Shell model interaction between proton holes and between proton holes and neutron particles around 208Pb

An effective residual interaction between particles and holes for shell model calculations around ²⁰⁸Pb, derived from the interaction between free nucleons, is compared with the measured properties of proton-hole neutron states in ²⁰⁸Tl and the interaction between proton holes is adjusted to newly measured level energies in ²⁰⁶Hg. These interaction elements are particularly relevant for neutron-rich nuclei. The adjustment of two mixing elements reproduces the known γ-decay data in ²⁰⁸Tl. Received: 2 April 2002 / Accepted: 2 May 2002     

Effect of annealing temperature on the optical and electrical properties of amorphous As45.2Te46.6In8.2 thin films

The optical absorption of the As-prepared and annealed As_45.2Te_46.6In_8.2 thin films are studied. Films annealed at temperatures higher than 453 K show a decrease in the optical energy gap (E_o). The value of E_o increases from 1.9 to 2.43 eV with increasing thickness of the As-prepared films from 60 to 140 nm. The effect of thickness on high frequency dielectric constant (?_∞) and carrier concentration (N) is also studied. The crystalline structures of the As_45.2Te_46.6In_8.2 thin films resulting from heat treatment of the As-prepared film at different elevated temperatures is studied by X-ray diffraction. An amorphous-crystalline transformation is observed after annealing at temperatures higher than 453 K. The electrical conductivity at low temperatures is found due to the electrons transport by hopping among the localized states near the Fermi level. With annealing the films at temperatures higher than 473 K (the crystallization onset temperature) for 1 h, the electrical conductivity increases and the activation energy decreases, which can be attributed to the amorphous-crystalline transformations.     

Linear and nonlinear optical susceptibilities of orthorhombic rare earth molybdates RE2(MoO4)3

The dielectric responses (i.e. the refractive indices and the second order nonlinear susceptibilities) of all orthorhombic rare earth molybdates have been studied on the basis of the relationship between dielectric responses and the average atomic number of constituent atoms of crystals. Both the linear and second order nonlinear optical responses at 1.064 μm decrease with increasing atomic number from La to Lu.     

Relationship between chemical bond parameters and superconducting temperature in HgBa2Can−1CunO2n+2+δ (n=1, 2, 3, 4)

Bond covalency and valence of elements in HgBa₂Ca_n−1Cu_nO_2n+2+δ (n=1, 2, 3, 4) were calculated and their relationship with T_c was discussed. For both oxygen and argon annealed samples, the results indicated that with the increase of n, the trend of bond covalency of Hg-O and Cu-O was the same or opposite compared with that of superconducting temperature. This may suggest that the magnitudes of Cu-O and Hg-O bond covalency are important in governing the superconducting temperature. For the highest T_c sample, Hg had the lowest valence, implying that lower valence of Hg was preferred in order to produce higher T_c. For fixed n, the valence of Cu in oxygen annealed samples was larger than that in argon annealed samples, indicating that oxygen annealed samples produced more carriers than argon annealed samples.     

Frequency dependence of ionic conductivity and dielectric relaxation studies in Na3H(SO4)2 single crystal

Electrical impedance measurements of Na₃H(SO₄)₂ were performed as a function of both temperature and frequency. The electrical conductivity and dielectric relaxation have been evaluated. The temperature dependence of electrical conductivity reveals that the sample crystals transformed to the fast ionic state in the high temperature phase. The dynamical disordering of hydrogen and sodium atoms and the orientation of SO₄ tetrahedra results in fast ionic conductivity. In addition to the proton conduction, the possibility of a Na⁺ contribution to the conductivity in the high temperature phase is proposed. The frequency dependence of AC conductivity is proportional to ω^s. The value of the exponent, s, lies between 0.85 and 0.46 in the room temperature phase, whereas it remains almost constant, 0.6, in the high-temperature phase. The dielectric dispersion is examined using the modulus formalism. An Arrhenius-type behavior is observed when the crystal undergoes the structural phase transition.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of phase transition in AgNO3

Structural phase transition in AgNO₃ at high temperature is simulated by molecular dynamics. The simulations are based on the potentials calculated from the Gordon-Kim modified electron-gas formalism extended to molecular ionic crystals. AgNO₃ transforms into rhombohedral structure at high temperature and the phase transition is associated with the rotations of the NO₃ ions and displacements of the NO₃ and Ag ions.     

