Characterization of electrodeposited nickel film surfaces using atomic force microscopy

Microstructures of nickel surfaces electrodeposited on indium tin oxides coated glasses are investigated using atomic force microscopy. The fractal dimension D and Hurst exponent H of the nickel surface images are determined from a frequency analysis method proposed by Aguilar et al. [J. Microsc. 172 (1993) 233] and from Hurst rescaled range analysis. The two methods are found to give the same value of the fractal dimension D∼2.0. The roughness exponent α and growth exponent β that characterize scaling behaviors of the surface growth in electrodeposition are calculated using the height-difference correlation function and interface width in Fourier space. The exponents of α∼1.0 and β∼0.8 show that the surface growth does not belong to the universality classes theoretically predicted by statistical growth models.     

An efficient lasing action from pyrromethene 556 dye-doped organically modified silicates

Organically modified solid-state silicates (ORMOSILS) doped with a new laser dye 1,3,5,7,8-pentamethylpyrromethene-2,6-disulfonate-BF₂ complex (pyrromethene 556) have been synthesized by a sol-gel method and the compositional effects on pore characteristics, fluorescence and lasing properties have been investigated. It is found that the use of dimethylsulfoxide and γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane could greatly change the structure properties of sol-gel derived ORMOSILS cage, and thus the fluorescence and lasing properties of the materials could improve significantly. A successful laser oscillation from this dye-doped ORMOSILS sample has been achieved upon pumping with a Q-switched frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm. A slope efficiency of 54% with a useful lifetime greater than 10,000 shots has been demonstrated at a pump repetition rate of 1 Hz and a pump intensity of 1 J/cm² by using the new ORMOSILS cage on our newly designed laser system. Our results have shown that it is possible to obtain a high-efficiency with a long-lifetime for a compact new laser device by low cost dye-doped solid-state ORMOSILS.     

Electrical conduction and dielectric properties of vanadium phosphate glasses doped with lithium

AC conductivity and dielectric studies on vanadium phosphate glasses doped with lithium have been carried out in the frequency range 0.2-100 kHz and temperature range 290-493 K. The frequency dependence of the conductivity at higher frequencies in glasses obeys a power relationship, σ_ac=Aω^s. The obtained values of the power s lie in the range 0.5≤s≤1 for both undoped and doped with low lithium content which confirms the electron hopping between V⁴⁺ and V⁵⁺ ions. For doped glasses with high lithium content, the values of s≤0.5 which confirm the domination of ionic conductivity. The study of frequency dependence of both dielectric constant and dielectric loss showed a decrease with increasing frequency while they increase with increasing temperature. The results have been explained on the basis of frequency assistance of electron hopping besides the ionic polarization of the glasses. The bulk conductivity increases with increasing temperature whereas decreases with increasing lithium content which means a reduction of the V⁵⁺.     

Third-order elastic constants and pressure derivatives of the second-order elastic constants of β-tin

The second- and third-order elastic constants and pressure derivatives of second-order elastic constants of tetragonal β-tin have been obtained using the deformation theory. The strain energy density derived using the deformation theory is compared with the strain dependent lattice energy obtained from the elastic continuum model approximation to get the expressions for the second- and third-order elastic constants. Higher order elastic constants are a measure of the anharmonicity of a crystal lattice. The 12 non-vanishing third-order elastic constants and the six pressure derivatives of the second-order elastic constants in tetragonal β-tin are obtained in the present work and are compared with the available experimental values. The second-order elastic constant C₃₃ obtained in the present study is in reasonable agreement with the experimental values. The third-order elastic constants are generally one order of magnitude greater than the second-order elastic constants as expected of a crystalline solid. The third-order elastic constant C₃₃₃ is higher in magnitude than all other values. This shows a greater anharmonicity of β-tin along the c-axis direction of the crystal.     

