Nonstoichiometry and low-temperature magnetic properties of FeSi crystals

The results of experimental and theoretical studies of the low-temperature properties of FeSi crystals are presented. The specific features of the magnetic susceptibility are shown to be related to the superparamagnetic behavior of impurity clusters. The thermomagnetic hysteresis phenomena observed are explained using the model of exchange-coupled clusters.     

Laser-induced breakdown threshold and fracture versus the nanostructure of two-phase glass

The radiation hardness and mechanical strength of single-and two-phase glasses are studied for the case when nanosecond laser pulses (λ= 1.06 μm, τ_0.5 ≈ 12.5 ns) are focused inside the material. Laser interferometry is applied to measure the displacement of the free surface, find optical breakage thresholds, and carry out the fractographic analysis of damaged regions. It is shown that breakdown channels and damage regions develop in a nonlinear manner according to optical breakdown mechanisms, changing each other with an increase in the laser energy. The strength of the two-phase glass is found to be more than four times that of the single-phase glass, although their elastic properties differ insignificantly. Such a considerable difference in the hardness of these materials with chemically similar constitutents is attributed to the presence of the double-lattice nanometer-scale structure of the two-phase glass.     

Use of random numbers in computer simulation of magnetic resonance signals

The proton magnetic resonance spectra of water molecules diffusing over regular sites in natrolite are numerically simulated. Experimental data and the results of simulation are found to be in good agreement in a wide temperature interval including the transition range, where the magnetic resonance spectrum is a superposition of a wide unaveraged spectrum and a spectrum averaged by the motion of molecules. The simulation uses generators of pseudorandom-number Markovian sequences. For a binary Markovian process, it is shown, in particular, that the time within which a physical quantity remains constant is described by an exponentially distributed random number.     

Visualization of industrial engineering data in Augmented Reality

This paper presents an innovative application of Augmented Reality (AR) techniques in the field of industrial engineering in which the user explores data from numerical simulations or the results of measurements and experiments, superimposed to the real object that they refer to. The user observes the object through a tablet PC, used as a video see-through handheld display. Data are visualized superimposed to the real object that represents a spatial reference relative to which the user can refer to, so the exploration is more natural compared to a traditional visualization software. Moreover, we have developed a new framework, called VTK4AR, that provides a set of useful software classes for the rapid development of AR applications for scientific visualization. VTK4AR is built on top of VTK (an open source API for scientific visualization), so it will be possible to employ a wide range of visualization techniques in many application fields, and moreover, it is possible to interactively manipulate data-sets in order to achieve a more effective way of visualization.     

Sorption of uranium, radium, and thorium from saline solutions on hydrolyzed wood lignin

Sorption of U, Ra, and Th from multicomponent aqueous salt solutions on hydrolyzed wood lignin is studied. The mechanism of radionuclide sorption from saline solutions is suggested on the basis of the results of sequential extraction.     

Variation of supramolecular structure of heat-resistant polyimide films during thermal treatment

Variation of the supramolecular structure of heat-resistant polymide films in the course of high-temperature treatment was studied by X-ray diffraction analysis and NMR spectroscopy in solids.     

Synthesis and properties of carbon-chain polymers with pendant 1,3,4-oxadiazole rings

Carbon-chain polymers with 1,3,4-oxadiazole rings were prepared by radical polymerization and polymer-analogous transformations. The kinetic relationships of the polymerization of vinyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole monomers and some properties of the resulting polymers were studied. The thermodynamics of interaction of poly-2-vinyl-5-methyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole, a nonionic water-soluble polymer, with water was examined.     

Chemisorption of vapors of organic substances on a modified silica gel

Experimental data on the equilibrium and dynamics of chemisorption of vapors of organic substances on a silica gel modified with color reagents are presented.     

High resolution X-ray diffraction of GaN grown on Si (1 1 1) by MOVPE

High temperature GaN layers have been grown on Si (1 1 1) substrate by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). AlN was used as a buffer layer and studied as a function of thickness and growth temperature. The growth was monitored by in situ laser reflectometry. High resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) revealed that optimized monocrystalline GaN was obtained for a 40 nm AlN grown at 1080 °C. This is in good agreement with the results of morphological study by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and also confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations. The best morphology of AlN with columnar structure and lower rms surface roughness is greatly advantageous to the coalescence of the GaN epilayer. Symmetric and asymmetric GaN reflections were combined for twist and stress measurements in monocrystalline GaN. It was found that mosaicity and biaxial tensile stress are still high in 1.7 μm GaN. Curvature radius measurement was also done and correlated to the cracks observations over the GaN surface.