New method for calculating the potential energy of deformed nuclei within the liquid-drop model

The method that we previously developed for going over from double volume integrals to double surface integrals in calculating the Coulomb energy of nuclei that have a sharp surface is generalized to the case of nuclei where the range of nuclear forces is finite and where the nuclear surface is diffuse. New formulas for calculating the Coulomb and the nuclear energy of deformed nuclei are obtained within this approach. For a spherically symmetric nucleus, in which case there is an analytic solution to the problem in question, the results are compared with those that are quoted in the literature, and it is shown that the respective results coincide identically. A differential formulation of the method developed previously by Krappe, Nix, and Sierk for going over from double volume integrals to double surface integrals is proposed here on the basis of the present approach.     

Electromechanical properties of Pb<Subscript>3</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>2</Subscript>Ge<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>14</Subscript> piezoelectric crystals grown from solution in a melt

Single crystals of lead gallium germanate Pb₃Ga₂Ge₄O₁₄ are grown from their own solution melts. The propagation of bulk acoustic waves is investigated, and the elastic, piezoelectric, and dielectric constants are calculated. The temperature dependences of the dielectric constants of this compound are analyzed.     

Currently available methods of industrial nanodiamond synthesis

The main theoretical aspects of detonation decomposition of powerful mixed explosives with a negative oxygen balance accompanied by the formation of nanodiamonds (ultrafine-dispersed diamonds, UDDs) are described. The basic UDD synthesis parameters are considered, and the expediency of using trotyl-hexogen alloys is shown. The conditions of diamond phase conservation in the detonation products are specified. Various versions of industrial detonation synthesis of UDDs are considered. The most efficient technology of chemical cleaning of UDDs (with nitric acid at high temperatures and pressures) for producing UDDs with the highest purity is described.

     

Microstructure and mechanical characteristics of nanodiamond-SiC compacts

Superhard nanodiamond-SiC ceramics are prepared by infiltrating liquid Si into porous nanodiamond compacts under pressure. Synthesized samples are 2.2 mm thick and 3–4 mm in diameter. The effect of particle size of dynamically synthesized nanodiamond powders on silicon infiltration and SiC phase formation is studied. It is established that silicon does not penetrate into the pores of nanodiamond powders if the original particle size is smaller than 0.5–1.0 μm. The critical pore size for infiltration is 100–200 nm. A study of the microstructure of the samples showed the presence of the nanometer-and submicron-scale SiC phase. The ultrasound velocities are measured in the prepared compacts, and the elastic moduli are calculated. __________ Translated from Fizika Tverdogo Tela, Vol. 46, No. 4, 2004, pp. 734–736. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2004 by Ekimov, Gromnitskaya, Mazalov, Pal’, Pichugin, Gierlotka, Palosz, Kozubowski.     

Plasmon-induced terahertz absorption and photoconductivity in a grid-gated double-quantum-well structure

The terahertz absorption spectra of plasmon modes in a grid-gated double-quantum-well field-effect transistor structure is analyzed theoretically and numerically using the scattering matrix approach and is shown to faithfully reproduce strong resonant features of recent experimental observations of terahertz photo-conductivity in such a structure.     

Oxidation kinetics of thin titanium films grown on tungsten

Growth of thin Ti films on (100)W and the kinetics of their oxidation are studied using thermal-desorption spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. Titanium films grow nearly layer by layer on the (100)W face at room temperature. The activation energy for desorption of Ti atoms decreases from 5.2 eV for coverage θ=0.1 to 4.9 eV in a multilayer film. Oxidation of a thin (θ=6) titanium film starts with dissolution of oxygen atoms in its bulk to the limiting concentration for a given temperature, after which the film oxidizes to TiO, with the TiO₂ oxide starting to grow when exposure of the film to oxygen is prolonged. The thermal desorption of oxides follows zero-order kinetics and is characterized by desorption activation energies of 5.1 (TiO) and 5.9 eV (TiO₂).     

Excitons in Si nanocrystals

The states of electron-hole pairs in spherical silicon nanocrystals are theoretically studied using the “multiband” effective-mass approximation in the limit of an infinitely high potential barrier at the boundary. The degeneracy of the states at the top of the valence band is taken into account in the spherical approximation, and the ellipsoidal character of the electronic spectrum in the conduction band is allowed for. Coulomb interaction-induced corrections to the energy of an electron-hole pair are found.     

Nanostructure and conductivity of thin metal films

Amorphous silver, copper, gold, and iron films of a thickness between 6 and 350 nm are grown on polymeric substrates by vacuum evaporation. The nanostructure of the films is investigated. The dependence of the conductivity on the film thickness is obtained, and a correlation between the surface morphology and the conductivity is established.     

Magnetization reversal in amorphous gadolinium-cobalt films with a radial gradient of magnetic properties

The integral characteristics of magnetization switching in amorphous gadolinium-cobalt films with perpendicular anisotropy are studied by visualizing the domain structure and measuring magnetooptic hysteresis loops. The films have a radial gradient of magnetic properties that is due to a spatially nonuniform thermal field. Magnetization switching in those film areas where the domain wall motion depends only on the coercive force is simulated in simple terms. In a first approximation, local events of magnetization switching are shown to take place independently of each other and the net hysteresis loop can be represented as a sum of the local loops.