Local thermal conductivity of polycrystalline AlN ceramics measured by scanning thermal microscopy and complementary scanning electron microscopy techniques

The local thermal conductivity of polycrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics is measured and imaged by using a scanning thermal microscope (SThM) and complementary scanning electron microscope (SEM) based techniques at room temperature.The quantitative thermal conductivity for the AlN sample is gained by using a SThM with a spatial resolution of sub-micrometer scale through using the 3ω method.A thermal conductivity of 308 W/m·K within grains corresponding to that of high-purity single crystal AlN is obtained.The slight differences in thermal conduction between the adjacent grains are found to result from crystallographic misorientations,as demonstrated in the electron backscattered diffraction.A much lower thermal conductivity at the grain boundary is due to impurities and defects enriched in these sites,as indicated by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.     

Experimental investigation of the quality of lensless super-resolution ghost imaging via sparsity constraints

Ghost imaging via sparsity constraints (GISC) can nonlocally realize super-resolution imaging. Factors influencing the quality of lensless super-resolution GISC are investigated and the experimental results show that, the quality of GISC is enhanced as the object?s sparse ratio in the representation basis or the spatial transverse coherence lengths on the object plane are decreased. The differences between ghost imaging (GI) and GISC are also discussed.     

Transparent p‐NiO/n‐ZnO diodes used in circuit rectifiers

We report on the fabrication of a transparent photostable cell circuit composed of drive and resistor diodes which are face‐to‐face connected to each other with different device area. The diodes consisted of e‐beam evaporated p‐NiO on sputter‐deposited n‐ZnO for p/n diode formation on indium‐tin‐oxide glass. Our transparent diodes show photostable rectifying behavior, about 10³ on/off current ratio and even dynamic rectification at a maximum frequency of 100 Hz AC input signal in ambient light. The noticeable photo‐responsivity of the circuit was obtained only under ultraviolet (UV) light. We conclude that our transparent diode circuit is promising in enriching the field of transparent device electronics. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Non-specular reflection of self-collimated beams in photonic-crystal-made prism and waveguide system

We demonstrate a dual-beam-reflection phenomenon for a Gaussian beam illuminating at a Kretschmann configuration composed of a photonic-crystal-made prism and a dielectric waveguide. One reflection beam has a positive shift and the other has a negative shift. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) shows that the specific phenomenon takes place only when the corresponding quasi-guided mode supported in the Kretschmann configuration is excited. Field profile of the quasi-guided mode demonstrates a strong localized stationary field in the dielectric waveguide. We found that the maximum positive lateral shift (LS) is 14.27a (where a is the lattice constant), corresponding to 3.07 times of the incident wavelength, which is 0.7135 times of the beam waist and much larger than that in some previous reports.     

Analysis and optimization of a new photonic crystal filters in near ultraviolet band

Transmission characteristics of one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystals (PCs) heterostructures containing defective are studied using the transfer matrix method. The key is to search the best combination style for different 1D PCs to form heterostructures. It is shown that the non-transmission range over near ultraviolet and visible range can be substantially enlarged and the phenomenon of narrow band PC filter in near ultraviolet can be realized by adjusting the repeat cycle counts of various photonic crystals. The theoretical results on multiple heterostructures containing TiO₂/SiO₂ multilayer films are presented. With a perfect omni-directional and high peak transmission filters for TE modes, this structure opens a promising way to fabricate ultra-narrow band PC filters with wide non-transmission range in near ultraviolet and visible range.     

Surface modification of Mg2B2O5 whisker and its effect on the mechanical properties and thermostability of polycarbonate/Mg2B2O5w composites

The Mg₂B₂O₅ whiskers (Mg₂B₂O₅w) were modified by boric acid ester (BE) coupling agent and used to prepare polycarbonate (PC) composites. Surface wettability test and evaluation of dispersibility of BE-modified Mg₂B₂O₅w (BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w) in n-heptane were carried out by water contact angle measurement and polarizing microscopy, respectively. The surface chemical characteristics of BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w and estimation of the amount of tightly bonded organic modifier were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. The influence of BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w on the mechanical property, morphology and thermostability of PC composites was investigated by using universal testing machine, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and TGA, respectively. It was found that BE was successfully grafted to the surface of Mg₂B₂O₅w, and the hydrophobic BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w leads to high ratio of adhesion work to interfacial tension between PC and BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w, and its better dispersibility in n-heptane. Furthermore, the incorporation of BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w into PC matrix resulted in higher tensile properties of PC/BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w than that of PC/Mg₂B₂O₅w composites and lower maximum weight loss rate than that of PC. The storage modulus of the PC/Mg₂B₂O₅w composites increased obviously as a function of whisker content, especially for the composites with BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w, but the T_g value changed little.     

