A modern approach to the solution and analysis of the Simha-Somcynsky model for the description of pressure-volume-temperature properties of polymer fluids

We revisit the Simha-Somcynsky model of polymer fluids with the purpose of developing novel theoretical and computational approaches to simplify and speed up its solution as well as the fitting of experimental data, and decrease its level of mathematical complexity. We report a novel method that allows us to solve one of the two equations of the model exactly, thus putting the level of mathematical difficulty on a par with the one of other models for polymer fluids. Moreover, we describe a computational algorithm capable of fitting all five parameters of the model in an unbiased way. The results obtained reproduce literature results and fit experimental pressure-volume-temperature and solubility parameter data for three polymers very accurately. Moreover, the new techniques allow for the investigation of the model at very low temperatures. Unexpectedly, the model predicts behaviors that could be interpreted as a glass transition, as routinely observed in dilatometry and differential scanning calorimetry, and a glass phase. We compared the predicted and experimental T g’s for cis poly(1,4-butadiene) and found an excellent quantitative agreement.     

Phase separation in blends of two homopolymers and a diblock copolymer during film casting

Demixing during film casting of blends of polystyrene, polymethylmethacrylate, and a symmetric diblock copolymer of styrene and methylmethacrylate is discussed. The concentration fluctuations in the homogeneous solutions were calculated in mean field approximation. The structures in the homogeneous and demixed solutions and in the dry films were measured by small-angle x-ray scattering, and the morphologies of the dry films were characterized by transmission electron microscopy. The structure of the dry blends is evidently already pre-formed in solution.     

Surface structures formed by individual adsorption and coadsorption of Mn and Bi on Cu(0 0 1), studied by LEED

We have studied the individual adsorption of Mn and Bi, and their coadsorption on Cu(0 0 1) by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). For Mn, we have determined the c(2 × 2) structure formed at 300 K, whose structure had been determined by several methods. We reconfirmed by a tensor LEED analysis that it is a substitutional structure and that a previously reported large corrugation (0.30 Å) between substitutional Mn and remaining surface Cu atoms coincides perfectly with the present value. In the individual adsorption of Bi, we have found a c(4 × 2) structure, which is formed by cooling below ∼250 K a surface prepared by Bi deposition of ∼0.25 ML coverage at 300 K where streaky half-order LEED spots appear. The c(4 × 2) structure has been determined by the tensor LEED analysis at 130 K and it is a substitutional structure. In the coadsorption, we found a c(6 × 4) structure, which has been determined by the tensor LEED analysis. It is very similar to the previously determined structure of the c(6 × 4) formed by coadsorption of Mg and Bi, and embedded MnBi₄ clusters are arranged in the top Cu layer instead of MgBi₄. Large lateral displacements of Bi atoms in the c(6 × 4)-(Mn + Bi) suggest that the Mn atoms undergo the size-enhancement caused by their large magnetic moment.     

A comparative study of the structure and crystallization of bulk metallic amorphous rod Pr60Ni30Al10 and melt-spun metallic amorphous ribbon Al87Ni10Pr3

Pr-based bulk metallic amorphous （BMA） rods （Pr60Ni30Al10） and Al-based amorphous ribbons （Al87Ni10Pr3） have been prepared by using copper mould casting and single roller melt-spun techniques, respectively. Thermal parameters deduced from differential scanning calorimeter （DSC） indicate that the glass-forming ability （GFA） of Pr60Ni30Al10 BMA rod is far higher than that of Al87Ni10Pr3 ribbon. A comparative study about the differences in structure between the two kinds of glass-forming alloys, superheated viscosity and crystallization are also made. Compared with the amorphous alloy Al87Ni10Pr3, the BMA alloy Pr60Ni30Al10 shows high thermal stability and large viscosity, small diffusivity at the same superheated temperatures. The results of x-Ray diffraction （XRD） and transmission electron microscope （TEM） show the pronounced difference in structure between the two amorphous alloys. Together with crystallization results, the main structure compositions of the amorphous samples are confirmed. It seems that the higher the GFA, the more topological type clusters in the Pr-Ni-Al amorphous alloys, the GFAs of the present glass-forming alloys are closely related to their structures.     

