Polarization effects in photoisomerization of azo dyes in polymeric films

The reversible cis-trans photoisomerization of disperse red 1 (DR1) in PMMA thin films has been demonstrated previously by using the Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) method. In this communication photoisomerization of DR1 is shown to be strongly polarization sensitive. This new property of dye doped polymeric films could lead to practical applications in integrated optics. A simple molecular interpretation is given. Illumination of a DR1 sample by polarization fringes produces a grating of molecular orientation able to diffract a probe beam.     

Simultaneous measurement of irradiation,temperature and reflectivity on hot irradiated surfaces

Conversion of solar energy into chemical fuels has been a field of intense research for many years. It is usually attempted as a thermochemical reaction under highly concentrated solar irradiation, e.g. in a solar furnace. Special interest has been addressed to the question of whether concentrated light drives the reaction differently than heat. One effect of irradiation might be a decrease of the reaction temperature. To observe such an influence it is important to monitor the chemical process and the surface temperature of the sample under irradiation. In this paper we propose a method to measure the temperature, the irradiation and the reflectivity/emissivity distribution on an irradiated sample surface simultaneously. We first outline the computational background of the method and discuss its accuracy. We then report on laboratory measurements as well as on experiments performed in a solar furnace.     

Conductivity spectra of superthin niobium films on crystalline quartz at room and low temperatures

Optical and electric properties of superthin niobium films (d=0.15–2.7 nm) deposited on -quartz using radio-frequency sputtering have been studied at room temperature and at low temperature. A periodic thickness dependence of the metal film's optical and DC conductivity was found. The period of such oscillations is of the order of the electron Fermi wavelength in Nb. Thus they are proposed to be due to quantum size effects in the metal film.     

Investigation of passivation of porous silicon at room temperature

A practical oxidizing technique with ozone has been developed for the passivation of porous silicon (PS) at room temperature. The fundamental role of ozonization may be attributed to the strong oxidizing process for the Si-Hx species and dangling bonds. The subsequent 158 days’ aging effect with the presence of absorbed ozone molecules is very effective for the oxidizing process. At last we achieve a complete replacing Si-Hx coverage with Si-Ox film and Si-alkyl film. The steady increase of photoluminescence (PL) intensity is assigned to the increase in the barrier’s height efficiency and the increase in quantum confinement effect for the silicon nanocrystallites.     

Stretched exponential kinetics for photoinduced birefringence in azo dye doped PVA films

We fabricated azo dye (methylorange) doped poly vinyl alcohol (MO/PVA) thin films and measured the photoinduced birefringence (PIB) kinetics for several pump beam intensities and for various MO concentrations by using the pump-probe technique. A novel approach to explain the transient behaviors of the photoinduced anisotropy is presented by employing an empirical stretched exponential time response in the course of the trans-cis-trans photoisomerization of azo molecules and is compared with the experimental data, showing excellent agreement. The stretched exponent is estimated to be β = 0.34 ± 0.04, revealing amorphous nature of the MO/PVA system.     

Optical properties of dye-doped zirconia films by spectroscopic ellipsometry

The optical properties of zirconia films doped with rhodamine 6G and oxazine 725 by the sol-gel process were investigated using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Accurate refractive index n and the extinction coefficient k were determined using a three-oscillator classical Lorentz model in the wavelength range of 300-800 nm. The derived refractive index of dye-doped films exhibited anomalous dispersion in the absorption region. Wavelength tunable output lasing action yellow and near-infrared wavelength region was achieved by DFB configuration using zirconia films doped with R6G and oxazine 725.     

Study of Fe-Al thin films oxidized at room temperature

Very thin films of Fe andFe/Al were oxidized at room temperature in dry air andthen studied by means of surface Mössbauer measurements andX-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A mechanism is proposed for the oxidation process.     

