eV when the sample is heated between 77 and 500 K. The temperature dependence of B_Li factors shows the existence of two regimes for Li motion. Below 373 K, Li ions remain partially located near square oxygen windows that connect contiguous A sites, but above 400 K, extended Li motions become dominant. The additional decrease of activation energy from 0.25 to 0.16 eV (low-temperature ⁷Li NMR value), should require the full elimination of octahedral tilting which is only produced above 1000 °C.     

Superprotonic solid solutions between CsHSO4 and CsH2PO4

Solid solutions of (CsHSO₄)_1 − x(CsH₂PO₄)_x (x = 0.25-0.75) were synthesized by mechanical milling method over a wide range of compositions. Superprotonic cubic phase was confirmed for all these samples between 293 and 420 K depending on its composition. These superprotonic phases have primitive cubic structure similar to that of CsH₂PO₄. The kinetic stability of the supercooled cubic phase depends both on the composition x and the humidity of surrounding atmosphere. The most stable composition of the cubic phase was found around x = 0.67 and could be maintained for several days even under ambient atmosphere. The ionic conductivities of these superprotonic phases reached 10^− 2–10^− 3 S∙cm^− 1 at 450 K. With increasing x the ionic conductivity at the superprotonic phase decreased continuously associated with the increase of the activation energy. These findings suggest that the average number of the hydrogen bonds between XO₄ (X = S, P) units plays an important role on the stability of the cubic phase and also on the conductivity.     

Influence of octahedral tilting and composition on electrical properties of the Li0.2 − xNaxLa0.6TiO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) series

The Rietveld analysis of ND patterns of polycrystalline Li_0.2 − xNa_xLa_0.6TiO₃ (0 ≤ x < 0.2) samples, recorded between 300 and 1075 K, shows an orthorhombic–tetragonal transformation, in which the octahedral tilting along the b axis is eliminated at ~ 773 K, but the vacancy ordering along the c axis remains. In Li rich samples, conductivity (10^− 3 Ω^− 1 cm^− 1 at 300 K) departs from the Arrhenius behaviour, decreasing activation energies from 0.37 to 0.14 eV when octahedral tilting is eliminated. Successive Maxwell–Wagner blocking processes, detected in the real part of dielectric constant plots, have been ascribed to the Li blocking at interior domains, grain-boundary and electrode–electrolyte interfaces. The substitution of Li⁺ by Na⁺ decreases the amount of vacant A-sites, decreasing several orders of magnitude the conductivity when the amount of vacancies approaches the vacancy percolation threshold (n_p = 0.27). Below the percolation threshold, Li ions only display local mobility, remaining confined into small domains of perovskites.     

Oxide ion conductivity and relaxation in CaREZrNbO7 (RE = La, Nd, Sm, Gd, and Y) system

CaREZrNbO₇ (RE = La, Nd, Sm, Gd and Y) system changed from fluorite (F)-type to pyrochlore (P)-type structure when the ionic radius ratios, r(Ca²⁺–RE³⁺)_av/r(Zr⁴⁺–Nb⁵⁺)_av were larger than 1.34. Thus, the La, Nd, and Sm compounds have a cubic P-type structure and the Gd and Y ones have a defect F-type structure. The electrical conductivity was measured using complex-plane impedance analysis over a wide temperature (300–750 °C) and frequency (1 Hz–1 MHz) ranges. The conductivity relaxation phenomenon was observed in these compounds and the relaxation frequencies were found to show Arrhenius-type behavior and activation energies were in good agreement with those obtained from high temperature conductivity plots. These results support the idea that the relaxation process and the conductivity have the same origin. The ionic conductivity of CaREZrNbO₇ (RE = La, Nd, Sm, Gd and Y) system showed the maximum at the phase boundary between the F-type and P-type phases. On the other hand, the activation energy for the conduction decreased in the F-type phase and increased in the P-type phase with increasing ionic radius ratio. Among the prepared compounds, CaGdZrNbO₇ showed the highest ionic conductivity of 9.47 × 10^− 3 S/cm at 750 °C which was about twice as high as that observed in Gd₂Zr₂O₇ (4.2 × 10^− 3 S/cm at 800 °C). The grain morphology observation by scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed well-sintered grains. AC impedance measurements in various atmospheres further indicated that they are predominantly oxide ion conductors at elevated temperatures (> 700 °C).     

