Microstructure and tribological performance of self-lubricating diamond/tetrahedral amorphous carbon composite film

In order to smooth the rough surface and further improve the wear-resistance of coarse chemical vapor deposition diamond films, diamond/tetrahedral amorphous carbon composite films were synthesized by a two-step preparation technique including hot-filament chemical vapor deposition for polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and subsequent filtered cathodic vacuum arc growth for tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C). The microstructure and tribological performance of the composite films were investigated by means of various characterization techniques. The results indicated that the composite films consisted of a thick well-grained diamond base layer with a thickness up to 150 μm and a thin covering ta-C layer with a thickness of about 0.3 μm, and sp³-C fraction up to 73.93%. Deposition of a smooth ta-C film on coarse polycrystalline diamond films was proved to be an effective tool to lower the surface roughness of the polycrystalline diamond film. The wear-resistance of the diamond film was also enhanced by the self-lubricating effect of the covering ta-C film due to graphitic phase transformation. Under dry pin-on-disk wear test against Si₃N₄ ball, the friction coefficients of the composite films were much lower than that of the single PCD film. An extremely low friction coefficient (∼0.05) was achieved for the PCD/ta-C composite film. Moreover, the addition of Ti interlayer between the ta-C and the PCD layers can further reduce the surface roughness of the composite film. The main wear mechanism of the composite films was abrasive wear.     

De Rham complex with ternary differential on the quantum group SL h (2)

In this work, we construct the de Rham complex with the differential operator d satisfying theQ-Leibniz rule, whereQ is a complex number, and the condition d³=0 (ternary differential) on theh-deformed quantum plane in dimension two following the general formalism elaborated in [Bazunova et al.: Czech. J. Phys.51 (2001) 1226]. Then we construct the de Rham complex on the group SL _h (2) which preserves theh-deformed quantum plane by the differentiation of RTT-relations, and, introducing the Maurer-Cartan forms, get an analog of the Maurer-Cartan equation. Presented at the 11th Colloquium “Quantum Groups and Integrable Systems”, Prague, 20–22 June 2002.     

Geometrical relationship between elemental composition and molecular size in carbonaceous materials

Thermal treatment of carbonaceous materials shows two related phenomena: the graphene molecule (or carbon layer) increases in size and its carbon content also increases. In this work, a simple relationship between both effects was deducted, based on the structure geometry of carbonaceous materials. This relationship provides an approach to the mean size of graphene molecules which is more accurate than that acquired through different experimental techniques.     

Twist deformations for algebras of motion

We study the twist deformations of algebras of motiong ^H ⊂ sl(N) with the Cartan subalgebraH(g^H) equal toH(sl(N)). The proposed deformations are maximal in the sense that their carrier algebrasg _c coincide withg ^H. The algebraic properties are demonstrated forg ^H ⊂ sl(5). Presented at the 11th Colloquium “Quantum Groups and Integrable Systems”, Prague, 20–22 June 2002. This work has been partially supported by the Russian Foundation for Fundamental Research under the grant N 00-01-00500.     

Comment on “Minimal parabolic quantum groups in twist deformations" by M. Ilyin and V. Lyakhovsky On a “new" deformation of GL(2)

We refute a recent claim in the literature [Czech. J. Phys. 56, 1191 (2006)] of a “new" quantum deformation of GL(2).     

Fabrication of a graphene field effect transistor array on microchannels for ethanol sensing

A new approach to the fabrication of back-gated graphene FET (field effect transistor) arrays on microchannels was investigated. Narrow walls fabricated on a substrate with SU-8 (a negative photoresist), with top metal electrodes were pressed onto another silicon/SiO₂ substrate with predeposited graphene pieces such that the electrodes came into contact with graphene pieces and formed the source and drain contact. The SU-8 narrow walls with the top metal layer were fabricated by the conventional lift-off process. The graphene pieces were reduced chemically from graphite oxide. The I_DS changed immediately by more than 17% when the device was exposed to an ethanol atmosphere. The current recovered very well after the ethanol gas was pumped out. The SU-8 microchannels served as gas flow passages that helped the ethanol vapor reach the sensitive region of the device: the graphene channel. This work provides a convenient way of constructing back-gated graphene FETs for sensing applications. This method could potentially be scaled up for mass production.     

Majorana zero modes in graphene with trigonal warping

We study the low energy properties of warped monolayer graphene, where the symmetry of the original honeycomb lattice reveals itself. The zero energy solutions are Majorana fermions, whose wave function, originating from the corresponding modified Dirac equation is spatially localized. Experimental consequences are discussed. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Differential structure on the κ-Minkowski spacetime from twist

We study four-dimensional κ  -Minkowski spacetime constructed by the twist deformation of U(igl(4,R))$U(\mathit{igl}(4,R))$. We demonstrate that the differential structure of such twist-deformed κ-Minkowski spacetime is closed in four dimensions contrary to the construction of κ-Poincaré bicovariant calculus which needs an extra fifth dimension. Our construction holds in arbitrary dimensional spacetimes.     

Carbon nanodot arrays grown as replicas of specially widened anodic aluminum oxide pore arrays

Via a specially widened anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) pore arrays, carbon nanodot arrays with uniform size and high density were obtained through filtered cathodic arc plasma (FCAP) technique. The AAO template was prepared in oxalic acid by multi-steps to get a specially enlarged opening which plays an important role in the deposition of nanodots. The morphology of the nanodots was studied by a field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The diameter of the as-prepared nanodot demonstrated here is about 100 nm at the bottom and less than 40 nm at the top, and the density was estimated to 10¹⁰ cm⁻². Field emission properties of the nanodot arrays were investigated and a low threshold field of 5.1 V/μm at 10 mA/cm² was obtained. In this paper, the carbon nanodot arrays grown as replicas of the specially widened AAO template may support a strategy to realize the fabrication of nanodot arrays with various materials.     

HPHT Synthesis of Different Shape Coarse-Grain Diamond Single Crystals

Synthesis of coarse-grain diamond crystals is studied in a China-type SPD6× 1670T cubic high-pressure apparatus with high exact control system. To synthesize high quality coarse-grain diamond crystals, advanced indirect heat assembly, powder catalyst technology and optimized synthesis craft are used. At last, three kinds of coarse- grain diamond （about 0.85 mm） single crystals with hexahedron, hex-octahedron and octahedron are synthesized successfully under HPHT （about 5.4 GPa, 1300-1450℃）. The growth characters of different shape crystals are discussed. The results and techniques might be useful for the production of coarse-grain diamonds.