Effect of substrate temperature on structural, optical and electrical properties of pulsed laser ablated nanostructured indium oxide films

Nanocrystalline indium oxide (INO) films are deposited in a back ground oxygen pressure at 0.02 mbar on quartz substrates at different substrate temperatures (T_s) ranging from 300 to 573 K using pulsed laser deposition technique. The films are characterized using GIXRD, XPS, AFM and UV-visible spectroscopy to study the effect of substrate temperature on the structural and optical properties of films. The XRD patterns suggest that the films deposited at room temperature are amorphous in nature and the crystalline nature of the films increases with increase in substrate temperature. Films prepared at T_s ≥ 473 K are polycrystalline in nature (cubic phase). Crystalline grain size calculation based on Debye Scherrer formula indicates that the particle size enhances with the increase in substrate temperature. Lattice constant of the films are calculated from the XRD data. XPS studies suggest that all the INO films consist of both crystalline and amorphous phases. XPS results show an increase in oxygen content with increase in substrate temperature and reveals that the films deposited at higher substrate temperatures exhibit better stoichiometry. The thickness measurements using interferometric techniques show that the film thickness decreases with increase in substrate temperature. Analysis of the optical transmittance data of the films shows a blue shift in the values of optical band gap energy for the films compared to that of the bulk material owing to the quantum confinement effect due to the presence of quantum dots in the films. Refractive index and porosity of the films are also investigated. Room temperature DC electrical measurements shows that the INO films investigated are having relatively high electrical resistivity in the range of 0.80-1.90 Ωm. Low temperature electrical conductivity measurements in the temperature range of 50-300 K for the film deposited at 300 K give a linear Arrhenius plot suggesting thermally activated conduction. Surface morphology studies of the films using AFM reveal the formation of nanostructured indium oxide thin films.     

Model for the free-volume distributions of equilibrium fluids

We introduce and test via molecular simulation a simple model for predicting the manner in which interparticle interactions and thermodynamic conditions impact the single-particle free-volume distributions of equilibrium fluids. The model suggests a scaling relationship for the density-dependent behavior of the hard-sphere system. It also predicts how the second virial coefficients of fluids with short-range attractions affect their free-volume distributions.     

Pinning down neutrino oscillation parameters in the 2–3 sector with a magnetised atmospheric neutrino detector: a new study

We determine the sensitivity to neutrino oscillation parameters from a study of atmospheric neutrinos in a magnetised detector such as the ICAL at the proposed India-based Neutrino Observatory. In such a detector, which can separately count \(\nu _\mu \) and \(\overline{\nu }_\mu \)-induced events, the relatively smaller (about 5%) uncertainties on the neutrino–antineutrino flux ratios translate to a constraint in the \(\chi ^2\) analysis that results in a significant improvement in the precision with which neutrino oscillation parameters such as \(\sin ^2\theta _{23}\) can be determined. Such an effect is unique to all magnetisable detectors and constitutes a great advantage in determining neutrino oscillation parameters using such detectors. Such a study has been performed for the first time here. Along with an increase in the kinematic range compared to earlier analyses, this results in sensitivities to oscillation parameters in the 2–3 sector that are comparable to or better than those from accelerator experiments where the fluxes are significantly higher. For example, the \(1\sigma \) precisions on \(\sin ^2\theta _{23}\) and \(|\Delta {m^2_{32(31)}}|\) achievable for 500 kton year exposure of ICAL are \({\sim }9\) and \({\sim }2.5\)%, respectively, for both normal and inverted hierarchies. The mass hierarchy sensitivity achievable with this combination when the true hierarchy is normal (inverted) for the same exposure is \(\Delta \chi ^2\approx 8.5\) (\(\Delta \chi ^2\approx 9.5\)).     

Synchronous Luminescence Spectroscopic Characterization of Urine of Normal Subjects and Cancer Patients

Urine is one of the diagnostically potential bio fluids, as it contains many metabolites and some of them are native fluorophores. These fluorophores distribution and the physiochemical properties may vary during any metabolic change or at different pathologic conditions. Since urine is a multicomponent fluid, synchronous luminescence technique, a powerful tool has been adopted to analyse multicomponents in single spectrum and to resolve emission spectrum without much of photobleaching of fluorophores. In this study, urine samples of both normal subjects and cancer patients were characterised using synchronous luminescence spectroscopy with a Stokes shift of 20 nm. Different ratio parameters were calculated from the intensity values of the synchronous luminescence spectra and they were used as input variables for a multiple linear discriminant analysis across normal and cancer groups. The stepwise linear discriminant analysis classifies 90.3 % of the original grouped cases and 88.6 % of the cross-validated grouped cases correctly.     

