Thickness influence on surface morphology and ozone sensing properties of nanostructured ZnO transparent thin films grown by PLD

Transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films with a thickness from 10 to 200 nm were prepared by the PLD technique onto silicon and Corning glass substrates at 350 °C, using an Excimer Laser XeCl (308 nm). Surface investigations carried out by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed a strong influence of thickness on film surface topography. Film roughness (RMS), grain shape and dimensions correlate with film thickness. For the 200 nm thick film, the RMS shows a maximum (13.9 nm) due to the presence of hexagonal shaped nanorods on the surface. XRD measurements proved that the films grown by PLD are c-axis textured. It was demonstrated that the gas sensing characteristics of ZnO films are strongly influenced and may be enhanced significantly by the control of film deposition parameters and surface characteristics, i.e. thickness and RMS, grain shape and dimension.     

General synchronization dynamics of coupled Van der Pol–Duffing oscillators

This paper considers the general synchronization dynamics of coupled Van der Pol–Duffing oscillators. The linear and nonlinear stability analysis on the synchronization process is derived through the Whittaker method and the Floquet theory in addition to the multiple time scales method. A stability map displaying different dynamical states of the system is performed. Numerical simulation is carried out to support and to complement the accuracy of the analytical treatment.     

Particle size analysis by sedimentation field flow fractionation. Performance and application

Recently commercial equipment using sedimentation field flow fractionation (SFFF) has become available for analysis of particulate materials in the sub-micron range. This paper describes the DuPont instrument and discusses its performance. A particular study is described on the comparison of the SFFF technique with that of quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS). The paper concludes that the instrument is capable of measuring particle size distributions with high resolution and precision, provided that no particles above the upper size limit — about 1 μm — are present.     

PIV studies of large scale structures in the near field of small aspect ratio elliptic Jets

The near flow field of small aspect ratio elliptic turbulent free jets (issuing from nozzle and orifice) was experimentally studied using a 2D PIV Two point velocity correla tions in these jets revealed the extent and orientation of the large scale structures in th e major and minor planes. The spatial filtering of the instantaneous velocity field using Gaussian convolution kernel shows that while a single large vortex ring circumscribing the jet seems to be present at the exit of nozzle, the orifice jet exhibited a number of smaller vortex ring pairs close to jet exit. The smaller length scale observed in the case of the orifice jet is rep resentative of the smaller azimuthal vor tex rings that generate axial vortex field as they are convected. This results in the axis-switching in th e case of orifice jet and may have a mechanism differ ent from the self induction process as observed in the case of contoured nozzle jet flow.     

Effect of errors on the efficiency of local active sound absorbers

Effect of errors of different origin on the efficiency of sound absorption by a local active absorber is investigated. Degradation of the efficiency of absorption because of the errors is shown to be minimal in the case when the controller does not detect the field of the secondary radiator. Estimates of admissible errors are presented. Several active absorber configurations in which the radiator does not affect the receiver are considered.     

Mössbauer effect study of the decagonal quasicrystal Al65Co15Cu20

The ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer effect study at 5.0 K and in an external magnetic field of 9.0 T on a high-quality stable decagonal quasicrystal Al₆₅Co₁₅Cu_19.9Fe_0.1 is presented. It is shown that the iron atoms are located in two distinct classes of sites. The values of the principal component of the electric field gradient tensor and the asymmetry parameter at these sites are, respectively, ?1.90(10)?×?10²¹ V/m², 0.97(15) and ?3.95(12)?×?10²¹ V/m², 0.00(17).