Level structures of 95,97Mo — A comparative study

High-spin states of ^95,97Mo (Z=42, N=53,55) nuclei have been investigated through ⁸²Se(¹⁸O, xn) reaction at Eb=60 MeV. The level scheme in ⁹⁵Mo has been observed upto ≏ 10 MeV in the present experiment. The level structure shows mainly single particle character. In ⁹⁷Mo, the ground state level sequence has been extended to ≏ 4.5 MeV while the previous information had been up to 2.4 MeV. A negative parity band built on 1437 keV (11/2⁻) excited state has been extended to 5.5 MeV. The structure seems to show a coexistence of single particle and collective modes of excitation. Properties of both the nuclei have been compared with shell model calculations using OXBASH.     

High spin rotational bands in 65Zn

The nucleus ₃₀ ⁶⁵ Zn was studied using the ⁵²Cr(¹⁶O, 2pn)⁶⁵Zn reaction at a beam energy of 65 MeV. The level scheme is extended up to an excitation energy of 10.57 MeV for spin-parity (41/2?) with several newly observed transitions placed in it.     

Effect of a buffer layer, composition and annealing on the performance of a bulk heterojunction polythiophene/fullerene composite photovoltaic device

Post-annealing of P3HT/C₆₀-based plastic solar cells, composite ratio and, incorporation of a buffer layers at the ITO–polymer/fullerene composite interface and the polymer/fullerene composite–Al interface have shown significant improvement in the performance of the photovoltaic device, both in terms of open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current. The annealing temperature, time duration and P3HT/C₆₀ composite ratios have been optimized for the best performance of typical ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:C₆₀/LiF/Al solar cell. The C₆₀ content is very crucial because it improves the photocurrent in the beginning but after a certain value it leads to decrease in absorption, thereby decreasing the photocurrent.     

Microstructural,dielectric and magnetic behavior of spin-deposited nanocrystalline nickel–zinc ferrite thin films for microwave applications

Nanocrystalline nickel ferrite and zinc doped nickel ferrite thin films with general composition Ni_1−xZn_xFe₂O₄; x=0.0, 0.2 and 0.5 were fabricated by the spin-deposition technique. Citrate precursor method was adopted to prepare coating solution used for film deposition. This method resulted in single phase, transparent, homogeneous and crack-free nanocrystalline ferrite thin films at annealing temperature as low as 400 °C. The substrates used for film deposition were ITO-coated 7059 glass, fused quartz and Si (1 0 0). The thickness of films was found to be in the range ∼1000–5500 Å. The surface microstructure and morphology investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirmed the grain size of nickel–zinc ferrite films to be in nanometer range indicating nanocrystalline nature of the films. Dielectric properties such as the real (∈′) and imaginary parts (∈″) of complex permittivity were measured in the X-band microwave frequency region (8–12 GHz) by employing extended cavity perturbation technique. The M–H hysteresis measurements on the films annealed at 650 °C revealed narrow hysteresis curves with H_c and M_s varying for different compositions.     

Stable and continuous wavelength tuning of a hybrid semiconductor laser with an erbium-doped fiber external cavity

We present an experimental study of tuning characteristics and wavelength stability of a 1490 nm doped fiber external cavity laser. The standing wave in the erbium-doped fiber in an external-cavity laser causes spatial hole burning and absorption modulation and forms a dynamic grating. The dynamic grating can effectively suppress side modes and eliminate wavelength fluctuations in the laser. The operating wavelength of this hybrid laser is shown for the first time to our knowledge to be smoothly tunable by changing the semiconductor laser drive current or temperature.     

Measuring turbulence in a circulating fluidized bed using PIV techniques

This study utilized the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique, non-invasively near the wall, in the developing region, for the measurements of laminar and turbulent properties during circulation of Geldart B type particles in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) riser. A novel method was used to measure axial and radial laminar and turbulent solids dispersion coefficients using autocorrelation technique.The instantaneous and hydrodynamic velocities for the solid phase were measured simultaneously in the axial and radial directions using a CCD camera, with the help of a colored rotating transparency. The measured properties, such as laminar and Reynolds stresses, laminar and turbulent granular temperatures, laminar and turbulent dispersion coefficients and energy spectra exhibited anisotropy. The mixing in the riser was on the level of clusters. The total granular temperatures were in reasonable agreement with the literature values. However, the axial and radial solids dispersion coefficients measured near the wall were slightly lower than the radially averaged values in the literature.