Quantum transport through a Z-shaped silicene nanoribbon

In this work,the electronic transport properties of Z-shaped silicene nanoribbon(ZsSiNR) structure are investigated.The calculations are based on the tight-binding model and Green's function method in Landauer-Biittiker formalism,in which the electronic density of states(DOS),transmission probability,and current-voltage characteristics of the system are calculated,numerically.It is shown that the geometry of the ZsSiNR structure can play an important role to control the electron transport through the system.It is observed that the intensity of electron localization at the edges of the ZsSiNR decreases with the increase of the spin-orbit interaction(SOI) strength.Also,the semiconductor to metallic transition occurs by increasing the SOI strength.The present theoretical results may be useful to design silicene-based devices in nanoelectronics.     

Inverted organic solar cells with solvothermal synthesized vanadium-doped TiO_2 thin films as efficient electron transport layer

We investigated the effects of using different thicknesses of pure and vanadium-doped thin films of TiO_2 as the electron transport layer in the inverted configuration of organic photovoltaic cells based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) P3HT:[6-6] phenyl-(6) butyric acid methyl ester(PCBM). 1% vanadium-doped TiO_2nanoparticles were synthesized via the solvothermal method. Crystalline structure, morphology, and optical properties of pure and vanadium-doped TiO_2 thin films were studied by different techniques such as x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmittance electron microscopy, and UV–visible transmission spectrum. The doctor blade method which is compatible with roll-2-roll printing was used for deposition of pure and vanadium-doped TiO_2 thin films with thicknesses of 30 nm and 60 nm. The final results revealed that the best thickness of TiO_2 thin films for our fabricated cells was 30 nm. The cell with vanadium-doped TiO_2 thin film showed slightly higher power conversion efficiency and great J_(sc) of 10.7 mA/cm~2 compared with its pure counterpart. In the cells using 60 nm pure and vanadium-doped TiO_2 layers, the cell using the doped layer showed much higher efficiency. It is remarkable that the external quantum efficiency of vanadium-doped TiO_2 thin film was better in all wavelengths.     

A simple method for quantitative analysis of elements by WD‐XRF using variable dilution factors in fusion bead technique for geologic specimens

A common approach in the quantitative analysis of geological samples by X‐ray fluorescence is to establish calibration lines for elements of interest by using several reference materials (RMs) and/or the combination of RMs and pure chemicals. Herein, we introduce an alternative to use only two RMs, to establish a calibration application. Variation of the dilution factor is employed to generate a dynamic range of concentrations for each RM and to evenly furnish the calibration lines to analyze certain matrices. A wide range of dilution factors were employed from 2–54 times dilution (with respect to the flux to sample ratios). Calibration lines for the major elements including: Si, Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Na, Mn, and Ti show an extremely high level of linearity with all elements. R² values greater than 0.9990 were obtained for each analyzed element. The calibration application was validated by checking against a variety of geological RMs including petroleum and carbonate rich shale (SGR‐1), Muscovite rich marine shale (SBC‐1), metamorphic rock (SDC‐1), carbonatite (COQ‐1), and types of igneous rocks (GSP‐2, BCR‐2, AGV‐2, QLO‐1, and W‐2). Mixtures of Alumina and Silica (ARG‐1 and ARG‐2) and pure SiO₂ beads were also analyzed to further check the application. Rigorous statistical analysis on the RMs confirms the reliability of the calibration application for the employed matrices. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of Fano interference and incoherent processes on optical bistability in a four-level quantum dot nanostructure

Role of Fano interference and incoherent pumping field on optical bistability in a four-level designed In Ga N/Ga N quantum dot nanostructure embedded in a unidirectional ring cavity are analyzed. It is found that intensity threshold of optical bistability can be manipulated by Fano interference. It is shown that incoherent pumping fields make the threshold of optical bistability behave differently by Fano interference. Moreover, in the presence of Fano interference the medium becomes phase-dependent. Therefore, the relative phase of applied fields can affect the behaviors of optical bistability and intensity threshold can be controlled easily.     

Enhanced Kerr nonlinearity in a quantized four-level graphene nanostructure

In this paper, a new model is proposed for manipulating the Kerr nonlinearity of right-hand circular probe light in a monolayer of graphene nanostructure. By using the density matrix equations and quantum optical approach, the third-order susceptibility of probe light is explored numerically. It is realized that the enhanced Kerr nonlinearity with zero linear absorption can be provided by selecting the appropriate quantities of controllable parameters, such as Rabi frequency and elliptical parameter of elliptical polarized coupling field. Our results may be useful applications in future all-optical system devices in nanostructures.     

