Effect of manganese addition on physical properties of Co0.6Zn0.4MnxFe2-xO4 system

X-ray analysis and magnetic properties have been studied for the system Co_0.6Zn_0.4Mn_xFe_2-xO₄. The bulk density, X-ray density and porosity were also studied. It was found that the lattice constant decreased with increasing manganese concentration x. The X-ray density, the bulk density and porosity do depend on the manganese content. The magnetic susceptibility and the activation energies were found to be increased with increasing percentage of the manganese ions while the dc conductivity decreased.     

Effect of pressure on optical and electrical properties of tungsten diselenide single crystals

Optical absorption spectra of tungsten diselenide (WSe₂) single crystals subjected to different values of pressure (0, 2, 4 and 6 GPa) were obtained in the spectral range 700–1450 nm with the help of a UV–VIS–NIR spectrophotometer. The spectra were thoroughly analyzed in the absorption edge region for obtaining direct as well as indirect band gaps in this material. The high temperature resistivity and thermoelectric power on WSe₂ single crystals at various pressures were also studied. The results and their implications are discussed in the article.     

The elastic,electronic, and optical properties of PtSi and PtGe compounds

The structural, mechanical, electronic and optical properties of orthorhombic PtSi and PtGe were investigated using norm-conserving pseudopotentials within the local density approximation in the frame of density functional theory. The calculated lattice parameters and bulk modulus for PtSi and PtGe have been compared with the experimental and theoretical values. The second-order elastic constants were calculated, and the other related quantities such as the Young's modulus, shear modulus, Poisson's ratio, anisotropy factor, sound velocities and Debye temperature have also been estimated. The linear photon-energy dependent dielectric functions and some optical properties such as the energy-loss function, the effective number of valance electrons and the effective optical dielectric constant were calculated. Our structural estimation and some other results are in agreement with the available experimental and theoretical data.     

Optical studies of samarium-doped fluoride nanoparticles

Samarium-doped calcium fluoride (CaF₂) nanoparticles were synthesized by the co-precipitation method and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. The PXRD patterns confirmed the cubic crystallinity of the synthesized nanoparticles. The average particle size estimated using Scherer's formula was ～20?nm. The purity of the synthesized nanoparticles was confirmed by the FTIR spectrum. The morphological features studied using SEM revealed that the nanoparticles were agglomerated and porous. The optical absorption spectrum showed a strong and prominent absorption peak at ～264?nm and a weak one at ～212?nm. The PL spectrum showed broad and prominent emissions with peaks at ～387 and 532?nm along with weak emissions at 573 and 605?nm.     

Indentation of transversely isotropic power-law hardening materials: computational modelling of the forward and reverse problems

Using a combination of dimensional analysis and large deformation finite element simulations of triple indentations of 120 materials, a framework for capturing the indentation response of transversely isotropic materials is developed. By considering 4800 combinations of material properties within the bounds of the original set of 120 materials, forward algorithms that predict the indentation response of materials and reverse algorithms that predict the materials’ elastic and plastic properties from experimentally measured indentation responses are formulated for both longitudinal and transverse indentations. Issues of accuracy, reversibility, uniqueness and sensitivity within the context of the indentation of transversely isotropic materials are addressed carefully. Using 1400 combinations of material properties, it is demonstrated that there is perfect reversibility between the material properties and their indentation responses as predicted by the forward and reverse algorithms. On average, the differences between the results of the finite element analysis and those predicted by the forward algorithms for longitudinal or transverse indentations are less than 1%, thus demonstrating the high accuracy and uniqueness of the forward analysis. For longitudinal and transverse indentations, the reverse algorithms provide accurate results in most cases with an average error of 3 and 6%, respectively. A sensitivity analysis with a ±2% variation in the material properties in the forward algorithm and ±2% variation in the indentation responses in the reverse algorithms demonstrated the robustness of the algorithms developed in the present study, with the longitudinal indentations providing relatively less sensitivity to variability in indentation responses as compared to the transverse indentations.     

