A new equilibrium effect in positron trapping in metals

The equilibrium lineshape for positrons annihilating in Cd shows an anomalous temperature dependence which complicates analysis for vacancy formation energies. The phenomenon, tentatively identified as trapping by transient dilatations, probably occurs in all metals.     

Fluctuations in 88Sr(p,p0) and 90Zr(p,p′) in the energy region from 12 MeV TO 13 MeV

The low cross sections in the diffraction minima of elastic proton scattering at 12.5 MeV incident energy and far backward scattering angles for target nuclei with mass numbers A of about 90 were used to investigate compound nucleus effects in the framework of the statistical model. In the case of ⁹⁰Zr(p, p′) energy averaged T^< fluctuations are observed, while in the case of ⁸⁸Sr(p, p₀) resolved structures with a coherence width of Γ = 22 keV are found, which is assumed to be the coherence width Γ^> of overlapping T^> states.     

A theory of thin metal films: electron density,potentials and work function

Electron densities, potentials, and work functions of thin metal films are calculated self-consistently. The planar uniform-background model and the density-functional formalism are used similarly as in the theory of metal surfaces by Lang and Kohn. Electron densities and potentials are discussed for r_s = 4 both as function of the position in the film and of film thickness. Numerical results for the dependence of the work function on film thickness are given for r_s = 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. As functions of film thickness electron densities, potentials and work functions show oscillations with a period of one-half the Fermi wavelength. The amplitude of the oscillations in potentials and work functions is about 1 eV for one monolayer and 0.1 eV for films of 20 Å thickness. A comparison with non-self-consistent calculations reveals the necessity of self-consistent computations. The relevance of the results to work function measurements and to investigations of thermodynamic and transport properties are discussed. The influence of the film geometry on calculations designed for surfaces per se is examined.     

On the theory of the work function

Starting from a definition of the work function in terms of total energies of the electron system it is shown that this work function can be obtained from the single-particle Schrödinger equations in the density-functional formalism in the way suggested by the Sommerfeld model. It is also shown that the change of the equilibrium ion positions accompanying the ionization of the crystal has no influence on the work function. A comparison is made with Koopmans' theorem. The use of several potentials for computations of the work function is critically investigated.     

Stability problems in annihilation photon energy spectroscopy: A case study

Errors caused by instrumental instabilities in annihilation photon energy spectrometers can be much larger than statistical errors. The performance of a typical spectrometer is investigated in detail and both empirical and theoretical approaches to correcting data for residual fluctuations are examined.     

Is It Worth the Effort to Reinforce Polymers With Carbon Nanotubes?

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show exceptional properties that render them attractive for incorporation in a new generation of high‐performance engineering composites with tailored properties. While a great deal of work has been done toward using CNTs as a reinforcing agent in polymer composites, the full potential of CNTs has yet to be reached. In this work, two case studies were proposed in order to analyze the effectiveness of CNTs and carbon fibers (CFs) as reinforcing agents. Micromechanics models for the stiffness and strength of hybrid composites, comprising CNTs and CFs are derived by considering the concept of effective fiber. In addition, the 2009 prices of commercially available CNTs are reviewed. The strongest, the stiffest, and the cheapest CFs commercially available are compared with single walled CNTs (SWCNTs) and multiwalled CNTs (MWCNTs). The simulated results from the micromechanics models show that the use of CFs makes the acquisition of composites with maximum tensile strengths of 4.18 GPa possible. Analysis of the cost versus property relation showed that CNTs are the most viable strengthening option for achieving composites with strengths of up to 11.61 GPa. It is also shown that CFs are the most viable stiffening option, making composites with Young's moduli of up to 383 GPa possible at the expense of the material's toughness. Moreover, it is shown that, in order to achieve CNT's true potential, several challenges have to be faced. CNTs have to be produced with higher purity, longer lengths, better integrity, in larger amounts, and at lower cost. Moreover, issues such as orientation of the CNTs, their concentration, interfacial adhesion, distribution, and dispersion have to be overcome.

