Influence of polarization and wavelength on two-photon excited luminescence of single gold nanospheres

The Brownian rotation of a nearly spherical gold particle capped with ligands can be observed in the correlation profile of the intensity of the two-photon excited luminescence. Here we report on a multi-parameter study of the luminescence properties, including spectral and polarization analysis of the signal at the single particle level. First, the data confirm the role of the radiative de-excitation of the surface plasmons in the luminescence process. Secondly, the results obtained at low power indicate that the capped particle in water can be approximatively described as a spherical rotor acting in the far-field as a point-like absorption and emission dipole of fixed directions. In addition, we show that the dynamics of the ligands, induced by the heat transfer from the particle to its environment, can be partly controlled by the choice of excitation wavelength.     

Controlled electrodeposition of Cu-Ga from a deep eutectic solvent for low cost fabrication of CuGaSe2 thin film solar cells

The electrochemical deposition of Ga and Cu-Ga alloys from the deep eutectic solvent choline chloride/urea (Reline) is investigated to prepare CuGaSe(2) (CGS) semiconductors for their use in thin film solar cells. Ga electrodeposition is difficult from aqueous solution due to its low standard potential and the interfering hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Ionic liquid electrolytes offer a better thermal stability and larger potential window and thus eliminate the interference of solvent breakdown reactions during Ga deposition. We demonstrate that metallic Ga can be electrodeposited from Reline without HER interference with high plating efficiency on Mo and Cu electrodes. A new low cost synthetic route for the preparation of CuGaSe(2) absorber thin films is presented and involves the one-step electrodeposition of Cu-Ga precursors from Reline followed by thermal annealing. Rotating disk electrode (RDE) cyclic voltammetry (CV) is used in combination with viscosity measurements to determine the diffusion coefficients of gallium and copper ions in Reline. The composition of the codeposited Cu-Ga precursor layers can be controlled to form Cu/Ga thin films with precise stoichiometry, which is important for achieving good optoelectronic properties of the final CuGaSe(2) absorbers. The morphology, the chemical composition and the crystal structure of the deposited thin films are analysed by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Annealing of the Cu-Ga films in a selenium atmosphere allowed the formation of high quality CuGaSe(2) absorber layers. Completed CGS solar cells achieved a 4.1% total area power conversion efficiency.     

On the predictive capabilities of the shear modified Gurson and the modified Mohr-Coulomb fracture models over a wide range of stress triaxialities and Lode angles

The predictive capabilities of the shear-modified Gurson model [Nielsen and Tvergaard, Eng. Fract. Mech. 77, 2010] and the Modified Mohr-Coulomb (MMC) fracture model [Bai and Wierzbicki, Int. J. Fract. 161, 2010] are evaluated. Both phenomenological fracture models are physics-inspired and take the effect of the first and third stress tensor invariants into account in predicting the onset of ductile fracture. The MMC model is based on the assumption that the initiation of fracture is determined by a critical stress state, while the shear-modified Gurson model assumes void growth as the governing mechanism. Fracture experiments on TRIP-assisted steel sheets covering a wide range of stress states (from shear to equibiaxial tension) are used to calibrate and validate these models. The model accuracy is quantified based on the predictions of the displacement to fracture for experiments which have not been used for calibration. It is found that the MMC model predictions agree well with all experiments (less than 4% error), while less accurate predictions are observed for the shear-modified Gurson model. A comparison of plots of the strain to fracture as a function of the stress triaxiality and the normalized third invariant reveals significant differences between the two models except within the vicinity of stress states that have been used for calibration.     

First-order regularity of convex functions on Carnot Groups

We prove that h-convex functions on Carnot groups of step two are locally Lipschitz continuous with respect to any intrinsic metric. We show that an additional measurability condition implies the local Lipschitz continuity of h-convex functions on arbitrary Carnot groups. To the Memory of Q. G.     

Thin-film growth of low temperature lead antimony sulfide plagionite phases

Smooth and compact Pb5Sb8S17 and Pb9Sb8S21 thin films were synthesized via sulfurization of unique layered precursor films of amorphous (Sb,S) and crystalline PbS; our syntheses suggest that these plagionite group phases are metastable and indicate that their formation does not require hydrogen incorporation.     

Stability of JSQ in queues with general server-job class compatibilities

Queueing Systems - We consider Poisson streams of exponentially distributed jobs arriving at each edge of a hypergraph of queues. Upon arrival, an incoming job is routed to the shortest queue among...