Microfabrication of stacks of acoustic matching layers for 15 MHz ultrasonic transducers

This paper presents a novel method used to manufacture stacks of multiple matching layers for 15 MHz piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers, using fabrication technology derived from the MEMS industry. The acoustic matching layers were made on a silicon wafer substrate using micromachining techniques, i.e., lithography and etch, to design silicon and polymer layers with the desired acoustic properties. Two matching layer configurations were tested: a double layer structure consisting of a silicon–polymer composite and polymer and a triple layer structure consisting of silicon, composite, and polymer. The composite is a biphase material of silicon and polymer in 2-2 connectivity. The matching layers were manufactured by anisotropic wet etch of a (1 1 0)-oriented Silicon-on-Insulator wafer. The wafer was etched by KOH 40 wt%, to form 83 μm deep and 4.5 mm long trenches that were subsequently filled with Spurr’s epoxy, which has acoustic impedance 2.4 MRayl. This resulted in a stack of three layers: The silicon substrate, a silicon–polymer composite intermediate layer, and a polymer layer on the top. The stacks were bonded to PZT disks to form acoustic transducers and the acoustic performance of the fabricated transducers was tested in a pulse-echo setup, where center frequency, −6 dB relative bandwidth and insertion loss were measured. The transducer with two matching layers was measured to have a relative bandwidth of 70%, two-way insertion loss 18.4 dB and pulse length 196 ns. The transducers with three matching layers had fractional bandwidths from 90% to 93%, two-way insertion loss ranging from 18.3 to 25.4 dB, and pulse lengths 326 and 446 ns. The long pulse lengths of the transducers with three matching layers were attributed to ripple in the passband.     

Radiation-driven hydrodynamics of high- hohlraums on the national ignition facility

The first hohlraum experiments on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) using the initial four laser beams tested radiation temperature limits imposed by plasma filling. For a variety of hohlraum sizes and pulse lengths, the measured x-ray flux shows signatures of filling that coincide with hard x-ray emission from plasma streaming out of the hohlraum. These observations agree with hydrodynamic simulations and with an analytical model that includes hydrodynamic and coronal radiative losses. The modeling predicts radiation temperature limits with full NIF (1.8 MJ), greater, and of longer duration than required for ignition hohlraums.     

Positive domain wall resistance of 180 degrees Néel walls in Co thin films

We measured the intrinsic domain wall resistance (DWR) of 180 degrees Ne el walls in a polycrystalline Co thin film deposited on top of a patterned antiferromagnetic CoO template. After field cooling through the CoO blocking temperature, exchange bias induces a spatially modulated coercivity of the Co film, resulting in a periodic domain pattern with 180 degrees Ne el walls. The intrinsic DWR is determined unambiguously by using rotating magnetic fields that result in a reversible creation and annihilation of the Ne el walls. In contrast with earlier reports, the DWR is positive and in agreement with models based on the giant magnetoresistance mechanism. A reliable, quantitative determination of the DWR requires careful numerical evaluation of the anisotropic magnetoresistance effect.     

Long-range manifestation of surface-enhanced Raman scattering

The spatial scale at which the effect of surface-enhanced Raman scattering by planar Ag nanostructures manifests itself is investigated experimentally by direct measurements of the dependence of the enhancement factor on the distance between the surface of the Ag nanostructure and a layer of test organic molecules. It is found that the enhancement factor remains almost constant up to distances as large as 30 nm and drops abruptly at larger distances. The obtained dependence is universal for all kinds of organic molecules investigated. The fact that the surface enhancement of Raman scattering manifests itself on such a long spatial scale sharply contradicts the broadly accepted model assuming that the surface-enhanced Raman scattering decreases rapidly at distances as short as 2–3 nm.     

Frustrated structure of an anticlinic-like smectic-C phase

We present a polarising optical microscopy study of the low-temperature anticlinic-like tilted mesophase of the liquid-crystal compound octylphenyl-2-chloro-4-(p-cyano-benzoyloxy) (DB₈Cl). This mesophase has been described as a bilayer smectic structure in which the molecules within each layer are organised in an anticlinic way. The optical textures observed in samples with planar orientation show a double stripe pattern, with the lines aligned parallel to the rubbing direction, characteristic of a double periodic modulation of the refractive index of the material. The long-period modulation is temperature dependent and disappears for thin sample cells (< 5μm). The short-period modulation is nearly independent of the thickness of the cells. The experimental results are analysed in terms of a model which considers that there is a special distribution of the principal optical axis which may be in or out of the polariser-analyser plane. The observed periodic variation of the principal optical axis could not be interpreted in terms of the original structure proposed for this phase. DB₈Cl presents a structure formed by dimers that can be viewed as flexible bent-core-like molecules, showing similarities with phases found in banana-like systems, but exhibiting a much more complex structure.     

A voltage-controlled chaotic oscillator based on carbon nanotube field-effect transistor for low-power embedded systems

This paper presents a compact and low-power-based discrete-time chaotic oscillator based on a carbon nanotube field-effect transistor implemented using Wong and Deng＇s well-known model. The chaotic circuit is composed of a nonlinear circuit that creates an adjustable chaos map, two sample and hold cells for capture and delay functions, and a voltage shifter that works as a buffer and adjusts the output voltage for feedback. The operation of the chaotic circuit is verified with the SPICE software package, which uses a supply voltage of 0.9 V at a frequency of 20 kHz. The time series, frequency spectra, transitions in phase space, sensitivity with the initial condition diagrams, and bifurcation phenomena are presented. The main advantage of this circuit is that its chaotic signal can be generated while dissipating approximately 7.8 μW of power, making it suitable for embedded systems where many chaos-signal generators are required on a single chip.     

Prospects for e+e- physics at Frascati between the φ and the ψ

We present a detailed study, done in the framework of the INFN 2006 Roadmap, of the prospects for e⁺e^- physics at the Frascati National Laboratories. The physics case for an e⁺e^- collider running at high luminosity at the φ resonance energy and also reaching a maximum center of mass energy of 2.5 GeV is discussed, together with the specific aspects of a very high luminosity τ-charm factory. Subjects connected to kaon decay physics are not discussed here, being part of another INFN Roadmap working group. The significance of the project and the impact on INFN are also discussed. All the documentation related to the activities of the working group can be found in http://www.roma1.infn.it/people/bini/roadmap.html.