ALBERT

Description: We developed a silicon avalanche photodiode (Si-APD) linear-array detector for use in nuclear resonant scattering experiments using synchrotron X-rays. The Si-APD linear array consists of 64 pixels (pixel size: 100 × 200 μm 2 ) with a pixel pitch of 150 μm and depletion depth of 10 μm. An ultrafast frontend circuit allows the X-ray detector to obtain a high output rate of 〉10 7 cps per pixel. High-performance integrated circuits achieve multichannel scaling over 1024 continuous time bins with a 1 ns resolution for each pixel without dead time. The multichannel scaling method enabled us to record a time spectrum of the 14.4 keV nuclear radiation at each pixel with a time resolution of 1.4 ns (FWHM). This method was successfully applied to nuclear forward scattering and nuclear small-angle scattering on 57 Fe.

Description: We describe a nanosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectrometer that acquires fluorescence decay waveforms from each well of a 384-well microplate in 3 min with signal-to-noise exceeding 400 using direct waveform recording. The instrument combines high-energy pulsed laser sources (5–10 kHz repetition rate) with a photomultiplier and high-speed digitizer (1 GHz) to record a fluorescence decay waveform after each pulse. Waveforms acquired from rhodamine or 5-((2-aminoethyl)amino) naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid dyes in a 384-well plate gave lifetime measurements 5- to 25-fold more precise than the simultaneous intensity measurements. Lifetimes as short as 0.04 ns were acquired by interleaving with an effective sample rate of 5 GHz. Lifetime measurements resolved mixtures of single-exponential dyes with better than 1% accuracy. The fluorescence lifetime plate reader enables multiple-well fluorescence lifetime measurements with an acquisition time of 0.5 s per well, suitable for high-throughput fluorescence lifetime screening applications.

Description: Diagnostic for investigating and distinguishing different laser ion acceleration mechanisms has been developed and successfully tested. An ion separation wide angle spectrometer can simultaneously investigate three important aspects of the laser plasma interaction: (1) acquire angularly resolved energy spectra for two ion species, (2) obtain ion energy spectra for multiple species, separated according to their charge to mass ratio, along selected axes, and (3) collect laser radiation reflected from and transmitted through the target and propagating in the same direction as the ion beam. Thus, the presented diagnostic constitutes a highly adaptable tool for accurately studying novel acceleration mechanisms in terms of their angular energy distribution, conversion efficiency, and plasma density evolution.

Description: This paper analyses the use of impedance spectroscopy as a characterization tool applied to thermoelectric materials. The impedance function of the thermoelectric system under adiabatic conditions and Peltier mode operation is calculated by solving the heat equation in the frequency domain. The analysis, focused on the complex plane, provides the required equivalent circuit elements to interpret the impedance measurements. Using this approach, all the relevant thermoelectric parameters and thermal properties can be potentially extracted at a given temperature from the impedance spectra, i.e., the Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, figure of merit (zT), specific heat, and thermal diffusivity. This can be done without the need of measuring temperature differences. To validate the models described, impedance measurements have been carried out in single thermoelectric elements and modules, showing an excellent agreement with the theory. The simple nature of the measurements in conjunction with the advantage of obtaining all the important thermoelectric parameters opens up the possibility of establishing impedance spectroscopy as a very useful characterization method for the thermoelectric field.

Description: Single-phase and oxygen doped Mn 2 N 0.86 thin films have been grown on MgO (111) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The films grow under tensile strain and, remarkably, they show ferromagnetic-like interactions at low temperature and ferromagnetic ordering agreed well with the Bloch-law T 3 / 2 at room-temperature. We further demonstrate the enlarged Mn 3s splitting (6.46 eV) and its possible relation to the observed ferromagnetism. Our study not only provide a strategy for further theoretical work on oxygen doped manganese nitrides, but also shed promising light on utilizing its room-temperature FM property to fabricate spintronic devices.

Description: An arsenic (As)-doped poly-silicon nanowire gate-all-around transistor fabricated using standard semiconductor methods was used to measure the Coulomb blockade effect by applying a tunable gate voltage. Two-level trapping states due to the random telegraph signal of fluctuating drain current were observed in the silicon transport channel. Under high magnetic fields, the superposition points of differential conductance revealed weak 2-electron singlet-triplet splitting states of the arsenic magnetic impurity. The weak spin-orbital coupling suggests that the electron-spin-polarization in the As-doped silicon nanowire and the two-level trapping state coexisted in the Coulomb blockade oscillations. These characteristics indicate that a few arsenic donors strongly affect the quantum behavior of the poly-silicon material.

Description: Enhancing the visibility of images taken in the hazy weather is important in many applications. Among many dehazing methods, those based on polarimetric imaging techniques have several advantages, such as ease of keeping detailed information, low cost, and high efficiency. In this paper, we propose a novel and robust dehazing algorithm based on polarimetric imaging. By introducing the orientation-angle information from the Stokes matrix, all the parameters used in dehazing performance can be effectively, precisely and automatically estimated, and no additional human-computer interaction is needed. Besides, this method can also be used in handling hazy images without sky region. Experimental results show that such a method can greatly enhance the visibility of hazy images.

Description: The field-orientation dependent magnetoelectric coupling is experimentally studied for a rectangular Terfenol-D/PZT/Terfenol-D laminated structure. The considered magnetic field, namely the dc-bias magnetic field or the ac-excitation magnetic field, is allowed to be spatially re-orientated between two orthogonal geometric dimensions of the composite. In the study, the direction of the excitation can be fixed in the longitudinal (Scheme-I) or thickness (Scheme-II) directions, while considering the bias orientation. Alternatively, the bias field can be restricted to the longitudinal (Scheme-III) or thickness (Scheme-IV) directions, while the excitation orientation is considered. The variation in magnetoelectric coefficient as a function of the bias magnitude is studied with special attention paid to the field-orientation dependency. For the testing schemes of I and II, the direction of the dc-bias field can be re-oriented by forming an angle with the fixed direction of the ac-excitation field. As the angle changes from 0° to 90°, the magnetoelectric coupling evolves from L-T mode to S-T surface shear for Scheme-I, and from T-T mode to S-T thickness shear for Scheme-II. The bias-field-orientation dependence demonstrates a complex pattern due to the varying overall state of anisotropy in Terfenol-D. In Scheme-I with low bias magnitude, the orientation dependence can be represented by the measured effective longitudinal piezomagnetic coefficient. In addition, the optimal bias field for maximum magnetoelectric coefficient is observed to linearly increase with the bias orientation angle. Alternatively, the orientation dependence in Schemes III and IV is more predictable due to the barely changed overall state of anisotropy. In this case, Scheme-III shows that the magnetoelectric coefficient decreases monotonically with the orientation angle and Scheme-IV indicates that the maximum coefficient is attained at around 60°. The dependence of the magnetoelectric coupling on the excitation-filed orientation can be understood via analysis of the resultant magnetostriction in Terfenol-D with assumed effective magnetization, which may depart from the bias field due to the strong demagnetization effect. The analysis is supported by the computed field-orientation dependence of the magnetostriction in Terfenol-D.

Description: The results of electronic structure calculations for a variety of palladium hydrides are presented. The calculations are based on density functional theory and used different local and semilocal approximations. The thermodynamic stability of all structures as well as the electronic and chemical bonding properties are addressed. For the monohydride, taking into account the zero-point energy is important to identify the octahedral Pd-H arrangement with its larger voids and, hence, softer hydrogen vibrational modes as favorable over the tetrahedral arrangement as found in the zincblende and wurtzite structures. Stabilization of the rocksalt structure is due to strong bonding of the 4 d and 1 s orbitals, which form a characteristic split-off band separated from the main d -band group. Increased filling of the formerly pure d states of the metal causes strong reduction of the density of states at the Fermi energy, which undermines possible long-range ferromagnetic order otherwise favored by strong magnetovolume effects. For the dihydride, octahedral Pd-H arrangement as realized, e.g., in the pyrite structure turns out to be unstable against tetrahedral arrangement as found in the fluorite structure. Yet, from both heat of formation and chemical bonding considerations, the dihydride turns out to be less favorable than the monohydride. Finally, the vacancy ordered defect phase Pd 3 H 4 follows the general trend of favoring the octahedral arrangement of the rocksalt structure for Pd:H ratios less or equal to one.

Description: The strategy of suppressing grain growth by dispersing nanoscale particles that pin the grain boundaries is demonstrated in a nanocrystalline thermoelectric compound. Yttria nanoparticles that were incorporated by mechanical alloying enabled nanocrystalline (i.e., d 

Description: This work shows the application of metal ion-implantation to realize an efficient second-generation TiO 2 photocatalyst. High fluence Fe + ions were implanted into thin TiO 2 films and subsequently annealed up to 550 °C. The ion-implantation process modified the TiO 2 pure film, locally lowering its band-gap energy from 3.2 eV to 1.6–1.9 eV, making the material sensitive to visible light. The measured optical band-gap of 1.6–1.9 eV was associated with the presence of effective energy levels in the energy band structure of the titanium dioxide, due to implantation-induced defects. An accurate structural characterization was performed by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and UV/VIS spectroscopy. The synthesized materials revealed a remarkable photocatalytic efficiency in the degradation of organic compounds in water under visible light irradiation, without the help of any thermal treatments. The photocatalytic activity has been correlated with the amount of defects induced by the ion-implantation process, clarifying the operative physical mechanism. These results can be fruitfully applied for environmental applications of TiO 2 .

