The effect of magnetic field heat treatment on magnetostriction of Terfenol-D 2-2 composites

Based on the analysis of the magnetostriction for Terfenol-D composites, Terfenol-D 2-2 magnetostrictive composites have been prepared with laminations perpendicular to [1 1 2] axes. Then one of the samples was annealed in the vacuum at 423 K for 15 min at the magnetic field of 240 kA/m, which is along the direction of laminations and vertical to the [1 1 2] axes of the specimen. The static magnetostriction λ and dynamic magnetostrictive coefficient d₃₃ of samples were measured under the compressive stress of 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 MPa. Effects of the compressive stress and the magnetic field heat treatment on the magnetostriction λ have been investigated. It is found that the magnetostriction of 2-2 composites can be improved under the compressive stress when the magnetic field is larger than 20 kA/m. The magnetostriction of 2-2 composites with the magnetic field heat treatment increases under compressive stress, and it can reach 1390×10⁻⁶ at the magnetic field of 200 kA/m and under the compressive stress of 4 MPa, much larger than the value of 860×10⁻⁶ without the magnetic field heat treatment. The highest magnetostriction of the 2-2 composite with the magnetic field heat treatment can reach 1530×10⁻⁶. The dynamic magnetostrictive coefficient d₃₃ of 2-2 composites with the magnetic field heat treatment have been improved, compared with that without magnetic field heat treatment. The maximum value of d₃₃ of the sample with magnetic field heat treatment is 71% larger than that without magnetic field heat treatment.     

Effects of sintering temperature and Bi2O3 content on microstructure and magnetic properties of LiZn ferrites

The effects of sintering temperature and Bi₂O₃ content on the microstructure and magnetic properties of lithium–zinc (LiZn) ferrites prepared by a conventional ceramic method were investigated. The results show that the densification behavior and grain growth rate were greatly improved by the addition of Bi₂O₃, because a liquid phase sintering occurred during the sintering process at high temperature due to the low-melting point of Bi₂O₃ (825 °C). X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the slightly doped samples did not reveal the appearance of any phase other than spinel LiZn ferrite. However, the secondary phase of perovskite BiFeO₃ was detected for Bi₂O₃ content of more than 0.25 wt%. The studies further show that Bi oxide was present at grain boundary, and promoted the grain growth as reaction center at lower temperature. A high saturation magnetization, squareness ratio, minimum ferromagnetic resonance linewidth and low coercive force were obtained for the sample with 1.00 wt% Bi₂O additive at lower sintering temperature (1100 °C).     

Surface plasmon sensor with gold film deposited on a two-dimensional colloidal crystal

A sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of plasmonic crystals fabricated via a colloidal-crystal-assisted templating method is studied. Plasmonic crystals are prepared by depositing a thin gold (Au) layer onto a two-dimensional array of polystyrene spheres self-assembled on a quartz substrate. The enhanced transmission as a result of the SPR of Au plasmonic crystals, which are immersed in different ambient liquids, are measured and compared with that of polystyrene (PS) microsphere templates of different sizes, both before and after removal of Au nanoprisms formed on the quartz substrate through pores among the spheres. It is found that the measured sensitivities exhibit a linear dependence on the refractive index of the surrounding medium and are linked to coupling effects between SPRs on the corrugated Au film and nanoislands. The feasibility of the SPR system in molecular monolayer detection is further demonstrated through a formation of alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers on the Au film surface, which causes a 4 nm red-shift of the main SPR. PACS  07.07.Df; 73.20.Mf; 78.66.-w; 81.16.Dn     

Exciplex emission in the blend of two blue luminescent materials

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on the blend of two blue luminescent materials N,N′-bis(1-naphthyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-1,1′-diphenyl-4,4′-diamine (NPB) and 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5(4-tert-butyl-phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD) were fabricated. The electroluminescence (EL) spectra of this device showed a new emission that is different from their intrinsic exciton emission. Compared with the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of single layer NPB and PBD, respectively, there was an apparent red shift in that of their blend. Thus the exciplex formation in the blend can be concluded due to the similar emission in both PL and EL spectra. The exciplex formation process and the effect of applied voltage were analyzed by Gaussian fitting.     