A high-pressure Raman and X-ray diffraction study of the perovskite SrCeO3

A high-pressure structural study of SrCeO₃ has been performed at room temperature by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction up to 32 and 45 GPa, respectively. A first-order reversible phase transition is observed at about 12 GPa in both techniques. A second weak structural change, taking place between 18 and 25 GPa, can be suspected from Raman data. The increase in the number of Raman bands and diffraction lines is an indication that the symmetry is lowered and the compound does not evolve towards the ideal cubic perovskite structure. A Rietveld analysis of X-ray data was performed for the low-pressure phase and the atomic positions and the cell lattice parameters variations are reported in this paper. The volume compressibility derived from Raman modes (5.6×10⁻¹² Pa⁻¹), involving mainly bond-stretching for each type of polyhedron, is found to be close to the one obtained from volume cell variations measured by X-ray diffraction (7.9×10⁻¹² Pa⁻¹).     

Electrical and optical properties of GexFexSe100−2x chalcogenide thin films

Optical absorption at room temperature and electrical conductivity at temperatures between 283 and 333 K of vacuum evaporated Ge_xFe_xSe_100−2x (0≤x≤15) amorphous thin films have been studied as a function of composition and film thickness. It was found that the optical absorption is due to indirect transition and the energy gap increases with increasing both Ge and Fe content; on the other hand, the width of the band tail exhibits the opposite behavior. The optical band gap E_opt was found to be almost thickness independent. The electrical conductivity show two types of conduction, at higher temperature the conduction is due to extended states, while the conduction at low temperature is due to variable range hopping in the localized states near Fermi level. Increasing Ge and Fe contents were found to decrease the localized state density N(E_F), electrical conductivity and increase the activation energy for conduction, which is nearly thickness independent. Variation of the atomic densities ρ, molar volume V, glass transition temperature T_g cohesive energy C.E and number of constraints N_Co with average coordination number Z was investigated. The relationship between the optical gap and chemical composition is discussed in terms of the cohesive energy C.E, average heat of atomization and coordination numbers.     

Optical spectroscopy of Yb/Er codoped NaY(WO4)2 crystal

Erbium and ytterbium codoped double tungstates NaY(WO₄)₂ crystals were prepared by using Czochralski (CZ) pulling method. The absorption spectra in the region 290-2000 nm have been recorded at room temperature. The Judd-Ofelt theory was applied to the measured values of absorption line strengths to evaluate the spontaneous emission probabilities and stimulated emission cross sections of Er³⁺ ions in NaY(WO₄)₂ crystals. Intensive green and red lights were measured when the sample were pumped by a 974 nm laser diode (LD), especially, the intensities of green upconversion luminescence are very strong. The mechanism of energy transfer from Yb³⁺ to Er³⁺ ions was analyzed. Energy transfer and nonradiative relaxation played an important role in the upconversion process. Photoexcited luminescence experiments are also fulfilled to help analyzing the transit processes of the energy levels.     

Band structure calculations on the layered compounds FeGa2S4 and NiGa2S4

For the compounds FeGa₂S₄ and NiGa₂S₄ band structure calculations have been performed by the ab initio plane wave pseudo-potential method. The valence charge density distribution points to an ionic type of chemical bonding between the transition metal atoms and the ligand atoms. Two models for the pseudo-potentials are used to calculate the band structures: (a) only s and p electrons and (b) also the d-shells of the transition metal atoms are included in the pseudo-potentials. The differences between these two cases of band structures are discussed. Energy gap formation peculiarities are analysed for both crystals. Zak's elementary energy band concept is demonstrated for the energy spectra of the considered crystals.     

Site selection NMR study on electronic state in and near vortex core of YBa2Cu4O8

We report a site-selective ¹⁷O spin-lattice relaxation rate T₁⁻¹ in the vortex state of YBa₂Cu₄O₈. We found that T₁⁻¹ at the planar sites exhibits an unusual nonmonotonic NMR frequency dependence. Based on T₁⁻¹ in the vortex core region, we establish strong evidence that the local density of states within the vortex core is strongly reduced.     

A Feigenbaum sequence of bifurcations in the Lorenz model

For some high values of the Rayleigh numberr, the Lorenz model exhibits laminar behavior due to the presence of a stable periodic orbit. A detailed numerical study shows that, forr decreasing, the turbulent behavior is reached via an infinite sequence of bifurcations, whereas forr increasing, this is due to a collapse of the stable orbit to a hyperbolic one. The infinite sequence of bifurcations is found to be compatible with Feigenbaum's conjecture.