ALBERT

Notes: Studies of nonlinear acoustic interactions in superfluid helium at temperatures below 0.2 K have culminated in the construction of an all-acoustic parametric amplifier at gigahertz frequencies. This device represents the shortest wavelength parametric amplifier ever made, with signal wavelengths shorter than 1000 A(ring) and pump wavelengths shorter than 600 A(ring). In the experiment, plane waves are mixed at a predefined angle in the superfluid helium. Two gain regimes are observed. The first regime is a noncollinear phase-matched process, in which the signal phonon stimulates decay of the pump phonon to create gain at the signal frequency. The second regime is a four-phonon collinear process, in which gain on the signal is created by the second harmonic of the pump. This four-phonon process is unusual and is shown to be a combination of three-phonon processes wherein the lack of conservation of energy and momentum in one process is mostly compensated by the other.

Notes: The ferromagnetic Heusler alloy Pd2MnSn shows large reduction in magnetization by cold working, without any appreciable change in the Curie temperature. In order to clarify the relationship between the reduction and the defect structure in Pd2MnSn, transmission electron microscopic observation, high-resolution neutron powder diffraction, and magnetization studies have been performed. In the deformed Pd2MnSn sample, dislocations are distributed inhomogeneously and form a cell structure. In the cell walls, a large amount of antiphase domain boundaries exist. A method of Rietveld refinement has been proposed for analyzing the powder neutron diffraction patterns of the cold-worked sample, where all the contributions of defects (size, strain, and antiphase domain boundary) and the instrumental resolution to each reflection line are expressed in terms of Fourier coefficients, and inverse Fourier transforms of those product represent the calculated profile which is used for least-squares refinement. Analyzing the experimental data with the method proposed, it is concluded that the reduction in magnetization in the deformed Pd2MnSn is due to an increase in the number of small antiphase domains which couple antiferromagnetically to each other.

Notes: A Raman study has been performed, under resonant conditions, on a GaAs bevelled-edge layer grown on a Si substrate to characterize the optical and crystalline properties of the epilayer near the interface. According to the geometrical characteristics of the sample, a theoretical expression for the Raman intensities profile has been established and compared to the experimental data. This fitting procedure enables us to investigate the absorption coefficient of the GaAs layer due to the disorder-induced softening of the E1 edge. A quantitative analysis of the lattice disorder has been carried out on both longitudinal and transverse optical modes by studying the Raman line-shape evolution versus the laser spot position on the bevel edge. From this study, we have followed the recovery of the crystalline quality of the epilayer while going away from the interface, and evaluated the "Raman thickness'' of the dislocated layer. Using the spatial correlation model as a relationship between the disorder amount and the outcoming effects on the Raman line peaks, we have estimated the dislocation density at the heterostructure interface.

Notes: Examination with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of CF4 plasma etched GaAs(100) wafers unveils a residual surface reaction layer composed of Ga-fluoride and Ga-oxide. Efficient removal of this contamination layer by a brief immersion in a dilute NH4OH wet etch is demonstrated. The formation of a thin native oxide upon exposure to atmosphere of the clean substrate surface cannot be avoided, however. Prospective replacement of this wet etch processing by in situ thermal annealing in hydrogen was investigated. The recorded XPS spectra show almost complete desorption of fluorine after annealing at 200 °C, whereas a temperature of ∼600 °C is required for entire removal of residual surface Ga-oxide. Heat treatment in H2 also compares favorably with vacuum annealing, for which a noticeable reduction of the surface contamination layer was found only after annealing at 600 °C. The cleaning efficiency of hydrogen processing may be attributed to the reactive nature of this ambient.

Notes: Time-dependent production of higher-silane gases and a-Si:H film are measured relative to decomposed silane in rf and dc, hot and cold cathode, static-gas discharges. From the absence of higher-silane production in very low silane partial-pressure discharges, it is inferred that most higher silanes are produced by gas-phase SiH2-initiated reactions. The higher silanes are thus tracers of SiH2, while the film production traces the fraction of H, SiH, and SiH3 in the initial decomposition. From the measured stable product yields, we deduce that SiH4→SiH2+2H is the dominant electron-collisional dissociation channel.

Notes: Three methods of evaluating the second-order contributions to the mechanical velocity shift and reflection coefficient for isotropic groove gratings are presented. The second-order terms contain the effect of evanescent and bulk modes generated through the interaction of a surface acoustic wave with a periodic overlay. All three methods will be shown to be numerically equivalent when calculated self-consistently, verifying the validity of all three within their respective limitations. The extension of these methods to arbitrary anisotropic substrates and overlays is discussed.