High-resolution infrared study of the 2ν3 (A1, E) and ν1 + ν3 (E) bands of NF3

The 2ν₃ overtone (A₁, E) and the ν₁ + ν₃ (E) combination bands of the oblate symmetric top ¹⁴NF₃ were studied by FTIR spectroscopy with a resolution of 2.5 × 10⁻³ cm⁻¹. Nearly 500 lines up to K_max/J_max = 30/43 were observed for the weak A₁ component reaching the v₃ = 2⁰ substate (1803.1302 cm⁻¹), the majority of which corresponded to reinforced K = 3p-type transitions. For the strong E component reaching the v₃ = 2^±2 substate (1810.4239 cm⁻¹), about 3550 transitions were assigned up to K_max/J_max = 65/69, favoring a clear observation of the ℓ(4, −2) and ℓ(4, 4) splittings within the kℓ = −2 and +4 sublevels, respectively. The two v₃ = 2 substates are linked by the ℓ(2, 2)- and ℓ(2, −1)-type interactions, providing severe crossings, respectively, at K′ = 6 and near K′ = 24 on the v₃ = 2⁺² side. A model working in the D-reduction and including all these ℓ-type interactions could reproduce together 3695 nonzero weighted experimental data (NZW) through 33 free parameters with a standard deviation of σ = 0.357 × 10⁻³  cm⁻¹. As for the ν₁ + ν₃ (E) combination band, about 3690 lines were assigned up to K_max/J_max = 45/55. Its v₁ = v₃ = 1 upper state (1931.577 5 cm⁻¹) was treated using the same model recently applied to the v₃ = 1 (E, 907.5413 cm⁻¹) state. It yielded 21 free parameters through 3282 NZW experimental data, adjusted with σ = 0.344 × 10⁻³  cm⁻¹ in the D-reduction. For the two excited states, the small and unobserved ℓ(0, 6) interaction was tested as useless. To confirm the adequacy of the vibrationally isolated models used, some other reductions of the Hamiltonian were tried. For the v₃ = 2 state, the D-, L-, and LD-reductions led to similar σ’s, while the Q one was not successful. For the v₁ = v₃ = 1 state, the D- and Q-reductions gave comparable σ’s, while the QD-reduction was not as good. The corresponding unitary equivalence relations are generally more nicely fulfilled for the v₃ = 2 state than for the v₁ = v₃ = 1 state. The three derivable anharmonicity constants in cm⁻¹ are x₃₃ = −4.1528, g₃₃ = +1.8235 and x₁₃ = −7.9652.     

Study on nonlinear optical absorption properties of [(CH3)4N]2[Cu(dmit)2] by Z-scan technique

The third-order optical nonlinearities of an organo-metallic compound, [(CH₃)₄N]₂[Cu(dmit)₂] (dmit²⁻=4,5-dithiolate-1,3-dithiole-2-thione), abbreviated as MeCu, dissolved in acetone are characterized by Z-scan technique with picosecond and nanosecond laser pulses in the near-infrared region. Two-photon absorption has been found when the sample solution is irradiated by 40 ps pulse width at 1064 nm and the two-photon absorption (TPA) coefficient β_TPA is 4×10⁻¹³ m/W. While excited by 15 ns laser pulses at 1053 nm, the Z-scan spectra reveal strong reverse saturable absorption (RSA) and the nonlinear absorption coefficient β_RSA is estimated to be as high as 7.07×10⁻¹¹ m/W which is much larger than β_TPA. An explanation for this enhancement is given. All the results suggest that MeCu may be a promising candidate for the application to optical limiting in the near-infrared region.     

Water incorporation into the Ba2(In1 − xMx)2O5‪ (M = Sc 0 ≤ x < 0.5 and M = Y 0 ≤ x < 0.35) system and protonic conduction

Ba₂(In_1 − xM_x)₂O_{5 − y / 2}(OH)_y‪□_{1 − y / 2} (y ≤ 2; M = Sc³⁺ 0 ≤ x < 0.5 and M = Y³⁺ 0 ≤ x < 0.35) compounds were prepared by reacting Ba₂(In_1 − xM_x)₂O₅‪ phases with water vapor. This reaction is reversible. Analyses of the hydration process by TG and XRD studies show that the thermal stability of hydrated phases increases when x increases and that the incorporation of water is not a single-phase reaction inducing either a crystal system or space group modification. Fully hydrated (y = 2) and dehydrated (y = 0) samples have been stabilized at room temperature and characterized for all compositions. In wet air, all phases show a proton contribution to the total conductivity at temperatures between 350 and 600 °C. At a given temperature, proton conductivity increases with the substitution ratio and reaches at 350 °C, 5.4 10^− 3 S cm^− 1 for Ba₂(In_0.65Sc_0.35)₂O_4.2□_0.2(OH)_1.6.     

