Structural ordering of ω-ferrocenylalkanethiol monolayers on Au(1 1 1) studied by scanning tunneling microscopy

The self-assembly of ω-ferrocenylalkanethiols (FcCnSH) with different alkyl-spacer lengths on Au(1 1 1) substrates has been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Upon deposition at room temperature FcCnSH molecules tend to form multilayers, while by thermal treatment monolayer formation, a rearrangement of the molecules and the formation of ordered domains is achieved. The surface structure of the resulting full coverage self-assembled monolayers is resolved with molecular resolution by STM. The ordered monolayer structure of ω-ferrocenylpropanethiol is discussed in comparison with its bulk crystal structure, derived from single crystal X-ray analysis. Based on these results a monolayer structure of ω-ferrocenylalkanethiols with longer alkyl chains closely related to the bulk crystal structure of the shorter alkyl-spacer derivates is suggested. Our results provide detailed insight into the self-assembly of FcCnSH on gold substrates.     

Photoinduced optical activity of C<Subscript>70</Subscript> fullerene in organic solvents

We have experimentally studied for the first time the effect of photoinduced rotation of the plane of polarization for pulsed laser radiation in solutions of C₇₀ fullerene in organic solvents and their mixtures. We have shown that the effect is observed for elliptical polarization of the laser radiation and is absent for linear polarization. We present the results of a study of the nonlinear optical characteristics of the C₇₀ solutions. We discuss the physical mechanisms by which nonlinear gyrotropy is induced in solutions. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 76, No. 1, pp. 93–99, January–February, 2009.     

Stability in a general coupled laser array

For the first time we have presented a method to investigate the stability of quiescent state in a coupled laser array. By introducing tiny perturbation, stability of quiescent state can be known by investigating eigenvalues of coefficient matrix of the corresponding linear differential equations. Only when real parts of the eigenvalues were all negative or zero, the corresponding quiescent state is stable. Two tapes of coupled laser array with loop and linear topological structure were studied respectively. It was found that there were innumerable quiescent states and they could be divided into several types based on phase relation. Some types were stable and others were unstable. Topological structure affects the stability of quiescent state in a coupled laser array.     

Electrical behavior of high resistivity Ce-doped BiFeO3 multiferroic

Bi_1+xCe_xFeO₃ (Ce–BFO) for x=0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 monophasic ceramic samples were successfully synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction routes. The influences of Ce doping on structural, dielectric, ferroelectric, leakage current and capacitive properties of BiFeO₃ ceramics were investigated intensively. At higher concentrations of x (x=0.1 and 0.15) the samples showed good crystallinity with almost impurity free phases. No structural phase transformation took place after partial doping of Ce ions and all ceramic bulk samples remain in their rhombohedral structure with space group R3c. The dielectric behavior of the samples improved significantly and the ferroelectric hysteresis loops changed their shape from rounded to a strongly nonlinear typical ferroelectric feature mainly originating from the domain switching and became enhanced with increase in doping concentration of cerium (Ce). Experimental results also suggested that partial doping of higher valence, smaller ionic radius Ce ions in BiFeO₃ forces the reduction of oxygen vacancies, resulting in a great suppression of leakage current. It is found that the sharp capacitance peak/discontinuity present in the C–V characteristics of Ce–BFO for different Ce doping concentrations is directly associated with the polarization reversal. Incorporation of excess bismuth in the presence of Ce in BiFeO₃ is expected to compensate Bi loss during high temperature sintering and caused structural distortion which also favors enhancement of ferroelectric properties in Ce-doped BFO.     

Coupling Losses for Resonators with Unequal Apertures for Extended Fresnel Numbers

Coupling losses have been calculated for laser resonators with unequal apertures and extended Fresnel Numbers. This was done using both, diffraction theory and a simple linear model.A close form expression was derived to calculate coupling losses with reasonable accuracies for a limited range of paramters. This should help in the preliminary design of hole coupling laser resonators.     

