Luminescence investigations of the GaP-based dilute nitride Ga(NAsP) material system

Multi-quantum well heterostructures (MQWHs) of the novel Ga(NAsP)/GaP material system have been grown, pseudomorphically strained to GaP-substrate. The crystalline perfection is verified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For As-concentrations in excess of about 70%, a direct band structure and adequate luminescence efficiency for laser device application is observed. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) investigations show the influence of carrier localisation and non-radiative recombination processes typical for dilute nitride materials. With rising N content in the active material, the emission wavelength shifts towards longer wavelength, leading to Ga(NAs)/GaP MQW structures with photon energies below the indirect band gap of silicon (Si). At the same time the luminescence intensity drops due to an increase in non-radiative carrier traps and/or structural degradation.     

Converged properties of clean metal surfaces by all-electron first-principles calculations

All-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave calculations of the surface energy, work function, and interlayer spacings of close-packed metal surfaces are presented, in particular, for the free-electron-like metal surfaces, Mg(0 0 0 1) and Al(1 1 1), and for the transition metal surfaces, Ti(0 0 0 1), Cu(1 1 1), Pd(1 1 1), and Pt(1 1 1). We investigate the convergence of the surface energy as a function of the number of layers in the slab, using the Cu(1 1 1) surface as an example. The results show that the surface energy, as obtained using total energies of the slab and bulk from separate calculations, converges well with respect to the number of layers in the slab. Obviously, it is necessary that bulk and surface calculations are performed with the same high accuracy. Furthermore, we discuss the performance of the local-density and generalized gradient approximations for the exchange-correlation functional in describing the various surface properties.     

The response of thermally and optically stimulated luminescence from Al2O3:C to high-energy heavy charged particles

The thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) response of Al₂O₃ dosimeters to high-energy heavy charged particles (HCP) has been studied using the heavy ion medical accelarator at Chiba, Japan. The samples were Al₂O₃ single-crystal chips, of the type usually known as TLD-500, and Luxel^TM dosimeters (Al₂O₃:C powder in plastic) from Landauer Inc. The samples were exposed to ⁴He (150 MeV/u), ¹²C (400 MeV/u), ²⁸Si (490 MeV/u) and ⁵⁶Fe (500 MeV/u) ions, with linear energy transfer values covering the range from 2.26 to 189 keV/μm in water and doses from 1 to 100 mGy (to water). A ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y beta source, calibrated against a ⁶⁰Co secondary standard, was used for calibration purposes. For OSL, we used both continuous-wave OSL measurements (CW-OSL, using green light stimulation at 525 nm) and pulsed OSL measurements (POSL, using 532 nm stimulation from a Nd:YAG Q-switched laser). The efficiencies (η_HCP,γ) of the different HCPs at producing OSL or TL were observed to depend not only upon the linear energy transfer (LET) of the HCP, but also upon the sample type (single crystal chip or Luxel^TM) and the luminescence method used to define the signal—i.e. TL, CW-OSL initial intensity, CW-OSL total area, or POSL. Observed changes in shape of the decay curve lead to potential methods for extracting LET information of unknown radiation fields. A discussion of the results is given, including the potential use of OSL from Al₂O₃ in the areas of space radiation dosimetry and radiation oncology.     

Zur Synthese und Struktur von K3N

Synthesis and Structure of K₃N Two phases in the binary system K/N have been obtained via co‐deposition of potassium and nitrogen onto polished sapphire at 77 K and subsequent heating to room temperature. The powder diffraction pattern of one of these phases can be satisfactorily interpreted by assuming the composition K₃N, and the anti‐TiI₃ structure‐type, which is also adopted by Cs₃O. The resulting hexagonal lattice constants are: a = 779.8(2), c = 759.2(9) pm, Z = 2, P6₃/mcm. Comparison with possible structures of K₃N generated by computational methods and refined at Hartree‐Fock‐ and DFT level, reveals that the energetically most favoured structure has not formed (presumable Li₃P‐type), but instead one of those with very low density. In this respect, the findings for K₃N are analogous to the results on Na₃N. The thermal evolution of the deposited starting mixture has been investigated. Hexagonal K₃N transforms to another K/N phase at 233 K. Its XRD can be fully indexed resulting in an orthorhombic cell a = 1163, b = 596, c = 718 pm. Decomposition leaving elemental potassium as the only residue occurs at 263 K.     

A turbidimetric method to measure isoelectric points and particles deposition onto massive substrates

A simple experimental approach was developed to determine the adhesion rate of particles onto massive substrate. Turbidimetry measurements are used to follow the evolution of particle concentration in a suspension in dynamic contact with the walls of a vessel made of different materials. This method allows to rapidly obtain qualitative results about the adhesion of metallic oxides particles on massive substrates. Adhesion of particles of charged latex onto glass was used to validate the approach and was shown to be a method to determine isoelectric points (IEP) of massive substrates. Then, the adhesion of an iron oxide (hematite) particles onto several substrates was studied to determine the reactivity of current labware (glass, polypropylene) and on a metal (aluminum) commonly found in industrial fouling problems. Adhesion of hematite was found to be pH-dependant, and occurs only below ca. 6 (glass) or 7 (polypropylene), and above 7 (aluminum). DLVO calculations were performed to model the hematite/water/glass system and are consistent with the experimental results. Experiments at temperature 7–50 °C have shown an increasing of the adhesion rate from 7 to 40 °C, then a constant value until 50 °C.     

