Structure and mechanical properties of Al/AlN multilayer with different AlN layer thickness

Nanometer scale Al/AlN multilayers have been prepared by dc magnetron sputtering technique with a columnar target. A set of Al/AlN multilayers with the Al layer thickness of 2.9 nm and the AlN layer thickness variation from 1.13 to 6.81 nm were determined. Low angle X-ray diffraction (LAXRD) was used to analyze the layered structure of multilayers. The phase structure of the coatings was investigated with grazing angle XRD (GAXRD). Mechanical properties of these multilayers were thoroughly studied using a nanoindentation and ball-on-disk micro-tribometer. It was found that the multilayer hardness and reduced modulus showed no strong dependence on the AlN layer thickness. Al2.9 nm/AlN1.13 nm multilayer had more excellent tribological properties than single layers and other proportion multilayers with a lowest friction coefficient of 0.15. And the tribological properties of all the multilayers are superior to the AlN single layer.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Comment on</Emphasis>¶Low temperature specific heat of blue bronze K <Emphasis Type="Bold">0.30</Emphasis>MoO <Emphasis Type="Bold">3</Emphasis>, by J. Odin,J.C. Lasjaunias,K. Biljaković, K. Hasselbach,and P. Monceau

Eur. Phys. J. B 24, 315 (2001) Here we comment on a recently published paper on the presence of a phason contribution in the low temperature heat capacity data of the charge-density-wave compounds K_0.3MoO₃ and (TaSe₄)₂I. We have shown that the anomaly in the C _P / T ³ data reported by Odin et al. is straightforwardly interpreted in terms of low energy phonon modes resulting from the peculiar topology of these compounds. Received 21 February 2002 Published online 19 July 2002     

Study of the structural and optical properties of GaN/AlN quantum dot superlattices

We study GaN/AlN Quantum Dot (QD) superlattices utilizing the STREL environment which allows the building of atomistic models, relaxation of the structures, the calculation of the electronic states and optical transitions and the visualization of the results. The forces are calculated using an appropriate Keating or Stillinger–Weber interatomic potential model and the electronic states and optical transitions using a tight-binding formulation which is economical and produces realistic electronic properties. The relaxed structure has strains mainly in the GaN region which are compressive and small tensile strains in the AlN region, mainly below the QD. In the calculation of the electronic states and of the optical transitions the strains are included realistically at the atomistic level. The study of the wavefunctions close to the fundamental gap show how these strains influence the form and spatial extent of the wavefunction. Very close to the fundamental gap the valence and some conduction states are confined in the QD and have considerable oscillator strength.     

Preparation and characterization of ZnO nanorods from NaOH solutions with assisted electrical field

ZnO naorods on ZnO-coated seed substrates were fabricated by solution chemical method from Zn(NO₃)₂/NaOH under assisted electrical field. The working mechanism of electrical field was analyzed and the factors affecting the rod growth such as potential, precursor concentration and growth temperature were elucidated. The structural and optical properties are characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, HRTEM and UV-vis. The results indicated that the nanorods have wurtzite structure without electrical field and are primarily of zincite structure under electrical field; when the electrical field is 1.1-1.3 V, not only the elevation of ion diffusion and adsorption lower the crystallite/solution interfacial energy and then the crystal nucleation barrier by increasing charge intensity, but also the production of H⁺ through oxidation of OH⁻ increases properly the degree of solution supersaturation near the substrate, and thus lowers the activation energy. Both the two processes do favor to rod growth. With increasing precursor concentration in this system, the average diameter and length of ZnO nanorods increase, leading to decreasing of optical transmittance. The maximum rod growth rate at given concentration of Zn²⁺ occurs at a specific temperature.     

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.     