Description: Monolayers of tin (stannanane) functionalized with halogens have been shown to be topological insulators. Using density functional theory (DFT), we study the electronic properties and room-temperature transport of nanoribbons of iodine-functionalized stannanane showing that the overlap integral between the wavefunctions associated to edge-states at opposite ends of the ribbons decreases with increasing width of the ribbons. Obtaining the phonon spectra and the deformation potentials also from DFT, we calculate the conductivity of the ribbons using the Kubo-Greenwood formalism and show that their mobility is limited by inter-edge phonon backscattering. We show that wide stannanane ribbons have a mobility exceeding 10 6 cm 2 /Vs. Contrary to ordinary semiconductors, two-dimensional topological insulators exhibit a high conductivity at low charge density, decreasing with increasing carrier density. Furthermore, the conductivity of iodine-functionalized stannanane ribbons can be modulated over a range of three orders of magnitude, thus rendering this material extremely interesting for classical computing applications.

Description: Work function, photoemission yield, and Auger electron spectra were measured on (001) p-type GaAs during negative electron affinity (NEA) surface preparation, surface degradation, and heating processes. The emission current sensitively depends on work function change and its dependence allows us to determine that the shape of the vacuum barrier was close to double triangular. Regarding the NEA surface degradation during photoemission, we discuss the importance of residual gas components the oxygen and hydrogen. We also found that gentle annealing (≤100 °C) of aged photocathodes results in a lower work function and may offer a patch to reverse the performance degradation.

Description: Trivalent dysprosium-doped Lu 3 Ga 5 O 12 nano-garnets have been prepared by sol-gel method and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and laser excited spectroscopy. Under a cw 457 nm laser excitation, the white luminescence properties of Lu 3 Ga 5 O 12 nano-garnets have been studied as a function of the optically active Dy 3+ ion concentration and at low temperature. Decay curves for the 4 F 9/2 level of Dy 3+ ion exhibit non-exponential nature for all the Dy 3+ concentrations, which have been well-fitted to a generalized energy transfer model for a quadrupole-quadrupole interaction between Dy 3+ ions without diffusion. From these data, a simple rate-equations model can be applied to predict that intense white luminescence could be obtained from 1.8 mol% Dy 3+ ions-doped nano-garnets, which is in good agreement with experimental results. Chromaticity color coordinates and correlated color temperatures have been determined as a function of temperature and are found to be within the white light region for all Dy 3+ concentrations. These results indicate that 2.0 mol% Dy 3+ ions doped nano-garnet could be useful for white light emitting device applications.

Description: In this paper, 80GeO 2 -8Ga 2 O 3 -10BaO-2Nb 2 O 5 -6PbO (in mol%) glass samples with different Tm 2 O 3 concentrations (0, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, and 1.5 mol. %) were prepared by traditional melt-quenching method. According to the measurement of thermal properties of the host glass, the glass transition temperature is 596.7 °C and no crystallization peak is observed. Judd–Ofelt parameters Ω t (t = 2, 4, 6) and fluorescent lifetimes were obtained by Judd-Ofelt theory. The similar values of Judd–Ofelt parameters and the full-width at half-maximums of ∼1800 nm indicate the local environment of Tm 3+ changes little with increment of Tm 2 O 3 concentrations. Maximum stimulated emission cross-section of ∼1800 nm is 6.22 × 10 −21 cm 2 as calculated by Fuchtbauer–Ladenburg formula. Energy migration among Tm 3+ ions was analyzed by the extended overlap integral method. The non-radiative transition rates between mainly energy levels of Tm 3+ were calculated. Non-radiative transition rate of 3 F 4 energy level caused by OH was analyzed by rate equation and deduced by fitting the fluorescence decay curve.

Description: The concept of chemical bonding can ultimately be seen as a rationalization of the recurring structural patterns observed in molecules and solids. Chemical intuition is nothing but the ability to recognize and predict such patterns, and how they transform into one another. Here, we discuss how to use a computer to identify atomic patterns automatically, so as to provide an algorithmic definition of a bond based solely on structural information. We concentrate in particular on hydrogen bonding – a central concept to our understanding of the physical chemistry of water, biological systems, and many technologically important materials. Since the hydrogen bond is a somewhat fuzzy entity that covers a broad range of energies and distances, many different criteria have been proposed and used over the years, based either on sophisticate electronic structure calculations followed by an energy decomposition analysis, or on somewhat arbitrary choices of a range of structural parameters that is deemed to correspond to a hydrogen-bonded configuration. We introduce here a definition that is univocal, unbiased, and adaptive, based on our machine-learning analysis of an atomistic simulation. The strategy we propose could be easily adapted to similar scenarios, where one has to recognize or classify structural patterns in a material or chemical compound.

Description: We investigate the performance of Stieltjes Imaging applied to Lanczos pseudo-spectra generated at the coupled cluster singles and doubles, coupled cluster singles and approximate iterative doubles and coupled cluster singles levels of theory in modeling the photodetachment cross sections of the closed shell anions H − , Li − , Na − , F − , Cl − , and OH − . The accurate description of double excitations is found to play a much more important role than in the case of photoionization of neutral species.

Description: For conical intersections of two states ( I,J = I + 1) the vectors defining the branching or g-h plane, the energy difference gradient vector g I,J , and the interstate coupling vector h I,J , can be made orthogonal by a one parameter rotation of the degenerate electronic eigenstates. The representation obtained from this rotation is used to construct the parameters that describe the vicinity of the conical intersection seam, the conical parameters, s I,J x ( R ), s I,J y ( R ), g I,J ( R ), and h I,J ( R ). As a result of the orthogonalization these parameters can be made continuous functions of R , the internuclear coordinates. In this work we generalize this notion to construct continuous parametrizations of conical intersection seams of three or more states. The generalization derives from a recently introduced procedure for using non-degenerate electronic states to construct coupled diabatic states that represent adiabatic states coupled by conical intersections. The procedure is illustrated using the seam of conical intersections of three states in parazolyl as an example.

Description: Properties of metallic materials are intrinsically determined by their electron behavior. However, relevant theoretical treatment involving quantum mechanics is complicated and difficult to be applied in materials design. Electron work function (EWF) has been demonstrated to be a simple but fundamental parameter which well correlates properties of materials with their electron behavior and could thus be used to predict material properties from the aspect of electron activities in a relatively easy manner. In this article, we propose a method to extract the electron work functions of binary solid solutions or alloys from their phase diagrams and use this simple approach to predict their mechanical strength and surface properties, such as adhesion. Two alloys, Fe-Ni and Cu-Zn, are used as samples for the study. EWFs extracted from phase diagrams show same trends as experimentally observed ones, based on which hardness and surface adhesive force of the alloys are predicted. This new methodology provides an alternative approach to predict material properties based on the work function, which is extractable from the phase diagram. This work may also help maximize the power of phase diagram for materials design and development.

Description: State averaged complete active space self-consistent field (SA-CASSCF) is a workhorse for determining the excited-state electronic structure of molecules, particularly for states with multireference character; however, the method suffers from known issues that have prevented its wider adoption. One issue is the presence of discontinuities in potential energy surfaces when a state that is not included in the state averaging crosses with one that is. In this communication I introduce a new dynamical weight with spline (DWS) scheme that mimics SA-CASSCF while removing energy discontinuities due to unweighted state crossings. In addition, analytical gradients for DWS-CASSCF (and other dynamically weighted schemes) are derived for the first time, enabling energy-conserving excited-state ab initio molecular dynamics in instances where SA-CASSCF fails.

Description: Modern materials processing applications and technologies often occur far from equilibrium. To this end, the processing of complex materials such as polymer melts and nanocomposites generally occurs under strong deformations and flows, conditions under which equilibrium thermodynamics does not apply. As a result, the ability to determine the nonequilibrium thermodynamic properties of polymeric materials from measurable quantities such as heat and work is a major challenge in the field. Here, we use work relations to show that nonequilibrium thermodynamic quantities such as free energy and entropy can be determined for dilute polymer solutions in flow. In this way, we determine the thermodynamic properties of DNA molecules in strong flows using a combination of simulations, kinetic theory, and single molecule experiments. We show that it is possible to calculate polymer relaxation timescales purely from polymer stretching dynamics in flow. We further observe a thermodynamic equivalence between nonequilibrium and equilibrium steady-states for polymeric systems. In this way, our results provide an improved understanding of the energetics of flowing polymer solutions.

Description: Cohesive interactions between filamentous molecules have broad implications for a range of biological and synthetic materials. While long-standing theoretical approaches have addressed the problem of inter-filament forces from the limit of infinitely rigid rods, the ability of flexible filaments to deform intra-filament shape in response to changes in inter-filament geometry has a profound affect on the nature of cohesive interactions. In this paper, we study two theoretical models of inter-filament cohesion in the opposite limit, in which filaments are sufficiently flexible to maintain cohesive contact along their contours, and address, in particular, the role played by helical-interfilament geometry in defining interactions. Specifically, we study models of featureless, tubular filaments interacting via: (1) pair-wise Lennard-Jones (LJ) interactions between surface elements and (2) depletion-induced filament binding stabilized by electrostatic surface repulsion. Analysis of these models reveals a universal preference for cohesive filament interactions for non-zero helical skew, and further, that in the asymptotic limit of vanishing interaction range relative to filament diameter, the skew-dependence of cohesion approaches a geometrically defined limit described purely by the close-packing geometry of twisted tubular filaments. We further analyze non-universal features of the skew-dependence of cohesion at small-twist for both potentials, and argue that in the LJ model the pair-wise surface attraction generically destabilizes parallel filaments, while in the second model, pair-wise electrostatic repulsion in combination with non-pairwise additivity of depletion leads to a meta-stable parallel state.

