De-excitation processes near the surface of ion bombarded SiO2 and Si

Ion bombardment induced secondary ion and optical excitation from oxide coated Si has been studied as the oxide layer is eroded away. By comparing ion and photon yields, a model for the role of resonant and Auger electron transitions in the neutralisation and de-excitation of the sputtered atoms and ions has been suggested.     

The influence of aliphatic diols on the temperature of maximum density of water

The influence of various aliphatic diols on the temperature of maximum density (TMD) of water has been investigated. 1,2-Propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, and 2,5-hexanediol were found to yield positive structural contributions to the solute-induced shift in the TMD, i.e., they are structure makers. Contrariwise, data from the literature indicate that 1,2-ethanediol is a structure breaker. Relationships between the structure making/breaking tendencies of the solutes and the relative positions of the two hydroxyl groups are discussed.     

Deoxyribozyme-based ligase logic gates and their initial circuits

A complete set (YES, NOT, AND, and ANDNOT) of molecular scale logic gates based on ligase deoxyribozymes was constructed. The activity of these gates was visualized through the formation of cascades with downstream phosphodieseterase YES gates, which performed fluorogenic cleavage.     

Non-statistical energy partitioning in the gas phase reactions of polyatomic molecules

The internal energy distributions in the HF products from the reactions of F atoms with H₂CO and HFCO have been determined via arrested-relaxation infrared chemiluminescence experiments. The results show that the HF vib-rotational levels are strongly excited and suggest that the HCO and FCO radical products are created with excitation in the ν₁ (asymmetric stretch) and ν₂ (bend) modes respectively.     

Determination of traces of hydrogen in fluoro-organic compounds

The determination of traces of hydrogen in highly fluorinated compounds has been studied. Nitrogen and sulphur in the sample interfere slightly in the pyrolytic method of Miller etal. A straightforward combustion method is proposed in which the sample is burned in oxygen over magnesium oxide at 900° and the water formed is determined either gravimetrically or titrimetrically.     

Thermodynamics of activated phase transitions of 8CB: DSC and MC calorimetry

The present paper reports the heating rate effect on the phase transitions of a pure liquid crystal octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) with use of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Modulation Calorimetry (MC) techniques. The DSC runs were taken at various temperature ramp rates from 20 to 0.5 K/min for heating and cooling scans. Well-defined endothermic/exothermic peaks were found at the melting/crystallization, smectic-A to nematic (SmA-N), and nematic to isotropic (N-I) transitions on heating/cooling scans, respectively. All transitions shift in temperature significantly with different ramp rates. The temperature shift of C(p) peaks between heating and cooling scans indicates the order of the transitions. In addition, all transitions follow an Arrhenius behavior. The activation energy of a transition increases as the total energy involved in the transition decreases. The respective enthalpy and entropy change of each transition provides information on the Gibbs free energy. The significance of the results is discussed in terms of the order of transitions. A comparative analysis of MC and DSC techniques highlights the significance of the two techniques. MC is a practicable tool for observing the phase dynamics whereas DSC is a good tool for studying the rate kinematics of the transitions.     

The energy spectra of secondary ions emitted during ion bombardment

Secondary ion energy spectra have been measured for singly charged ions emitted from targets irradiated with 43 keV A⁺ ions. Targets studied include the 3d transition metals (Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Ni) Cu and Zn, Zr, Al and Si and the compounds SiO₂, Al₂O₃, NaCl, KCl. Energy spectra were measured in the energy range 1–600 eV. In several cases a peak in the energy spectrum in the region around 200 eV has been found. This is in addition to the usual low energy peaks in the region of 5–10 eV. In many cases the low energy peak was observed to decay steadily with irradiation time or to increase with oxygen pressure. In the case of the cleanest Zn spectrum, only the high energy peak can be detected. The data are discussed in relation to current models of secondary ion emission. We conclude that, in general, elemental metal targets which are clean are characterised by the high energy peak in the secondary ion energy spectrum. The slower ions emitted have been neutralised by electron exchange processes. The low energy peaks in unclean, partially clean, oxide coated or compound targets (NaCl, KCl) arise because the neutralisation of the slower ions is either not as efficient or is not possible. The secondary ion emission model of Blaise and Slodzian could account for the emission of ions from most targets.     

A localization algorithm based on head-related transfer functions

Two sound localization algorithms based on the head-related transfer function were developed. Each of them uses the interaural time delay, interaural level difference, and monaural spectral cues to estimate the location of a sound source. Given that most localization algorithms will be required to function in background noise, the localization performance of one of the algorithms was tested at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) from 40 to -40 dB. Stimuli included ten real-world, broadband sounds located at 5 degrees intervals in azimuth and at 0 degrees elevation. Both two- and four-microphone versions of the algorithm were implemented to localize sounds to 5 degrees precision. The two-microphone version of the algorithm exhibited less than 2 degrees mean localization error at SNRs of 20 dB and greater, and the four-microphone version committed approximately 1 degrees mean error at SNRs of 10 dB or greater. Potential enhancements and applications of the algorithm are discussed.