A new microtensile tester for the study of MEMS materials with the aid of atomic force microscopy

An apparatus has been designed and implemented to measure the elastic tensile properties (Young's modulus and tensile strength) of surface micromachined polysilicon specimens. The tensile specimens are “dog-bone” shaped ending in a large “paddle” for convenient electrostatic or, in the improved apparatus, ultraviolet (UV) light curable adhesive gripping deposited with electrostatically controlled manipulation. The typical test section of the specimens is 400 μm long with 2 μm×50 μm cross section. The new device supports a nanomechanics method developed in our laboratory to acquire surface topologies of deforming specimens by means of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to determine (fields of) strains via Digital Image Correlation (DIC). With this tool, high strength or non-linearly behaving materials can be tested under different environmental conditions by measuring the strains directly on the surface of the film with nanometer resolution.     

基于超分子结构共掺杂纳米复合薄膜的制备与荧光特性

为改善功能分了的特性,提出一种基于金属纳米粒子-偶氮染料复合物共掺杂超分子结构功能材料的设计新方法.并依照此方法制备出复合材料,观测了其显微结构,测量了其紫外-可见光吸收,研究了该超分子结构复合体系的荧光特性.实验发现,由于金属银纳米粒子的掺杂,使得超分子结构复合体系中功能分子甲基橙在溶液态体系的荧光强度增强近5倍,而在两种不同结构(共混结构和包覆结构)的薄膜态超分子结构体系中,其荧光强度分别被猝灭15%和20%.研究结果表明,复合膜中采用超分子结构完全能够改善功能分子的特性.     

Controlled structure and density of “living” polystyrene brushes on flat silica surfaces

Thin layers of polystyrene were grown from surface-grafted nitroxide initiators via controlled “living” free radical polymerization. The “reactive” Langmuir-Blodgett deposition method allowed an effective control of the initiator layer density leading to PS brushes with different and high grafting density and stretching. The influence of the grafting density on the layer structure was studied. Comparison with theoretical predictions for monodispersed brushes in bad solvent was discussed. The thickness was found to vary linearly with molecular weight and the density dependence was shown using wetting measurements. Special features of controlled radical nitroxide polymerization from a surface were discussed. A direct comparison of the molecular weight and polydispersity between surface and bulk polymers was made by de-grafting the brushes into a toluene/HF solution. Finally, some evidence of a “surface Fischer” effect was shown from re-initiated layers. Received 20 December 2001     

Preliminary results of a non-spherical aerosol method for the retrieval of the atmospheric aerosol optical properties

There is experimental evidence that the non-sphericity of certain atmospheric particles can cause scattering properties different from those predicted by standard Mie theory. Numerous studies indicate the need to consider the presence of non-spherical particles in modeling the optical properties of atmospheric aerosols. On the other hand, natural aerosols show a great variety of shapes, making difficult a realistic choice of a particle shape (or shape mixture) model. In this paper, we test a parameterization of the particle shape in the retrieval of size distribution, phase function, single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter from direct and sky-radiance measurements. For this purpose we have substituted the Kernel based on the Mie theory included in the model SKYRAD.PACK by one derived for non-spherical particles. The method is applied under different atmospheric conditions, including Saharan dust outbreak, polluted and local mineral episodes. We compare the results with those obtained by the well known spheroids algorithm used in the AERONET network.     

Density Correlations in the Two-Dimensional Coulomb Gas

We consider a two-dimensional Coulomb gas of positive and negative pointlike unit charges interacting via a logarithmic potential. The density (rather than the charge) correlation functions are studied. In the bulk, the form-factor theory of an equivalent sine-Gordon model is used to determine the density correlation length. At the surface of a rectilinear plain wall, the universality of the asymptotic behavior of the density correlations is suggested. A scaling analysis implies a local form of the compressibility sum rule near a hard wall. A symmetry of the Coulomb system with respect to the Möbius conformal transformation, which induces a gravitational source acting on the particle density, is established. Among the consequences, a universal term of the finite-size expansion of the grand potential is derived exactly for a disk geometry of the confining domain.