Bimodal Nanoparticle Size Distributions Produced by Laser Ablation of Microparticles in Aerosols

Silver nanoparticles were produced by laser ablation of a continuously flowing aerosol of microparticles in nitrogen at varying laser fluences. Transmission electron micrographs were analyzed to determine the effect of laser fluence on the nanoparticle size distribution. These distributions exhibited bimodality with a large number of particles in a mode at small sizes (3–6-nm) and a second, less populated mode at larger sizes (11–16-nm). Both modes shifted to larger sizes with increasing laser fluence, with the small size mode shifting by 35% and the larger size mode by 25% over a fluence range of 0.3–4.2-J/cm². Size histograms for each mode were found to be well represented by log-normal distributions. The distribution of mass displayed a striking shift from the large to the small size mode with increasing laser fluence. These results are discussed in terms of a model of nanoparticle formation from two distinct laser–solid interactions. Initially, laser vaporization of material from the surface leads to condensation of nanoparticles in the ambient gas. Material evaporation occurs until the plasma breakdown threshold of the microparticles is reached, generating a shock wave that propagates through the remaining material. Rapid condensation of the vapor in the low-pressure region occurs behind the traveling shock wave. Measurement of particle size distributions versus gas pressure in the ablation region, as well as, versus microparticle feedstock size confirmed the assignment of the larger size mode to surface-vaporization and the smaller size mode to shock-formed nanoparticles.     

Far infrared sub-nanosecond pulse generation in GaP with a time-synchronized mode-locked double-frequency Nd: Glass laser system

Light pulses of 149 m wavelength and 700 ps duration are generated by non-collinear phase-matched difference frequency mixing of laser pulses at 1053.5 and 1061 nm in a (110) cut GaP crystal. The pump laser pulses are generated in a time-synchronized mode-locked double-frequency Nd:glass laser system consisting of a silicate glass branch and a phosphate glass branch. A photon conversion efficiency of 4 × 10^–6 is achieved. The non-linear susceptibility constant of GaP is determined to be d ₁₄ = (10 ± 1) pm V^–1.     

Insertion loss of sound waves through composite acoustic window materials

This study evaluated the insertion loss of sound waves through composite acoustic window materials for sonar dome applications, and examined the influence of dome shape on the sonar performance. The insertion loss of sound waves through acoustic window materials was experimentally measured as a function of frequency at normal incidence. The insertion loss was also theoretically estimated with three- and four-medium layer models. The theoretical estimation of insertion loss showed good agreement with the experimental measurements. The insertion loss was also measured as a function of angle of incidence. The characteristics of longitudinal and converted shear waves were observed at various angles of incidence. This study will be useful to select acoustic window materials with the appropriate acoustic characteristics for practical sonar dome applications.     

Molecular orientation of thiol-derivatized tetraphenylporphyrin on gold studied by XPS and NEXAFS

Tetraphenylporphyrins bearing four linkers consisting of thioacetyl-functionalized carbon chains were immobilized on a gold surface via thiolate-gold bonds using two different preparation routes. The structure of these molecular layers was characterized in detail with synchrotron radiation based core-level spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. The results show that the geometry of the molecular layers and the number of linkers that bind to the gold surface depends on the preparation schemes. The deprotection of the linkers through removal of the terminal acetyl group before the molecular adsorption (deprotected systems) resulted in porphyrins bound to the gold surface with on the average three linkers, their normal axis being tilted ∼38° with respect to the surface normal. On the other hand, porphyrin layers prepared directly with the acetyl group still in place on the linkers (protected systems) are made of molecules bound to the gold surface via two linkers on the average. The resulting orientation is more upright, with the normal axis of the porphyrin plane tilted ∼50° with respect to the surface normal. Moreover, NEXAFS measurements revealed that the acetyl deprotected porphyrin layers have a higher degree of ordering than the protected systems.     

Subpicosecond laser ablation of copper and fused silica: Initiation threshold and plasma expansion

We investigated the subpicosecond laser ablation of copper and fused silica under 100 fs laser irradiation at 800 nm in vacuum by means of fast plume imaging and time- and space-resolved optical emission spectroscopy. We found that, to the difference of copper ablation, the laser-generated plasma from a fused silica target exhibited one “main” component only. The “slow” plasma component, observed during copper ablation and usually assigned to optical emission from nanoparticles was not detected by either plasma fast imaging or optical emission spectroscopy even when fused silica targets were submitted to the highest incident fluences used in our experiments. The characteristic expansion velocity of this unique component was about three times larger than the velocity of the fast plume component observed during copper ablation. The dependence of laser fluence on both plasma expansion and ablation rate was investigated and discussed in terms of ablation efficiency and initiation mechanisms.