Electrochromic properties of nano-composite nickel oxide film

In this study, we develop a nano-composite nickel oxide (NNO) film on the indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate for electrochromic applications. The NNO film is composed of the core-shell structure of NiO/conducting ITO nano-particles. High porosity in the NNO film offers large active surface area for redox reaction. Electrochromic electrodes fabricated with the NNO films produce high transmittance variation (66.2% at a wavelength of 550 nm), fast switching speed (coloring: 3.5 s; bleaching: 4 s) and good durability, which are much better than those of ones made with the traditional nickel oxide films. The structure, morphology, and electrochromic properties are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and UV-vis spectroscopy.     

Titanium metallization of alumina ceramics by molten salt reaction

In this work, we reported a novel method that is flexible to metallize alumina ceramics with complex surface. Through Ti²⁺ disproportionation occurred in molten NaCl-KCl-K₂TiF₆ bath, the dense Ti layer was deposited on Al₂O₃ ceramics surface with strong adhesion. The effects of reaction temperature, time and initial K₂TiF₆ concentration on deposition rate were investigated. As-prepared coatings compose of bilayer structure of reactive Ti₂O phase, namely, the outer layer with coarse grains and the inner layer with fine grains. The wettability of eutectic Ag72Cu28 and Pb37Sn63 alloys with metallized Al₂O₃ ceramics was measured by using sessile drop method and compared with that of original ceramics. The results show that the metallized Al₂O₃ surface could be reactively wetted well with Ag72Cu28 and Pb37Sn63 alloys. The contact angles lowered to 35° and 8°, respectively, when temperature rose to 900 °C, showing significant enhancement of wettability after Ti metallization by molten salt reaction.     

Microstructures and multiferroic properties of textured Bi0.8La0.2FeO3 thin films

La-substituted BiFeO₃, Bi_0.8La_0.2FeO₃, thin films were fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscope were used to analyze the structures of the films. The results show the films fabricated under optimized growth condition are (0 1 2) textured. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy results indicate that the oxidation state of Fe ion is Fe³⁺ in the films without detectable Fe²⁺. The films show low leakage current and excellent dielectric characters. Multiferroic properties with a remnant ferroelectric polarization of 5.2 μC/cm² and a remanent magnetization of 0.02 μ_B/Fe were established. These results have some implications for further research.     

The dimension of the core and the tail of the plasma produced by laser ablating SiC targets

Optical emission of the plasma generated on SiC samples by pulsed laser beam from an Nd:YAG laser was used to investigate the spatial evolution of the electron temperature (Te) and density (Ne) of the plasma. The range and the profile of the plasma were characterized by the electron temperature Te and the electron density Ne, as functions of the distance from the SiC surface. It was found that the characterized spatial distribution closely coincided with the spatial images of the plasma recorded by a digital camera. The results obtained from the two different experimental measurements are consistent with other data from the literature, obtained either by models or experiments. The present result may give the insight to the complex physical phenomena in the thin film preparations using the pulsed laser deposition (PLD).     

Ballistic spin interferometer based on the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions

By using the Al'tshuler-Aronov-Spivak (AAS) model, we give the amplitude changing with Rashba spin-orbit interaction (SOI) and Dresselhaus SOI strength. In the first idea 1D square loop (SL), Rashba SOI acts on two sides while Dresselhaus SOI acts on the other two sides. In the second SL, we consume Rashba SOI and Dresselhaus SOI act on four sides simultaneously. This model can be replaced by another one that Rashba SOI and Dresselhaus SOI act on every side independently, and each side is twice long. We theoretically illustrate the influence of the Dresselhaus SOI on node position and number. To explain the “half oscillation” phenomenon found in experiment, we apply Dresselhaus SOI to the ideal 1D SL. The conclusion is that the Dresselhaus SOI has a strong effect on the emergence of “half oscillation”.     

Band gap control of phononic beam with negative capacitance piezoelectric shunt

Periodic arrays of negative capacitance shunted piezoelectric patches are employed to control the band gaps of phononic beams. The location and the extent of induced band gap depend on the mismatch in impedance generated by each patch. The total impedance mismatch is determined by the added mass and stiffness of each patch as well as the shunting electrical impedance. Therefore, the band gap of the shunted phononic beam can be actively tuned by appropriately selecting the value of negative capacitance. The control of the band gap of phononic beam with negative capacitive shunt is demonstrated numerically by employing transfer matrix method. The result reveals that using negative capacitive shunt to tune the band gap is effective.     

Identification of a new form of electron coupling in the Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 superconductor by laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements with superhigh resolution have been carried out on an optimally doped Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8) high temperature superconductor. New high energy features at approximately 115 meV and approximately 150 meV, in addition to the prominent approximately 70 meV one, are found to develop in the nodal electron self-energy in the superconducting state. These high energy features, which cannot be attributed to electron coupling with single phonon or magnetic resonance mode, point to the existence of a new form of electron coupling in high temperature superconductors.     

Quark-hadron duality in neutron (3He) spin structure

We present experimental results of the first high-precision test of quark-hadron duality in the spin-structure function g_{1} of the neutron and 3He using a polarized 3He target in the four-momentum-transfer-squared range from 0.7 to 4.0 (GeV/c);{2}. Global duality is observed for the spin-structure function g_{1} down to at least Q;{2}=1.8 (GeV/c);{2} in both targets. We have also formed the photon-nucleon asymmetry A1 in the resonance region for 3He and found no strong Q2 dependence above 2.2 (GeV/c);{2}.     

Anomalous transport properties and phase diagram of the FeAs-based SmFeAsO1-xFx superconductors

We report the detailed phase diagram and anomalous transport properties of Fe-based high-T_{c} superconductors SmFeAsO1-xFx. It is found that superconductivity emerges at x approximately 0.07, and optimal doping takes place in the x approximately 0.20 sample with the highest T_{c} approximately 54 K. T_{c} increases monotonically with doping; the anomaly in resistivity from structural phase or spin-density-wave order is rapidly suppressed, suggesting a quantum critical point around x approximately 0.14. As manifestations, a linear temperature dependence of the resistivity shows up at high temperatures in the x<0.14 regime but at low temperatures just above T_{c} in the x>0.14 regime; a drop in carrier density evidenced by a pronounced rise in the Hall coefficient is observed below the temperature of the anomaly peak in resistivity. A scaling behavior is observed between the Hall angle and temperature: cottheta_{H} proportional, variantT;{1.5} for all samples with different x in SmFeAsO1-xFx system.