     

Adsorption of dicarboxylic acids onto nano‐structured silver surfaces – surface‐enhanced Raman scattering studies of pH‐dependent adsorption geometries

Understanding and shaping adsorption orientations of molecular compounds on nano‐structured metallic surfaces is an important issue across many areas of contemporary research including the design of nano‐structured surfaces and catalytic processes. Here, we used surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy to study these orientations on nano‐structured silver surfaces using dicarboxylic acids (maleic acid and fumaric acid) as model substances. Results revealed a clear pH dependence of the observed adsorption geometries of dicarboxylic acids correlating well with the dissociation states of the two acidic groups. Our data demonstrate the potential of the technique and contribute to an improved understanding of adsorption orientations of molecules at the interface between nano‐structured metal surfaces and a liquid phase. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How to improve intrinsic and extrinsic reliability of vias by process optimization

A systematic study of various processes and their impact on intrinsic reliability has been performed on Cu dual damascene interconnects. The most significant improvement for intrinsic reliability is the ‘break-through’ liner. A strong impact on stressmigration (SM) was revealed using a HDP based SiN deposition on top of Cu lines. Early failures in electromigration (EM) studies are present with insufficient cleaning processes. No reliability impact was detected with different plating and slurry chemistries and liner thickness increase. Extrinsic via reliability is assessed with a special test chip comprising 3E9 via/wafer. High ohmic vias are identified before and after thermal stress. As an example, the failure rates in Cu dual damascene levels with relaxed pitch before and after cleaning optimization are discussed.     

Raman spectroscopy of synthetic organic pigments used in 20th century works of art

Raman microscopy allows a non‐destructive characterisation of inorganic and organic painting materials such as pigments and organic dyestuffs. The objectives of this study are the more recent organic pigments typically present in paintings and other art works from the 20th century. More than 20 organic synthetic pigments from different chemical classes could be identified by Raman spectroscopy using different excitation wavelengths (457.9, 476.5, 487.9, 514.5, 632.8, and 1064 nm). To evaluate the performance for real paint samples, varying paint mixtures of the Hansa Yellow pigment PY 3 and the binding medium Mowilith, a polyvinyl acetate (PVAC) compound, were characterised; PY 3 was determined at a 1 wt% level in the binder. In addition, commercial tube paints containing the quinacridone violet PV 19 were studied. The pigment was clearly identified in all of these more complex oil and acrylic paints. Finally, alizarin (PR 83) and a green copper phthalocyanine pigment (PG 7) could unambiguously be identified by Raman microscopy in the painting ‘Woman with mandolin in yellow and red’ of Max Beckmann dating 1950. The discovery of a red naphthol AS pigment by Raman spectroscopy in a sample from the ‘Three field workers’ by Georg Baselitz (1964/1965) demonstrated that in some cases complementary chromatographic methods are needed for a comprehensive identification of the organic pigments. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biopolymer-assisted self-assembly of ZnO nanoarchitectures from nanorods

We have investigated three-dimensional (3-D) architectures–microspheres and radial structures–based on biopolymer-assisted self-assembly from one-dimensional ZnO nanorods. The developed method is simple, rapid and cost-effective and can be used for self-assembly of different complex superstructures. A possible model of 3-D architectures self-assembled with biopolymer assistance is presented using minimum energy considerations. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, micro–Raman spectroscopy and cathode luminescence investigations show that the novel 3-D architectures are built from high-purity ZnO nanorods with a wurtzite structure. The resulting radial structures show an intense ultraviolet (UV) cathode luminescence emission suggesting applications as UV light emitting diodes or lasers. Their structural characteristics endow them with a broad area of applications and offer a possibility to be used as fundamental low-dimensional building units. These building units open opportunities for the self-assembly of multifunctional nanostructured systems with applications in bioscience and nanomedicine, electronics and photonics.