Fe monolayers on InAs(0 0 1): An in situ study of surface, interface and volume magnetic anisotropy

The magnetic anisotropy of epitaxial Fe films with thicknesses in the range of 2-142 monolayers (ML) grown on {4×2} reconstructed InAs(0 0 1) was investigated by in situ ferromagnetic resonance. The easy magnetization direction was found to be parallel to the -direction for Fe films below 4 ML, while it rotates by 45^° toward the -direction. It is observed that both surface-interface and volume contribution to the perpendicular anisotropy favor an easy axis perpendicular to the film plane. The cubic surface-interface anisotropy is relatively large with easy axes along -directions in contrast to the volume contribution which favors easy axes along the -directions. The volume contribution is found to be larger than the Fe bulk cubic anisotropy. A thickness independent uniaxial anisotropy has been found in films with a thickness of 2 up to 142 ML.     

MRCI studies on the electronic structure of AlN and AlN, and the electron affinity of AlN

Using multireference configuration-interaction methods and double to triple-zeta basis sets with semidiffuse and polarization functions, potential energies and spectroscopic constants for low-lying doublet, and quartet states of AlN⁻ were calculated. has R_e=3.280 bohr and . lies 0.17 eV above the ground state. Using an estimated electron affinity of 2.1 eV for AlN, four states of AlN⁻ are found to be stable, namely , , , and . Comparisons with the isovalent anions BN⁻ (three stable states) and AlP⁻ (seven stable states) are made. Photo-detachment of an electron from the state of AlN⁻ can lead to an accurate determination of the energy difference between the two close-lying lowest states of AlN, and , predicted here to be 0.09 eV apart.     

The second hyperpolarizability of CdTe nanocrystals using polarization-resolved degenerate four-wave mixing

Polarization-resolved forward degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) in a nonresonant region revealed the effective third-order nonlinear susceptibility of colloidal CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) with the size near the Bohr radius and various concentrations. The second hyperpolarizabilities, and , of the CdTe NCs were ∼1.15 × 10⁻⁴¹ m⁵/V² and ∼3.01 × 10⁻⁴² m⁵/V² from the measurement of the concentration-dependent third-order nonlinear susceptibility of CdTe NCs, respectively. The ratio (/) of the hyperpolarizabilities was ∼0.26, which indicated a large contribution of an electronic polarization process to the third-order nonlinearity of CdTe NCs.     

First-principles study of arsenic impurity clusters in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown HgCdTe

The understanding of the microstructures of the arsenic tetramer , dimer , and singlet of HgCdTe is important to explain the high electrical compensation of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) samples and the conversion to p-type behavior. The stable configurations were obtained from the first-principles calculations for the arsenic cluster defects [ (n=1, 2, and 4)] in as-grown HgCdTe. According to the defect formation energies calculated under Te-rich conditions, the most probable configurations of , , and have been established. For the optimized and the energy is favorable to combine in a nearest neighboring mercury vacancy , and the corresponding configurations can be used to explain the self-compensated n-type characteristics in as-grown materials. is likely to be more abundant than in as-grown materials, but arsenic atoms are more strongly bounded in than in , thus more substantial activation energy is needed for than that for . The atomic relaxations as well as the structural stability of the arsenic defects have also been investigated.     

Effect of exchange-coupling interaction on anisotropy of grain in nanoscaled magnets

The effect of inter-grain exchange-coupling interaction on the anisotropy of grain in nanoscaled magnets has been investigated by putting forward an expression of anisotropy at grain boundary, , which is suitable for different coupling conditions, and expresses well the coherency between soft and hard grains. The average anisotropy of grain 〈K^ij〉 has been calculated based on and the theory of partial exchange-coupling interaction. It has been found that the average anisotropy of hard or soft grain, 〈K^hh〉 or 〈K^ss〉, increases with increasing grain size D monotonously when hard-hard or soft-soft grains couple. When soft-hard grains touch each other, with increasing D, the variation of average anisotropy of soft-hard grain 〈K〉 depends on the anisotropy at grain interface , which denotes the affection degree of hard grain on the anisotropy of soft grain. Compared with other results, it is more reasonable that ranges from to . The variations of anisotropy with D we calculated are consistent with those of coercivities given by other authors when is fixed in a certain range.     

Surface-energy-anisotropy-induced orientation effects on Rayleigh instabilities in sapphire

Arrays of controlled-geometry, semi-infinite pore channels of systematically varied crystallographic orientation were introduced into undoped m-plane sapphire substrates using microfabrication techniques and ion-beam etching and subsequently internalized by solid-state diffusion bonding. A series of anneals at 1700 °C caused the breakup of these channels into discrete pores via Rayleigh instabilities. In all cases, channels broke up with a characteristic wavelength larger than that expected for a material with isotropic surface energy, reflecting stabilization effects due to surface-energy anisotropy. The breakup wavelength and the time required for complete breakup varied significantly with channel orientation. For most orientations, the instability wavelength for channels of radius R was in the range of 13.2R-25R, and complete breakup occurred within 2-10 h. To first order, the anneal times for complete breakup scale with the square of the breakup wavelength. Channels oriented along a direction had a wavelength of ≈139R, and required 468 h for complete breakup. Cross-sectional analysis of channels oriented along a direction showed the channel to be completely bounded by stable c(0 0 0 1), , and facets.     

