Thermodynamical behavior of E′ centers in quartz from sediments: Potential for paleothermometry and geochronometry

The thermodynamical behaviors of E′ centers in 8 quartz samples from core XJ33-2-1 recovered in the Zhujiang Mouth Basin were measured by electron spin resonance (ESR) technique. The E′ ESR spectral intensity of samples before any laboratory treatment was measured and expressed asI ₁. The samples were then annealed at 300°C or 350°C for 60 min. The E′ ESR spectral intensity measured after this procedure is expressed asI ₂. The ratios ofI ₁, toI ₂ for the samples increase with the sample depth (from 320 to 3972 m), showing that there is a correlation between this ratio and the storage temperature of samples. Therefore the ratio ofI ₁/I ₂ can be used as an ESR paleothermometer. Besides the temperature, we must take into account the period of time for which the samples have been buried since their deposition, because we find that the ratiosI ₁/I ₂ (from 0.293 to 0.941) are closely related to the sediment ages (from 1.5 to 27.5 Ma), with a correlation coefficient of 0.98 or 0.99 obtained by linear or exponential regression, respectively. This relation can be explained by the increase of E′ center concentration in quartz samples with the sedimentation age.     

ULTRAHIGH DATA DENSITY STORAGE WITH SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPY

Ultrahigh density data storage devices made by scanning probe techniques based on various recording media and their corresponding recording mechanisms, have attracted much attention recently, since they ensure a high data density in a non-volatile, erasable form in some kinds of ways. It is of particular interest to employ organic polymers with novel functional properties within a single molecule (or a single molecular complex) for fabricating electronic devices on a single molecular scale. Here, it is reported that a new process for ultrahigh density and erasable data storage, namely, molecular bistability on an organic charge transfer complex of 3-nitrobenzal malononitrile and 1,4-phenylenediamine (NBMN-pDA) switched by a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). Data density exceeds 10¹³ bits/cm² with a writing time per bit of ～1μs. Current-voltage (I/V) measurements before and after the voltage pulse from the STM tip, together with optical absorption spectroscopy and macroscopic four-probe I/V measurements demonstrate that the writing mechanism is conductance transition in the organic complex. This mechanism offers an attractive combination of ultrahigh data density coupled with high speed. The ultimate bit density achievable appears to be limited only by the size of the organic complex, which is less than 1nm in our case, corresponding to 10¹⁴ bits/cm². We believe that provided the lifetime can be improved, molecular bistability may represent a practical route for ultrahigh density data storage devices.     

Mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in a four-hole As2S5 chalcogenide microstructured optical fiber

We demonstrate the supercontinuum (SC) generation in a four-hole As₂S₅ chalcogenide microstructured optical fiber (MOF) experimentally. The As₂S₅ glass has better property of transmission than As₂S₃ glass in the visible range. The four-hole As₂S₅ MOF is fabricated by a rod-in-tube method. The SCs generated by different pump wavelengths at 2,000, 2,300 and 2,500 nm in the MOF whose length is from 2.3 to 20 cm are demonstrated. Those pump wavelengths correspond to the chromatic dispersion wavelength in the normal chromatic dispersion region, the anomalous chromatic dispersion region close to zero-dispersion wavelength (ZDW) and the anomalous chromatic dispersion region far from ZDW, respectively. Wider SCs can be obtained when pumped at a wavelength in the anomalous dispersion region close to ZDW. The widest SC range of 4,280 nm (from 1,370 to 5,650 nm) covering two octaves was obtained in a 4.8-cm-long fiber pumped at 2,300 nm.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In situ</Emphasis> X-ray diffraction study of structural evaluation in Fe<Subscript>73</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>1.5</Subscript>Nd<Subscript>3</Subscript>Si<Subscript>13.5</Subscript>B<Subscript>9</Subscript> amorphous alloy at high temperature

The thermodynamics structural relaxation of Fe₇₃Cu_1.5Nd₃Si_13.5B₉ amorphous alloy from room temperature to 400°C has been investigated by measuring the structure factor with in situ X-ray diffraction. The structural information of the atomic configuration such as radial distribution function (RDF) and neighbor atomic distance was gained by Fourier transformation. The research result shows that the amorphous structure remains stable in the temperature range of 30 to 400°C but exhibits distinct changes in local atomic configuration with the increase of temperature. The quantitative determination of the neighbor atomic distance suggests that the degree of short-range order changes by the temperature altering the second nearest neighbor local atomic configuration of the amorphous when structural relaxation occurs. Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province of China (Grant No. A2007000296), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50731005), SKPBRC (Grant Nos. 2007CB616915 and 2006CB605201), and PCSIRT (Grant No. IRT0650)     