Description: The effect of strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding on torsional degrees of freedom is investigated by far-infrared absorption spectroscopy for different methanol dimer isotopologues isolated in supersonic jet expansions or embedded in inert neon matrices at low temperatures. For the vacuum-isolated and Ne-embedded methanol dimer, the hydrogen bond OH librational mode of the donor subunit is finally observed at ∼560 cm −1 , blue-shifted by more than 300 cm −1 relative to the OH torsional fundamental of the free methanol monomer. The OH torsional mode of the acceptor embedded in neon is observed at ∼286 cm −1 . The experimental findings are held against harmonic predictions from local coupled-cluster methods with single and double excitations and a perturbative treatment of triple excitations [LCCSD(T)] and anharmonic. VPT2 corrections at canonical MP2 and density functional theory (DFT) levels in order to quantify the contribution of vibrational anharmonicity for this important class of intermolecular hydrogen bond vibrational motion.

Description: Extensive numerical solutions of the hypernetted-chain (HNC) and Rogers-Young (RY) integral equations are presented for the pair structure of a system of two coupled replicae (1 and 2) of a “soft-sphere” fluid of atoms interacting via an inverse-12 pair potential. In the limit of vanishing inter-replica coupling ɛ 12 , both integral equations predict the existence of three branches of solutions: (1) A high temperature liquid branch ( L ), which extends to a supercooled regime upon cooling when the two replicae are kept at ɛ 12 = 0 throughout; upon separating the configurational and vibrational contributions to the free energy and entropy of the L branch, the Kauzmann temperature is located where the configurational entropy vanishes. (2) Starting with an initial finite coupling ɛ 12 , two “glass” branches G 1 and G 2 are found below some critical temperature, which are characterized by a strong remnant spatial inter-replica correlation upon taking the limit ɛ 12 → 0. Branch G 2 is characterized by an increasing overlap order parameter upon cooling, and may hence be identified with the hypothetical “ideal glass” phase. Branch G 1 exhibits the opposite trend of increasing order parameter upon heating; its free energy lies consistently below that of the L branch and above that of the G 2 branch. The free energies of the L and G 2 branches are found to intersect at an alleged “random first-order transition” (RFOT) characterized by weak discontinuities of the volume and entropy. The Kauzmann and RFOT temperatures predicted by RY differ significantly from their HNC counterparts.

Description: We present a continuum solvent model (CSM) with a smooth cavity for the application in grid-based electronic structure methods. The cavity is identified with the inherently smooth distribution function of a binary mixture at infinite dilution. We obtain a cavity model based on atomic van der Waals radii and one free parameter controlling the overall size. This single parameter is sufficient to adequately reproduce experimental partial molar volumes. The CSM based on this cavity is of similar accuracy in the prediction of aqueous solvation Gibbs energies of small neutral molecules and ions as other CSMs with a smooth cavity. We apply the model to systems in non-aqueous solution, i.e., spiropyran/merocyanin energetics, a proton transfer reaction in dimethyl sulfoxide, and the electrostatic screening of charged gold clusters in an ionic liquid.

Description: Knots are commonly found in molecular chains such as DNA and proteins, and they have been considered to be useful models for structural analysis of these molecules. One interested quantity is the minimum number of monomers necessary to realize a molecular knot. The minimum lattice length Len( K ) of a knot K indicates the minimum length necessary to construct K in the cubic lattice. Another important quantity in physical knot theory is the ropelength which is one of the knot energies measuring the complexity of knot conformation. The minimum ropelength Rop( K ) is the minimum length of an ideally flexible rope necessary to tie a given knot K . Much effort has been invested in the research project for finding upper bounds on both quantities in terms of the minimum crossing number c ( K ) of the knot. It is known that Len( K ) and Rop( K ) lie between O ( c ( K ) 3 4 ) and O( c ( K )[ln ( c ( K ))] 5 ), but unknown yet whether any family of knots has superlinear growth. In this paper, we focus on 2-bridge knots and links. Linear growth upper bounds on the minimum lattice length and minimum ropelength for nontrivial 2-bridge knots or links are presented as Len( K ) ⩽ 8 c ( K ) + 2 and Rop( K ) ⩽ 11.39 c ( K ) + 12.37.

Description: We construct a spectral triple for the C * -algebra of continuous functions on the space of p -adic integers by using a rooted tree obtained from coarse-grained approximation of the space, and the forward derivative on the tree. Additionally, we verify that our spectral triple satisfies the properties of a compact spectral metric space, and we show that the metric on the space of p -adic integers induced by the spectral triple is equivalent to the usual p -adic metric.

Description: We consider the 3-body problem in 3-dimensional spaces of nonzero constant Gaussian curvature and study the relationship between the masses of the Lagrangian relative equilibria, which are orbits that form a rigidly rotating equilateral triangle at all times. There are three classes of Lagrangian relative equilibria in 3-dimensional spaces of constant nonzero curvature: positive elliptic and positive elliptic-elliptic, on 3-spheres, and negative elliptic, on hyperbolic 3-spheres. We prove that all these Lagrangian relative equilibria exist only for equal values of the masses.

Description: In this paper, we study singular systems with complete sets of involutive constraints. The aim is to establish, within the Hamilton-Jacobi theory, the relationship between the Frobenius’ theorem, the infinitesimal canonical transformations generated by constraints in involution with the Poisson brackets, and the lagrangian point (gauge) transformations of physical systems.

Description: μLaue diffraction with a polychromatic X-ray beam can be used to measure strain fields and crystal orientations of micro crystals. The hydrostatic strain tensor can be obtained once the energy profile of the reflections is measured. However, this remains a challenge both on the time scale and reproducibility of the beam position on the sample. In this review, we present a new approach to obtain the spatial and energy profiles of Laue spots by using a pn-junction charge-coupled device, an energy-dispersive area detector providing 3D resolution of incident X-rays. The morphology and energetic structure of various Bragg peaks from a single crystalline Cu micro-cantilever used as a test system were simultaneously acquired. The method facilitates the determination of the Laue spots’ energy spectra without filtering the white X-ray beam. The synchrotron experiment was performed at the BM32 beamline of ESRF using polychromatic X-rays in the energy range between 5 and 25 keV and a beam size of 0.5 μ m × 0.5 μ m. The feasibility test on the well known system demonstrates the capabilities of the approach and introduces the “3D detector method” as a promising tool for material investigations to separate bending and strain for technical materials.

Description: A short prototype (847-mm-long) of an Insertion Device (ID) with the dynamic compensation of ID magnetic forces has been designed, built, and tested at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) of the Argonne National Laboratory. The ID magnetic forces were compensated by the set of conical springs placed along the ID strongback. Well-controlled exponential characteristics of conical springs permitted a very close fit to the ID magnetic forces. Several effects related to the imperfections of actual springs, their mounting and tuning, and how these factors affect the prototype performance has been studied. Finally, series of tests to determine the accuracy and reproducibility of the ID magnetic gap settings have been carried out. Based on the magnetic measurements of the ID B eff , it has been demonstrated that the magnetic gaps within an operating range were controlled accurately and reproducibly within ±1 μ m. Successful tests of this ID prototype led to the design of a 3-m long device based on the same concept. The 3-m long prototype is currently under construction. It represents R&D efforts by the APS toward APS Upgrade Project goals as well as the future generation of IDs for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS).

Description: A description is given of an ultra-high vacuum surface-analysis chamber that incorporates an internal cell for performing atomic layer deposition at a pressure of up to ∼1 Torr. The apparatus permits the growth process to be interrupted in stages during which data can be obtained using infrared and x-ray photoemission spectroscopies together with other electron-based techniques. Demonstration results are given for the adsorption of H 2 O on Si (100) at a pressure of ∼0.3 Torr. The system described is generally applicable in the study of any surface reaction under non-high-vacuum conditions in which there is a need for both infrared and electron spectroscopies.

Description: We recently reported the development of a high pressure electrical conductivity probe (HP-ECP) for experimental studies of formation of gas hydrates from electrolytes. The onset of the formation of methane-propane mixed gas hydrate from salt solutions was marked by a temporary upward spike in the electrical conductivity. To further understand hydrate formation a second generation of window-less HP-ECP (MkII), which has a much smaller heat capacity than the earlier version and allows access to faster cooling rates, has been constructed. Using the HP-ECP (MkII) the electrical conductivity signal responses of NaCl solutions upon the formation of ice, tetrahydrofuran hydrates, and methane–propane mixed gas hydrate has been measured. The concentration range of the NaCl solutions was from 1 mM to 3M and the driving AC frequency range was from 25 Hz to 5 kHz. This data has been used to construct an “electrical conductivity response phase diagrams” that summarize the electrical conductivity response signal upon solid formation in these systems. The general trend is that gas hydrate formation is marked by an upward spike in the conductivity at high concentrations and by a drop at low concentrations. This work shows that HP-ECP can be applied in automated measurements of hydrate formation probability distributions of optically opaque samples using the conductivity response signals as a trigger.

Description: In thermomechanical testing of hypersonic materials and structures, direct observation and quantitative strain measurement of the front surface of a test specimen directly exposed to severe aerodynamic heating has been considered as a very challenging task. In this work, a novel quartz infrared heating device with an observation window is designed to reproduce the transient thermal environment experienced by hypersonic vehicles. The specially designed experimental system allows the capture of test article's surface images at various temperatures using an optical system outfitted with a bandpass filter. The captured images are post-processed by digital image correlation to extract full-field thermal deformation. To verify the viability and accuracy of the established system, thermal strains of a chromiumnickel austenite stainless steel sample heated from room temperature up to 600 °C were determined. The preliminary results indicate that the air disturbance between the camera and the specimen due to heat haze induces apparent distortions in the recorded images and large errors in the measured strains, but the average values of the measured strains are accurate enough. Limitations and further improvements of the proposed technique are discussed.

