Diode-pumped Pr<Superscript>3+</Superscript>:YAlO<Subscript>3</Subscript>/LBO violet laser at 374 nm

We report a diode-pumped Pr³⁺:YAlO₃ laser emitting at 747 nm. A power of 232 mW at 747 nm has been achieved in continuous-wave operation with a diode emitting 2 W at 448 nm. Furthermore, intracavity second-harmonic generation in continuous-wave mode has also been demonstrated with a power of 52 mW at 374 nm by using a LBO nonlinear crystal. The fluctuation of the violet output power was better than 2.3%. The beam quality M ² value is 2.2.     

Visible photoluminescence of nanometer-sized SiGe/Si heterostructure fabricated by ion implantation

An innovative fabrication technique for the nanometer-sized SiGe/Si heterostructure was developed in this study. Ge was induced in Si substrate by two-step ion implantation. The spherical SiGe nanoclusters are self-assembled in the Si substrate by subsequent rapid thermal annealing at 1,100 °C. The diameter of the spherical SiGe nanoclusters is 5–7 nm. Visible photoluminescence from this nanometer-sized SiGe/Si heterostructure at room temperature was investigated. We found three peak energies of visible luminescence spectra at 1.97, 2.13, and 2.16 eV, respectively. The luminescence intensity depends on the number of the nanoclusters and will be decreased because of the micro-defects around the heterostructure, which is discussed in detail.     

New concept of failure of thin organic films

A critical (steady state) value of the thermal expansion coefficients of different coatings was determined by a nondestructive technique (NDT) known as laser shearography. The behavior of organic coatings, i.e., ACE premium-grey enamel, a yellow acrylic lacquer, and a gold nail polish on a metallic alloy, i.e., a carbon steel, was investigated over a temperature range of 20–60 °C. The value of the thermal expansion coefficients of coatings was derived from the slope of the plot of the thermal deformation (strain) versus the applied temperature. The integrity of the coatings with respect to time was assessed by comparison the measured coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) to the critical (steady state) or asymptotic value of CTE. By shearography, measurement of coating properties could be performed independent of parameters such as UV exposure, humidity, presence of chemical species, and other parameters which may normally interfere with conventional methods of the assessing of the integrity of coatings. Therefore, one may measure CTE of coatings, regardless of the history of the coating, in order to assess the integrity of coatings. Also, the obtained shearography data were found to be in a reasonable trend with the data of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 3%NaCl solution.     

A carbon–LiFePO<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanocomposite as high-performance cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

A cathode material of an electrically conducting carbon–LiFePO₄ nanocomposite is synthesized by wet ball milling and spray drying of precursor powders prior to a solid-state reaction. The structural characterization shows that the composite is composed of LiFePO₄ crystals and 4.8 wt.% amorphous carbon. Galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements indicate that the composite exhibits a superior high energy and high cycling stability. This composite delivers a discharge capacity of 159.1 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 C, 150.8 mAh g⁻¹ at 1 C, and 140.1 mAh g⁻¹ at 2 C rate. The capacity retention of 99% is achieved after 200 cycles at 2 C. The 18,650 cylindrical batteries are assembled using the composite as cathode materials and demonstrate the capacity of 1,400 mAh and the capacity retention of 97% after 100 cycles at 1 C. These results reveal that the as-prepared LiFePO₄–carbon composite is one of the promising cathode materials for high-performance, advanced lithium-ion batteries directed to the hybrid electric vehicle and pure electric vehicle markets.     

Magneto-electric response functions for simple atomic systems

We consider a simple atomic two-body bound state system that is overall charge neutral and placed in a static electric and magnetic field, and calculate the magneto-electric response function as a function of frequency. This is done from first principles using a two-particle Hamiltonian for both an harmonic oscillator and Coulomb binding potential. In the high frequency limit, the response function falls off as 1/ω ² whilst at low frequencies it tends to a constant value.     

An overview of quantification methods in energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis

This paper reviews the major factors influencing the accuracy of the energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis including physical and chemical matrix effects (resulting from particle size, surface irregularity, mineralogy, moisture, absorption and enhancement) as well as the correction procedures with emphasis on the analysis of unprepared samples. Quantification methods for thin samples, samples with intermediate thickness and thick samples are presented including fundamental parameter methods, influence coefficient algorithms, empirical coefficient algorithms and quantification methods based on scattered primary radiation. Quality control procedures are also reviewed.     

Effects of surfactants on properties of polymer-coated magnetic nanoparticles for drug delivery application

The objective of this research was to compare the effects of two different surfactants on the physicochemical properties of thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylamide-allylamine) (PNIPAAm-AAm-AH)-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a commonly used surfactant in nanoparticle formulation process and Pluronic F127 as an FDA approved material were used as surfactants to synthesize PNIPAAm-AAm-AH-coated MNPs (PMNPs). The properties of PMNPs synthesized using SDS (PMNPs-SDS) and PF127 (PMNPs-PF127) were compared in terms of size, polydispersity, surface charge, drug loading efficiency, drug release profile, biocompatibility, cellular uptake, and ligand conjugation efficiency. These nanoparticles had a stable core–shell structure with about a 100-nm diameter and were superparamagnetic in behavior with no difference in the magnetic properties in both types of nanoparticles. In vitro cell studies showed that PMNPs-PF127 were more cytocompatible and taken up more by prostate cancer cells than that of PMNPs-SDS. Cells internalized with these nanoparticles generated a dark negative contrast in agarose phantoms for magnetic resonance imaging. Furthermore, a higher doxorubicin release at 40 °C was observed from PMNPs-PF127, and the released drugs were pharmacologically active in killing cancer cells. Finally, surfactant type did not affect the conjugation efficiency to the nanoparticles when folic acid was used as a targeting ligand model. These results indicate that PF127 might be a better surfactant to form polymer-coated magnetic nanoparticles for targeted and controlled drug delivery.     

Transparent conducting properties of c-axis-oriented Na_xCoO_2 epitaxial thin films

正Transparent conducting oxides(TCOs)have attracted intensive attention because of their broad application in photoelectric devices such as solar cells,light-emitting diodes,and flat-panel displays.Current TCOs used in industry,including tin(IV)oxide(SnO_2),indium oxide(In_2O_3),indium tin oxide(ITO),and zinc oxide(ZnO),are primarily n-type semiconductors[1-3].Suitable p-type TCOs are still being     

A molecular dynamics study on melting point and specific heat of Ni<Subscript>3</Subscript>Al alloy

Using the Embedding Atom Method (EAM) for highly undercooled Ni₃Al alloy, the melting point and the specific heat were studied by a molecular dynamics simulation. The simulation of melting point was carried out by means of the sandwich method and the NVE ensemble method, and the results show a good agreement, whereas are larger than the experimental value of 1663 K. This difference is attributed to the influence of surface melting on experimental results, which causes the smaller measurements compared with the thermodynamic melting point. The simulated specific heat of Ni₃Al alloy weakly and linearly increases with the increase of undercooling in the temperature range from 800 K to 2000 K. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50395101)     

Thermodynamics of Squeezed State for Mesoscopic RLC Circuits

We present a density matrix of a mesoscopic RLC circuits to make it possible to analyze the connection between the initial condition and the certain temperature. Our results show that the quantum state evolution will be closely related to the initial condition; the system evolves to generalized coherent state if it is in ground state initially, and evolves to squeezed state if it is in excited state initially. In addition, we also obtain squeezed minimum uncertainty state with satisfying certain condition in mesoscopic RLC circuit.