IR absorption spectrum (4200–3100 cm) of H2O and (H2O)2 in CCl4. Estimates of the equilibrium constant and evidence that the atmospheric water absorption continuum is due to the water dimer

IR absorption spectra, 4200–3100 cm⁻¹, of water in CCl₄ solutions are presented. It is shown that for saturated solutions significant amounts of water are present as dimer (ca. 2%). The IR spectra of the monomer and dimer are retrieved. The integrated absorption coefficients of the monomer absorption are significantly enhanced relative to the gas phase values. The dimer spectrum consists of 5 bands, of which 4 were expected from data from cold beams and cold matrices. The origin of the “extra” band is discussed. In addition it is argued that the dimer absorption bands intensities must be enhanced relative to the gas phase values. Based on recent calculations of band strengths, and observed frequency shifts relative to the gas phase, the intensity enhancement factors are estimated as well as the monomer/dimer equilibrium constant in CCl₄ solution at T=296 K (K_c=1.29 mol⁻¹ L). It is noted that the observed dimer spectrum has a striking resemblance with the water vapour continuum determined by Burch in 1985 which was recently remeasured by Paynter et al. and it is concluded that the atmospheric water absorption continuum in the investigated spectral region must be due to water dimer. Based on the newly published spectral data a revised value of the gas phase equilibrium constant is suggested (K_p=0.035 atm⁻¹ at T=296 K) as well as a value for the standard enthalpy of formation, ΔH⁰=15.4 kJ mol⁻¹.     

Study of in flight

An analysis of data on is presented at beam momenta 600 to 1940 MeV/c. There is evidence for an I=1, J^PC=2⁻⁺ resonance in ηηπ⁰ with mass M=1880±20 MeV and width 255±45 MeV, decaying strongly to a₂(1320)η; it is too strong to be explained as the high mass tail of π₂(1670)→a₂(1320)η. There is tentative evidence also for weak decays to f₀(1500)π. It makes a natural partner to the η₂(1860).     

Photoproduction of D mesons associated with a leading neutron

The photoproduction of D^*±(2010) mesons associated with a leading neutron has been observed with the ZEUS detector in ep collisions at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 80 pb⁻¹. The neutron carries a large fraction, x_L>0.2, of the incoming proton beam energy and is detected at very small production angles, θ_n<0.8 mrad, an indication of peripheral scattering. The D^* meson is centrally produced with pseudorapidity |η|<1.5, and has a transverse momentum p_T>1.9 GeV, which is large compared to the average transverse momentum of the neutron of 0.22 GeV. The ratio of neutron-tagged to inclusive D^* production is 8.85±0.93(stat.)^+0.48_−0.61(syst.)% in the photon–proton center-of-mass energy range 130<W<280 GeV. The data suggest that the presence of a hard scale enhances the fraction of events with a leading neutron in the final state.     

Search for γγ→ηb in ee collisions at LEP 2

A search for the pseudoscalar meson η_b is performed in two-photon interactions at LEP 2 with an integrated luminosity of 699 pb⁻¹ collected at e⁺e⁻ centre-of-mass energies from 181 GeV to 209 GeV. One candidate event is found in the six-charged-particle final state and none in the four-charged-particle final state, in agreement with the total expected background of about one event. Upper limits of Γ_γγ(η_b)×BR(η_b→4 charged particles)<48 eV, Γ_γγ(η_b)×BR(η_b→6 charged particles)<132 eV are obtained at 95% confidence level, which correspond to upper limits of 9.0% and 25% on these branching ratios.     

A new method for increasing the laser damage threshold of metal mirrors

In order to increase the damage threshold of metal mirrors we propose to create a special structure on the surface of the mirrors (“photonic surface”). This structure must have the period about λ/2 and will suppress propagation of surface plasmons with the frequency ω₀=2πc/λ along the surface. This structure will also slightly increase the heat removal from the mirror’s surface by the excitation of the thermostimulated plasmon emission from the surface. The heat removal from the surface is estimated and possible implementation of this approach for use with CO₂-lasers (λ=10.6 μm) and Nd-YAG-lasers (λ=1.06 μm) is analyzed.     

