Gold chloride cluster ions generated by vacuum laser ablation

In this work, a simple way for study the possibility of formation a vapor cluster species of tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl₄), using the laser ablation in the absence of a buffer or reactive atmosphere, and without a postablation supersonic expansion on a commercial matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer, is reported. Tetrachloroauric acid is known as precursor for the synthesis of gold nanostructures and the complex salts; therefore it is an important task to discover and quantify the species arising from HAuCl₄, in order to understand their role in the gold assisted reactions. Mass spectrum of HAuCl₄ in a reflector negative-ion mode contains the hydrated mono- and dinuclear gold clusters in the m/z range 286–436, and gold chloride clusters in the m/z range 447–795. In the first part of spectrum, m/z range 286–436, the hydrated gold cluster species of type Au _n ^? (H₂O)_m (n?=?1–2; m?=?1, 2, 5, 7, 8) and [Au_n(OH)_k]^?(H₂O)_m (n?=?1–2; k?=?1–2; m?=?1, 4–8) were found. Besides that, there are gold chloride clusters with general formula [AuH_r(HCl)₂]^?(H₂O)_m (m?=?1–5; 8–9; r?=?0–2) in this part of spectrum. In the second part of spectrum, the m/z range 447–795, only gold chloride clusters were obtained. Their general formulae can be written as [AuCl_t(HCl)_v]^?(H₂O)_m (t?=?1–4; v?=?5–8; m?=?2–4, 6–8) and [Au_n(HCl)_v]^?(H₂O)_m (n?=?1–2, v?=?4–5, m?=?1–2, 5, 7). The analysis of concentration effects on the LDI mass spectra of gold clusters reveals that the relative intensities of signals for the mono- and dinuclear Au clusters increase with decreasing the concentration of water HAuCl₄ solutions.     

Controlling theoretically total absorption in hybrid-cavity resonator with one graphene monolayer outside cavity

Total absorption is realized theoretically in a graphene-outside-cavity resonator. The structure is composed of the FP-Fano hybrid resonance cavity. Changing the thickness of grating exciting Fano resonance, the absorption-mode number can be tuned effectively. For the focused double-mode absorption, the resonances behave insensitively with the variation of chemical potential of graphene. Varying the geometry of grating can control the coupling extent of two modes. Also, by manipulating the period number of two-side multilayers around graphene, the absorption, shift and number of modes are governed.     

The dependence of the conduction band edge of the alkali earth metal bismuthates on their composition

We present a comparative analysis of the conduction band edge of the alkali earth metal bismuthates containing Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba. The conduction band edges were computed using the method suggested by Butler and Ginley. The calculations reveal that they depend on the bismuthate’s composition and vary over a wide range. We demonstrate that the energy of the conduction band increases in the series Ca?→?Sr?→?Ba. It also increases with an increase of the alkali earth metal content. The performed calculations help to determine the potential alkali earth metal bismuthate photocatalysts. The most promising compositions found in this study include strontium and barium bismuthates in which the number of the alkali earth metal atoms in the cationic sublattice exceeds the number of the bismuth atoms.     

Some types of dark soliton interactions in inhomogeneous optical fibers

Dark solitons are the subject of intense theoretical and experimental studies in nonlinear optics due to their unique characteristics compared with bright solitons. In this paper, the variable coefficient high-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation in the inhomogeneous optical fiber is investigated. Via the Hirota bilinear method and symbolic computation, the analytic dark two-soliton solutions are obtained. With the suitable choices of functions and coefficients for the obtained dark two-soliton solutions, some new phenomena are presented for the first time. The influences on phases and amplitudes of soliton interactions are detailed analyzed. Moreover, sets of double-triangle structures and methods of changing the propagation direction of dark solitons are introduced. Finally, by choosing suitable functions of the fourth-order dispersion parameter, the arch-structure and M-structure interactions are revealed. Results may be potentially useful in designing all-optical switches and optical fibers.     

