Modification of n-Si(1 1 1) wafer with olefin carboxyl acids and olefin sulfite acids and the photovoltaic properties of the electrodes

n-Si(1 1 1) crystalline electrode was modified by carboxyl acid groups and sulfonic groups. The flat band potential (U_fb), relation between flat band potential and the carbon numbers to the modified samples and relation between photocurrent density and potential of the modified electrodes were studied. ATR-IR spectra and XPS analysis show that the organic compounds were connected to n-Si(1 1 1) wafer by SiC bond. Calculation indicates that the surface modification ratio increased with the carbon number of organic groups decreased. Mott-Schottky plots gives the flat band potential of the samples to shift to negative positions with the carbon number decreased in both of the two different systems and the flat band potential of the sample with the group of (CH₂)₃SO₃H reaches to −0.82 V, which is more negative than reported, and the flat band potential of all the samples in this paper are more negative than the sample with methyl group [B. Ashish, N.S. Lewis, J. Phys. Chem. B 102 (1998) 1067; S. Takabayashi, M. Ohashi, K. Mashima, Y. Liu, S. Yamazaki, Y. Nakato, Langmuir 21 (2005) 8832]. The photocurrent and photovoltage of the modifications are stable enough under solar illumination for a long time.     

Surface oxidation behavior of MgNd alloys

The oxidation kinetics of MgNd alloys oxidized in pure O₂ at high temperatures has been investigated. The results revealed two stages of the reaction: A fast initial oxidation was followed by a slow oxide growth with a parabolic kinetics. For MgNd alloys (Nd = 25 wt.%), the oxidation rate increased with the enhancement of the oxidation temperature. A sudden ignition was found for this alloys oxidized at 873 K up to about 80 min. Moreover, the increase of the Nd content would harm the oxidation resistance of the MgNd alloys. By Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, it was found that a triplex structure of oxide film formed. The outer layer was composed of MgO, Nd₂O₃ and Nd(OH)₃, the middle layer mainly consisted of MgO and Nd₂O₃, and the inner layer was the transitional layer made of MgO, Nd₂O₃ and the content of the substrate. The protective oxidation was associated with the formation of the dense Nd₂O₃/MgO layer during isothermal oxidation process. The oxidation mechanisms for the formation of oxide film are discussed.     

Synthesis, thermal treatment and characterization of cobalt ferrite-based nanocomposites

We have used time-differential perturbed angular correlation (PAC) spectroscopy with ¹⁸¹Ta-probes to study the electric field gradient at Zr-sites in synthetic zircon and hafnon between room temperature and 1,200°C. PAC spectra are similar to those obtained from naturally occurring zircons. In particular, a change in slope of the quadrupole coupling vs. temperature is observed in the synthetic zircon at the same temperature as seen in natural zircons from the Mud Tank carbonatite (Australia). The synthetic hafnon data also shows this feature but at somewhat higher temperature. Low-temperature PAC spectra of both synthetic zircon and hafnon have a clearly reduced anisotropy. We believe that the cause for this is a electronic defect, possibly created during the β-decay of the probe parent nucleus.     

Dynamics of quantum discord in two Tavis-Cummings models with classical driving fields

We investigate the dynamics of quantum discord in a system consisting of two Tavis-Cummings models, each of which contains two atoms driven by a classical field. We compare the dynamics of quantum discord for the system with that of entanglement and show that quantum discord vanishes only asymptotically although entanglement disappears suddenly during the time evolution. Furthermore, we examine the influence of the initial states and the classical field on the discord dynamics and find that the value of quantum discord can be improved by adjusting the classical driving field. Finally, the quantum discord of two atoms in dissipative cavity is also discussed.     