Investigations of Solid State Dynamics at the NRSSR Beamline at PETRA II. An Overview

The present status of the new nuclear resonance beamline PETRA 1 at HASYLAB, DESY, Hamburg is described. Besides an overview of the experimental setup some examples of recent experiments are given. Those cover the main applications, i.e., inelastic scattering from iron alloys and quasielastic scattering from glass-forming liquids. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

CaractErisation Par DSC Des Sequences De Transformation Au Cours D'un Chauffage Lent Des Alliages Amf A Base De Cu–Al–Ni

Quenching of the eutectoidal composition of the shape memory alloys (SMA’s) allowed us to display the gradual transition of the martensitic structure as a function of the composition. Indeed, we have verified that for low Al and Ni percentages, the martensite structure obtained is β′, while, for high Al and Ni (Al<13.3 mass%) contents, the martensite structure is essentially of β₁′ type. Elsewhere, we have observed that a nickel addition (<4.3 mass%) operates simultaneously on the composition of the eutectoidal pointand the domain of the different martensitic structures types. During reheating of the quenched structure, the transformation sequences of the martensite to the parent phase (β1), then the decomposition of the later phase into the equilibrium phases, and finally, the redissolution of all phases to form the β phase at high temperature, are rather similar. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

掺钕聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯的光学特性

研究了制备的掺钕螯合物Nd(DBM)3Phen材料的吸收光谱、激发光谱、荧光光谱,应用Judd-Ofelt理论计算了该材料的强度参量．分析了钕离子激发态4F3／2的辐射寿命(631 μs)和4F3／2→4IJ′跃迁的受激发射截面和荧光分支比．     

Co-Segregation Effects on Boundary Migration

We analyze the effect of co-segregation on the mobility of grain boundaries within the framework of the impurity drag theory originally proposed by Cahn and Lücke and Stüwe for an ideal solution. The new derivation extends this model to the case where there are two types of impurities (or three components in the alloy). Since the resultant expression for the boundary mobility is complicated, numerical solutions were obtained for several cases to show how co-segregation affects the boundary mobility. Depending on the relative diffusivities of the two impurities which are both attracted to the boundary, the mobility may either increase or decrease with increasing concentration of one of the impurities. When one of the impurities is attracted to the boundary and the other repelled from the boundary, increasing the concentration of the attractive impurity can lead to a sharp decrease in the boundary mobility.     

Single-mode rib polymer waveguides and electro-optic polymer waveguide switches

Mode-matching and effective index methods are used to analyze single-mode operation of optical rib polymer waveguides. Their single-mode waveguiding conditions are determined. Single-mode rib waveguides fabricated from guest–host polyetherketone are presented. The estimated propagation loss of straight rib-waveguides is 0.7 dB/cm at 1.55 μm. Furthermore, by using the mode field-transfer matrix method, 2×2 and 4×4 polymer Mach–Zehnder interference switch operating at 1.55 μm wavelength has been designed based on optical multi-mode interference.     

GaAsN/AlAs/AlGaAs double barrier quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy as an alternative to infrared absorption below 4 μm

In this work, we report on the design, growth and characterization of GaAsN/AlAs/AlGaAs double barrier quantum well infrared detectors to achieve intraband absorption below 4 μm. Due to the high effective mass of N-dilute alloys, it is common for these N-containing double barrier quantum well structures to have more than one bound state within the quantum well, enabling the possibility of achieving multispectral absorption from these confined levels to the quasi-bound. Based on a transfer matrix calculation we will study the influence of the potential parameters, in particular the well width and the introduction of a GaAs spacer layer in between the N-well and the AlAs barriers. We will compare the case in which there are two confined levels with the case in which only one level is bound, like in the conventional AlGaAs/AlAs/GaAs structures. On the basis of the simulation, we have grown and characterized some N-containing double barrier detectors. Moreover, an optimization of the post-growth annealing treatments of the GaAsN quantum well structures has also been performed. Finally, room temperature absorption measurements of both as-grown and annealed samples are presented and analyzed.