Description: Using magnetic rare-metals for spintronic devices is facing serious problems for the environmental contamination and the limited material-resource. In contrast, by fabricating ferromagnetic graphene nanopore arrays (FGNPAs) consisting of honeycomb-like array of hexagonal nanopores with hydrogen-terminated zigzag-type atomic structure edges, we reported observation of polarized electron spins spontaneously driven from the pore edge states, resulting in rare-metal-free flat-energy-band ferromagnetism. Here, we demonstrate observation of tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) behaviors on the junction of cobalt/SiO 2 /FGNPA electrode, serving as a prototype structure for future rare-metal free TMR devices using magnetic graphene electrodes. Gradual change in TMR ratios is observed across zero-magnetic field, arising from specified alignment between pore-edge- and cobalt-spins. The TMR ratios can be controlled by applying back-gate voltage and by modulating interpore distance. Annealing the SiO 2 /FGNPA junction also drastically enhances TMR ratios up to ∼100%.

Description: In this work, a time-resolved tunable diode-laser (DL) induced fluorescence (TR-TDLIF) method calibrated by absorption spectroscopy has been developed in order to determine atom and flux velocity distribution functions (AVDF and FVDF) of the energetic and the thermalized atoms in pulsed plasmas. The experimental set-up includes a low-frequency (∼3 Hz) and high spectral-resolution DL (∼0.005 pm), a fast rise-time pulse generator, and a high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) system. The induced TR-TDLIF signal is recorded every 0.5  μ s with a digital oscilloscope of a second-long trace. The technique is illustrated with determining the AVDF and the FVDF of a metastable state of the sputtered neutral tungsten atoms in the HiPIMS post-discharge. Gaussian functions describing the population of the four W isotopes were used to fit the measured TR-TDLIF signal. These distribution functions provide insight into transition from the energetic to thermalized regimes from the discharge onset. This technique may be extended with appropriate DLs to probe any species with rapidly changing AVDF and FVDF in pulsed and strongly oscillating plasmas.

Description: Doped silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) are of great interest in demanding low-cost nanodevices because of the abundance and nontoxicity of Si. Here, we demonstrate a cost-effective gas phase approach to synthesize phosphorous (P)-doped Si NCs in which the precursors used, i.e., SiCl 4 , trimethyl phosphite (TMP), are both safe and economical. It is found that the TMP-enabled P-doping does not change the crystalline structure of Si NCs. The surface of P-doped Si NCs is terminated by both Cl and H. The Si–H bond density at the surface of P-doped Si NCs is found to be much higher than that of undoped Si NCs. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron spin resonance results indicate that P atoms are doped into the substitutional sites of the Si-NC core and electrically active in Si NCs. Unintentional impurities, such as carbon contained in TMP, are not introduced into Si NCs.

Description: Fracture mechanisms of metallic glasses are fundamentally different from that of crystalline alloys. Nano-voids formation and coalescence inside shear bands were believed to be one of the reasons causing the final failures. Although molecule dynamic simulations have successfully simulated cavitation in shear bands of brittle metallic glasses, direct experimental evidences are still rare. By carefully examining the shear bands of Pd 40.5 Ni 40.5 P 19 , nano-voids and their coalescence have been observed in the center-diffused region of shear bands. It is experimentally confirmed that nano-voids formation and their coalescence into large voids within shear bands is one of fracture mechanisms of metallic glasses.

Description: In addition to boron and oxygen, copper is also known to cause light-induced degradation (LID) in silicon. We have demonstrated previously that LID can be prevented by depositing negative corona charge onto the wafer surfaces. Positively charged interstitial copper ions are proposed to diffuse to the negatively charged surface and consequently empty the bulk of copper. In this study, copper out-diffusion was confirmed by chemical analysis of the near surface region of negatively/positively charged silicon wafer. Furthermore, LID was permanently removed by etching the copper-rich surface layer after negative charge deposition. These results demonstrate that (i) copper can be effectively removed from the bulk by negative charge, (ii) under illumination copper forms a recombination active defect in the bulk of the wafer causing severe light induced degradation.

Description: Four-wave mixing (FWM) spectroscopy reveals clear signatures associated with the exciton, free carrier inter-band transitions, and the Urbach band tail in low-temperature-grown GaAs, providing a direct measure of the effective band gap as well as insight into the influence of disorder on the electronic structure. The ability to detect (and resolve) these contributions, in contrast to linear spectroscopy, is due to an enhanced sensitivity of FWM to the optical joint density of states and to many-body effects. Our experiments demonstrate the power of FWM for studying the near-band-edge optical properties and coherent carrier dynamics in low-temperature-grown semiconductors.

Description: Besides crystallization time and temperature, the mass density change upon crystallization is a key parameter governing the reliability of phase change random access memory. Indeed, few percentages density change induces considerable mechanical stress in memory cells, leading to film delamination with subsequent electrical failures. This letter presents an extensive study of density change upon crystallization in a series of Ga-Sb thin films with various antimony contents. The mass density of the films is precisely determined by x-ray reflectivity in both their amorphous and crystalline states. The variations of the density in crystalline and amorphous films according to the Sb content found to cross with a zero-density change for 70 at. % Sb. The peculiar behavior of Ga-Sb thin films upon crystallization may be linked to their stress state and mechanical properties.

Description: Here, we analyse residual stress distributions obtained from various crystal systems using high resolution electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) measurements. Histograms showing stress probability distributions exhibit tails extending to very high stress levels. We demonstrate that these extreme stress values are consistent with the functional form that should be expected for dislocated crystals. Analysis initially developed by Groma and co-workers for X-ray line profile analysis and based on the so-called “restricted second moment of the probability distribution” can be used to estimate the total dislocation density. The generality of the results are illustrated by application to three quite different systems, namely, face centred cubic Cu deformed in uniaxial tension, a body centred cubic steel deformed to larger strain by cold rolling, and hexagonal InAlN layers grown on misfitting sapphire and silicon carbide substrates.

Description: Phytoplankton patchiness, namely the heterogeneous distribution of microalgae over multiple spatial scales, dramatically impacts marine ecology. A spectacular example of such heterogeneity occurs in thin phytoplankton layers (TPLs), where large numbers of photosynthetic microorganisms are found within a small depth interval. Some species of motile phytoplankton can form TPLs by gyrotactic trapping due to the interplay of their particular swimming style (directed motion biased against gravity) and the transport by a flow with shear along the direction of gravity. Here we consider gyrotactic swimmers in numerical simulations of the Kolmogorov shear flow, both in laminar and turbulent regimes. In the laminar case, we show that the swimmer motion is integrable and the formation of TPLs can be fully characterized by means of dynamical systems tools. We then study the effects of rotational Brownian motion or turbulent fluctuations (appearing when the Reynolds number is large enough) on TPLs. In both cases, we show that TPLs become transient, and we characterize their persistence.

Description: Gas-puff Z-pinch experiments were conducted on the 1 MA, 200 ns pulse duration Cornell Beam Research Accelerator (COBRA) pulsed power generator in order to achieve an understanding of the dynamics and instability development in the imploding and stagnating plasma. The triple-nozzle gas-puff valve, pre-ionizer, and load hardware are described. Specific diagnostics for the gas-puff experiments, including a Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence system for measuring the radial neutral density profiles along with a Laser Shearing Interferometer and Laser Wavefront Analyzer for electron density measurements, are also described. The results of a series of experiments using two annular argon (Ar) and/or neon (Ne) gas shells (puff-on-puff) with or without an on- (or near-) axis wire are presented. For all of these experiments, plenum pressures were adjusted to hold the radial mass density profile as similar as possible. Initial implosion stability studies were performed using various combinations of the heavier (Ar) and lighter (Ne) gasses. Implosions with Ne in the outer shell and Ar in the inner were more stable than the opposite arrangement. Current waveforms can be adjusted on COBRA and it was found that the particular shape of the 200 ns current pulse affected on the duration and diameter of the stagnated pinched column and the x-ray yield.

Description: During July 2012, 150 almost identical H-mode plasmas were consecutively created in the Joint European Torus, providing a combined total of approximately 8 minutes of steady-state plasma with 15 000 Edge Localised Modes (ELMs). In principle, each of those 15 000 ELMs are statistically equivalent. Here, the changes in edge density and plasma energy associated with those ELMs are explored, using the spikes in Beryllium II (527 nm) radiation as an indicator for the onset of an ELM. Clearly different timescales are observed during the ELM process. Edge temperature falls over a 2 ms timescale, edge density and pressure fall over a 5 ms timescale, and there is an additional 10 ms timescale that is consistent with a resistive relaxation of the plasma's edge. The statistical properties of the energy and density losses due to the ELMs are explored. For these plasmas the ELM energy (δ E ) is found to be approximately independent of the time between ELMs, despite the average ELM energy ( 〈 δ E 〉 ) and average ELM frequency ( f ) being consistent with the scaling of 〈 δ E 〉 ∝ 1 / f . Instead, beyond the first 0.02 s of waiting time between ELMs, the energy losses due to individual ELMs are found to be statistically the same. Surprisingly no correlation is found between the energies of consecutive ELMs either. A weak link is found between the density drop and the ELM waiting time. Consequences of these results for ELM control and modelling are discussed.