Supercontinuum generation with femtosecond optical pulse compression in silicon photonic crystal fibers at 2500 nm

In this paper, femtosecond optical pulses compression and supercontinuum generation in a triangular silicon photonic crystal fiber at 2500 nm are investigated. A region of large minimum anomalous group velocity dispersion, negligible higher order dispersions and unique nonlinearity of silicon are used to demonstrate compression of 100 fs initial input optical pulses to 2.5 fs and ultra-broadband supercontinuum generation with very low input pulse energy over short distances of the fiber.     

Injection-locked range and linewidth measurements at different seed-laser linewidths using a Fabry–Pérot laser-diode

In this paper we experimentally examine the dependence of the injection-locked range magnitude of a Fabry–Pérot (FP) laser on the linewidth of a seed laser. We measure the enhancement of the incident-power-dependent injection-locked range when changing the seed-light linewidth in three different ranges, starting with tens of GHz, then hundreds of MHz, and up to a few hundred kHz. We notice the progressive shrinkage of the locking range with an increase in the linewidth of the seed source. Simultaneously, the linewidth of a FP laser was measured and the cancellation of multiple longitudinal operating modes as well as a great reduction of linewidth are observed with a self-homodyne measurement.     

Chemical vapor deposition growth of two-dimensional heterojunctions

The properties of two-dimensional (2D) layered materials with atom-smooth surface and special interlayer van der Waals coupling are different from those of traditional materials. Due to the absence of dangling bonds from the clean surface of 2D layered materials, the lattice mismatch influences slightly on the growth of 2D heterojunctions, thus providing a flexible design strategy. 2D heterojunctions have attracted extensive attention because of their excellent performance in optoelectronics, spintronics, and valleytronics. The transfer method was utilized for the fabrication of 2D heterojunctions during the early stage of fundamental research on these materials. This method, however, has limited practical applications. Therefore, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method was recently developed and applied for the preparation of 2D heterojunctions. The CVD method is a naturally down-top growth strategy that yields 2D heterojunctions with sharp interfaces. Moreover, this method effectively reduces the introduction of contaminants to the fabricated heterojunctions. Nevertheless, the CVD-growth method is sensitive to variations in growth conditions. In this review article, we attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of the influence of growth conditions on the fabrication of 2D heterojunctions through the direct CVD method. We believe that elucidating the effects of growth conditions on the CVD method is necessary to help control and improve the efficiency of the large-scale fabrication of 2D heterojunctions for future applications in integrated circuits.     

Quest towards ultimate performance in superconducting nanowire single photon detectors

正In 2007,superconducting nanowire single photon detectors(SSPD or SNSPD)[1]made an outstanding impact in the field of quantum information technology by demonstrating quantum key distribution(QKD)over a 200-km optical fiber with a 42-dB optical loss using a practical SNSPD system[2].This successful demonstration was realized thanks to its extremely     

Two-dimensional matter-wave solitons and vortices in competing cubic-quintic nonlinear lattices

The nonlinear lattice — a new and nonlinear class of periodic potentials — was recently introduced to generate various nonlinear localized modes. Several attempts failed to stabilize two-dimensional (2D) solitons against their intrinsic critical collapse in Kerr media. Here, we provide a possibility for supporting 2D matter-wave solitons and vortices in an extended setting — the cubic and quintic model — by introducing another nonlinear lattice whose period is controllable and can be different from its cubic counterpart, to its quintic nonlinearity, therefore making a fully “nonlinear quasi-crystal”.A variational approximation based on Gaussian ansatz is developed for the fundamental solitons and in particular, their stability exactly follows the inverted Vakhitov–Kolokolov stability criterion, whereas the vortex solitons are only studied by means of numerical methods. Stability regions for two types of localized mode — the fundamental and vortex solitons — are provided. A noteworthy feature of the localized solutions is that the vortex solitons are stable only when the period of the quintic nonlinear lattice is the same as the cubic one or when the quintic nonlinearity is constant, while the stable fundamental solitons can be created under looser conditions. Our physical setting (cubic-quintic model) is in the framework of the Gross–Pitaevskii equation or nonlinear Schrödinger equation, the predicted localized modes thus may be implemented in Bose–Einstein condensates and nonlinear optical media with tunable cubic and quintic nonlinearities.