Laser induced copper electroless plating on polyimide with Q-switch Nd:YAG laser

The results of laser induced deposition of copper on polyimide substrate from copper electrolyte solution are reported. Unlike most work reported in the literatures where CW Ar⁺ lasers were used, a second harmonic (532 nm wavelength) Q-switch Nd:YAG laser was used for our experiments. The deposition process was conducted by laser-catalyzing of the polyimide surface and subsequent photothermal-accelerated reduction of copper-complex ions in an alkaline reducing environment. The characteristics of the deposited copper line were investigated in terms of laser beam scanning speed, and the number of scans. The surface morphology and chemical composition of the deposited copper were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDX). The optimum processing conditions have been identified. The copper deposit was found to adhere well to the substrate.     

Radiation of a charge moving over the diffraction grating

The states of a charged particle with a finite free path are determined in the field of a resonant electromagnetic wave. The exact resonance conditions, the modulation and beam instability mechanisms, the charge and current densities (Ohm's law) are obtained for the collisionless beam of resonance particles. Quantum theory of radiation is developed for the resonant adiabatic interaction between a particle and a wave taking into account the interaction with a constant magnetic field induced at the grating surface by the charge and nonresonant waves. The radiation power, the spectrum, and the range of generated frequencies are determined. The results obtained can be used in the plasma and solid-state theories and in electronics.     

A Modified Quasi-Newton Method for Structured Optimization with Partial Information on the Hessian

This paper develops a modified quasi-Newton method for structured unconstrained optimization with partial information on the Hessian, based on a better approximation to the Hessian in current search direction. The new approximation is decided by both function values and gradients at the last two iterations unlike the original one which only uses the gradients at the last two iterations. The modified method owns local and superlinear convergence. Numerical experiments show that the proposed method is encouraging comparing with the methods proposed in [4] for structured unconstrained optimization Presented at the 6th International Conference on Optimization: Techniques and Applications, Ballarat, Australia, December 9–11, 2004     

Stable all-optical formation of Bose–Einstein condensate using pointing-stabilized optical trapping beams

By stabilizing the beam pointing of optical trapping beams, we have succeeded in stable formation of Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) of ⁸⁷Rb with all-optical method. The thermal effect of acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is usually one of the most serious problems to induce beam-pointing instability, especially for high power CO₂ laser. By passing the beam through AOM twice, we have improved the beam pointing from about 4.8 mrad to less than 0.4 mrad, which has been experimentally confirmed to be small enough to stably form BEC at the crossed region of CO₂ lasers as well as to perform experiments using an optical lattice which might have been affected by beam-pointing instability. PACS 32.80.Pj; 42.79.Jq; 03.75.Mn     

Generation of nonclassical states of a field with frequency-dependent squeezing

The generation of nonclassical states of light with specified frequency-dependent squeezing by way of introducing a correlation between the phase and amplitude of the input field is considered. Three schemes for measuring amplitude fluctuations of the input beam, based on a nondemolition measurement of the intensity in a nonlinear cubic crystal, the effect of light rectification in a quadratic optical crystal, and the use of a non-degenerate optical parametric oscillator, are proposed. The maximum possible value of noise suppression is estimated for each scheme. The prospects for practical realization of the proposed method for generation of frequency-dependent squeezed states are discussed.     

Application of quasi-steady-state plasma streams for simulation of ITER transient heat loads

The paper presents experimental investigation of energy characteristics of the plasma streams generated with quasi—steady—state plasma accelerator QSPA Kh-50 and adjustment of plasma paramenters from the point of view its applicability for simulation of transient plasma heat loads expected for ITER disruptions and type I ELMs. Possibility of generation of high-power magnetized plasma streams with ion impact energy up to 0.6 keV, pulse length 0.25 ms and heat loads varied in wide range from 0.5 to 30 MJ/m² has been demonstrated and some features of plasma interaction with tungsten targets in dependence on plasma heat loads are discussed.     

Experimental observation of quantum corrections to electrical resistivity in nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys

X-ray diffraction patterns of nanocrystalline Fe-Cu-Nb-Si-B (FINEMET) alloys reveal that bcc α-Fe/α-FeSi crystallites with the average grain size of 20(5) nm are dispersed in amorphous matrix. Enhanced electron—electron interaction (EEI) and quantum interference (QI) effects as well as electron-magnon (and/or electron-spin fluctuation) scattering turn out to be the main mechanisms that govern the temperature dependence of resistivity. Of all the inelastic scattering processes, inelastic electron-phonon scattering is the most effective mechanism to destroy phase coherence of electron wave functions. The diffusion constant, density of states at the Fermi level and the inelastic scattering time have been estimated, for the first time, for the alloys in question Article presented at the International Symposium on Advances in Superconductivity and Magnetism: Materials, Mechanisms and Devices, ASMM2D-2001, 25–28 September 2001, Mangalore, India.     

Physics of the insulating phase in dilute two-dimensional electron gas

We propose to use the radiofrequency single-electron transistor as an extremely sensitive probe to detect the time-periodic ac signal generated by a sliding electron lattice in the insulating state of the two-dimensional electron gas. We also propose to use the optically-pumped NMR technique to probe the electron spin structure of the insulating state. We show that the electron effective mass and spin susceptibility are strongly enhanced by critical fluctuations of the electron lattice in the vicinity of the metal-insulator transition, as observed in experiment.     

On additives, morphological evolution and dielectric breakdown in low density polyethylene

A series of low density polyethylene systems has been studied with respect to structural evolution and short-term dielectric breakdown behaviour. All materials were based upon a single polymer, that is commonly used in high voltage applications, but with different additives. In all three of these systems, multiple melting transitions were observed, as a result of molecular fractionation effects during crystallization. In the virgin polymer, a space-filling banded spherulitic morphology was found to develop at low temperatures (102 °C and below) whereas, at higher temperatures, only a few isolated axialites were observed. Inclusion of the antioxidant resulted in greatly increased nucleation densities, such that, at low temperatures, no evidence of spherulitic organisation remained. At higher temperatures, sheaf-like lamellar aggregates developed, which were much smaller and much more numerous than in the case of the virgin polymer. Further addition of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) resulted in the rapid formation of a crosslinked network at 200 °C. Some crosslinking also occurred at 150 °C, but over a much longer timescale. Where extensive crosslinking occurred prior to crystallization, the resulting gel inhibited structural development, such that only a few small, isolated sheaves were able to form at 102 °C. In view of the principal application area of this material, the breakdown strength of each of the above systems was then measured and the whole data set was analysed statistically. When structural factors were considered alongside the statistics, no clear trends emerged to indicate that either the compositional or morphological variations were reflected in the short-term electrical failure processes.