Surface phase diagram and temperature induced phase transitions of Sn/Cu(1 0 0)

Room temperature deposition of Sn on Cu(1 0 0) gives rise to a rich variety of surface reconstructions in the submonolayer coverage range. In this work, we report a detailed investigation on the phases appearing and their temperature stability range by using low-energy electron diffraction and surface X-ray diffraction. Previously reported reconstructions in the submonolayer range are p(2 × 2) (for 0.2 ML), p(2 × 6) (for 0.33 ML), ()R45° (for 0.5 ML), and c(4 × 4) (for 0.65 ML). We find a new phase with a structure for a coverage of 0.45 ML. Furthermore, we analyze the temperature stability of all phases. We find that two phases exhibit a temperature induced reversible phase transition: the ()R45° phase becomes ()R45° phase above 360 K, and the new phase becomes p(2 × 2) also above 360 K. The origin of these two-phase transitions is discussed.     

Modelling of phase transitions and reaction at CO adsorption on oxygen precovered Pd(1 1 1)

Using the interaction parameters up to the third neighbors and activated form of O and CO diffusion and their reaction, the model has been proposed for Monte-Carlo simulations describing the catalytic O + CO → CO₂ reaction and occurring phase transitions on Pd(1 1 1) surface. Upon adsorption of CO the pre-adsorbed oxygen transforms from p(2 × 2)_O phase into and phases in the limit of room and moderate temperatures, respectively. We demonstrate that the kinetic effects determine both the occurrence of the p(2 × 1)_O and disappearance of the phases at moderate and low temperatures, respectively. Using reaction rate as a fit parameter, we show that at room temperature the start of the reaction can be synchronized with the occurrence of phase.     

Measurement of the 4d-photoionization cross section via two-photon and two-step excitation in sodium

We present a comparison of the photoionization cross sections of the 4d excited levels of sodium by using the two-step resonant laser excitation and by two-photon non-resonant excitation from the ground state. Dye lasers, pumped with a Nd: YAG laser, have been used in conjunction with a thermionic diode ion detector to measure cross sections and the atomic densities as a function of laser energy. By applying the saturation technique, the measured values of the cross sections and atomic densities for the 4d level by two-photon excitation are 12.2(2.4) Mb and , respectively. Where as in the case of two-step excitation, the cross section and number density for the 4d level via 3p level and for the 4d levels via 3p level are determined as 9.6(1.9) Mb, and 12.8(2.5) Mb, , respectively.     

Near-infrared diode laser spectroscopy of the HCSi radical

The , , and band spectra of HCSi radical were investigated by means of near-infrared diode laser spectroscopy to determine precise molecular constants for the and states. The detailed analysis of the rotationally resolved band spectra, studied for the first time in the present investigation, leads to the precise determination of molecular constants for the state associated with the Renner-Teller interaction. We obtained −0.15126663(53) and 495.00698(30) cm⁻¹ as the Renner-Teller parameter ε and the bending vibrational frequency ω₂, respectively. Based on the molecular constants for the and states, the rotational levels of the state were analyzed to obtain molecular constants and information on upper state perturbations. Using the available spectroscopic data, valence force fields for both the and states were estimated to aid in understanding the vibrational energy levels of the HCSi radical.     

L to M shell transitions and model comparisons for radiative opacities of sodium fluoride plasma

The radiative opacities of hot dense sodium fluoride (NaF) plasma have been studied in the case of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). The spectrally resolved opacity in the case of and is taken as an example to illustrate the absorption structures of the NaF plasma. The transitions from L to M shells of sodium and fluoride are the main contributions for the plasma absorptions. The isodense opacities of NaF plasma are studied at a density of and temperatures of 20-60 eV. Detailed comparisons among the results of the detailed term accounting (DTA), detailed configuraion accounting (DCA), unresolved transition array (UTA) and average atom (AA) model codes, which have been developed independently in China in the past few years, are performed for both the spectral resolved and mean opacities. Good agreements are found at a temperature of 40 eV and a density of , but discrepancies appear at a temperature of 50 eV and a density of .     

First-principles study on the electronic structures and absorption spectra for the PbWO4 crystal with lead vacancy

The electronic structures and absorption spectra for the perfect PbWO₄ (PWO) crystal and the crystal containing lead vacancy have been calculated using density functional theory code CASTEP with the lattice structure optimized. The calculated absorption spectra of the PWO crystal containing exhibit seven absorption bands peaking at 1.72 eV (720 nm), 2.16 eV (570 nm), 2.81 eV (440 nm), 3.01 eV (410 nm), 3.36 eV (365 nm), 3.70 eV (335 nm) and 4.0 eV (310 nm), which are very close to the experimental values. It predicts that the 330, 360, 420, 500-750 nm absorption bands are related to the existence of in the PWO crystal.