Thermophoresis particle deposition effects in a free convective doubly stratified medium over a vertical plate

An analysis is performed to study the thermophoresis effects in a transient free convective flow of a viscous, incompressible fluid past an isothermal vertical plate in a doubly stratified medium. The governing boundary layer equations are solved numerically using an implicit finite difference scheme of Crank-Nicolson type. The influence of thermophoresis on particle deposition velocity and particle concentration in a doubly stratified medium are analyzed and illustrated graphically. As well the influence of thermal and mass stratification on velocity, temperature and concentration are also investigated and presented. The influence of the parameters on local as well as average skin-friction, the rate of heat and mass transfer are presented graphically and discussed. The results are compared with particular solutions available in the literature and are found to be in good agreement.     

Effect of Co substitution on the magnetic properties of BiFeO3

Bismuth ferrite is doped with a dilute concentration of cobalt, _{BiFe1−XCoXO3}${\mathrm{BiFe}}_{1-X}{\mathrm{Co}}_X{\mathrm{O}}_3$; X=0, 0.01, 0.02 is prepared by sol-gel auto combustion technique. X-ray diffraction data refined via Reitveld method shows single phase and shrinkage in cell volume for Co doped BiFeO₃. Various magnetic ground states viz. superparamagnetic, glassy antiferromagnetic and glassy ferrimagnetic behavior is observed for X=0, 0.01, 0.02, respectively. A first-order magnetic transition is observed in the Arrott plot data of cobalt doped BiFeO₃. Possibility of thermally induced magnetic transition is also seen in the magnetization data of cobalt doped BiFeO₃. A model based on the existing spinoidal cyclic arrangement of spins is proposed to explain the observed data. Finally, a very dilute concentration of Co⁺³${\mathrm{Co}}^{+3}$ in BiFeO₃ is found sufficient to tailor the magnetic properties.     

Effect of ammonium acetate addition on crystal growth,spectral, thermal and optical properties of glycine single crystals

Gamma glycine single crystal is a potential organic nonlinear optical (NLO) material. It has been grown from a mixture of aqueous solutions of glycine and ammonium acetate by slow evaporation solution growth technique at room temperature for the first time. Powder X-ray diffraction studies are carried out and the results are compared. CHN analysis confirms the non-inclusion of ammonium acetate species in to the solution. FTIR studies are performed to identify the presence of various functional groups in the grown crystal. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis (DSC) was carried out to study the thermal stability and phase transition of the grown crystal. The optical analysis shows that UV cut-off of γ-glycine is at 190 nm and it has a wide transparency window. The second harmonic generation relative efficiency of the grown crystals was observed to be 1.72 times that of potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (KDP).     

Current–voltage characteristics of PLD grown manganite based ZnO/La0.5Pr0.2Sr0.3MnO3/SrNb0.002Ti0.998O3 thin film heterostructure

We report the results of studies on the rectifying behavior and tunneling conduction in ZnO(n)/La_0.5Pr_0.2Sr_0.3MnO₃(LPSMO)(p)/SrNb_0.002Ti_0.998O₃ (SNTO)(n) thin film heterostructure comprising of two p–n junctions fabricated using the Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique. A structural study using XRD $?$-scan depicts the single-crystalline nature and confirms the phase purity while the transport studies using $I\text{–}V$ measurements at various temperatures and fields reveal the rectifying behavior. The temperature and field dependent variation in the saturation voltage $\left(V_C\right)$ indicates that, the heterostructure exhibits negative magnetoresistance (MR) at low temperatures and positive MR at room temperature (RT) which can be understood on the basis of the interface effect at the junction. $I\text{–}V$ curves obtained at all temperatures and fields show noticeable hysteresis during the positive voltage sweeping which has been attributed to the presence of the various conduction phenomena through the junctions in the presently studied heterostructure.