Influence of vapor transport equilibration on Raman spectra of Er:LiNbO3 crystals

Raman spectra of as-grown and vapor transport equilibration (VTE) treated Er:LiNbO₃ crystals, which have different cut orientations (X-cut and Z-cut), different Er-doping levels (Er:(0.2, 0.4 and 2.0 mol%)LiNbO₃) and different VTE durations (80, 120, 150 and 180 h), were recorded at room temperature in the wavenumber range 50-1000 cm⁻¹ by using backward scattering geometry. The spectra were attributed on the basis of their spectral features and the previous experimental work and the most recent theoretical progress in lattice dynamics on pure LiNbO₃. In comparison with the pure crystal the most remarkable effect of Er-doping on the Raman spectrum is observed for the E(TO₉) mode. It does not appear at 610 cm⁻¹ as the pure crystal, but locates at 633 cm⁻¹. In addition, the doping also results in the lowering of the Raman phonon frequency, the broadening of the Raman linewidth and the changes of the relative Raman intensity of some peaks. The VTE treatment results in the narrowing of the linewidth, the recovery of the lowered phonon frequency and the further changes of relative Raman intensity. The narrowing of Raman linewidth indicates that the VTE processing has brought these crystals closer to stoichiometric composition. The VTE treatment has induced the formation of a precipitate ErNbO₄ in the high-doped Er(2.0%):LiNbO₃ crystals whether X- or Z-cut. For these precipitated crystals, besides above linewidth and phonon frequency features, they also display more significant Raman intensity changes compared with those not precipitated crystals. In addition, a slight mixing between A₁(TO) and E(TO) spectra is also observed for these precipitated crystals. Above doping and VTE effects on Raman spectra were quantitatively or qualitatively correlated with the characteristics of the crystal structure and phonon vibrational system.     

Phase transition of Ta2NiO6 with the trirutile-type structure under high pressure and high temperature

High-pressure phase transition of Ta₂NiO₆ with the trirutile-type structure was investigated from the viewpoint of crystal chemistry. A new quenchable high-pressure phase was found in the pressure range higher than 7 GPa and 900°C. The high-pressure phase has an orthorhombic cell (a=4.797(1) Å, b=5.153(2) Å and c=14.85(1) Å and space group; Abm2), and it is more dense by 9.6% than the trirutile-structured phase. Infrared spectra of the trirutile-type phase and the high-pressure phase show that Ni²⁺ ions in the high-pressure phase are still in octahedral sites. The crystal structure of the high-pressure phase is considered as a cation-ordering trifluorite-type structure, which can be stabilized by a crystal field effect of Ni²⁺ ions.     

The steady state growth rate of a recrystallization front in regions of heterogeneous dislocation density

The paper investigates whether a change from a homogeneous to an inhomogeneous dislocation distribution, assumed to be caused by a slight additional deformation, can lead to an increase of the recrystallization temperature of a deformed metal. In this case, the higher temperature would indicate a more stable deformation structure despite the increase of stored energy. The recrystallization temperature is related to the growth rate. Hence, the steady state velocity of a recrystallization front moving either parallel or vertically to the stripes of a simplified two-dimensional heterogeneous dislocation distribution of parallel sections of higher and lower dislocation densities is calculated. The results show that if a front growths through the high and low density sections in series an overall slower rate despite higher mean dislocation density is, indeed, possible. However, growing in the parallel arrangement always leads to a higher growth rate compared with the homogeneous case of slightly less stored energy. Since in a real structure the faster growth is likely to succeed, the recrystallization temperature observed will be lowered with additional deformation in accordance with experimental experience.     

Effect of AgNO3 additive/doping on microstructure and superconductivity of the Pb doped Hg: 1223 thin film prepared through spray pyrolysis

We report successful fabrication of Ag doped Hg:1223 films by reacting Ba₂Ca_2.3Cu_3.3O_z(Ag_y): y=0, 0.02, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 precursors deposited by spray pyrolysis on SrTiO₃ (100) substrates, in controlled Hg+Pb ambient, in an evacuated sealed quartz tube at 820 °C for 4 h. The effects of AgNO₃ addition on the superconducting properties of Hg/(Pb):1223 films are studied. The addition of low concentration of silver e.g. y≈0.025 results in a slight increase in T_c (R=0) from 125 to 126 K and the dc critical current density (J_c) decreases with the increasing Ag in Hg(Pb):1223 (Ag_y) films. The microstructural details exhibit the curious characteristics of spiral like features for lower concentrations of silver i.e. up to y=0.05. These improvements are believed to be due to the liberation of oxygen through the dissociation of AgNO₃ at higher temperature and passivation of weak link effects through the segregation of silver at these grain boundaries. The addition of silver content y≥0.05 resulted in the decrease in transition temperature. The J_c is observed to decrease steadily with increasing Ag content. The microstructural features, e.g. spiral are also found to deteriorate with increasing silver content. The deterioration in superconducting properties at high Ag content is believed to be mainly due to the formation of Ag-Hg amalgam.