In-plane gate transistors in AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructures written by focused ion beams

Focused ion beam implantation of gallium and dysprosium was used to locally insulate the near-surface two-dimensional electron gas of Al_xGa_1−xN/GaN heterostructures. The threshold dose for insulation was determined to be 2×10¹⁰ cm⁻¹ for 90 keV Ga⁺ and 1×10⁹ cm⁻¹ for 200 keV Dy²⁺ at 4.2 K. This offers a tool not only for inter-device insulation but also for direct device fabrication. Making use of “open-T” like insulating line patterns, in-plane gate transistors have been fabricated by focused ion beam implantation. An exemplar with a geometrical channel width of 1.5 μm shows a conductance of 32 μS at 0 V gate voltage and a transconductance of around 4 μS, which is only slightly dependent on the gate voltage.     

Influence of oxygen growth pressure on laser ablated Cr-doped In2O3 thin films

We present a systematic investigation of the effects of oxygen growth pressure on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of In₂O₃:Cr thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction analysis showed increases in lattice constant from 10.103 Å to 10.337 Å, and in particle size from 13.9 nm to 35.5 nm as the oxygen growth pressure increased from 7.5 × 10⁻⁶ Torr to 7.5 × 10⁻³ Torr, respectively. The observed shift in the X-ray diffraction peaks to lower angles was assumed to be caused by the reduction in the lattice defect density, precisely oxygen vacancies. The optical transparency increased with partial oxygen pressure (P_O2), and an average transmittance of 85% was obtained at 7.5 × 10⁻³ Torr. The films are highly conducting with resistivity as low as 2 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and mobility as high as 133 cm/V s. Temperature dependent resistivity measurements in the 45 < T < 300 K temperature range reveal that films grown at 7.5×10⁻⁶≤P_O2≤7.5×10⁻⁴ Torr exhibit negative temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) below approximately T = 60 K, T = 120 K, T = 160 K; then positive TCR in the temperature intervals 60 < T < 300 K, 120 < T < 300 K, and 160 < T < 300 K, respectively. This suggests that two disparate mechanisms govern electrical dc transport in the two temperature regions. Film grown at P_O2 of 7.5 × 10⁻³ Torr displayed typical semiconducting behavior with negative TCR in the whole temperature region.     

D meson production in deep-inelastic diffractive interactions at HERA

A measurement is presented of the cross section for D^*± meson production in diffractive deep-inelastic scattering for the first time at HERA. The cross section is given for the process ep→eXY, where the system X contains at least one D^*± meson and is separated by a large rapidity gap from a low mass proton remnant system Y. The cross section is presented in the diffractive deep-inelastic region defined by 2<Q²<100 GeV², 0.05<y<0.7, , M_Y<1.6 GeV and |t|<1 GeV². The D^*± mesons are restricted to the range p_T,D^*>2 GeV and |η_D^*|<1.5. The cross section is found to be 246±54±56 pb and forms about 6% of the corresponding inclusive D^*± cross section. The cross section is presented as a function of various kinematic variables, including which is an estimate of the fraction of the momentum of the diffractive exchange carried by the parton entering the hard-subprocess. The data show a large component of the cross section at low where the contribution of the boson–gluon-fusion process is expected to dominate. The data are compared with several QCD-based calculations.     

GaN/AlN quantum dot photodetectors at 1.3–1.5 μm

We have demonstrated GaN/AlN quantum dots (QD) photodetectors, relying on intraband absorption and in-plane carrier transport in the wetting layer. The devices operate at room temperature in the wavelength range 1.3–1.5 μm. Samples with 20 periods of Si-doped GaN QD layers, separated by 3 nm-thick AlN barriers, have been grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy on an AlN buffer on a c-sapphire substrate. Self-organized dots are formed by the deposition of 5 monolayers of GaN under nitrogen-rich conditions. The dot height is 1.2±0.6 to 1.3±0.6 nm and the dot density is in the range 10¹¹–10¹² cm⁻². Two ohmic contacts were deposited on the sample surface and annealed in order to contact the buried QD layers. The dots exhibit TM polarized absorption linked to the s–p_z transition. The photocurrent at 300 K is slightly blue-shifted with respect to the s–p_z intraband absorption. The responsivity increases exponentially with temperature and reaches a record value of 10 mA/W at 300 K for detectors with interdigitated contacts.