Experimental realization of a circuit-based broadband illusion-optics analogue

We experimentally demonstrate the first metamaterial "illusion optics" device--an "invisible gateway" by using a transmission-line medium. The device contains an open channel that can block waves at a particular frequency range. We also demonstrate that such a device can work in a broad frequency range.     

Type B epitaxy of Ge on CaF2(111) surface

It was known experimentally that type B orientation, which is rotated 180° about the [111] axis, dominated the heteroepitaxial growth of Ge(111) on a CaF₂(111) substrate at an elevated temperature. We performed first principles calculations using density functional theory to determine the energetics of the Ge(111)/CaF₂(111) interface and found that the type B orientation of the Ge film is most likely a result of a direct bonding between Ge atoms and Ca²⁺ at the CaF₂ surface with the top F^? layer depleted. Our theoretical prediction is supported by our X-ray diffraction experiments on {111} < 121> biaxially textured Ge/CaF₂ samples.     

Toward a UV-visible-near-infrared hyperspectral imaging platform for fast multiplex reflection spectroscopy

A reflection hyperspectral imaging system covering a 350-1000nm spectral range is realized by a UV-visible-near-IR Fourier transform imaging spectrometer. The system has a simple design and good spectral and spatial resolving performance. Accurate and fast microspectroscopic measurement results on novel colloidal crystal beads demonstrate the system has practical potential for high-throughput molecular multiplex assays.     

Uniqueness of completions and related topics

A bounded subset of a normed linear space is said to be (diametrically) complete if it cannot be enlarged without increasing the diameter. A complete super set of a bounded set K having the same diameter as K is called a completion of K. In general, a bounded set may have different completions. We study normed linear spaces having the property that there exists a nontrivial segment with a unique completion. It turns out that this property is strictly weaker than the property that each complete set is a ball, and it is strictly stronger than the property that each set of constant width is a ball. Extensions of this property are also discussed.     

Synchronization of coupled systems to periodic diagonal solutions with synchronized asymptotic phases

Using the change of coordinates, parameterization and characteristic multipliers, we prove the synchronization of a class of coupled nonlinear systems with nontrivial periodic solution. The periodic diagonal solution of the coupled system is asymptotically orbitally stable with asymptotic phase.Examples are given to illustrate the theorem.     

Defects in ZnO nanorods prepared by a hydrothermal method

ZnO nanorod arrays were fabricated using a hydrothermal method. The nanorods were studied by scanning electron microscopy, photoluminescence (PL), time-resolved PL, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and positron annihilation spectroscopy before and after annealing in different environments and at different temperatures. Annealing atmosphere and temperature had significant effects on the PL spectrum, while in all cases the positron diffusion length and PL decay times were increased. We found that, while the defect emission can be significantly reduced by annealing at 200 degrees C, the rods still have large defect concentrations as confirmed by their low positron diffusion length and short PL decay time constants.     

Enhanced electrical percolation due to interconnection of three-dimensional pentacene islands in thin films on low surface energy polyimide gate dielectrics

The role of lateral interconnections between three-dimensional pentacene islands on low surface energy polyimide gate dielectrics was investigated by the measurement of the surface coverage dependence of the charge mobility and the use of conducting-probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM). From the correlation between the electrical characteristics and the morphological evolution of the three-dimensionally grown pentacene films-based field-effect transistors, we found that during film growth, the formation of interconnections between the three-dimensional pentacene islands that are isolated at the early stage contributes significantly to the enhancement process of charge mobility. The CP-AFM current mapping images of the pentacene films also indicate that the lateral interconnections play an important role in the formation of good electrical percolation pathways between the three-dimensional pentacene islands.     

Efficient calculation of electron diffraction for the structural determination of nanomaterials

A critical advance in the technique of low-energy electron diffraction is presented and shown to enable determining detailed structures of nanomaterials, based on experimental methods that already exist or have been proposed. Our new cluster approach speeds up the computation to scale as n logn, rather than the current n3 or n2, with n the number of atoms, for example. Applications are illustrated for C60 molecules adsorbed on a Cu(111) surface, with and without coadsorbed metal atoms, exhibiting sensitivity to important structural features such as buckyball size and deformation.     

Critical Casimir force in 4He films: confirmation of finite-size scaling

We present new capacitance measurements of critical Casimir force-induced thinning of 4He films near the superfluid transition, focused on the region below Tlambda where the effect is the greatest. 4He films of 238, 285, and 340 A thickness are adsorbed on atomically smooth, N-doped silicon substrates. The Casimir force scaling function theta, deduced from the thinning of these three films, collapses onto a single universal curve, attaining a minimum theta=-1.30+/-0.03 at x=td1/nu=-9.7+/-0.8 A1/nu. The collapse confirms the finite-size scaling origin of the dip in the film thickness. Separately, we also confirm the presence down to 2.13 K of the Goldstone or surface fluctuation force, which makes the superfluid film approximately 2 A thinner than the normal film.