Photochemical properties of selected flavonol dyes: Effects on their separation using capillary electrophoresis

Flavonols are naturally occurring dyes that can be extracted from plants. Because of their antioxidant properties, they are thought to have health benefits. In this study, the photochemical degradation properties of selected flavonols were investigated. Dilute solutions of dyes were exposed to light from a broadband visible light source, and the rate of photodegradation was determined by measuring the decrease in fluorescence of the dyes with respect to time. At pH 9.24, the first-order rate constants for 10?µg?mL^?1 solutions of myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol, and morin were 0.468, 0.162, 0.108, and 0.126?s^?1, respectively. Interestingly, the stability of these historical dyes was also found to be greatly affected by pH. Awareness of the photochemical properties and stability of flavonol dyes is very important for capillary electrophoresis (CE) separations. Photodegradation of the flavonol dyes under the alkaline conditions (pH 9.2) used in CE can have a profound effect on the reproducibility of repeated separations. Even a modest decrease in pH (pH 8.5) greatly improved the stability of these dyes and enabled the successful separation of these flavonol dyes with minimal degradation over time.     

Effect of sol–gel pH on XRD peak broadening,lattice strain,ferroelectric domain orientation,and optical bandgap of nanocrystalline Pb1.1(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3

Nanocrystalline Pb_1.1(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ (PZT) samples were prepared using a citrate–nitrate sol–gel process near the morphotropic phase boundary. The effect of pH on the lattice parameters (tetragonality and lattice constants), crystal structure [strain broadening, relative phase content, ferroelectric domain (FD) orientation and nanocrystallite size], microstructure (grain size and particle morphology) and optical bandgap was investigated. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), the size strain plot (SSP) method, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and the classical Tauc relation. The particle morphology was investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The XRD results revealed a perovskite structure and coexisting tetragonal and rhombohedral phases for all PZT samples. Lattice strain and peak broadening were determined from SSP and XRD results. The behavior of these parameters was in agreement for all pH values. The optical bandgap for PZT was estimated from UV-vis absorption spectra. We found that for PZT the maximum relative tetragonal phase content, c/a ratio, and FD orientation along the a-axis occurred at pH 4.     

Evaluation of single virus detection through optical biosensor based on microsphere resonator

Shift of resonance frequency in microsphere optical resonator due to attachment of a desirable particle is obtained. Our 3-D finite element numerical method (FEM) simulations’ results show the path of light through microsphere and its variation due to attachment of particle. It is apparent that after attachment of particle to microsphere's surface, light is inclined to pass through the particle. Subsequently, the path of light becomes longer than previous. Because of this phenomenon, the resonance wavelength shifts to longer wavelengths. It is shown that microsphere optical resonator is a prominent biosensor for single virus detection since we applied characteristics of virus for particle in our simulations. Response of this biosensor depends on the characteristics of particle like its radius as we show in this article. Transmission spectrum of fiber which reveals a selected resonance frequency, have been studied in the frequency range of 106.3 to 107 THz under three different sizes of particles. The results show that the amount of frequency shift rises by enhancement of particle's size.     

A facile and efficient [bmim]N3 catalyzed direct oxidative esterification of arylaldehydes with alcohols

Task-specific ionic liquid, [bmim]N₃ was used as an effective catalyst and reaction medium for the direct oxidative esterification of arylaldehydes with alcohols. The oxidative esterification reaction of a variety of arylaldehydes took place smoothly with some primary and secondary alcohols in [bmim]N₃. Satisfactory results were obtained with arylaldehydes containing electron withdrawing groups. Tertiary alcohols did not react under these conditions.     

Improved performance of complex gain-coupled DFB laser by using tapered grating structure

In this paper, theoretical analysis of antireflection complex gain coupled distributed feedback lasers (CGC-DFB) with tapered grating structure has been presented. Two types of gratings, convex and concave tapered grating with longitudinal variable depth, in active layer have been proposed. Evaluation of flatness parameter variation above threshold condition shows that concave tapered grating improves the stability of CGC-DFB laser against spatial hole burning (SHB) effect. The dependencies of output power, side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) and oscillation wavelength of CGC-DFB laser on convex and concave grating parameters have been studied. Both convex and concave tapered grating CGC-DFB structures have higher output power than conventional CGC-DFB lasers with uniform grating. It is found that, concave tapered grating structure with parameters p ₀?=?15?nm and a ₀?=?0.7 nm has minimum flatness parameter, stable lasing wavelength and flat SMSR profile as a function of current. Theoretical calculation model is based on the numerical solution of coupled wave equations and carrier rate equation by using transfer matrix method. In numerical calculation SHB effect has been assumed.