Dielectric properties of thin-film ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> up to 50 GHz for RF MEMS switches

The dielectric properties of zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂) ceramic thin films were characterized up to 50 GHz using coplanar waveguides (CPWs) and metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitors with top circular electrodes. The ZrO₂ films were deposited using a chemical solution onto high-resistivity Si wafers and metal layers. The real part of the dielectric constant of approximately 22 and 26 was extracted at 50 GHz for CPW and MIM structures, respectively, and the loss tangent was approximately 0.09 at 50 GHz. C–V and I–V measurements were carried out to determine low-frequency and DC dielectric properties. The measurement results indicate that ZrO₂ is a promising material to be used as a dielectric layer for radio-frequency (RF) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) capacitive switches.     

Magneto-electric response functions for simple atomic systems

We consider a simple atomic two-body bound state system that is overall charge neutral and placed in a static electric and magnetic field, and calculate the magneto-electric response function as a function of frequency. This is done from first principles using a two-particle Hamiltonian for both an harmonic oscillator and Coulomb binding potential. In the high frequency limit, the response function falls off as 1/ω ² whilst at low frequencies it tends to a constant value.     

An overview of quantification methods in energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis

This paper reviews the major factors influencing the accuracy of the energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis including physical and chemical matrix effects (resulting from particle size, surface irregularity, mineralogy, moisture, absorption and enhancement) as well as the correction procedures with emphasis on the analysis of unprepared samples. Quantification methods for thin samples, samples with intermediate thickness and thick samples are presented including fundamental parameter methods, influence coefficient algorithms, empirical coefficient algorithms and quantification methods based on scattered primary radiation. Quality control procedures are also reviewed.     

Effects of surfactants on properties of polymer-coated magnetic nanoparticles for drug delivery application

The objective of this research was to compare the effects of two different surfactants on the physicochemical properties of thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylamide-allylamine) (PNIPAAm-AAm-AH)-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a commonly used surfactant in nanoparticle formulation process and Pluronic F127 as an FDA approved material were used as surfactants to synthesize PNIPAAm-AAm-AH-coated MNPs (PMNPs). The properties of PMNPs synthesized using SDS (PMNPs-SDS) and PF127 (PMNPs-PF127) were compared in terms of size, polydispersity, surface charge, drug loading efficiency, drug release profile, biocompatibility, cellular uptake, and ligand conjugation efficiency. These nanoparticles had a stable core–shell structure with about a 100-nm diameter and were superparamagnetic in behavior with no difference in the magnetic properties in both types of nanoparticles. In vitro cell studies showed that PMNPs-PF127 were more cytocompatible and taken up more by prostate cancer cells than that of PMNPs-SDS. Cells internalized with these nanoparticles generated a dark negative contrast in agarose phantoms for magnetic resonance imaging. Furthermore, a higher doxorubicin release at 40 °C was observed from PMNPs-PF127, and the released drugs were pharmacologically active in killing cancer cells. Finally, surfactant type did not affect the conjugation efficiency to the nanoparticles when folic acid was used as a targeting ligand model. These results indicate that PF127 might be a better surfactant to form polymer-coated magnetic nanoparticles for targeted and controlled drug delivery.     

Rectifying and photovoltage characteristics of Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>2</Subscript>Co<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>y</Subscript>/Nb-doped SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> heterojunction

A heterojunction was fabricated by growing a layer of Bi₂Sr₂Co₂O _y thin film on the 0.7 wt% Nb-doped SrTiO₃ substrate. Such heterojunction showed good rectifying characteristics over a wide temperature range, and its transport mechanism under the forward bias can be attributed to a space charge limited conduction mechanism via defects near the interface of the heterojunction. Photovoltaic properties of the heterojunction were studied by using both continuous-wave and pulsed irradiations and the results can be well explained by the photovoltaic effect of a p–n junction.     

Single photon and nonlocality

In a paper by Home and Agarwal [1], it is claimed that quantum nonlocality can be revealed in a simple interferometry experiment using only single particles. A critical analysis of the concept of hidden variable used by the authors of [1] shows that the reasoning is not correct.      

A molecular dynamics study on melting point and specific heat of Ni<Subscript>3</Subscript>Al alloy

Using the Embedding Atom Method (EAM) for highly undercooled Ni₃Al alloy, the melting point and the specific heat were studied by a molecular dynamics simulation. The simulation of melting point was carried out by means of the sandwich method and the NVE ensemble method, and the results show a good agreement, whereas are larger than the experimental value of 1663 K. This difference is attributed to the influence of surface melting on experimental results, which causes the smaller measurements compared with the thermodynamic melting point. The simulated specific heat of Ni₃Al alloy weakly and linearly increases with the increase of undercooling in the temperature range from 800 K to 2000 K. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50395101)     

The absence of physical aging effects on the relaxation of rubbing-induced birefringence in polystyrene

We found, through extensive experimental studies, that the physical aging effects are absent in the relaxation of rubbing-induced birefringence (RIB) in polystyrene (PS), and the relaxation involves very small length scale. A phenomenological model based on individual birefringence elements is proposed for the RIB relaxation. The relaxation times (RTs) of the elements are found to be independent of the thermal or stress history of the samples, either before or after the formation of the birefringence. The RTs are also independent of the molecular weight, rubbing conditions, and film thickness, while the RTs distribution function does depend on the molecular weight and rubbing conditions. The model provides quantitative interpretations that agree very well with all the reported experimental results, and sheds important light on the novel behaviors of the RIB relaxation. The absence of physical aging effects is probably due to the combined effects of small length scale of the RIB relaxation, and the accelerated aging speed in the near surface region in which the RIB concentrates.     

Thermodynamics of Squeezed State for Mesoscopic RLC Circuits

We present a density matrix of a mesoscopic RLC circuits to make it possible to analyze the connection between the initial condition and the certain temperature. Our results show that the quantum state evolution will be closely related to the initial condition; the system evolves to generalized coherent state if it is in ground state initially, and evolves to squeezed state if it is in excited state initially. In addition, we also obtain squeezed minimum uncertainty state with satisfying certain condition in mesoscopic RLC circuit.     

Application of inertia-induced excitation theory for nonlinear acoustic modes in colloidal plasma equilibrium flow

Application of inertia-induced acoustic excitation theory offers a new resonant excitation source channel of acoustic turbulence in the transonic domain of plasma flow. In bi-ion plasmas like colloidal plasma, two well-defined transonic points exist corresponding to the parent ion and the dust grain-associated acoustic modes. As usual, the modified ion acoustic mode (also known as dust ion-acoustic (DIA) wave) dynamics associated with parent ion inertia is excitable for both nanoscale-and micronscale-sized dust grains. It is found that the so-called (ion) acoustic mode (also known as dust-acoustic (DA) wave) associated with nanoscale dust grain inertia is indeed resonantly excitable through the active role of weak but finite parent ion inertia. It is interestingly conjectured that the same excitation physics, as in the case of normal plasma sound mode, operates through the active inertial role of plasma thermal species. Details of the nonlinear acoustic mode analyses of current interest in transonic domains of such impure plasmas in hydrodynamic flow are presented.