Influence of pores on the surface microcompression mechanical response of thermal barrier coatings fabricated by atmospheric plasma spray—Finite element simulation

Surface microcompression is a very important technique to characterize the mechanical properties of film and coating systems. In this paper, surface microcompression simulation for La₂Zr₂O₇ (LZ) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) was implemented by finite element method, especially, the influence of pores on the surface microcompression mechanical response of the thermal barrier coatings fabricated by atmospheric plasma spray (APS) was focused on. The simulation results indicate that the pores not only affect the stress distribution beneath the contact area between the indenter and coating surface, but also affect the shape of the force-displacement curve and the plastic deformation behavior of TBCs. The micromechanism was discussed in detail in this study. At the same time, by using the surface microcompression technique, a new direction or method was proposed to characterize the pore content of the coating quantitatively.     

Magnetic characterization of dual phase FeZrB soft magnetic alloy

The magnetic properties and the annealing process of Fe₇₈Zr₇B₁₅ amorphous ribbons are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry, and vibrating sample magnetometer. The fully amorphous structure of the as-quenched ribbons is confirmed by the XRD pattern. The Curie temperature and the saturation magnetization M_s of the ribbons are 305 °C and 124.3 emu/g, respectively. Annealing at 550 °C can result in an increase in M_s with annealing time due to the increasing crystallized volume fraction of α-Fe phase. The optimized annealing process is established at 550 °C for 20-30 min with maximum M_s of 146.6 emu/g. The morphology of the ribbons annealed at 550 °C is observed by scanning electron microscopy, showing that nanocrystalline α-Fe grains are dispersed in an amorphous matrix.     

Backward-wave propagation and discrete solitons in a left-handed electrical lattice

We study experimentally, analytically and numerically the backward-wave propagation, and formation of discrete bright and dark solitons in a nonlinear electrical lattice. We observe experimentally that a focusing (defocusing) effect occurs above (below) a certain carrier frequency threshold, and backward-propagating bright (dark) discrete solitons are formed. We develop a discrete model emulating the relevant circuit and benchmark its linear properties against the experimental dispersion relation. Using a perturbation method, we derive a nonlinear Schrödinger equation, that predicts accurately the carrier frequency threshold. Finally, we use numerical simulations to corroborate our findings and monitor the space-time evolution of the discrete solitons.     

A modified NaSch model with density-dependent randomization for traffic flow

Based on the Nagel-Schreckenberg (NaSch) model of traffic flow, a modified cellular automaton (CA) traffic model with the density-dependent randomization (abbreviated as the DDR model) is proposed to simulate traffic flow. The fundamental diagram obtained by simulation shows the ability of this modified NaSch model to capture the essential features of traffic flow, e.g., synchronized flow, metastable state, hysteresis and phase separation at higher densities. Comparisons are made between this DDR model and the NaSch model, also between this DDR model and the VDR model. And the underlying mechanism is analyzed. All these results indicate that the presented model is reasonable and more realistic.     

Formation of subwavelength periodic structures on tungsten induced by ultrashort laser pulses

The evolution of surface morphology of tungsten irradiated by single-beam femtosecond laser pulses is investigated. Ripplelike periodic structures have been observed. The period of these ripples does not show a simple relation to the wavelength and angle of incidence. The orientation of ripples is aligned perpendicularly to the direction of polarization for linearly polarized light. Surprisingly, we find that the alignment of the ripple structure turned left or right by 45 degrees with respect to the incident plane when using right and left circularly polarized light, respectively. The period of the ripple can be controlled by the pulse energy, the number of pulses, and the incident angle. We find a clear threshold for the formation as a function of pulse energy and number of pulses. The mechanism for the ripple formation is discussed, as well as potential applications in large-area structuring of metals.     

Scalable silicon nanowire photodetectors

This paper presents photodetectors having vertically stacked electrodes with sub-micron (300 nm) separation based on silicon nanowire (SiNW) nanocomposites. The thin-film-like devices are made using standard photolithography instead of electron beam lithography and thus are amenable to scalable low-cost manufacturing. The processing technique is not limited to SiNWs and can be extended to different nanowires (NWs) (e.g., ZnO, CdSe) and substrates. The current–voltage characteristics show Schottky behaviour that is dependent on the properties of the contact metal and that of the pristine SiNWs. This makes these devices suitable for examination of electronic transport in SiNWs. Preliminary results for light sensitivity show promising photoresponse that is a function of effective NW density.