BaAl2O4催化同时去除NOx和碳烟的性能研究

BaAl2O4催化同时去除碳烟和NOx具有较高的活性.与非催化燃烧比,在BaAl2O4催化作用下,碳烟的起燃温度(tig)降低了175℃以上,最大燃烧温度(tm)降低了240℃以上.碳烟与BaAl204紧密接触、反应气体中O2含量越高、反应气体的总流量越低越有利于催化反应进行.通过漫反射红外光谱(DRIFTS)分析,证实了以单齿硝酸盐、离子硝酸盐和桥位硝酸盐的形式存在于BaAl2O4表面的NO2(ad)物种与碳烟的反应在同时去除碳烟和NOx的过程中起主要作用.     

Electronic structure and site occupation for the intermediate phase of LaNi4.5Al0.5Hy

The crystal structure, electronic structure and hydrogen site occupancy of LaNi_4.5Al_0.5H_y intermediate phase (y=2.0, 3.0, 4.0) have been investigated using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) method. For the first time we analyzed the interstitial site occupation of hydrogen atoms. The H atoms were found to prefer the 6m, 3f and 12n sites, while no 4h sites were occupied. A narrowed Ni-d band is found due to the lattice expansion: the total DOS at E_F increases with y, which indicates that the compounds become less stable. The interaction between Al and Ni, with H plays a dominant role in the stability of LaNi_4.5Al_0.5H_y intermediate phase. The smaller the shift of E_F towards the higher energy region, the more stable the compounds will be. Our results are compared with experimental data and discussed in the light of previous works.     

Improved method for loss measurements in planar waveguides

A method employing an isosceles prism and a right-angle one is developed for loss measurement in planar waveguides. During the measuring process, the isosceles prism is fixed and the right-angle prism fixed on the waveguide slides by following the waveguide. Only by adjusting the gap thickness we can realize the loss measurement in planar waveguides. The method is demonstrated with an Ag/Na ion-exchanged waveguide fabricated on BK7 glass from AgNO₃ melt diluted with NaNO₃ (mass ratio 1:9), with the condition of 4 h and . The experimental results show that the method has the advantages on convenient operation, accurate results and no required end polishing.     

Experimental study of infrared nanosecond laser ablation of silicon: The multi-pulse enhancement effect

Experimental study has been performed on nanosecond (ns) laser ablation of silicon at 1064 nm, through which a so-called “multi-pulse enhancement effect” has been revealed, which has been rarely reported in literature. The major features of this effect are: (1) for multi-pulse laser ablation at the same spatial location, the ablation efficiency increases as the pulse number increases and the pulse-to-pulse temporal distance decreases; (2) for multi-pulse ablation performed sequentially at a group of locations, the ablation quality and efficiency starting from the second location can be significantly enhanced if the distance between adjacent locations is sufficiently small. Further study is needed to confirm and understand the underlying physical mechanism for the multi-pulse enhancement effect, which can be utilized to significantly improve the quality and efficiency of laser silicon micromachining using the low-cost and low-energy-consumption infrared ns lasers. This may decrease the cost and energy consumption of many relevant areas, such as the solar cell industry.     

Anisotropic phononic crystal structure with low-frequency bandgap and heat flux manipulation

This study presents a two-dimensional phononic crystal with heat flux manipulation and wide bandgaps of out-of-plane modes within the low-frequency range. The anisotropic matrix made of spiral-multilayered materials with different thermal conductivities, and the coating layer inserted with metal are designed for heat flux manipulation. Rubber-coated metal cylinders are periodically embedded in the anisotropic matrix to obtain the low-frequency bandgaps of out-of-plane modes. Numerical simulation is carried out to validate the heat and elastic characteristics of the spiral-multilayered anisotropic structure and reveal the effects of the laying angle and temperature on the bandgaps. Subsequently, a spiral-multilayered plate with periodic structures is studied, which shows an obvious vibration attenuation in the frequency ranges of the bandgaps and a deflected heat flux from the initial propagation direction. In the experimental investigation, the multi-phase spiral-multilayered anisotropic plate is simplified to a single-phase anisotropic plate made of aluminum. The characteristics of this type of anisotropic phononic crystal structure may pave the way for the design of a new kind of thermo-acoustic metamaterial serving in combined thermal and acoustic environments.