Fractal surface for calibration of an optical profiler

The surface profiler has become a basic metrology tool for the characterization of high-quality optical surfaces. The unknown effective resolution of the surface profiler is problematic in using the instrument, as it distorts the measured surface profile. In this paper, we suggest and describe the use of a fractal surface as a standard test surface with which to calibrate the effective resolution of a surface profiler. Fractal surfaces have the characteristics of irregularity, self-similarity and low correlation, with the correlation length being approximately equal to the length of the profile; therefore, a log-log plot of the power spectral density curve is a straight line. The power spectral density curves of fractal surfaces, which can be acquired through surface characterization techniques such as atomic force microscopy, are fitted to a straight line to act as a standard with which to calibrate an optical profiler in different ranges. Through calibration, we can obtain the effective resolution of the optical profiler, and the surface profiler is found to have good transmission capacity within the effective spatial frequency range.     

The twoscale asymptotic error analysis for piezoelectric problems in the quasi-periodic structure

Applications for piezoelectric efect have grown rapidly,and piezoelectric materials play important roles in countless areas of modern life.By means of twoscale method and coupled boundary layer,some new kinds of twoscale asymptotic expansions for solutions to the electrical potential and the displacement in quasi-periodic structure under coupled piezoelectric efect are derived,and the homogenization constants of piezoelectric materials are presented.The coupled twoscale relation between the electrical potential and the displacement is set up,and some improved asymptotic error estimates are analyzed.     

Langmuir-Blodgett self-assembly and electrochemical catalytic property of FePt magnetic nano-monolayer

Dispersed-well FePt nanoparticles with particle size ~5 nm have been prepared by hydrazine hydrate reduction of H₂PtCl₆·6H₂O and FeCl₂·4H₂O in ethanol–water system. By employing as-synthesized FePt nanoparticles, the monolayer can be formed by LB Technique. The structural, magnetic properties and electrochemical properties of FePt monolayer were respectively studied by XRD, TEM, VSM and CHI 820 electrochemical workstation. The as-synthesized particle has a chemically disordered fcc structure and can be transformed into chemically ordered fct structure after annealing treatment above 400°C. The coercivity of ordered fct FePt phase can be up to 2515Oe. CVs of 0.5 M H₂SO₄/0.5M CH₃OH on GCE modified with FePt nanoparticles monolayer films illustrate that the as-synthesized FePt is a kind of active electrochemical catalyst.     

Stability and electronic properties of carbon in α-Al2O3

The stability and electronic properties of carbon in α-Al₂O₃ are investigated using density functional theory. In the host lattice, the substitutional C prefers the Al site under the O-rich conditions, whereas the O site is preferred by carbon under the Al-rich conditions. The calculated results predict a direct relationship between the thermodynamic and optical transition levels with the degree of the local distortion induced by C in the alumina lattice. We also find C at the O site acts as a charge compensator to stabilize the F⁺ center, thereby enhancing the TL signal at 465 K. Also, C at Al site can serve as electron traps for TL emission process in α-Al₂O₃.     

Optical properties of GdTaO4:Eu thick films prepared from a PVP-containing solution

Transparent GdTaO₄:Eu³⁺ thick films were prepared from the inorganic salt and 2-methoxyethanol solution containing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) via sol-gel technique. The critical thickness of the film, i.e. the maximum thickness achievable without crack formation via non-repetitive deposition, was 0.8 μm. The effect of PVP on the morphology, crystallization behavior and optical property of the GdTaO₄:Eu³⁺ thick film was investigated. The results indicated that PVP could play an important role in the formation of transparent GdTaO₄:Eu³⁺ thick films, suppressing the stress evolution, adjusting the sol viscosity, ameliorating the crystallinity, and strengthening the covalency of Eu-O bonds. The GdTaO₄:Eu³⁺ thick films prepared with PVP exhibited a superior photoluminescence and X-ray exited luminescence, which implies that it will have promising applications in high-spatial-resolution X-ray imaging and flat panel display devices.     

