Body-centered-cubic Ni and its magnetic properties

The body-centered-cubic (bcc) phase of Ni, which does not exist in nature, has been achieved as a thin film on GaAs(001) at 170 K via molecular beam epitaxy. The bcc Ni is ferromagnetic with a Curie temperature of 456 K and possesses a magnetic moment of 0.52+/-0.08 micro(B)/atom. The cubic magnetocrystalline anisotropy of bcc Ni is determined to be +4.0x10(5) ergs x cm(-3), as opposed to -5.7x10(4) ergs x cm(-3) for the naturally occurring face-centered-cubic (fcc) Ni. This sharp contrast in the magnetic anisotropy is attributed to the different electronic band structures between bcc Ni and fcc Ni, which are determined using angle-resolved photoemission with synchrotron radiation.     

Self-energy correction to momentum-density distribution of positron-electron pairs

Positron two-dimensional angular correlation of annihilation radiation (2D ACAR), i.e., the 2D projection of the electron momentum densities sampled by positron, in Si is employed to verify the prediction of the density functional theory within the local-density approximation (LDA). Carefully conducted test shows that the LDA introduces small but definite discrepancies to the 2D-ACAR anisotropies. Self-energy calculation using the GW method indicates that density-fluctuation contributes anisotropic momentum-density correction and thus improves the agreement between theory and experiment. These results provide valuable annotations to the arguments concerning the accuracy and validity of the LDA and GW schemes.     

BaTiO3 thin-film waveguide modulator with a low voltage-length product at near-infrared wavelengths of 0.98 and 1.55 microm

A BaTiO3 thin-film electro-optic waveguide modulator with a low half-wave voltage-length product has been demonstrated at near-infrared wavelengths of 1-1.6 microm. Half-wave voltage-length products as small as 0.25 and 0.5 V cm were measured for a 5-mm-long device at wavelengths of 973 and 1561 nm, respectively. The effective electro-optic coefficients were calculated as 420 pm/V at 973 nm and 360 pm/V at 1561 nm. Further improvements in device performance by optimizing the ferroelectric domain structure are anticipated.     

Anion adsorption induced reversal of coherency strain

Experimental results are presented for stress evolution, in vacuum and electrolyte, for the first monolayer of Cu on Au(111). In electrolyte the monolayer is pseudomorphic and the stress-thickness change is -0.60 N/m, while conventional epitaxy theory predicts a value of +7.76 N/m. In vacuum, the monolayer is incoherent with the underlying gold. Using a combination of first-principles based calculations and molecular dynamic simulations we analyzed these results and demonstrate that in electrolyte, overlayer coherency is maintained owing to anion adsorption.     

Bridging the gap between small clusters and nanodroplets: spectroscopic study and computer simulation of carbon dioxide solvated with helium atoms

High resolution infrared spectra of He(N)-CO2 clusters with N up to 17 have been studied in the region of the CO2 nu(3) fundamental band. The B rotational constant initially drops as expected for a normal molecule, reaching a minimum for N=5. Its subsequent rise for N=6 to 11 can be interpreted as the transition from a normal (though floppy) molecule to a quantum solvation regime. For N>13, the B value becomes approximately constant with a value about 17% larger than that measured in much larger helium nanodroplets. Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of pure rotational spectra are in excellent agreement with the measured B in this size range and complement the experimental study with detailed structural information. For a larger cluster size (N=30-50) the simulations show a clear sign of convergence towards the nanodroplet B value.     

Synthesis of a novel host molecule of cross-linking-polymeric-beta-cyclodextrin-o-vanillin furfuralhydrazone and spectrofluorimetric analysis of its identifying cadmium

A novel host inclusion complex of cross-linking-polymeric-beta-cyclodextrin-o-vanillin furfuralhydrazone (beta-CDP-OVFH) was synthesized and characterized with IR and 1H NMR spectra to confirm its structure. The coordination reaction of the host reagent with Cd(2+) was studied and the optimum reacting conditions were observed carefully. A highly selective and sensitive spectrofluorimetric determination of trace amount of cadmium was proposed based on the reaction of Cd(2+) with beta-CDP-OVFH in ammonia water-ammonium acetate buffer medium of pH = 11.0. The molar ratio of beta-CDP-OVFH to Cd(2+) was 1:1. The maximum excitation and emission wavelengths were 393 and 494 nm, respectively. The linear range of this method was from 3.0 to 500 microg l(-1) with a detection limit of 0.80 microg l(-1). The effect of interferences in the determination of cadmium was investigated and the results showed that the host reagent had quite high capacity of identifying Cd(2+). The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of trace amount of Cd(2+) in mussel and tea samples.