Destruction of Landau levels in asymmetric bilayer nanographene ribbons

Magneto-electronic properties of asymmetric bilayer nanographene ribbons are enriched by geometric structures, interlayer atomic interactions, magnetic quantization and finite-size confinement. There are drastic changes on the band symmetry, the degeneracy of the partial flat bands, the number of band-edge states, the energy dispersion, the carrier density, and the spatial symmetry of the wave function. Quasi-Landau levels might be converted into oscillating bands where extra band-edge states are created. When the upper ribbon is located at the ribbon centre, the Landau wave functions are completely destroyed. Meanwhile, a charge transfer between different layers or different sublattices in the same layer occurs. Furthermore, the density of states, reflecting the band structure, is also severely altered in terms of the number, structure, energy, and height of the prominent peaks.     

单轴应变对氮化铟电子结构及光学性质的影响

采用密度泛函理论框架下的第一性原理平面波赝势方法,计算单轴应变下闪锌矿氮化铟的电子结构及光学性质.结果表明：施加应变会使带隙变窄.对于拉应变,随着应变增大带隙减小程度增大;对于压应变,随应变增大带隙减小程度减弱;且拉、压应变对带隙调控都是线性的.在能量区间4 eV~12 eV范围内施加应变时,氮化铟的吸收光谱发生红移,随拉应变程度增加,吸收光谱的红移进一步加大;随压应变增加,吸收光谱红移减弱;在该范围内,氮化铟的折射率、反射率随拉应变的增大而增加,随压应变增加减小;施加拉应变时能量损失函数峰值增大,施加压应变后能量损失函数峰值减小.通过施加单轴应变能有效调节氮化铟材料的电结构及光学性质.     

High pressure electrical transport behavior in SrF_2 nanoplates

The charge transport behavior of strontium fluoride nanocrystals has been investigated by in situ impedance measurement up to 35 GPa.It was found that the parameters changed discontinuously at each phase transition.The charge carriers in SrF_2 nanocrystals include both F~-ions and electrons.In the Fm3 m phase,pressure makes the electronic transport easier,while makes it more difficult in the Pnma phase.The defects at grain boundaries dominate the electronic transport process.Pressure could make the charge-discharge processes in the Fm3 m phase much easier,but make it more difficult in the Pnma phase.     

Effect of ion beam irradiation on palladium (II) acetyl acetonate dispersed in polymer matrix

Composites, containing different concentrations of palladium (II) acetylacetonate in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) matrix were prepared by vigorous mixing. PMMA was prepared by solution polymerization technique. The composites were irradiated with a 120 MeV Ni¹⁰⁺ beam at two different fluences of 1×10¹¹ and 5×10¹² ions/cm² to study ion-induced effects on their dielectric, structural properties and surface morphology. AC electrical properties of these samples were studied in the frequency range 100 Hz to 10 MHz. The dielectric permittivity/loss shows frequency dependent behavior and it obeys the universal law of dielectric (i.e. ?α f ^n?1) for pristine and irradiated samples at high frequency. The crystalline size and crystallinity of the composites were studied by X-ray diffraction analysis. Decrease in peak intensity after irradiation signifies the amorphization which is also responsible for decrease in T _g as obtained by means of differential scanning calorimetry measurement. Fourier transform infrared spectra also support this result. Surface roughness increases upon irradiation as observed from scanning electron microscopy.     

Near infrared to UV dielectric functions of Al doped ZnO films deposited on c-plane sapphire substrate using pulsed laser deposition

Transparent conducting polycrystalline Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films were deposited on sapphire substrates at substrate temperatures ranging from 200 to 300 °C by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). X-ray diffraction measurement shows that the crystalline quality of AZO films was improved with increased substrate temperature. The electrical and optical properties of the AZO films have been systematically studied via various experimental tools. The room-temperature micro-photoluminescence (µ-PL) spectra show a strong ultraviolet (UV) excitonic emission and weak deep-level emission, which indicate low structural defects in the films. A Raman shift of about 11 cm⁻¹ is observed for the first-order longitudinal-optical (LO) phonon peak for AZO films when compared to the LO phonon peak of bulk ZnO. The Raman spectra obtained with UV resonant excitation at room temperature show multi-phonon LO modes up to third order. Optical response due to free electrons of the AZO films was characterized in the photon energy range from 0.6 to 6.5 eV by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). The free electron response was expressed by a simple Drude model combined with the Cauchy model are reported.