Influence of environmental solution pH and microstructural parameters on mechanical behavior of amphoteric pH-sensitive hydrogels

Amphoteric hydrogels contain both ionizable acidic and basic groups attached on the polymer chains, which can change their volume in response to the slight alteration of the surrounding environmental p H. In this paper, a theory of equilibrium swelling of amphoteric p H-sensitive hydrogels which is an extension of the formalism proposed by Marcombe et al. and a new hybrid free-energy density function of amphoteric hydrogels composed of the Edwards-Vilgis slip-link model and the Flory-Huggins solution theory as well as the contributions of mixing the mobile ions with the solvent, and dissociating the acidic and basic groups are presented for the prediction of the influence of environmental solution p H, microstructural parameters and geometric constraints on mechanical behavior. The calculations were modeled on chitosan-genipin gels, and the results were compared to experimental data. Numerical calculations show that the model is able to predict the dependence of swelling on p H and crosslinker qualitatively well and quantitatively close to the experimental data. Each gel shows minimal swelling at low p H but an increase in swelling until a maximum was reached; for most of the p H range, a good fit was achieved except for where the maximum swelling occurs; for experimental data, the maximum swelling appears at about pH = 4 , but for modeled data the maximum swelling appears between pH = 4 and pH = 6 ; each gel swell decreasing with increasing crosslinker concentration was also successfully predicted. The calculated results also show that microstructural parameters and geometric constraints have a significant impact on the mechanical behavior of the amphoteric hydrogels; the gel swells less when the network is more densely entangled and the maximum swelling ratio of the gels under biaxial constraint is only about one-third of the maximum when the gels swell freely. The theory developed here is valuable for the design and optimization of a drug delivery system.     

Diameter-dependent thermal-oxidative stability of single-walled carbon nanotubes synthesized by a floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition method

In this paper, purified single-walled carbon naotubes (SWCNTs) with three different diameters were synthesized using a floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition method with ethanol as carbon feedstock, ferrocene as catalyst, and thiophene as growth promoter. The thermal-oxidative stability of different-diameter SWCNTs was studied by using thermal analysis (TG, DTA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The results indicate that small diameter SWCNTs (∼1 nm) are less stable and burn at lower temperature (610 °C), however, the larger diameter SWCNTs (∼5 nm) survive after burning at higher temperature (685 °C), the oxidation rate varies inversely with the tube diameter of SWCNTs, which may be concluded that the higher oxidation-resistant temperature of larger diameter SWCNTs can be attributed to the lower curvature-induced strain by rolling the planar graphene sheet for the larger diameter, so small tubes will become thermodynamically unstable.     

Sensitizing of Sm<Superscript>3+</Superscript> fluorescence by silver dopant in the TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> films

Composite material based on a TiO₂ matrix doped with Sm³⁺ ions and co-doped with silver was investigated. Samarium ions together with nano- and micro-aggregates of silver were incorporated into the titanium alkoxide during the sol-gel process. Samarium ions were excited either directly (λ _exc = 488 nm) or through the TiO₂ host (λ _exc = 355 nm). It was revealed that samarium fluorescence (λ _exc = 488 nm) in gelled TiO₂ films is enhanced by up to 20 times in the vicinity of silver inclusions. Sensitizing and plasmonic mechanisms of enhancement in Sm³⁺ fluorescence are discussed.     

Mo/Si aperiodic multilayer broadband reflective mirror for 12.5-28.5-nm wavelength range

Aperiodic molybdenum/silicon (Mo/Si) multilayer designed as a broadband reflective mirror with mean reflectivity of 10% over a wide wavelength range of 12.5-28.5 nm at incidence angle of 5° is developed using a numerical optimized method. The multilayer is prepared using direct current magnetron sputtering technology. The reflectivity is measured using synchrotron radiation. The measured mean reflectivity is 7.0% in the design wavelength range of 12.5-28.5 nm. This multilayer broadband reflective mirror can be used in extreme ultraviolet measurements and will greatly simplify the experimental arrangements.