Monte Carlo study of interfacial silicon suboxide layers and oxidation kinetics

A simple simulation scheme that simultaneously describes the growth kinetics of SiO₂ films at the nanometer scale and the SiO_x/Si interface dynamics (its extent, and spatial/temporal evolution) is presented. The simulation successfully applies to experimental data in the region above and below 10 nm, reproduces the Deal and Grove linear-parabolic law and the oxide growth rate enhancement in the very thin film regime (the so-called anomalous region). According to the simulation, the oxidation is governed mainly by two processes: (a) the formation of a transition suboxide layer and (b) its subsequent drift towards the silicon bulk. We found that it is the superposition of these two processes that produces the crossover from the anomalous oxidation region behavior to the linear-parabolic law.     

Lasing in the far IR spectral range under femtosecond optical excitation of the InAs semiconductor in a magnetic field

Generation of a coherent electromagnetic radiation in the far IR (THz) spectral range upon excitation of a semiconductor InAs crystal by 70-fs Ti: sapphire laser pulses is studied. The effect of a magnetic field of different orientation on generation in the submillimeter-wavelength range is analyzed. Placing the crystal into the magnetic field of an optimized permanent magnet with a strength of 5 kOe aligned along the surface of the semiconductor increased the power of generated radiation by a factor of six compared with that in the absence of the field. For the average pump-laser output power of 150 mW and repetition rate of 80 MHz, the average power of the THz radiation reached 100 nW. For detection of ultrashort pulses of the THz radiation, we used, for the first time, a highly sensitive uncooled optoacoustic detector, which detected signals with a power lower than 1 nW.     

A comprehensive study of the long pulse Nd:YAG laser drilling of multi-layer carbon fibre composites

The results of an extensive experimental study of the free running Nd:YAG laser drilling of a multi-layer carbon fibre composite, where adjacent layers have differently orientated fibres, are reported. For holes drilled with the laser operating in fixed-Q mode at 1064 nm, parallel sections of blind holes illustrating discontinuities in the hole size along a given section direction will be shown to occur at the interface between adjacent layers. An explanation for this effect is proposed. Detailed single pulse drilling characteristics will be presented illustrating the exit hole diameter as a function of pulse energy and material thickness. These characteristics illustrate a ‘stable' drilling regime in which the exit hole diameters are least sensitive to changes in pulse energy or material thickness and a less ‘stable' regime in which they are more strongly dependent on these parameters. Drilling characteristics will be given for two different beam qualities, illustrating the greater drilling depth and reduced hole size achievable with an improved beam quality. Finally holes drilled through a 2 mm thick sample of material with multiple pulses are considered. Size distribution curves for entrance and exit holes will be presented. The total energy required (number of pulses × pulse energy) to drill through 2 mm thick material will be reported as a function of pulse energy in stationary air and argon atmospheres and in a partial vacuum, illustrating a threshold energy which is dependent upon the drilling atmosphere. The threshold energies will be discussed with reference to plasma formation and the reactivity of the drilling atmosphere.     

The Third-Order Singular-Perturbation Expansion of the Planar Cold-Fluid Magnetron Equations

The singular-perturbation expansion of the plasma cold-fluid equations for crossed fields in a planar geometry is presented. The general expansion is carried out to third order. Various instabilities that occur in the first, second, and third orders are discussed.     

An efficient synthesis of isothiazolidines via sulfonium ylides formed by the reaction of thietanes and nitrene

An efficient synthesis of isothiazolidines in good yields is described.     

Spectral and temporal characteristics of metallic nanoparticles produced by femtosecond laser pulses

We study the time of flight optical emission from titanium and tungsten nanosized particles, generated through femtosecond laser-matter interaction in vacuum, in the wavelength spectral range from 300 to 900 nm. Typical spectra consist of broadband structureless signals similar to black body emission from a macroscopic object. Nanoparticles temperature, deduced from their emission spectra, decreases drastically as a function of their time of arrival at a given distance from the target. This behaviour is seen to be independent of individual particle velocities.     

A thermodynamic description of the distribution of water in H2O-tributyl phosphate and H2O-tributyl phosphate-solvent systems

Various methods for describing the distribution of water in the H₂O-tributyl phosphate (TBP) system were considered. An equation for describing the deviations from the Henry law was proposed. A three-parameter equation for calculating the distribution of water in H₂O-TBP-solvent systems was derived. It is based on the additive solubility model and allows for the dependence of the activity coefficients on the TBP concentration. Based on the published data, the parameters of the equation for a number of systems were calculated.     

Observation of the neutron radiative decay

The aim of this work is the experimental observation of and research into a rare neutron mode, the radiative beta decay, where a new particle, the radiative gamma quantum, is formed along with the expected decay products: a beta electron, a recoil proton, and an antineutrino. The discovery of this rare neutron decay mode was conducted through identification of triple-coincidence events: simultaneous registration of a beta electron, a proton, and a radiative gamma quantum. The ordinary neutron decay was registered by double coincidences of a beta electron and a recoil proton. The statistics collected allow one to deduce the branching ratio (BR) BR = (3.2 ± 1.6) × 10⁻³ (90% C.L.) in the gamma energy region greater than 35 keV. This value of BR is consistent with standard electroweak theory. The text was submitted by the authors in English. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Efficient computation of natural convection in a concentric annulus between an outer square cylinder and an inner circular cylinder

In this work, the natural convection in a concentric annulus between a cold outer square cylinder and a heated inner circular cylinder is simulated using the differential quadrature (DQ) method. The vorticity‐stream function formulation is used as the governing equation, and the coordinate transformation technique is introduced in the DQ computation. It is shown in this paper that the outer square boundary can be approximated by a super elliptic function. As a result, the coordinate transformation from the physical domain to the computational domain is set up by an analytical expression, and all the geometrical parameters can be computed exactly. Numerical results for Rayleigh numbers range from 104 to 106 and aspect ratios between 1.67 and 5.0 are presented, which are in a good agreement with available data in the literature. It is found that both the aspect ratio and the Rayleigh number are critical to the patterns of flow and thermal fields. The present study suggests that a critical aspect ratio may exist at high Rayleigh number to distinguish the flow and thermal patterns. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.