Description: The compression of a relativistic Gaussian laser pulse in a magnetized plasma is investigated. By considering relativistic nonlinearity and using non-linear Schrödinger equation with paraxial approximation, a second-order differential equation is obtained for the pulse width parameter (in time) to demonstrate the longitudinal pulse compression. The compression of laser pulse in a magnetized plasma can be observed by the numerical solution of the equation for the pulse width parameter. The effects of magnetic field and chirping are investigated. It is shown that in the presence of magnetic field and negative initial chirp, compression of pulse is significantly enhanced.

Description: Nonlinear saturation amplitudes (NSAs) of the first two harmonics in classical Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) in cylindrical geometry for arbitrary Atwood numbers have been analytically investigated considering nonlinear corrections up to the fourth-order. The NSA of the fundamental mode is defined as the linear (purely exponential) growth amplitude of the fundamental mode at the saturation time when the growth of the fundamental mode (first harmonic) is reduced by 10% in comparison to its corresponding linear growth, and the NSA of the second harmonic can be obtained in the same way. The analytic results indicate that the effects of the initial radius of the interface ( r 0 ) and the Atwood number ( A ) play an important role in the NSAs of the first two harmonics in cylindrical RTI. On the one hand, the NSA of the fundamental mode first increases slightly and then decreases quickly with increasing A . For given A , the smaller the r 0 / λ (with λ perturbation wavelength) is, the larger the NSA of the fundamental mode is. When r 0 / λ is large enough ( r 0 ≫ λ ), the NSA of the fundamental mode is reduced to the prediction of previous literatures within the framework of third-order perturbation theory [J. W. Jacobs and I. Catton, J. Fluid Mech. 187 , 329 (1988); S. W. Haan, Phys. Fluids B 3 , 2349 (1991)]. On the other hand, the NSA of the second harmonic first decreases quickly with increasing A , reaching a minimum, and then increases slowly. Furthermore, the r 0 can reduce the NSA of the second harmonic for arbitrary A at r 0 ≲ 2 λ while increase it for A   ≲   0.6 at r 0 ≳ 2 λ . Thus, it should be included in applications where the NSA has a role, such as inertial confinement fusion ignition target design.

Description: The δ   f particle-in-cell code GEM is used to study the transport “shortfall” problem of gyrokinetic simulations. In local simulations, the GEM results confirm the previously reported simulation results of DIII-D [Holland et al. , Phys. Plasmas 16 , 052301 (2009)] and Alcator C-Mod [Howard et al. , Nucl. Fusion 53 , 123011 (2013)] tokamaks with the continuum code GYRO. Namely, for DIII-D the simulations closely predict the ion heat flux at the core, while substantially underpredict transport towards the edge; while for Alcator C-Mod, the simulations show agreement with the experimental values of ion heat flux, at least within the range of experimental error. Global simulations are carried out for DIII-D L-mode plasmas to study the effect of edge turbulence on the outer core ion heat transport. The edge turbulence enhances the outer core ion heat transport through turbulence spreading. However, this edge turbulence spreading effect is not enough to explain the transport underprediction.

Description: The model of gas bubble growth in high-viscous gas-saturated magmatic melt, subjected to rapid decompression, is presented in the current study. It is shown that consideration of unsteady character of the process is extremely important in a wide range of supersaturation. The analytical solution is found for the profile of dissolved gas concentration and the rate of bubble growth. The model of kinetics of overall degassing is developed. This model is based on distinguishing the so-called “forbidden” zone in the melt volume with suppressed formation of the new nucleation sites. The simple analytical dependences of the number of nucleating bubbles and typical nucleation time on the value of initial decompression were derived together with time dependence of volumetric concentration of the gas phase. Our results match the available experimental data.

Description: In the present work, we extend results of a previous paper [Peter et al. , Phys. Plasmas 20 , 12 3104 (2013)] and develop a semi-analytical model to account for thermal effects on the nonlinear dynamics of the electron beam in free-electron lasers. We relax the condition of a cold electron beam but still use the concept of compressibility, now associated with a warm beam model, to evaluate the time scale for saturation and the peak laser intensity in high-gain regimes. Although vanishing compressibilites and the associated divergent densities are absent in warm models, a series of discontinuities in the electron density precede the saturation process. We show that full wave-particle simulations agree well with the predictions of the model.

Description: We investigate the effect of viscosity contrast on the stability of gravitationally unstable, diffusive layers in porous media. Our analysis helps evaluate experimental observations of various diffusive (boundary) layer models that are commonly used to study the sequestration of CO 2 in brine aquifers. We evaluate the effect of viscosity contrast for two basic models that are characterized with respect to whether or not the interface between CO 2 and brine is allowed to move. We find that diffusive layers are in general more unstable when viscosity decreases with depth within the layer compared to when viscosity increases with depth. This behavior is in contrast to the one associated with the classical displacement problem of gravitationally unstable diffusive layers that are subject to mean flow. For the classical problem, a greater instability is associated with the displacement of a more viscous, lighter fluid along the direction of gravity by a less viscous, heavier fluid. We show that the contrasting behavior highlighted in this study is a special case of the classical displacement problem that depends on the relative strength of the displacement and buoyancy velocities. We demonstrate the existence of a critical viscosity ratio that determines whether the flow is buoyancy dominated or displacement dominated. We explain the new behaviors in terms of the interaction of vorticity components related to gravitational and viscous effects.

Description: Particle pairing in a complex plasma was experimentally studied with the emphasis on pair spatial extent and stability. Micron-size particles were suspended in the (pre)sheath area above the lower electrode in a capacitively coupled radio-frequency discharge in argon. They formed vertical pairs due to the ion wakes created by the flow of ions past particles. We discuss the confinement mechanism for the lower particle, resulting from a combination of the wake field and the field of non-uniform sheath. A model of particle pairs is proposed, which provides good description for the dependence of pair size and stability on experimental parameters.

Description: Significantly collimated fast electron beam with a divergence angle 10° (FWHM) is observed when an ultra-intense laser pulse ( I  = 10 14  W/cm 2 , 300 fs) irradiates a uniform critical density plasma. The uniform plasma is created through the ionization of an ultra-low density (5 mg/c.c.) plastic foam by X-ray burst from the interaction of intense laser ( I  = 10 14  W/cm 2 , 600 ps) with a thin Cu foil. 2D Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulation well reproduces the collimated electron beam with a strong magnetic field in the region of the laser pulse propagation. To understand the physical mechanism of the collimation, we calculate energetic electron motion in the magnetic field obtained from the 2D PIC simulation. As the results, the strong magnetic field (300 MG) collimates electrons with energy over a few MeV. This collimation mechanism may attract attention in many applications such as electron acceleration, electron microscope and fast ignition of laser fusion.

Description: In this work, stochastic behavior of atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) has been investigated. The experiment is performed in a DBD reactor consisting of a pair of stainless steel parallel plate electrodes powered by a 50 Hz ac high voltage source. Current pulse amplitude distributions for different space gaps and the time separation between consecutive current pulses are studied. A probability distribution function is proposed to predict the experimental distribution function for the current pulse amplitudes and the occurrence of the transition regime of the pulse distribution. Breakdown voltage at different positions on the dielectric surface is suggested to be stochastic in nature. The simulated results based on the proposed distribution function agreed well with the experimental results and able to predict the regime of transition voltage. This model would be useful for the understanding of stochastic behaviors of DBD and the design of DBD device for effective operation and applications.

Description: A simplified method for calibrating atomic force microscope cantilevers was recently proposed by Sader et al. [Rev. Sci. Instrum.83, 103705 (2012); Sec. III D] that relies solely on the resonant frequency and quality factor of the cantilever in fluid (typically air). This method eliminates the need to measure the hydrodynamic function of the cantilever, which can be time consuming given the wide range of cantilevers now available. Using laser Doppler vibrometry, we rigorously assess the accuracy of this method for a series of commercially available cantilevers and explore its performance under non-ideal conditions. This shows that the simplified method is highly accurate and can be easily implemented to perform fast, robust, and non-invasive spring constant calibration.

Description: There exist a number of algorithms to map the phase to amplitude in direct digital synthesis (DDS). For DDS with more than 14 output bits, the Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer (CORDIC) algorithm is well known for its high precision. Also, it is effective in solutions where there is the need of in-phase and quadrature components simultaneously because the algorithm calculates both. In this paper, a Taylor expansion based method was proposed to calculate both in-phase and quadrature at the same time. Numerical simulations for different data format, e.g., double and finite bits, were carried out in Matlab and Quartus, which were followed by the hardware implementation in Field Programmable Gate Array. The results demonstrated that the proposed method possessed higher precision and exhausted less logic elements than the CORDIC algorithm.

Description: We present a Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) card with a compact form factor, suitable for multichannel timing instruments or for integration into more complex systems. The TDC Card provides 10 ps timing resolution over the whole measurement range, which is selectable from 160 ns up to 10 μ s, reaching 21 ps rms precision, 1.25% LSB rms differential nonlinearity, up to 3 Mconversion/s with 400 mW power consumption. The I/O edge card connector provides timing data readout through either a parallel bus or a 100 MHz serial interface and further measurement information like input signal rate and valid conversion rate (typically useful for time-correlated single-photon counting application) through an independent serial link.

