Study of molecular surface coating on the stability of maghemite nanoparticles

In this study γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticle, surface-coated with increasing amount of oleic acid, have been prepared while the stability against particle degradation under laser excitation intensity was investigated. Maghemite nanoparticle was obtained via oxidation of magnetite nanoparticle, the latter synthesized by co-precipitation of Fe (II) and Fe (III) ions in alkaline medium. By varying the experimental conditions of surface-coating maghemite nanoparticles with oleic acid, samples with different grafting coefficient were obtained and investigated using X-ray diffraction and different spectroscopic techniques, namely Raman, Mössbauer, and infrared. The amount of oleic acid adsorbed on the maghemite surface was estimated via the carbon content obtained from elemental analysis.     

Carbon linear chains inside multiwalled nanotubes

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been deposited on graphite cathodes by using an arc discharge technique in He atmosphere, with the insertion of a catalytic Ni-Cr mixture as well as without catalysers. The topography of such deposition has been investigated by SEM, while a parallel micro-Raman study has revealed, in particular regions of the deposited cathodes, strong bands in the range 1780-1860 cm⁻¹, assignable to linear carbon chains inside the nanotubes. The variation of intensity, frequency and bandwidth of such bands has been investigated, in relation with the spectral characters of the host multiwalled carbon nanotube. In the cathode deposited without catalyst a quite ordered configuration of multiwalled carbon nanotubes is obtained in the central zone, while the maximum concentration of linear carbon chains is found in a ring shaped zone just inside the border. In sample obtained with catalyst the deposited multiwalled carbon nanotubes appear always more disordered, and a remarkable concentration of carbon chains appears in some zones, with a more casual distribution.     

Effects of metal irises on the guided-mode properties in asymmetrical slab waveguides

The diffraction phenomenon caused by metal transverse irises placed into an asymmetrical slab waveguide is examined by using the integral equation method. We concentrate on the possibility of controlling the radiation characteristics of the structure by changing the irises positions and the slab waveguide asymmetry. The aperture electric-field distribution is expressed in terms of a finite series of Chebyshev polynomials. The dominant TE guided-mode reflection and transmission coefficients, the near-field distribution and the far-field radiation pattern are calculated, while numerical results are presented for several cases of asymmetrical slab waveguides and different irises’ positions.     

Formation of the Si/Ti interface

The formation of the Si/Ti interface during the deposition of silicon on titanium polycrystalline substrates has been studied at room temperature (RT) using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), angle-resolved XPS (ARXPS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS). The experimental results are consistent with a two-stage mechanism for Si growth: a first stage characterized by the simultaneous formation of a uniform titanium silicide layer, that reaches a limiting thickness of ∼3 monolayer (ML), and pure silicon islands 1 ML thick that grow on top of this layer up to coalescence, followed by a second stage in which pure silicon islands, with an average thickness of 9 ML, grow on top of the uniform titanium silicide layer + pure silicon ML structure formed during the first stage. As a whole, pure silicon species grows according to a Stranski-Krastanov mechanism, where the first ML is formed during the first stage and the islands during the second stage. The comparison of Ti/Si and Si/Ti interfaces shows that the structure and composition of the interface do not depend substantially on the deposition sequence, suggesting that the bulk chemistry of the compound formed at the interface dominates over the surface kinetics and the bulk substrate chemistry in determining the composition and structure of the interface.     

The freeze of intrapulse Raman scattering effect of ultrashort solitons in optical fiber

The effect of intrapulse Raman scattering (IRS) for the propagation of the femtosecond solitons in an optical fiber is investigated. To factually simulate its influence, a combination of 27 Lorentian lines to fit experimental Raman gain profile is adopted. By using nonlinear Schrödinger equation and finite-difference time domain method, the propagations of femtosecond fundamental solitons in an optical fiber are numerically calculated. When the initial power is suitably enhanced, it is found that the pulse shape is almost the same as initial pulse and the delay Raman response only makes small pulse shift. In other words, when ultrashort soliton is considered, the IRS effect is similarly frozen under the enhanced initial power.     