Notes: Characteristics of phototriggered discharges in pure argon and neon have been experimentally and theoretically investigated at pressures between 0.5 and 5 bars and reduced electric fields E/N in the range 5 to 50 Td. Emphasis is laid on the breakdown delay time, defined as the time lag between the application of a very short preionization pulse and the occurrence of the discharge. The model, developed in the frame of the local field approximation, gives breakdown delay time values in excellent agreement with the experimental results. However, in pure neon, the experiments have revealed a large influence of very small amounts of easily ionizable impurities. The calculations point out that the discharge behavior is mainly determined by the electron multiplication rate due to direct ionization of ground state atoms. Other ionizing processes, such as two-step ionization or Penning effects, or the electrical parameters of the circuit (inductance, capacitance, and intensity of the preionization) have only a secondary effect on the breakdown delay time.

Notes: Fully developed, viscous liquid-metal velocity profiles and induced magnetic field contours were studied for Hartmann numbers of M=2 and 10 and for different load currents for a particular rectangular channel configuration (two-dimensional Couette flow). The rectangular channel was assumed to have a homogeneous external (axial) magnetic field parallel to the moving, perfectly conducting top wall and the stationary, perfectly conducting bottom wall. The two stationary side walls were also perfect conductors. The small gap between the moving wall and each side wall was an insulating, free surface. The method of weighted residuals was used to obtain truncated series solutions for the variables of interest. The heavy load currents across the channel were obtained by simulating an external potential to the conducting moving wall. The load currents in each case were opposed by the induced electric field. Since there is no pressure gradient, the flow along the channel is driven by the viscous effects of the moving wall and the Lorentz body force and is retarded by the stationary walls. In the case where no load current is applied across the channel, the current circulates in the channel.The circulation is driven by the generator that is due to the axial variation of velocity in an axial magnetic field. The numerical results presented show that the radial gap and the free surface region represent electrical resistances in parallel between the perfectly conducting stationary wall and the perfectly conducting moving wall. The numerical results also show that the resistance of the radial gap increases as M2 while that of the free surface increases by M or M1/2. Thus, as M increases, the division of current shifts to the free surface region and the current density in the radial gap decreases as M−1. The theoretical magnetohydrodynamic model presented here was developed to provide numerical parameters to help in the design of liquid-metal current collectors. Numerical results were computed for one-dimensional Couette flow with no pressure gradient in an external, homogeneous axial magnetic field. One-dimensional Couette flow has no end effects, and thus the numerical results were compared with corresponding numerical results for the two-dimensional Couette flow case to determine end effects.

Notes: The heat capacities of liquid and crystalline Au-Pb-Sb alloys in the glass-forming composition range were measured with droplet emulsion and bulk samples. Based on the measured Cp data, the entropy, enthalpy, and Gibbs free-energy differences between the eutectic solid mixture and undercooled liquid were determined as a function of temperature over ∼60% of the undercooling range below the liquidus temperature and compared with theoretical predictions. The results indicate an isentropic temperature at 313 (±5) K, which agrees well with experimental data for the glass transition. The thermodynamic evaluation was applied further to develop a kinetics analysis of the nucleation undercooling response during cooling. Use of different approximations for the Gibbs free energy leads to a variation of the prefactor terms of six orders of magnitude for classical nucleation theory and, consequently, large variation in calculated transformation diagrams which is more pronounced with increasing undercooling. Extrapolations into the glass-forming temperature range and the effects of viscosity, transient nucleation, and estimated Kauzmann temperatures on the crystallization kinetics at high undercooling have been evaluated. This analysis reveals the importance of using measured values of thermophysical properties, even if they represent a limited temperature range at modest undercooling, rather than model approximations in order to obtain reliable evaluations of crystallization kinetics at high undercooling in the glass-forming temperature range.

Notes: Shock waves of order 100 kbar were launched into 50-μm-thick single crystals of silicon (111) by irradiation with nanosecond pulses of 1.05-μm laser light at irradiances in the region of 2×1010 W cm−2. A separate laser beam, synchronous but delayed with respect to the shock-driving beam, and containing approximately 25 J of 0.53-μm laser light in a pulse of 1 ns (FWHM), was focused to a tight (〈100 μm) spot on a separate titanium target to produce a plasma which was a prolific source of He-like Ti x rays. The x rays were Bragg diffracted from the rear surface of the shocked crystal and the spectrum recorded on an x-ray streak camera. Changes in interatomic spacings in a region within several microns of the surface were thus deduced from the resultant shift in Bragg angle with a temporal resolution of 50 ps. Shock waves with compressions of order 6% were observed. We observed the crystal in a state of dynamic tension as the two rarefaction waves met. The results are in good agreement with hydrocode simulations in conjunction with x-ray diffraction calculations.