Description: This paper proposes a new pulse-mixing scheme utilizing both pulse-shrinking and pulse-stretching mechanisms to improve the performance of time-to-digital converters (TDCs). The temporal resolution of the conventional pulse-shrinking mechanism is determined by the size ratio between homogeneous and inhomogeneous elements. The proposed scheme which features double-stage operation derives its resolution according to the time difference between pulse-shrinking and pulse-stretching amounts. Thus, it can achieve greater immunity against temperature and ambient variations than that of the single-stage scheme. The circuit area also can be reduced by the proposed pulse-mixing scheme. In addition, this study proposes an improved cyclic delay line to eliminate the undesirable shift in the temporal resolution successfully. Therefore, the effective resolution can be controlled completely by the pulse-mixing unit to improve accuracy. The proposed TDC composed of only one cyclic delay line and one counter is fabricated in a TSMC CMOS 0.35-μm DPQM process. The chip core occupies an extremely small area of 0.02 mm 2 , which is the best among the related works. The experimental result shows that an effective resolution of around 53 ps within ±13% variation over a 0–100 °C temperature range is achieved. The power consumption is 90 μW at a sample rate of 1000 samples/s. In addition to the reduced area, the proposed TDC circuit achieves its resolution with less thermal-sensitivity and better fluctuations caused by process variations.

Description: Real time, in situ , multiframe, diffraction, and imaging measurements on bulk samples under high and ultrahigh strain-rate loading are highly desirable for micro- and mesoscale sciences. We present an experimental demonstration of multiframe transient x-ray diffraction (TXD) along with simultaneous imaging under high strain-rate loading at the Advanced Photon Source beamline 32ID. The feasibility study utilizes high strain-rate Hopkinson bar loading on a Mg alloy. The exposure time in TXD is 2–3 μs, and the frame interval is 26.7–62.5 μs. Various dynamic deformation mechanisms are revealed by TXD, including lattice expansion or compression, crystal plasticity, grain or lattice rotation, and likely grain refinement, as well as considerable anisotropy in deformation. Dynamic strain fields are mapped via x-ray digital image correlation, and are consistent with the diffraction measurements and loading histories.

Description: We report techniques developed to utilize three-dimensional momentum information as feedback in adaptive femtosecond control of molecular dynamics. Velocity map imaging is used to obtain the three-dimensional momentum map of the dissociating ions following interaction with a shaped intense ultrafast laser pulse. In order to recover robust feedback information, however, the two-dimensional momentum projection from the detector must be inverted to reconstruct the full three-dimensional momentum of the photofragments. These methods are typically slow or require manual inputs and are therefore accomplished offline after the images have been obtained. Using an algorithm based upon an “onion-peeling” (also known as “back projection”) method, we are able to invert 1040 × 1054 pixel images in under 1 s. This rapid inversion allows the full photofragment momentum to be used as feedback in a closed-loop adaptive control scheme, in which a genetic algorithm tailors an ultrafast laser pulse to optimize a specific outcome. Examples of three-dimensional velocity map image based control applied to strong-field dissociation of CO and O 2 are presented.

Description: In order to improve the atom spin gyroscope's operational accuracy and compensate the random error caused by the nonlinear and weak-stability characteristic of the random atomic spin gyroscope (ASG) drift, the hybrid random drift error model based on autoregressive (AR) and genetic programming (GP) + genetic algorithm (GA) technique is established. The time series of random ASG drift is taken as the study object. The time series of random ASG drift is acquired by analyzing and preprocessing the measured data of ASG. The linear section model is established based on AR technique. After that, the nonlinear section model is built based on GP technique and GA is used to optimize the coefficients of the mathematic expression acquired by GP in order to obtain a more accurate model. The simulation result indicates that this hybrid model can effectively reflect the characteristics of the ASG's random drift. The square error of the ASG's random drift is reduced by 92.40%. Comparing with the AR technique and the GP + GA technique, the random drift is reduced by 9.34% and 5.06%, respectively. The hybrid modeling method can effectively compensate the ASG's random drift and improve the stability of the system.

Description: This paper describes the design and performance of an extremely low-noise differential transimpedance amplifier, which takes its two inputs from separate photodiodes. The amplifier was planned to serve as the front-end electronics for a highly sensitive shadow-displacement sensing system, aimed at detecting very low-level “Violin-Mode” ( VM ) oscillations in 0.4 mm diameter by 600 mm long fused-silica suspension fibres. Four such highly tensioned fibres support the 40 kg test-masses/mirrors of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory interferometers. This novel design of amplifier incorporates features which prevent “noise-gain peaking” arising from large area photodiode (and cable) capacitances, and which also usefully separate the DC and AC photocurrents coming from the photodiodes. In consequence, the differential amplifier was able to generate straightforwardly two DC outputs, one per photodiode, as well as a single high-gain output for monitoring the VM oscillations—this output being derived from the difference of the photodiodes’ two, naturally anti-phase, AC photocurrents. Following a displacement calibration, the amplifier's final VM signal output was found to have an AC displacement responsivity at 500 Hz of (9.43 ± 1.20) MV(rms) m −1 (rms), and, therefore, a shot-noise limited sensitivity to such AC shadow- (i.e., fibre-) displacements of (69 ± 13) picometres/√Hz at this frequency, over a measuring span of ±0.1 mm.

Description: Recently, water-gated organic field-effect transistors (WGOFET) have been intensively studied for their application in the biological field. Surprisingly, a very limited number of conjugated polymers have been reported so far. Here, we systematically explore a series of polythiophene derivatives, presenting different alkyl side chains lengths and orientation, and characterized by various morphologies: comparative evaluation of their performances allows highlighting the critical role played by alkyl side chains, which significantly affects the polymer/water interface capacitance. Reported results provide useful guidelines towards further development of WGOFETs and represent a step forward in the understanding of the polymer/water interface phenomena.

Description: Soft magnetic alloys at the nanoscale level have long generated a vivid interest as candidate materials for technological and biomedical purposes. Consequently, controlling the structure of bimetallic nanoparticles in order to optimize their magnetic properties, such as high magnetization and low coercivity, can significantly boost their potential for related applications. However, traditional synthesis methods stumble upon the long standing challenge of developing true nanoalloys with effective control over morphology and stability against oxidation. Herein, we report on a single-step approach to the gas phase synthesis of soft magnetic bimetallic iron aluminide nanoparticles, using a versatile co-sputter inert gas condensation technique. This method allowed for precise morphological control of the particles; they consisted of an alloy iron aluminide crystalline core (DO 3 phase) and an alumina shell, which reduced inter-particle interactions and also prevented further oxidation and segregation of the bimetallic core. Remarkably, the as-deposited alloy nanoparticles show interesting soft magnetic properties, in that they combine a high saturation magnetization (170 emu/g) and low coercivity (less than 20 Oe) at room temperature. Additional functionality is tenable by modifying the surface of the particles with a polymer, to ensure their good colloidal dispersion in aqueous environments.

Description: Lattice resolved and quantitative compositional characterizations of the microstructure in TiCrAlN wear resistant coatings emerging at elevated temperatures are performed to address the spinodal decomposition into nanometer-sized coherent cubic TiCr- and Al-rich domains. The domains coarsen during annealing and at 1100 °C, the Al-rich domains include a metastable cubic Al(Cr)N phase containing 9 at. % Cr and a stable hexagonal AlN phase containing less than 1 at. % Cr. The cubic and the hexagonal phases form strained semi-coherent interfaces with each other.

Description: Raman spectroscopy is employed to characterize structural and phonon properties of GaP/GaNP core/shell nanowires (NWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si substrates. According to polarization-dependent measurements performed on single NWs, the dominant Raman modes associated with zone-center optical phonons obey selection rules in a zinc-blende lattice, confirming high crystalline quality of the NWs. Two additional modes at 360 and 397 cm −1 that are specific to the NW architecture are also detected in resonant Raman spectra and are attributed to defect-activated scattering involving zone-edge transverse optical phonons and surface optical phonons, respectively. It is concluded that the formation of the involved defect states are mainly promoted during the NW growth with a high V/III ratio.

Description: The brightness and interference fringes of a spin-polarized electron beam extracted from a semiconductor photocathode excited by laser irradiation are directly measured via its use in a transmission electron microscope. The brightness was 3.8 × 10 7  A cm −2  sr −1 for a 30-keV beam energy with the polarization of 82%, which corresponds to 3.1 × 10 8  A cm −2  sr −1 for a 200-keV beam energy. The resulting electron beam exhibited a long coherence length at the specimen position due to the high parallelism of (1.7 ± 0.3) × 10 −5  rad, which generated interference fringes representative of a first-order correlation using an electron biprism. The beam also had a high degeneracy of electron wavepacket of 4 × 10 −6 . Due to the high polarization, the high degeneracy and the long coherence length, the spin-polarized electron beam can enhance the antibunching effect.

Description: Multiphase nano-structured permanent magnets show a high thermal stability of remanence and a high energy product while the amount of rare-earth elements is reduced. Non-zero temperature micromagnetic simulations show that a temperature coefficient of remanence of −0.073%/K and that an energy product greater than 400 kJ/m 3 can be achieved at a temperature of 450 K in a magnet containing around 40 volume percent Fe 65 Co 35 embedded in a hard magnetic matrix.

Description: Both the linear and nonlinear optical properties of Bi 3.15 Nd 0.85 Ti 3 O 12 (BNT 0.85 ) ferroelectric thin films deposited on quartz substrates were investigated. The fundamental optical constants were determined as a function of light wavelength by optical transmittance measurements. By performing single-beam Z-scan experiments with femtosecond laser pulses at a wavelength of 800 nm, the two-photon absorption (TPA) coefficient β and third-order nonlinear refraction index γ were measured to be 1.15 × 10 2  cm/GW and −8.15 × 10 −3 cm 2 /GW, respectively. The large TPA is attributed to an indirect transition process via the intermediate energy levels and the large refractive nonlinearity is the result of the electronic polarization and ferroelectric polarization arisen from the femtosecond midinfrared radiation. The results indicate that the BNT 0.85 thin film is a promising candidate for applications in nonlinear photonic devices.

