Sol–gel derived ZnO nanoparticulate films for ultraviolet photodetector (UV) applications

Zinc oxide nanoparticles based UV detector was fabricated on thermally oxidized silicon substrate. ZnO nanoparticle films were deposited using sol–gel route. The seed solution was prepared using two different solvents (methanol and isopropyl alcohol (IPA)). The surface morphology of the prepared films was characterized by FESEM. Structural characterization along with optical measurements was carried out using XRD and UV–vis spectroscopy. For the UV photo-detector, ZnO thin film prepared in IPA is selected based on their structural and optical analysis. The changes in photo-response of ZnO thin film with respect to time was studied under the dark and variable UV intensities. It was observed that the photocurrent increased with a factor of 4.82 under 1.16 mW of UV intensity. It is believe that the synthesized ZnO thin films have potential to use in the ultraviolet photo-detector applications.     

Current-driven electron drift solitons

The soliton formation by the current-driven drift-like wave is investigated for heavier ion (such as barium) plasma experiments planned to be performed in future. It is pointed out that the sheared flow of electrons can give rise to short scale solitary structures in the presence of stationary heavier ions. The nonlinearity appears due to convective term in the parallel equation of motion and not because of temperature gradient unlike the case of low frequency usual drift wave soliton. This higher frequency drift-like wave requires sheared flow of electrons and not the density gradient to exist.     

Use of Cu dopant and it's doping effects on polyaniline conducting system in water and tetrahydrofuran

The structural modification and properties of polymeric materials are of utmost importance in deciding their applications. In the present study, the synthesis of polyaniline (PANI) has been carried out via chemical oxidation in acidic medium by potassium-dichromate and the yield of synthesized polyaniline was found to be 75-80%. The copper per chlorate tetrabenzonitrile salt (CuClO₄·4BN) used for chemical doping in synthesized polyaniline is stable in organic solvent like acetonitrile (AN) and benzonitrile (BN). The effect of Cu⁺¹ oxidation state (dopant) in polyaniline has been characterized by FTIR. Electrical and dielectric measurements show the decrease in the intensity of the Cu⁺¹ salt signal and the appearance of a radical signal due to the formation of oxidative coupled in polymeric species. Electrical and dielectric properties of doped polyaniline samples show significant changes due to the effect of dopant (CuClO₄·4BN). It is observed that the conductivity is contributing both by formation of ionic complex and particularly dominated by electronic due to the mobility of charge carriers along the polyaniline chain.     

The improvement of InAs/GaAs quantum dot properties capped by Graphene

InAs self‐assembled quantum dots (QDs) were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (001) GaAs substrate. Uncapped and capped QDs with GaAs and graphene layers were studied using atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Graphene multi‐layer was grown by chemical vapor deposition and transferred on InAs/GaAs QDs. It is well known that the presence of a cap layer modifies the size, shape, and density of the QDs. According to the atomic force microscopy study, in contrast to the GaAs capped sample, which induce a dramatic decrease of the density and height of dots, graphene cap layer sample presents a slight influence on the surface morphology and the density of the islands compared with the uncapped one. The difference shown in the Raman spectra of the samples is due to change of strain and alloy disorder effects on the QDs. Residuals strain and the relaxation coefficients have been investigated. All results confirm the best crystalline quality of the graphene cap layer dots sample relative to the GaAs capped one. So graphene can be used to replace GaAs in capping InAs/GaAs dots. To our knowledge, such study has not been carried out until now. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

B12N12纳米笼：潜在的二氧化氮检测传感器

利用密度泛函理论通过计算吸附能量、HOMO/LUMO能隙变化、电荷转移、结构扭曲等研究二氧化氮分子在B12N12纳米笼的吸附．此外,通过计算B₁₂N₁₂的电子结合能、Gibbs自由能、态密度和分子表面的静电势研究其稳定性和其它特性．B₁₂N₁₂纳米笼吸附二氧化氮显示三种构型．B₁₂N₁₂团簇的HOMO/LUMO能隙变化对二氧化氮分子的存在非常敏感,从自由团簇的6.84 eV降为NO₂/团簇稳定团簇的3.23 eV．团簇的导电性被极大地提高,表明B₁₂N₁₂纳米簇可能是潜在的二氧化氮气体分子检测传感器.     

