In-band pumped Er:YAG ceramic laser with 11 W of output power at 1645 nm

We report on a high power polycrystalline Er:YAG ceramic laser in-band pumped by a cladding-pumped Er, Yb fiber laser wavelength locked at 1532 nm with a volume Bragg grating. Using 1.0 at % Er³⁺-doped ceramic as the gain medium and an output coupler of 10% transmission, the laser had a threshold pump power of ∼1.5 W and generated 11 W of continuous-wave output at 1645 nm for 23.3 W of incident pump power at 1532 nm, corresponding to a slope efficiency with respect to incident pump power of 51%.     

Synthesis and physical properties of antiperovskite-type compound In0.95CNi3

The compound In_0.95CNi₃ has been synthesized and the basic properties have been investigated. It has the typical antiperovskite structure (space group Pm3m, lattice parameter 3.7836 Å). The electronic specific coefficient γ and Debye temperature Θ_D are found to be 14.1 mJ/mol K² and 372 K, respectively. It behaves as a ferromagnetic metal below the Curie temperature (577 K). The emergence of ferromagnetism is suggested to originate from the deviation of the Ni/In atomic ratio from the ideal stoichiometry. The possible mechanisms have been discussed in detail in terms of this deviation.     

Surface oxidation behavior of MgNd alloys

The oxidation kinetics of MgNd alloys oxidized in pure O₂ at high temperatures has been investigated. The results revealed two stages of the reaction: A fast initial oxidation was followed by a slow oxide growth with a parabolic kinetics. For MgNd alloys (Nd = 25 wt.%), the oxidation rate increased with the enhancement of the oxidation temperature. A sudden ignition was found for this alloys oxidized at 873 K up to about 80 min. Moreover, the increase of the Nd content would harm the oxidation resistance of the MgNd alloys. By Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, it was found that a triplex structure of oxide film formed. The outer layer was composed of MgO, Nd₂O₃ and Nd(OH)₃, the middle layer mainly consisted of MgO and Nd₂O₃, and the inner layer was the transitional layer made of MgO, Nd₂O₃ and the content of the substrate. The protective oxidation was associated with the formation of the dense Nd₂O₃/MgO layer during isothermal oxidation process. The oxidation mechanisms for the formation of oxide film are discussed.     

Coaxial ZnO/SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanocables fabricated by thermal evaporation/oxidation

ZnO/SiO₂ coaxial nanocables have been synthesized on silicon substrates by simply evaporating zinc powder under an argon and argon/oxygen mixed atmosphere sequentially. The diameters of these nanocables vary from 50 to 100 nm and the lengths up to several millimeters. Electron microscopy and chemical composition investigations reveal that the nanocable consists of a crystalline ZnO core surrounded by an amorphous silica sheath. The electron diffraction pattern proves that the long-axis direction of ZnO cores grows along the [0001] direction. Silica nanotubes with wall structures have been obtained by the selective dissolution of the cores with hydrochloric acid. PACS 81.10.Bk; 81.05.Hd     

Experimental determination of counterflow ignition temperatures and laminar flame speeds of C2–C3 hydrocarbons at atmospheric and elevated pressures

Experimental data were acquired for: (1) the ignition temperatures of nitrogen–diluted ethylene and propylene by counterflowing heated air for various strain rates and system pressures up to 7 atm; (2) the laminar flame speeds of mixtures of air with acetylene, ethylene, ethane, propylene, and propane, deduced from an outwardly propagating spherical flame in a constant-pressure chamber, for extensive ranges of lean-to-rich equivalence ratio and system pressure up to 5 atm. These data, respectively, relevant for low- to intermediate-temperature ignition chemistry and high-temperature flame chemistry, were subsequently compared with calculated results using a literature C₁–C₃ mechanism and an ethylene mechanism. Noticeable differences were observed in the comparison for both mechanisms, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to identify the reactions of importance.     

Analysis of ferroelectric switching in sodium nitrite:poly(vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite films

The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and switching current response in sodium nitrite:poly(vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite films have been studied as a function of composition of NaNO₂. The switching current data fitted well to infinite-grain model (IGM) in the region t<t _s and to finite-grain model (FGM) in the region t≥t _s . The microscopic parameters like the dimensionality, the domain wall velocity, and the nucleation rate have been evaluated which provide more physical insight of the switching phenomena in the composite films. The polarization current and nucleation rate are optimum in 50 wt.% composite film and have been discussed in terms of grain size and strain variations with the composition. The effect of applied field and pulse width variation on the switching behavior of 50 wt.% composition has also been studied. The exponential field dependence of the domain wall velocity and the nucleation rate indicate that nucleation mechanism is responsible for switching phenomena in the composite films. The writing pulse width affects significantly on the switching behavior of the composite films.     