Description: The impact of ground state amplification on the laser emission of In(Ga)As quantum dot excited state lasers is studied in time-resolved experiments. We find that a depopulation of the quantum dot ground state is followed by a drop in excited state lasing intensity. The magnitude of the drop is strongly dependent on the wavelength of the depletion pulse and the applied injection current. Numerical simulations based on laser rate equations reproduce the experimental results and explain the wavelength dependence by the different dynamics in lasing and non-lasing sub-ensembles within the inhomogeneously broadened quantum dots. At high injection levels, the observed response even upon perturbation of the lasing sub-ensemble is small and followed by a fast recovery, thus supporting the capacity of fast modulation in dual-state devices.

Description: The properties of multilayer exfoliated MoTe 2 field-effect transistors (FETs) on SiO 2 were investigated for channel thicknesses from 6 to 44 monolayers (MLs). All transistors showed p -type conductivity at zero back-gate bias. For channel thicknesses of 8 ML or less, the transistors exhibited ambipolar characteristics. ON/OFF current ratio was greatest, 1  ×  10 5 , for the transistor with the thinnest channel, 6 ML. Devices showed a clear photoresponse to wavelengths between 510 and 1080 nm at room temperature. Temperature-dependent current-voltage measurements were performed on a FET with 30 layers of MoTe 2 . When the channel is turned-on and p -type, the temperature dependence is barrier-limited by the Au/Ti/MoTe 2 contact with a hole activation energy of 0.13 eV. A long channel transistor model with Schottky barrier contacts is shown to be consistent with the common-source characteristics.

Description: The magneto-caloric response of the Gd 60 Co 25 Al 15 amorphous alloys was investigated in this work. The amorphous rod exhibits an excellent magneto-caloric effect with a peak value of magnetic entropy change (− ΔS m peak ) up to 10 Jkg −1 K −1 at 125 K under a field of 5 T, and the highest adiabatic temperature change (Δ T ad  = 5.3 K) under the same field among the bulk metallic glasses yet reported in the literature. In contrast, although the thin amorphous ribbons show similar − ΔS m peak and refrigeration capacity to the as-cast rod under 5 T, the higher − ΔS m peak of the ribbons under a lower magnetic field indicates the different magneto-caloric response between the two amorphous alloys. A more detailed investigation has been performed on the field dependence of − ΔS m peak for a deeper insight into the physical characteristics of the amorphous materials.

Description: Morphologically driven dynamic wickability is essential for determining the hydrodynamic status of solid-liquid interface. We demonstrate that the dynamic wicking can play an integral role in supplying and propagating liquid through the interface, and govern the critical heat flux (CHF) against surface dry-out during boiling heat transfer. For the quantitative control of wicking, we manipulate the characteristic lengths of hexagonally arranged nanopillars within sub-micron range through nanosphere lithography combined with top-down metal-assisted chemical etching. Strong hemi-wicking over the manipulated interface (i.e., wicking coefficients) of 1.28 mm/s 0.5 leads to 164% improvement of CHF compared to no wicking. As a theoretical guideline, our wickability-CHF model can make a perfect agreement with improved CHF, which cannot be predicted by the classic models pertaining to just wettability and roughness effects, independently.

Description: We combine nuclear reaction analysis and electrical measurements to study the effect of water exposure (D 2 O) on the n-type 4H-SiC carbon face (000 1 ¯ ) MOS system and to compare to standard silicon based structures. We find that: (1) The bulk of the oxides on Si and SiC behave essentially the same with respect to deuterium accumulation; (2) there is a significant difference in accumulation of deuterium at the semiconductor/dielectric interface, the SiC C-face structure absorbs an order of magnitude more D than pure Si; (3) standard interface passivation schemes such as NO annealing greatly reduce the interfacial D accumulation; and (4) the effective interfacial charge after D 2 O exposure is proportional to the total D amount at the interface.

Description: The microfluidic optomechanical ring resonator (μFOMRR) based on a thin-walled glass capillary supports high Q-factor (〉10 3 ) mechanical modes in the presence of liquids. In this letter, the sensitivity of the μFOMRR to the surface change is studied by layer-by-layer removal of SiO 2 molecules from the μFOMRR inner surface using various concentrations of hydrofluoric acid solutions. A frequency downshift is observed with a sensitivity for the surface density change of 1.2 Hz/(pg/mm 2 ), which translates to a detection limit of 83 pg/mm 2 . This work opens a door to using the optomechanical mode for detection and characterization of molecules near the resonator surface.

Description: We report on the intercalation of a submonolayer of copper at 775 K underneath graphene epitaxially grown on Ir(111) studied by means of low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at 77 K. Nucleation and growth dynamics of Cu below graphene have been investigated, and, most importantly, the intercalation mechanism has been identified. First, LEED patterns reveal the pseudomorphic growth of Cu on Ir under the topmost graphene layer resulting in a large Cu in-plane lattice parameter expansion of about 6% compared to Cu(111). Second, large-scale STM topographs as a function of Cu coverage show that Cu diffusion on Ir below graphene exhibits a low energy barrier resulting in Cu accumulation at Ir step edges. As a result, the graphene sheet undergoes a strong edges reshaping. Finally, atomically-resolved STM images reveal a damaged graphene sheet at the atomic scale after metal intercalation. Point defects in graphene were shown to be carbon vacancies. According to these results, a Cu penetration path beneath graphene is proposed to occur via metal aided defect formation with no or poor self healing of the graphene sheet. This work illustrates the fact that Cu intercalation is harmful for graphene grown on Ir(111) at the atomic scale.

Description: Two-photon ionization by focused femtosecond laser pulses initiates the development of micrometer-scale plasmas in the bulk of silicon. Using pump-and-probe transmission microscopy with infrared light, we investigate the space-time characteristics of these plasmas for laser intensities up to 10 12  W/cm 2 . The measurements reveal a self-limitation of the excitation at a maximum free-carrier density of ≅10 19  cm − 3 , which is more than one order of magnitude below the threshold for permanent modification. The plasmas remain unchanged in the ∼100 ps timescale revealing slow carrier kinetics. The results underline the limits in local control of silicon dielectric permittivity, which are inherent to the use of single near-infrared ultrashort Gaussian pulses.

Description: X-ray luminescence tomography (XLT) is an imaging technology based on X-ray-excitable materials. The main purpose of this paper is to obtain quantitative luminescence concentration using the structural information of the X-ray computed tomography (XCT) in the hybrid cone beam XLT/XCT system. A multi-wavelength luminescence cone beam XLT method with the structural a priori information is presented to relieve the severe ill-posedness problem in the cone beam XLT. The nanophosphors and phantom experiments were undertaken to access the linear relationship of the system response. Then, an in vivo mouse experiment was conducted. The in vivo experimental results show that the recovered concentration error as low as 6.67% with the location error of 0.85 mm can be achieved. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can accurately recover the nanophosphor inclusion and realize the quantitative imaging.

Description: Anti-Stokes photoluminescence is measured in high-quality GaAs quantum wells. The primary pathway for interband optical absorption and hence emission under subbandgap photoexcitation is the optical phonon-mediated second-order electric dipole transition. This conclusion is drawn from the remarkable agreement between predictions of second-order perturbation calculation and the measured intensity of anti-Stokes photoluminescence, both as function of the detuning wavelength and temperature. The results are of direct relevance to laser cooling of solids where phonon-assisted upconversion is a necessary condition.

Description: We investigate the dispersion relation for low frequency electromagnetic waves propagating parallel to the ambient magnetic field, considering that the velocity distributions of ions and electrons can be either bi-Maxwellian of product bi-kappa distributions. The effect of the anisotropy and non-thermal features associated to the product-bi-kappa distributions on the firehose instability are numerically investigated. The general conclusion to be drawn from the results obtained is that the increase in non-thermal features which is consequence of the decrease of the κ indexes in the ion distribution contributes to increase the instability in magnitude and wave number range, in comparison with bi-Maxwellian distributions with similar temperature anisotropy, and that the increase of non-thermal features in the electron distribution contributes to the quenching of the instability, which is nevertheless driven by the anisotropy in the ion distribution. Significant differences between results obtained either considering product-bi-kappa distributions or bi-kappa distributions are also reported.

Description: The effects of shock dynamics on compressibility of indirect-drive ignition-scale surrogate implosions, CH shells filled with D 3 He gas, have been studied using charged-particle spectroscopy. Spectral measurements of D 3 He protons produced at the shock-bang time probe the shock dynamics and in-flight characteristics of an implosion. The proton shock yield is found to vary by over an order of magnitude. A simple model relates the observed yield to incipient hot-spot adiabat, suggesting that implosions with rapid radiation-power increase during the main drive pulse may have a 2× higher hot-spot adiabat, potentially reducing compressibility. A self-consistent 1-D implosion model was used to infer the areal density ( ρR ) and the shell center-of-mass radius ( R cm ) from the downshift of the shock-produced D 3 He protons. The observed ρR at shock-bang time is substantially higher for implosions, where the laser drive is on until near the compression bang time (“short-coast”), while longer-coasting implosions have lower ρR . This corresponds to a much larger temporal difference between the shock- and compression-bang time in the long-coast implosions (∼800 ps) than in the short-coast (∼400 ps); this will be verified with a future direct bang-time diagnostic. This model-inferred differential bang time contradicts radiation-hydrodynamic simulations, which predict constant 700–800 ps differential independent of coasting time; this result is potentially explained by uncertainties in modeling late-time ablation drive on the capsule. In an ignition experiment, an earlier shock-bang time resulting in an earlier onset of shell deceleration, potentially reducing compression and, thus, fuel ρR .