Effect of surface modification by thermally oxidization and HF etching on UV photoluminescence emission of porous silicon

Photoluminescence of porous silicon (PS) is instable due perhaps to the nanostructure modification in air. The controllable structure modification processes on the as-prepared PS were conducted by thermal oxidization and/or HF etching. The PL spectra taken from thermally oxidized PS showed a stable photoluminescence emission of 355 nm. The photoluminescence emission taken from both of PS and oxidized porous silicon (OPS) samples etched with HF were instable, which can be reversibly recovered by the HF etching procedure. The mechanism of UV photoluminescence is discussed and attributed to the transformation of luminescence centers from oxygen deficient defects to the oxygen excess defects in the thermal oxidized PS sample and surface absorbed silanol groups on PS samples during the chemical etched procedure.     

Structure and micro-mechanical properties of helium-implanted layer on Ti by plasma-based ion implantation

The present paper concentrates on structure and micro-mechanical properties of the helium-implanted layer on titanium treated by plasma-based ion implantation with a pulsed voltage of −30 kV and doses of 3, 6, 9 and 12 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm², respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy are employed to characterize the structure of the implanted layer. The hardnesses at different depths of the layer were measured by nano-indentation. We found that helium ion implantation into titanium leads to the formation of bubbles with a diameter from a few to more than 10 nm and the bubble size increases with the increase of dose. The primary existing form of Ti is amorphous in the implanted layer. Helium implantation also enhances the ingress of O, C and N and stimulates the formations of TiO₂, Ti₂O₃, TiO, TiC and TiN in the near surface layer. And the amount of the ingressed oxygen is obviously higher than those of nitrogen and carbon due to its higher activity. At the near surface layer, the hardnesses of all implanted samples increases remarkably comparing with untreated one and the maximum hardness has an increase by a factor of up to 3.7. For the samples implanted with higher doses of 6, 9 and 12 × 10¹⁷ He/cm², the local displacement bursts are clearly found in the load-displacement curves. For the samples implanted with a lower dose of 3 × 10¹⁷ He/cm², there is no obvious displacement burst found. Furthermore, the burst width increases with the increase of the dose.     

Fabrication of microelectrodes deeply embedded in LiNbO3 using a femtosecond laser

We present a novel technique to fabricate deeply embedded microelectrodes in LiNbO₃ using femtosecond pulsed laser ablation and selective electroless plating. The fabrication process mainly consists of four steps, which are (1) micromachining of microgrooves on the surface of LiNbO₃ by femtosecond laser ablation; (2) formation of AgNO₃ films on substrates; (3) scanning the femtosecond laser beam in the fabricated microgrooves for modification of the inner surfaces; and (4) electroless copper plating. The void-free electroless copper plating is obtained with appropriate cross section of microgrooves and uniform initiation of the autocatalytic deposition on the inner surface of grooves. The dimension and shape of the microelectrodes could be accurately controlled by changing the conditions of femtosecond laser ablation, which in turn can control the distribution of electric field inside LiNbO₃ crystal for various applications, opening up a new approach to fabricate three-dimensional integrated electro-optic devices.     

Mechanical properties of sol-gel derived lead zirconate titanate thin films by nanoindentation

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films are deposited on platinized silicon substrate by sol-gel process. The crystal structure and surface morphology of PZT thin films are characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Depth-sensing nanoindentation system is used to measure mechanical characteristics of PZT thin films. X-ray diffraction analyses confirm the single-phase perovskite structures of all PZT thin films. Nanoindentation measurements reveal that the indentation modulus and hardness of PZT thin films are related with the grain size and crystalline orientation. The increases of the indentation modulus and hardness with grain size are observed, indicating the reverse Hall-Petch effect. Furthermore, the indentation modulus of (1 1 1)-oriented PZT thin film is higher than those of (1 0 0)- and random-oriented films. The consistency between experimental data and numerical results of the effective indentation moduli for fiber-textured PZT thin films using Voigt-Reuss-Hill model is obtained.     

A study on the evaluation of cesium removal performance in soil washing process using flocculating agent

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - As a result of nuclear power plant accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima, and even their maintenance, the soil is contaminated due to the...