Analysis of atomic arrangement in magnetic Fe–Pt nanoparticles

The order parameter S of Fe–Pt nanoparticles is estimated from X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The total intensity of a diffraction peak is obtained by Rietveld analysis as well as simply integrating the intensity. The Rietveld analysis is found to provide a plausible value of S even for a sample showing an XRD pattern with broad and overlapped peaks. Another order parameter Q, which is obtained from Mössbauer spectra, is introduced, and it is confirmed that Q is equivalent to the probability of Fe atoms being in the L1₀-type atomic arrangement. The coercivity of Fe–Pt nanoparticles is directly proportional to Q, while it vanishes at S=0.4, indicating that the magnetic property of Fe–Pt nanoparticles has a closer relationship to Q than S.     

微脉冲电子枪的初步实验研究

给出了微脉冲电子枪的模拟计算及其初步实验结果. 该电子枪采用铜铝镁合金作为冷阴极材料, 在以磁控管作为微波功率源的出束实验中得到了100mA/cm²的电流密度.实验结果与次级电子倍增解析计算和SEEG程序的模拟计算结果基本符合, 初步验证了微脉冲电子枪的基本原理, 为今后实验中得到更大的电流密度打下了基础.     

3004铝合金“反常”锯齿屈服现象的研究

在应变速率为5.56×10^-5s^-1—5.56×10^-3s^-1的范围内，在不同温度下(从223K至773K)，对3004铝合金进行系列拉伸试验，探索其锯齿屈服规律；通过激活能的计算、内耗研究、微观组织观察和能谱分析，探讨锯齿屈服的机理与物理本质.结果表明，3004铝合金在形变过程中会出现动态应变时效现象；发现了一种“反常”的锯齿屈服现象：在出现锯齿屈服的温区内，存在锯齿屈服临界应变量转变温度T_t， 关键词： 动态应变时效 锯齿屈服 铝合金 内耗     

STM/AFM studies of the evolution of morphology of electroplated Ni/W alloys

The surface morphology evolution of Ni/W alloys was studied, as a function of the alloy composition. Using the modified plating baths developed in our laboratory recently, electroplated Ni/W alloys with different W content, in the range of 7–67 atom percent (a/o), can be obtained. This was found to lead to different structures, ranging from polycrystalline fcc-Ni type structure to amorphous, followed by orthorhombic with increasing W content in the alloy. Powder XRD was studied to determine the crystal structures. Ex situ STM, AFM and SEM were used to study in detail the surface morphologies of the different alloys, and their evolution with increasing W content.

The important findings are that a mixture of two crystalline forms can give rise to an amorphous structure. Hillocks that are usually a characteristic of epitaxial growth can also exist in the amorphous alloys. Oriented scratches caused by stress can also be formed.

Up to 20 a/o of W is deposited in the alloys in crystalline form, with the fcc-Ni type structure. Between 20 and about 40 a/o an amorphous structure is observed, and above that an orthorhombic crystal structure is seen, which is characteristic of the NiW binary alloy. Careful choice of the composition of the plating bath allowed us to deposit an alloy containing 67 a/o W, which corresponds to the composition NiW₂.     

LaB6在低压强氮气和氦气中的放电特性

 研究了LaB₆在1~10 Pa氮气和氦气中的直流和脉冲放电特性以及放电过程对电极的影响。结果表明，电极直径为5 mm的LaB6氦气放电管在脉冲工作状态下可以长期稳定放电。在脉冲电压为2.2 kV、脉冲宽度10 ms、频率13.3 Hz下，脉冲峰值放电电流超过120 A。氦气放电管在放电过程中，阴极表面有离子的清洗和活化作用，可以使电极的表面逸出功降低，提高放电管的发射能力和稳定性。LaB₆作为气体放电电极具有寿命长、延迟时间短、放电电流大等优点，可用于重复强流脉冲气体放电的高压高速开关器件。     

High-throughput concept for tailoring switchable mirrors

The optical properties, the switching kinetics and the lifetime of hydrogen switchable mirrors based on Mg-Ni alloys are determined with particular regard to the composition of the optically active metal-hydride layer in combination with the thickness of the catalytic capping layer. For this, a high-throughput experiment is introduced. The switching kinetics and the reversibility of switchable mirrors are strongly thickness dependent, though the details hinge on the fine structure of the clustered capping layer. Therefore, the kinetics is correlated with the surface structures of Pd on Mg_yNi_1−y as investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. The results are explained by the so-called strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) state, characterized by a complete encapsulation of the capping layer clusters by oxidized species originating from the support. The SMSI-effect is less important with increasing Pd-layer thickness, and is suppressed by a good wetting of the Pd-clusters on the optically active film. This explains the critical thickness for the catalyzed hydrogen uptake observed in many switchable mirror systems. Moreover, the degradation of the kinetics during cycling is found to depend on the Pd-layer thickness and on the gas environment. Only films, covered with at least 15 nm Pd, show small degradation caused by the SMSI-effect. The SMSI-effect is partly reversible: after changing the gas environment from hydrogen to oxygen, the oxide on the Pd-clusters can be partly removed.     

Alloy formation in mechanically activated mixtures

The physical mixtures of hydroxocarbonates of Cu and Ni with aluminium were activated using a laboratory planetary mill. The chemical reactions and alloy formations as the effects of grinding were followed by the phase analysis of solid products based on the thermogravimetry and X-ray diffractometry. Experimental evidence indicates that the nature of reactions and products of mechanical activation was dependent on the amount of aluminium and time of grinding. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Nanocrystalline ceramic films for efficient conversion of light into electricity

Transparent nanocrystalline films of oxide semiconductors such as TiO₂ and Fe₂O₃ have been prepared on a conducting glass support employing a sol-gel procedure. The films are composed of nanometer-sized particles sintered together to allow for percolative charge carrier transport. The internal surface of these films is very high, roughness factors of the order of 1000 being readily obtained. Electric polarization was applied for forward and reverse biasing of the films and the resulting optical changes have been analyzed to derive their flat band potential. Band gap excitation of such nanocrystalline semiconductors produces electron-hole pairs which migrate through the film to be collected as electric current. Steady state photolysis and time resolved laser techniques have been applied to scrutinize the mechanism of light induced charge separation within the nanostructure. When derivatized with a suitable chromophore, TiO₂ films give extraordinary efficiencies for the conversion of incident photons into electric current, exceeding 90% for certain transition metal complexes within the wavelength range of their absorption band. The underlying physical principles of these astonishing findings will be discussed. Exploiting this discovery, we have developed a new type of photovoltaic device whose overall light to electric energy conversion yield is 10% under simulated AM 1.5 solar radiation.