Structural,electrical and optical properties of boron doped ZnO thin films using LSMCD method at room temperature

Zn_1−x B _x O (0≤x≤0.04) thin films were deposited by the liquid source misted chemical vapor deposition (LSMCD) method. The thin films were polycrystalline with grain sizes of 16 nm to 22 nm. The structural, optical, and electrical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction, UV-visible spectrophotometry, Raman spectroscopy, and Hall effect measurement. Also scanning electron (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques were used in order to determine the morphological and topological characteristics of the films. The optimal result of Zn_1−x B _x O films was obtained at x=0.02, with a low resistivity of ≈10⁻² Ω cm, and a high transmittancy of 85% in the visible light spectrum (300 nm ∼ 800 nm).     

Enhanced magneto-electrical properties and room temperature magnetoresistance in lightly doped manganite thin films

We report the effect of compressive strain on magnetic and magneto-electrical properties of lightly doped manganite La_0.88Sr_0.12MnO₃ thin films. Films, having 5-60 nm thickness, were grown on (001) LaAlO₃ and (001) SrTiO₃ substrate by DC-magnetron sputtering. These films show a magnetoresistance as high as ∼65% at room temperature and insulator-metal transition temperature . Further, we demonstrate that a small variation in strain causes significant changes in their properties. We have discussed the possible origin of these features and compared with the reported literature.     

Blue luminescence at room temperature in defective MgO films

Luminescence spectroscopy has been used to characterize MgO films prepared by rf-sputtering. A clear correlation is found between the appearance of an emission peak centered at approximately 460 nm and the detection of ferromagnetic ordering in the samples. We suggest that cationic vacancies are responsible for the blue-light emission by introducing p states into the electronic band-gap. In accordance with this, our results strongly indicate that cationic vacancies are at the heart of the appearance of long-range magnetic ordering in MgO films.     

Electrical and optical properties of Ga doped zinc oxide thin films deposited at room temperature by continuous composition spread

Ga doped ZnO (GZO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates at room temperature by continuous composition spread (CCS) method. CCS is thin films growth method of various Ga_xZn_1−xO(GZO) thin film compositions on a substrate, and evaluating critical properties as a function position, which is directly related to material composition. Various compositions of Ga doped ZnO deposited at room temperature were explored to find excellent electrical and optical properties. Optimized GZO thin films with a low resistivity of 1.46 × 10⁻³ Ω cm and an average transmittance above 90% in the 550 nm wavelength region were able to be formed at an Ar pressure of 2.66 Pa and a room temperature. Also, optimized composition of the GZO thin film which had the lowest resistivity and high transmittance was found at 0.8 wt.% Ga₂O₃ doped in ZnO.     

The initial oxidation of aluminum thin films at room temperature

Thin film and ultra-high-vacuum techniques have been utilized in fabricating uncontaminated, atomically clean, aluminum surfaces in order to characterize the initial low temperature, low pressure oxidation kinetics of aluminum. The kinetics were followed gravimetrically by the quartz crystal microbalance technique and the aluminum-aluminum oxide surface was examined by utilizing electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques.     

The slowing-down of ultrafast relaxation in C60 films at high femtosecond pump intensities

60 thin film was investigated in the energy range between 1.6 eV and 3.4 eV by a pump-supercontinuum probe (PSCP) technique with a 40 fs time resolution. The relaxation rate showed pronounced spectral dependence, with a maximum at 2 eV in the region of photo-induced darkening and at 2.4 eV in the region of photo-induced bleaching. The ultrafast relaxation rate decreased with increasing pump-pulse intensity. We suggest that the observed decrease results from extraheating of the carriers in the h_u and t_1u bands due to internal conversion from higher excited states, which are populated by two-step photon absorption of the intense pump pulse. Received: 2 May 1997/Revised version: 4 August 1997     

Thermally induced optical bistability in a new polymeric blend at room temperature

The transition from the transmission to the reflection regime for an Ar⁺-laser beam propagating in the new polymeric blend PMMA-EVA at a nonlinear interface has been observed. A comparison between the experimental data and a calculation of the input optical intensity at which this transition should occur (1.45×10⁷ W m^–2) is presented using Kaplan's theory. The results suggest the presence of thermally induced optical bistability in PMMA-EVA.     