Thermal conductivity, dislocation density and GaN device design

The performance of high power transistor devices is intimately connected to the substrate thermal conductivity. In this study, the relationship between thermal conductivity and dislocation density is examined using the 3 omega technique and free standing HVPE GaN substrates. Dislocation density is measured using imaging cathodoluminescence. In a low dislocation density regime below 10⁵ cm⁻², the thermal conductivity appears to plateau out near 230 W/K m and can be altered by the presence of isotopic defects and point defects. For high dislocation densities the thermal conductivity is severely degraded due to phonon scattering from dislocations. These results are applied to the design of homoepitaxially and heteroepitaxially grown HEMT devices and the efficiency of heat extraction and the influence of lateral heat spreading on device performance are compared.     

Immobilization of thiabendazole-specific monoclonal antibodies to silicon substrates via aqueous silanization

Monoclonal antibodies specific for thiabendazole were immobilized to silicon, silicon dioxide, stoichiometric silicon nitride, and silicon-rich silicon nitride surfaces. This work provides the foundation for the development of a homogeneous sensor system for rapid detection and quantification of thiabendazole residues in produce and animal tissue. Immobilization was performed via aqueous silanization of the substrate followed sequentially by treatment with glutaraldehyde and contact with antibody solution in the presence of detergent. Surfaces were challenged with thiabendazole-horseradish peroxidase conjugate in an ELISA format to estimate immobilized antibody load. A stable and reproducible surface loading of 2 x 10¹¹ antibodies/cm² was obtained only after surfaces received postimmobilization treatments to remove nonspecifically adsorbed antibody. No difference in surface loading was noted when using 30% hydrogen peroxide rather than nitric acid for silanol activation. Little difference was noted among the antibody loadings achieved on the various silicon substrates. Bound antigen-enzyme conjugate was eluted with 0.1N acetic acid and reproducible surface activity was measured for up to four consecutive antigen challenges. Immobilized antibody surfaces were stabilized with 2% sucrose, dehydrated at 37‡C and stored in vacuum or stored at 4‡C in phosphate buffered saline containing 0.01% sodium azide without significant loss of activity.     

RuO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> mixed oxide composite coating for improvement of Al-alloy sacrificial anodes

It has been recently proved that RuO₂ can act as an effective surface activator of aluminum alloy sacrificial anodes. TiO₂ has the property of stabilizing RuO₂ coating and resisting biofouling on metal surfaces. Hence, a mixed oxide catalytic coating of TiO₂ and RuO₂ can enhance the galvanic performance of aluminum alloy sacrificial anodes and resists biofouling on the anode surface. In the present work RuO₂–TiO₂ mixed oxide was coated on aluminum alloy sacrificial anodes. The large and uniform porous nature of the coating was found to facilitate efficient ion diffusion. The coating was found to persist on the anode even after 3 months of galvanic exposure. The anode having an optimum combination of the mixed oxide had 70% TiO₂ as the major component in the coating. The catalytic coating significantly improved the performance of the anodes to a large extent.     

碱改性γ－Al_2O_3催化剂表面碱强度分布与COS水解活性的研究

用非水滴定法和Ｈａｍｍｅｔｔ系列指示剂测定了ＣＯＳ水解碱改性γ－Ａｌ_２Ｏ_３催化剂的表面碱强度分布．发现表面碱强度分布不均匀与表面能量分布不均匀相呼应．采用零点酸碱强度（Ｈ_（０，ｍａｘ））及碱中心区域分析法，Ｂｒｏｎｓｔｅｄ催化定律，进一步证实ＣＯＳ水解反应具有明显碱催化特征，较高活性催化剂的Ｈ_（０，ｍａｘ）一般为１０左右，对ＣＯＳ水解反应起主要作用的碱性中心的碱强度（Ｈ_０）为４．８≤Ｈ_０≤９．８．对碱金属氧化物改性后的γ－Ａｌ_２Ｏ_３催化剂，Ｂｒｏｎｓｔｅｄ规律在每个碱强度分区域内是适用的．     

氮化铁催化剂的制备及其苯胺催化加氢性能

用α－Ｆｅ２Ｏ３与氨气程序升温还原方法制备出不同温度氮气的氮化铁系列催化剂。通过ＸＲＤ测试对氮化过程中的晶相转变进行了分析。在中压反应装置上考察了氮化铁系列催化剂上苯胺加氢活性以及反应条件对苯胺加氢反应活性的影响。结果表明，在７００℃氮化制香的氮化铁催化剂显示有较高的苯胺加氢活性，在氢压为３．０ＭＰａ，温度为２５０℃，ｎ（Ｈ２）／ｎ（ｏｉｌ）＝１８，液体空速（ＷＨＳＶ）为０．３ｈ＾－１时，该催化剂