Magnetocaloric effect and multifunctional properties of Ni–Mn-based Heusler alloys

The studies of magnetocaloric properties, phase transitions, and phenomena related to magnetic heterogeneity in the vicinity of the martensitic transition (MT) in Ni–Mn–In and Ni–Mn–Ga off-stoichiometric Heusler alloys are summarized. The crystal structure, magnetocaloric effect (MCE), and magnetotransport properties were studied for the following alloys: Ni₅₀Mn_50−xIn_x, Ni_50−xCo_xMn₃₅In₁₅, Ni₅₀Mn_35−xCo_xIn₁₅, Ni₅₀Mn₃₅In₁₄Z (Z=Al, Ge), Ni₅₀Mn₃₅In_15−xSi_x, Ni_50−xCo_xMn_25+yGa_25−y, and Ni_50–xCo_xMn_32−yFeyGa₁₈. It was found that the magnetic entropy change, ΔS, associated with the inverse MCE in the vicinity of the temperature of the magneto-structural transition, TM, persists in a range of (125-5) J/(kg K) for a magnetic field change ΔH=5 T. The corresponding temperature varies with composition from 143 to 400 K. The MT in Ni₅₀Mn_50−xIn_x (x=13.5) results in a transition between two paramagnetic states. Associated with the paramagnetic austenite-paramagnetic martensite transition ΔS=24 J/(kg K) was detected for ΔH=5 T at T=350 K. The variation in composition of Ni₂MnGa can drastically change the magnetic state of the martensitic phase below and in the vicinity of TM. The presence of the martensitic phase with magnetic moment much smaller than that in the austenitic phase above TM leads to the large inverse MCE in the Ni₄₂Co₈Mn_32−yFeyGa₁₈ system. The adiabatic change of temperature (ΔT_ad) in the vicinity of TC and TM of Ni₅₀Mn₃₅In₁₅ and Ni₅₀Mn₃₅In₁₄Z (Z=Al, Ge) was found to be ΔT_ad=−2 K and 2 K for ΔH=1.8 T, respectively. It was observed that |ΔT_ad|≈1 K for ΔH=1 T for both types of transitions. The results on resistivity, magnetoresistance, Hall resistivity in some In-based alloys are discussed.     

Coronary artery stent mimicking intracardiac thrombus on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging due to signal loss: case report

Since the introduction of percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary artery disease, thousands of patients have been treated with the implantation of coronary stents. Moreover, several of the patients with coronary stent undergo cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging every year. This case report is of a 77-year-old man who was previously treated with the implantation of a coronary stent in the left circumflex artery. He underwent CMR imaging, which revealed a process 14×21 mm in the left atrium. Cardiac contrast computed tomography did not demonstrate any cardiac pathology. While the signal loss on MRI associated with implanted metallic devices is known, we report a case where an implanted coronary stent in the left circumflex artery led to an intracardiac signal loss mimicking intracardiac thrombus/tumor.     

Magnetic nondestructive technology for detection of tempered martensite embrittlement

A nondestructive eddy current technique is used to evaluate tempered martensite embrittlement in 4340 AISI steels after quench and tempering in the range 240–550 °C. A relation between the responses of the magnetic induction (normalized impedance of the coil) and destructive Charpy impact test results has been established. The study shows that the eddy current method could be used to separate brittle parts due to the microstructure changes.     

Abundant Exact Traveling Wave Solutions of Generalized Bretherton Equation via Improved (G′/G)-Expansion Method

In this article, we construct abundant exact traveling wave solutions involving free parameters to the generalized Bretherton equation via the improved (G′/G)-expansion method. The traveling wave solutions are presented in terms of the trigonometric, the hyperbolic, and rational functions. When the parameters take special values, the solitary waves are derived from the traveling waves.     

Coulomb attraction during the carpet growth mode of NaCl

The submonolayer growth of NaCl bilayer high-rectangular shaped islands on Ag(111) is investigated at around room temperature by using low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. The growth at the step edges is preferred. Two kinds of islands are observed. They either grow with their non-polar edge at the step edge of Ag(111) or the islands overgrow in a carpet-like mode with the polar direction parallel to the edge. In the latter case, the Ag step is rearranged and considerable, while the NaCl layer is bent. This study clarifies the nature of the interaction of an alkali halide nanostructure with a metal step edge.