Femtosecond-laser nanofabrication onto silicon surface with near-field localization generated by plasmon polaritons in gold nanoparticles with oblique irradiation

Nanohole fabrication process with gold nanoparticles irradiated by femtosecond laser at different incident angles is investigated. Nanoparticles with diameter of 200 nm and laser irradiation with center wavelength of 800 nm are used in the present study. The analysis of the electromagnetic field distribution in the near-field zone of the particle is made by simulations based on finite-differential time domain (FDTD) method. It is shown that when gold nanoparticle is irradiated by laser pulse surface plasmon excitation can be induced, and associated with it, high-intensity near field is produced in a limited area around the particle. It is found that the change of the irradiation conditions by means of irradiation from various incident directions gives a possibility of laser nanoprocessing with tunable characteristics. Our results show that enhanced optical intensity is able to be induced on the substrate surface regardless of incident direction of the laser due to the image charge interaction with the substrate. Furthermore, the use of p-polarized laser irradiation at a certain angle gives a minimum of the spatial dimensions of the enhanced zone on the substrate which is about two times smaller than that obtained at normal incidence.     

Determination of electron affinity of electron accepting molecules

The unoccupied π ^* states of the solid film of electron accepting organic molecules, 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), fluorinated TCNQ derivatives, 11,11,12,12-tetracyanonaphtho-2,6-quinodimethane (TNAP), C₆₀, and 6,6-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) have been studied by inverse photoemission spectroscopy. The assignment of the π ^* affinity levels of these typical electron accepting molecules provides the basic information for the organic electronics and the new electronic functional molecular design. The comparison with density functional theory calculations enables understanding how the electron affinity evolves in terms of molecular orbitals. The correlation between the film morphology and the irradiation damage on the TCNQ derivative samples by electron impact during the inverse photoemission measurements is also discussed.     

Bis(2,2′‐bi­pyridine‐κ2N,N′)(1,10‐phen­anthroline‐κ2N,N′)­ruthenium(II) tetra­cyano­platinate(II)

In the title compound, [Ru(C₁₀H₈N₂)₂(C₁₂H₈N₂)][Pt(CN)₄], cations and anions alternate along the a axis to afford a one‐dimensional network. The one‐dimensional character arises from the π–π stacking as well as from the electrostatic interactions formed between the phen (1,10‐phenanthroline) and [Pt(CN)₄]²⁻ units. Two adjacent one‐dimensional chains form further stacks based on the π–π stacking interactions between the phen moieties, where the interplanar spacing is 3.50 (1) Å.     

Dynamic light‐scattering measurement of sieving polymer solutions for protein separation on SDS CE

We evaluated the mesh size and homogeneity of polymer network by dynamic light scattering and discussed the relationship between the physical properties of polymer network and the protein separation behavior by capillary polymer electrophoresis. We compared three kinds of sieving polymers in solutions with a wide range of molecular weights and concentrations: polyacrylamide and polyethylene oxide as flexible polymers, and hydroxyethyl cellulose as a semiflexible polymer. We found that the mobility of protein was dominated primarily by the mesh size ξ, irrespective of the type of sieving polymers, and the peak spacing between protein peaks increased drastically in the range of ξ<10 nm, where the mobility also decreased. And the peak widths were dependent on the molecular species of sieving polymers and their homogeneity of polymer network. We proposed that a polymer network with a homogenous mesh size of less than 10 nm is the best sieving medium for separation of the proteins in the molecular weight range 14 300–97 200 Da from the view point of the resolution in protein separation.     

On Polygons Enclosing Point Sets II

Let R and B be disjoint point sets such that R ∪ B is in general position. We say that B encloses by R if there is a simple polygon P with vertex set B such that all the elements in R belong to the interior of P. In this paper we prove that if the vertices of the convex hull of R ∪ B belong to B, and |R| ≤ |Conv(B)| − 1 then B encloses R. The bound is tight. This improves on results of a previous paper in which it was proved that if |R| ≤ 56 |Conv(B)| then B encloses R. To obtain our result we prove the next result which is interesting on its own right: Let P be a convex polygon with n vertices p ₁ , ... , p _n and S a set of m points contained in the interior of P, m ≤ n − 1. Then there is a convex decomposition {P ₁ , ... , P _n } of P such that all points from S lie on the boundaries of P ₁ , ... , P _n , and each P _i contains a whole edge of P on its boundary. F. Hurtado partially supported by projects MEC MTM2006-01267 and DURSI 2005SGR00692. C. Merino supported by CONACYT of Mexico, Proyecto 43098. J. Urrutia supported by CONACYT of Mexico, Proyecto SEP-2004-Co1-45876, and MCYT BFM2003-04062. I. Ventura partially supported by Project MCYT BFM2003-04062.     

G cubic transition between two circles with shape control

This paper describes a method for joining two circles with an S-shaped or with a broken back C-shaped transition curve, composed of at most two spiral segments. In highway and railway route design or car-like robot path planning, it is often desirable to have such a transition. It is shown that a single cubic curve can be used for blending or for a transition curve preserving G²$G^2$ continuity with local shape control parameter and more flexible constraints. Provision of the shape parameter and flexibility provide freedom to modify the shape in a stable manner which is an advantage over previous work by Meek, Walton, Sakai and Habib.     

Nash implementation of competitive equilibria in the job-matching market

This paper studies Nash implementation in the job-matching market where each worker works for only one firm and a firm hires as many workers as it wishes. We show that the competitive equilibrium correspondence (CEC) is the smallest Nash implementable correspondence satisfying individual rationality and Pareto indifference. Furthermore, the CEC is the minimal monotonic extension of the worker-optimal and firm-optimal subcorrespondences. We offer two “good” mechanisms that implement this correspondence in Nash equilibrium.     

Photolysis of the Sulfonamide Bond of Metal Complexes of N‐Dansyl‐1,4,7,10‐Tetraazacyclododecane in Aqueous Solution: A Mechanistic Study and Application to the Photorepair of cis,syn‐Cyclobutane Thymine Photodimer

Conditional cleavage : Photochemical S? N bond cleavage of the Zn²⁺ complex of N‐dansylcyclen (ZnL²) in aqueous solution was investigated. Moreover, photolysis of ZnL² (see scheme) facilitated photoreversion of cis,syn‐thymine photodimer (T[c,s]T).

     

Preparation of the visible light responsive TiO2 thin film photocatalysts by the RF magnetron sputtering deposition method

TiO₂ thin film photocatalysts which could induce photoreactions under visible light irradiation were successfully developed in a single process by applying an ion engineering technique, i.e., the radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering deposition method. The TiO₂ thin films prepared at temperatures greater than 773 K showed the efficient absorption of visible light; on the other hand, the TiO₂ thin films prepared at around 573 K were highly transparent. This clearly means that the optical properties of TiO₂ thin films, which absorb not only UV but also visible light, can be controlled by the preparation temperatures of the RF magnetron sputtering deposition method. These visible light responsive TiO₂ thin films were found to exhibit effective photocatalytic reactivity under visible light irradiation (λ > 450 nm) at 275 K for the reductive decomposition of NO into N₂ and N₂O. From various characterizations, the orderly aligned columnar TiO₂ crystals could be observed only for the visible light responsive TiO₂ thin films. This unique structural factor is expected to modify the electronic properties of a TiO₂ semiconductor, enabling the efficient absorption of visible light.