Analysis of serum from type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic complication using surface-enhanced Raman spectra (SERS)

In this paper, we show surface-enhanced Raman spectra (SERS) of serums from type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic complication (coronary disease, glaucoma and cerebral infarction), and analyze the SERS through the multivariate statistical methods of principal component analysis (PCA). In particular, we find that there exist many adenines in these serums, which maybe come from DNA (RNA) damage. The relative intensity of the band at 725±2 cm⁻¹ assigned to adenine is higher for patients than for the healthy volunteers; therefore, it can be used as an important ‘fingerprint’ in order to diagnose these diseases. It is also shown that serums from type II diabetes mellitus group, diabetic complication group and healthy volunteers group can be discriminated by PCA.     

Above-threshold ionization photoelectron spectrum from quantum trajectory

Many nonlinear quantum phenomena of intense laser-atom physics can be intuitively explained with the concept of trajectory. In this paper, Bohmian mechanics (BM) is introduced to study a multiphoton process of atoms interacting with the intense laser field: above-threshold ionization (ATI). Quantum trajectory of an atomic electron in intense laser field is obtained from the Bohm-Newton equation first and then the energy of the photoelectron is gained from its trajectory. With energies of an ensemble of photoelectrons, we obtain the ATI spectrum which is consistent with the previous theoretical and experimental results. Comparing BM with the classical trajectory Monte-Carlo method, we conclude that quantum potential may play a key role to reproduce the spectrum of ATI. Our work may present a new approach to understanding quantum phenomena in intense laser-atom physics with the image of trajectory.     

Blue organic light-emitting diodes with low driving voltage and maximum enhanced power efficiency based on buffer layer MoO3

Blue organic light-emitting devices based on wide bandgap host material, 2-(t-butyl)-9, 10-di-(2-naphthyl) anthracene (TBADN), blue fluorescent styrylamine dopant, p-bis(p-N,N-diphenyl-amino-styryl)benzene (DSA-Ph) have been realized by using molybdenum oxide (MoO₃) as a buffer layer and 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BPhen) as the ETL. The typical device structure used was glass substrate/ITO/MoO₃ (5 nm)/NPB (30 nm)/[TBADN: DSA-Ph (3 wt%)](35 nm)/BPhen (12 nm)/LiF (0.8 nm)/Al (100 nm). It was found that the MoO₃∥BPhen-based device shows the lowest driving voltage and highest power efficiency among the referenced devices. At the current density of 20 mA/cm², its driving voltage and power efficiency are 5.4 V and 4.7 Lm/W, respectively, which is independently reduced 46%, and improved 74% compared with those the m-MTDATA∥Alq₃ is based on, respectively. The J-V curves of ‘hole-only’ devices reveal that a small hole injection barrier between MoO₃∥NPB leads to a strong hole injection, resulting low driving voltage and high power efficiency. The results strongly indicate that carrier injection ability and balance shows a key significance in OLED performance.     

Dry sliding tribological behavior of AZ31 magnesium alloy irradiated by high-intensity pulsed ion beam

The dry sliding tribological behavior of AZ31 magnesium alloy irradiated by high-intensity pulsed ion beam (HIPIB) at energy density of 3.4 J/cm² with 10 shots is investigated by dry sliding wear tests in order to explore the effect of HIPIB irradiation on tribological property of magnesium alloy. Surface morphologies, composition and structure of the irradiated AZ31 magnesium alloys are examined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that HIPIB irradiation led to the increase in surface microhardness and the reduction in friction coefficient and wear rate. Wear rate for both the original and the irradiated samples increased with increasing sliding load from 0.1 to 0.5 N. The transition from severe metallic wear to mild oxidative wear induced by HIPIB irradiation was observed by a combined analysis in surface morphology and chemical composition of wear tracks, mechanically mixed materials and wear debris, which is mainly attributed to the significant increase in microhardness resulting from grain refinement on the irradiated surface. In addition, defects induced by HIPIB irradiation promoted the diffusion of oxygen during sliding wear and therefore led to the formation of compact mixed materials and protective films on the wear tracks surface, which also contributes to the transition in wear mechanism of AZ31 magnesium alloy induced by HIPIB irradiation.