Scattering of a Light Particle by a System of Harmonic Oscillators

We discuss the asymptotic wave function of a quantum system in ?³ composed by heavy and light particles, in the case where the light particles are in scattering states and no interaction is assumed among particles of the same kind. We first review a recent result concerning the case of K heavy and N light particles, where the one-particle potential acting on each heavy particle decays at infinity. Then we consider the case of one light particle interacting with a system of harmonic oscillators and prove the same kind of result following, with some modification, the proof of the previous case. A possible application to the analysis of the scattering of a light particle from condensed matter is also outlined.     

Crystal and magnetic structures of Y2CrS4

Chromium(II) sulfide, Y₂CrS₄, prepared by a solid-state reaction of Y₂S₃ and CrS, showed an antiferromagnetic transition at 65 K. The neutron diffraction patterns at 10 and 90 K were both well refined with the space group Pca2₁. At 90 K, cell parameters were a=12.5518(13) Å, b=7.5245(8) Å, and c=12.4918(13) Å. At 10 K, magnetic peaks were observed, which could be indexed on the same unit cell. Magnetic moments of chromium ions were parallel to the b-axis and antiferromagnetically ordered in each set of the 4a sites.     

On rainbows of inhomogeneous spherical droplets

The paper is devoted to the study of the intensity distributions and the angular spectra of the second and fifth rainbows of homogeneous and inhomogeneous spherical particles predicted by Lorenz-Mie theory. The results show that the distribution around the second rainbow angle for a homogeneous sphere of refractive index between 1.32 and 1.33 is due to the interference of the light after two or five internal reflections. The structure of the scattering diagram and the angular spectrum for homogeneous and radially inhomogeneous spheres are studied. For a homogeneous sphere we show that the second and fifth rainbows can be independently reconstructed by filtering the calculated spectrum. Since each order of rainbow penetrates the particle to different depths, such methods could be used to provide information about the refractive index profile or the temperature gradient of an inhomogeneous sphere. The Airy-like peaks of the second and fifth rainbows are closely connected with the refractive index profile, which is beneficial to the measurement of its refractive index profile or temperature gradient.     

Exact results in modeling planetary atmospheres—I. Gray atmospheres

An exact model is proposed for a gray, isotropically scattering planetary atmosphere in radiative equilibrium. The slab is illuminated on one side by a collimated beam and is bounded on the other side by an emitting and partially reflecting ground. We provide expressions for the incident and reflected fluxes on both boundary surfaces, as well as the temperature of the ground and the temperature distribution in the atmosphere, assuming the latter to be in local thermodynamic equilibrium. Tables and curves of the temperature distribution are included for various values of the optical thickness. Finally, semi-infinite atmospheres illuminated from the outside or by sources at infinity is dealt with.     

Temporal reflectance from a light pulse irradiated medium embedded with highly scattering cores

This paper presents a new approach to utilize ultrashort pulsed laser for optical diagnostics with numerical simulations. The method is based on the use of ultrafast pulses with a pulsewidth selected according to the probed medium's radiative property and/or size. Our previous work in nonhomogeneous media has shown that the resulting time-resolved reflectance signal will have a unique characteristic: it will show a direct correlation of ballistic photon travel time and interface location, which is in between different layers or nonhomogeneous regions. The premise is based on utilizing the medium's structural information carried by the ballistic and snake photons without being masked by the diffuse photons. In this study, the space-time correlation is further explored in the case of minimally scattered photons from a large scattering coefficient core region embedded within a less-scattering medium. Time-resolved reflectance signals of the single scattering core and multiple scattering cores within a three-dimensional medium demonstrate the concept and illustrate the additional effect due to the scattered photons from the core region. A unique temporal signal profile's correlation at various detector positions with respect to the scattering core is explained in detail. The result has important implications. This approach will lead to a much simpler and more precise determination of the probed medium's composition or structure. Due to the large computational requirement to obtain the physical details of the light pulse propagation inside highly scattering multi-dimensional media, the reverse Monte-Carlo method is used. The potential applications of the method include non-destructive diagnostics, optical imaging, and remote sensing of underwater objects.