A simple polymer electrolyte membrane system for enrichment of low-level tritium (3H) in environmental water samples

Tritium (³H) is an essential tracer of the Earth's water cycle; yet widespread adoption of tritium in hydrologic studies remains a challenge because of analytical barriers to quantification and detection of ³H by electrolytic pre-concentration. Here, we propose a simple tritium electrolytic enrichment system based on the use of solid polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) that can be used to enrich ³H in 250–3000?mL environmental water samples to a 10-mL final volume. The IAEA PEM-³H system reported here can produce high enrichment factors (>70-fold) and, importantly, removes some of the deterrents to conventional ³H enrichments methods, including the use of toxic electrolysis and neutralization chemicals, spike standards, a complex electrolysis apparatus that requires extensive cooling and temperature controls, and improves precision by eliminating the need for tracking recovery gravimetrics. Preliminary results with varying operating conditions show ³H enrichments to 70-fold and higher are feasible, spanning a wide range of tritium activities from 5 to 150 TU with a precision of ～4.5?%. Further work is needed to quantify inter-sample memory and to establish lower ³H detection limits. The IAEA PEM-³H system is open source, with 3-D CAD and design files made freely available for adoption and improvement by others.     

Sonocatalytic degradation of methyl orange in the presence of TiO2 catalysts and catalytic activity comparison of rutile and anatase

Rutile and anatase titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) powders were used as sonocatalysts for the degradation of methyl orange which was used as a model compound. Ultrasound was used as an irradiation source. It was found that the sonocatalytic degradation ratios of methyl orange in the presence of TiO(2) powder were much better than ones without any TiO(2), but the sonocatalytic activity of rutile TiO(2) particles was obviously higher than that of anatase TiO(2) particles. Although there are many factors influencing sonocatalytic degradation of methyl orange, the experimental results show that the best degradation ratio of methyl orange can be obtained when the experimental conditions of the initial methyl orange concentration of 10 mg/l, rutile TiO(2) added amount of 500 mg/l, ultrasonic frequency of 40 kHz, output power of 50 W, pH=3.0 and 40 degrees C within 150 min were adopted. In addition, the catalytic activity of reused rutile TiO(2) catalyst was also studied and found to be better than new rutile TiO(2) catalyst sometimes. All experimental results indicated that the method of the sonocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in the presence of TiO(2) powder was an advisable choice for treating non- or low-transparent organic wastewaters.     

Atomic-scale imaging of wall-by-wall breakdown and concurrent transport measurements in multiwall carbon nanotubes

We report the atomic-scale imaging with concurrent transport measurements of the breakdown of individual multiwall carbon nanotubes inside a transmission electron microscope equipped with a piezomanipulator. We found unexpectedly three distinct breakdown sequences: namely, from the outermost wall inward, from the innermost wall outward, and alternatively between the innermost and the outmost walls. Remarkably, a significant amount of current drop was observed when an innermost wall is broken, proving unambiguously that every wall is conducting. Moreover, the breakdown of each wall in any sequence initiates in the middle of the nanotube, not at the contact, proving that the transport is not ballistic.     

The effect of thermal treatment on the magnetic properties of Ge-doped FeNbB alloys

The effects of Ge doping on the magnetic properties of nanocrystalline FeNbB ribbons are investigated. For amorphous Fe₈₀Nb₁₀Ge₃B₇ alloy, three crystallization processes are observed when heated from room temperature to 1173 K. At 973 K, a harder magnetic phase is formed, which brings about a constricted hysteresis loop. A large increase of relaxation frequency and a dramatic drop of permeability of 973 K-annealed Fe₈₀Nb₁₀Ge₃B₇ alloy are observed. The presence of Nb is essential for the nanocrystallization of α-Fe grains. If Nb is replaced by Ge completely, the thermal treatment will lead to the formation of coarse-grained Fe₃Ge phase rather than nanosized α-Fe grains. The coarse-grained Fe₃Ge results in a remarkable drop in magnetic softness. PACS 75.75.+a; 75.50.Bb