NIR to visible upconversion in Er/Yb co-doped CaYAl3O7 phosphor obtained by solution combustion process

Using the combustion synthesis, CaYAl₃O₇:Er³⁺ phosphor powders co-doped with Yb³⁺ have been prepared at low temperatures (550 °C) in a few minutes. Formation of the compound was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. Near-infrared to visible upconversion fluorescence emission in the Er³⁺ doped CaYAl₃O₇ phosphor powder has been observed. The effect of co-doping with triply ionized ytterbium in the CaYAl₃O₇:Er³⁺ phosphor has been studied and the process involved is discussed.     

Photoluminescence of patterned arrays of vertically stacked InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We report on photoluminescence measurements of vertically stacked InAs/GaAs quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy on focused ion beam patterned hole arrays with varying array spacing. Quantum dot emission at 1.24 eV was observed only on patterned regions, demonstrating preferential nucleation of optically active dots at desired locations and below the critical thickness for dot formation at these growth conditions. Photoluminescence measurements as a function of varying focused ion beam irradiated hole spacing showed that the quantum dot emission intensity increased with decreasing array periodicity, consistent with increasing dot density.     

Solvothermal synthesis and characterization of CdSe nanocrystals with controllable phase and morphology

Zinc blende (ZB) CdSe hollow nanospheres were solvothermally synthesized from the reaction of Cd(NO₃)₂·4H₂O with a homogeneously secondary Se source, which was first prepared by dissolving Se powder in the mixture of ethanol and oleic acid at 205 °C. As Se power directly reacted with Cd(NO₃)₂·4H₂O in the above mixed solvents, wurtzite (W) CdSe solid nanoparticles were produced. Time-dependent experiments suggested that the formation of CdSe hollow nanospheres was attributed to an inside-out Ostwald ripening process. The influences of reaction time, temperature and ethanol/oleic acid volume ratio on the morphology, phase and size of the hollow nanospheres were also studied. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy investigations revealed that oleic acid with long alkene chains behaved as a reducing agent to reduce Se powder to Se²⁻ in the synthesis. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements showed that the ZB CdSe hollow nanospheres presented an obvious blue-shifted emission by 42 nm, and the W CdSe solid nanoparticles exhibited a band gap emission of bulk counterpart.     

Intermediate-temperature polymorphic phase transition in KH2PO4: A synchrotron X-ray diffraction study

We have used synchrotron X-ray diffraction to investigate the structural and chemical changes undergone by polycrystalline KH₂PO₄ (KDP) upon heating within the 30-250 °C temperature interval. Our data show evidence of a polymorphic transition at T∼190 °C from the room-temperature tetragonal KDP phase to a new intermediate-temperature monoclinic KDP modification (spacegroup P2₁/m and lattice parameters a=7.590, b=6.209, c=4.530 Å, and β=107.36°). The monoclinic RDP polymorph remains stable upon further heating to 235 °C, and is isomorphic to its RbH₂PO₄ and CsH₂PO₄ counterparts.     

Kaleidoscope of life: A 24-neighbourhood outer-totalistic cellular automaton

One of the challenges of cellular automaton research is finding models with a low complexity and at the same time a rich dynamics. A measure of low complexity is the number of states in the model and the number of transition rules to switch between those states. In this paper, we propose a 2-dimensional 2-state cellular automaton that-though governed by a single simple transition rule-has a sufficiently rich dynamics to be computationally universal. According to the transition rule, a cell’s state is determined by the sum of the states of the cells at orthogonal or diagonal distances one or two from the cell (distance-2 Moore neighbourhood), but not by the previous state of the cell itself. Notwithstanding its simplicity, this model is able to generate a great variety of patterns, including several types of stable configurations, oscillators and patterns that move over cellular space (gliders). We prove the computational universality of the model by constructing a universal set of logic gates (NOT and AND) from these patterns. A key element in this proof is the shifting of phases and positions of signals such that they meet the input requirements of the logic gates. Similarities of the model with classical spin systems are also discussed.     

Isotopic heterogeneity in synthetic and natural silicon carbide

The distribution of both carbon and silicon isotopes in synthetic sublimation growth SiC wafers and in natural SiC grains was studied using secondary ion mass-spectrometry (SIMS). Significant variations in both isotopic ratios were observed which were broadly correlated with the crystalline perfection as documented by Raman microspectroscopy. Domains consisting of 15R (or with its admixture) are, on average, enriched in ¹²C isotope relative to 6H domains, and they also show larger scatter in their observed silicon isotope ratios. We ascribe such heterogeneity to fluctuations of Si/C ratio in the growth medium and it is possible to model the spatial extent of such fluctuations. For the natural SiC grains the isotopic data suggest that they grew under relatively stable conditions, although some of them show significant isotopic zoning.     

Charge dynamics and optical properties of layered cobaltates

We study the charge dynamics and electronic structure by optical spectroscopy technique. Here we focus on the following four issues: (1) the evolution of optical spectra with Na content; (2) the spectral features specific to different regions in the phase diagram; (3) the c-axis optical response for crystal at the A-type antiferromagnetic region; (4) the optical response of misfit-layered Bi₂M₂Co₂O_y (M=Ba, Sr, Ca) and Ca₃Co₄O_y single crystals.     

Low temperature synthesis of ITO nanoparticles using polyol process

A low temperature synthesis technique to prepare indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles by the polyol process is proposed. On examining the phase formation of ITO nanoparticles in polyols and alcohols such as ethylene glycol, trimethylene glycol, and 1-heptanol, it was found that ITO nanoparticles could be synthesized directly without any post--annealing treatments at 175 °C in 1-heptanol. The morphology of the particles is influenced by the type of polyol. The composition of Sn in the ITO system could be easily controlled by simply varying the In/Sn precursor ratio in 1-heptanol. The low temperature synthesis method has enabled the formation of highly crystalline ITO nanoparticles with diameters less than 25 nm even at annealing temperatures as high as 700 °C.     

Photoemission intensity oscillations in the valence bands of C70 film

We have measured and analyzed the photoemission spectra (PES) of a C₇₀ film in the photon energy region from 13.4 eV to 98.4 eV. The photoelectron intensities of two C 2p π-derived features (denoted by A and B) oscillate regularly in the whole energy region with some fine structures below ∼30 eV. To obtain the detailed information of the oscillations, we have developed a sophisticated but practical procedure for intensity calculation. The procedure consists of two core concepts. The first is ascribing the PES features to their corresponding molecular orbitals with the help of density functional calculations. The second is a background subtraction algorithm. With this procedure, we obtained the oscillating behavior for individual features (A and B), which is by and large consistent with the predictions based on the spherical symmetric approximation although C₇₀ has the ellipsoidal shape. Owing to the solid state effect, the oscillating amplitudes of the A/B intensity ratios are smaller than those of gas phase C₇₀, but an orbital shift reported recently was not observed on our sample. The oscillating curve of a deeper feature, which consists of both σ and π states, are also reported.     

Solution-combusting preparation of mono-dispersed Mn3O4 nanoparticles for electrochemical applications

Manganese oxide (Mn₃O₄) nanoparticles with average diameter of 15 nm were prepared using alcohol solution of manganese chloride as starting material via a facile solution-combusting method. The flame core zone was chosen to prepare mono-dispersed and high crystalline products, which were employed to modify glassy carbon electrode and detect dopamine via cyclic voltammetry. The results exhibited excellent electrochemical sensitivity. A linear relationship between the concentration of dopamine and its oxidation peak current was obtained by differential pulse voltammetry, which will find wide application in the biological detection.