Guiding and high-harmonic generation of sub-10-fs pulses in hollow-core fibers at 1015 W/cm2

15 W/cm². The high resistance of fused silica to damage in the sub-10-fs regime allows stable reproducible operation without degradation of the capillary waveguide. In preliminary experiments, we demonstrate kHz-repetition-rate guided-wave high-harmonic generation in helium down to the 10-nm range. The reported experiments open up the way to realizing high-field interactions with plane-wave excitation at intensity levels in excess of 10¹⁵ W/cm² under well-controlled conditions. Received: 28 May 1998     

Plasma transformation of SiO films in SiO2 at room temperature

Oxygen plasma has been used to transform thin SiO deposited films into SiO₂ layers. Nuclear microanalysis, Rutherford backscattering and infrared spectroscopy have confirmed the formation of stoichiometric silicon dioxide by room temperature plasma anodization. Isotopic tracing experiments were carried out to study the ionic movements under high electric field [(1–2)X10⁷ V/cm] during oxide growth. This process differs strongly from the pure Si plasma anodization, and leads to the formation of a few tens nm thick SiO₂ films in sequential steps: low temperature deposition of SiO and low temperature plasma treatment.     

Optical absorption in polycrystalline thin films of magnetite at room temperature

Polycrystalline thin films of magnetite have been prepared to allow the measure of their absorption coefficient. Results are dealt with the hopping small polarons scheme. The case of free carriers is also considered.     

Photochemistry at high temperatures – potential of ZnO as a high temperature photocatalyst

Direct conversion of solar radiation into useful, storable and transportable chemical products is the primary goal of solar chemistry. In this paper we discuss some fundamental aspects of photochemistry at elevated temperatures. We show that luminescence can serve as an indicator of the potential use of a system as a photoconverter. As an example we present experimental data on the chemical potential and on the lifetime of the excited states of ZnO. The low luminescence quantum yield together with a lifetime of about 200 ps indicate that an efficient photochemical conversion on ZnO is highly improbable. We believe this to be a general feature of chemical systems based on a semiconductor photocatalyst, in particular of photoreactions at a solid/gas interface. Received: 18 June 1996 / Accepted: 20 September 1996     

The absorptance of steels to Nd:YLF and Nd:YAG laser light at room temperature

The measurement of absorptance is important for the analysis and modelling of laser-material interactions. Unfortunately, most of the absorptance data presently available considers only polished pure metals rather than the commercially available (unpolished, oxidised) alloys, which are actually being processed in manufacturing. This paper presents the results of absorptance measurements carried out at room temperature on as-received engineering grade steels including hot and cold rolled mild steel and stainless steels of various types. The measurements were made using an integrating sphere with an Nd:YLF laser at two wavelengths (1053 and 527 nm, which means that the results are also valid for Nd:YAG radiation at 1064 and 532 nm). The absorptance results obtained differ considerably from existing data for polished, pure metals and should help improve the accuracy of laser-material interaction models. Some clear trends were identified; for all materials studied, the absorptance was considerably higher than the previously published values for the relevant pure metals with polished surfaces. For all 15 samples the absorptance was higher for the green than for the infrared wavelength. No clear trend correlating the absorptance with the roughness was found for mild steel in the roughness range Sa 0.4-5.6 μm. A correlation between absorptance and roughness was noted for stainless steel for Sa values above 1.5 μm.     

Film growth and mechanism of LICVD of chromium films from Cr(CO)6 at 248 nm

The probe-beam transmission method was used to study the chemical vapor deposition of chromium films due to photodecomposition of Cr(CO)₆ by pulsed excimer laser radiation at 248 nm in a reversed-substrate configuration, where the film forms on the quartz entrance window of the deposition cell. The dependence of the deposition rate and the film formation time on the laser pulse intensity and repetition rate as well as on the Ar buffer gas pressure was determined for different stages of the deposition process. The experiments were performed at room temperature, on a deposition area of about 0.15 cm², with laser fluences up to 100mJ cm^–2, pulse repetition rates between 5 and 80 pps and buffer gas pressures between 10 and 700 mbar. The results are discussed within the framework of a simple model for LICVD. They reveal the dominant role of gas-phase photodissociation and diffusion in chromium film deposition under the conditions employed. Some results concerning the morphology and the depth distribution of Cr, O, and C in films deposited in the reversed-substrate configuration are also presented.