Description: In this work, the low frequency waves and gravitational (Jeans) instability of a homogeneous gyrotropic, magnetized, quantum plasma is investigated using the quantum magnetohydrodynamic and Chew-Goldberger-Low fluid models. An analytical dispersion relation for the considered system is obtained solving the linearized perturbations equations employing the Fourier transformation. The onset criterion of the “firehose” instability is retained in parallel propagation, which is unaffected due to the presence of quantum corrections. The gravitational mode modified by the quantum corrections is obtained separately along with the “firehose” mode. In perpendicular propagation, the quantum diffraction term is coupled with the Jeans and Alfven modes whereas in parallel propagation, the Alfven mode does not contribute to the dispersion characteristics as it leads to the “firehose” instability criterion in terms of quantum pressure anisotropy. The stabilizing influences of the quantum diffraction parameter and magnetic field on the growth rates of Jeans instability are examined. It is observed that the growth rate stabilizes much faster in transverse mode due to Alfven stabilization as compared to the longitudinal mode of propagation.

Description: We present a novel high-precision two-way optic-fiber time transfer scheme. The Inter-Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG-B) time code is modified by increasing bit rate and defining new fields. The modified time code can be transmitted directly using commercial optical transceivers and is able to efficiently suppress the effect of the Rayleigh backscattering in the optical fiber. A dedicated codec (encoder and decoder) with low delay fluctuation is developed. The synchronization issue is addressed by adopting a mask technique and combinational logic circuit. Its delay fluctuation is less than 27 ps in terms of the standard deviation. The two-way optic-fiber time transfer using the improved codec scheme is verified experimentally over 2 m to100 km fiber links. The results show that the stability over 100 km fiber link is always less than 35 ps with the minimum value of about 2 ps at the averaging time around 1000 s. The uncertainty of time difference induced by the chromatic dispersion over 100 km is less than 22 ps.

Description: Neutrons spectra from most of known sources require being collimated for numerous applications; among them one is the Neutron Activation Analysis. High energy neutrons are collimated through a mechanical procedure as one of the most promising methods. The output energy of the neutron beam depends on the velocity of the rotating Polyethylene disks. The collimated neutrons are then measured by an innovative detection technique with high accuracy.

Description: The electron spin dynamics in n -doped bulk cubic GaN is investigated for very high temperatures from 293 K up to 500 K by time-resolved Kerr-rotation spectroscopy. We find extraordinarily long spin lifetimes exceeding 1 ns at 500 K. The temperature dependence of the spin relaxation time is in qualitative agreement with predictions of Dyakonov-Perel theory, while the absolute experimental times are an order of magnitude shorter than predicted. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed, including the role of phase mixtures of hexagonal and cubic GaN as well as the impact of localized carriers.

Description: We have reported a method to enhance the performance of graphene-Si (Gr/Si) Schottky junction solar cells by introducing Au nanoparticles (NPs) onto the monolayer graphene and few-layer graphene. The electron transfer between Au NPs and graphene leads to the increased work function and enhanced electrical conductivity of graphene, resulting in a remarkable improvement of device efficiency. By optimizing the initial thickness of Au layers, the power conversion efficiency of Gr/Si solar cells can be increased by more than three times, with a maximum value of 7.34%. These results show a route for fabricating efficient and stable Gr/Si solar cells.

Description: Metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors are investigated, in which the insulator is cross-linked polyvinylphenol and the active layer a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene), P3HT, and the electron acceptor [6,6]-phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Admittance spectra and capacitance-voltage measurements obtained in the dark both display similar behaviour to those previously observed in P3HT-only devices. However, the photo-capacitance response is significantly enhanced in the P3HT:PCBM case, where exciton dissociation leads to electron transfer into the PCBM component. The results are consistent with a network of PCBM aggregates that is continuous through the film but with no lateral interconnection between the aggregates at or near the blend/insulator interface.

Description: We demonstrate experimentally close to total absorption in monolayer graphene based on critical coupling with guided resonances in transfer printed photonic crystal Fano resonance filters at near infrared. Measured peak absorptions of 35% and 85% were obtained from cavity coupled monolayer graphene for the structures without and with back reflectors, respectively. These measured values agree very well with the theoretical values predicted with the coupled mode theory based critical coupling design. Such strong light-matter interactions can lead to extremely compact and high performance photonic devices based on large area monolayer graphene and other two–dimensional materials.

Description: The mechanism and realization of a band-agile coaxial relativistic backward-wave oscillator (RBWO) are presented. The operation frequency tuning can be easily achieved by merely altering the inner-conductor length. The key effects of the inner-conductor length contributing to the mechanical frequency tunability are investigated theoretically and experimentally. There is a specific inner-conductor length where the operation frequency can jump from one mode to another mode, which belongs to a different operation band. In addition, the operation frequency is tunable within each operation band. During simulation, the L-band microwave with a frequency of 1.61 GHz is radiated when the inner-conductor length is 39 cm. Meanwhile, the S-band microwave with a frequency of 2.32 GHz is radiated when the inner-conductor length is 5 cm. The frequency adjustment bandwidths of L-band and S-band are about 8.5% and 2%, respectively. Moreover, the online mechanical tunability process is described in detail. In the initial experiment, the generated microwave frequencies remain approximately 1.59 GHz and 2.35 GHz when the inner-conductor lengths are 39 cm and 5 cm. In brief, this technical route of the band-agile coaxial RBWO is feasible and provides a guide to design other types of band-agile high power microwaves sources.

Description: Spin Seebeck effect (SSE) and spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) are observed simultaneously in the Pt/Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 hybrid structure when thermal gradient is produced by Joule heating. According to their dependences on applied current, these two effects can be separated. Their dependence on heating power and magnetic field is systematically studied. With the increase of heating power, the SSE enhances linearly, whereas the SMR decreases slowly. The origin of the spin currents is further analyzed. The heating power dependences of the spin currents associated with the SSE and the SMR are found to be different.

Description: In this paper, we examine the behaviour of basic autocatalytic feedback modules involving a species catalyzing its own production, either directly or indirectly. We first perform a systematic study of the autocatalytic feedback module in isolation, examining the effect of different factors, showing how this module is capable of exhibiting monostable threshold and bistable switch-like behaviour. We then study the behaviour of this module embedded in different kinds of basic networks including (essentially) irreversible cycles, open and closed reversible chains, and networks with additional feedback. We study the behaviour of the networks deterministically and also stochastically, using simulations, analytical work, and bifurcation analysis. We find that (i) there are significant differences between the behaviour of this module in isolation and in a network: thresholds may be altered or destroyed and bistability may be destroyed or even induced, even when the ambient network is simple. The global characteristics and topology of this network and the position of the module in the ambient network can play important and unexpected roles. (ii) There can be important differences between the deterministic and stochastic dynamics of the module embedded in networks, which may be accentuated by the ambient network. This provides new insights into the functioning of such enzymatic modules individually and as part of networks, with relevance to other enzymatic signalling modules as well.

Description: Recent experiments indicate a connection between the structure of amyloid aggregates and their cytotoxicity as related to neurodegenerative diseases. Of particular interest is the Iowa Mutant, which causes early-onset of Alzheimer's disease. While wild-type Amyloid β -peptides form only parallel beta-sheet aggregates, the mutant also forms meta-stable antiparallel beta sheets. Since these structural variations may cause the difference in the pathological effects of the two A β -peptides, we have studied in silico the relative stability of the wild type and Iowa mutant in both parallel and antiparallel forms. We compare regular molecular dynamics simulations with such where the viscosity of the samples is reduced, which, we show, leads to higher sampling efficiency. By analyzing and comparing these four sets of all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we probe the role of the various factors that could lead to the structural differences. Our analysis indicates that the parallel forms of both wild type and Iowa mutant aggregates are stable, while the antiparallel aggregates are meta-stable for the Iowa mutant and not stable for the wild type. The differences result from the direct alignment of hydrophobic interactions in the in-register parallel oligomers, making them more stable than the antiparallel aggregates. The slightly higher thermodynamic stability of the Iowa mutant fibril-like oligomers in its parallel organization over that in antiparallel form is supported by previous experimental measurements showing slow inter-conversion of antiparallel aggregates into parallel ones. Knowledge of the mechanism that selects between parallel and antiparallel conformations and determines their relative stability may open new avenues for the development of therapies targeting familial forms of early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Description: The magnetic and dielectric polarization properties of the single crystal samples of CuFe 1− x Ga x O 2 ( x  = 0 and 0.02) are investigated. Experimental results show that the magnetization and dielectric polarizations are anisotropy and coupled together. Compared with pure CuFeO 2 , in the case with the magnetic field parallel to the c axis, a field-induced phase transition with a hysteresis is clearly observed between the five-sublattice (5SL) and three-sublattice (3SL) phases. Specially, an obvious spontaneous dielectric polarization is observed in CuFe 0.98 Ga 0.02 O 2 in a lower magnetic field region, indicating that the Ga doping has an effect on the enhancement of spontaneous dielectric polarization. Based on the dilution effect, change of exchange interaction, and partial release of the spin frustration due to the structural modulation of the Ga ion dopant, the origin of the magnetization, and spontaneous polarization characteristics are discussed and the complete dielectric polarization diagrams are assumed.

Description: Perovskite phase SnTiO 3 was predicted to have a large spontaneous polarization of 1.1 C/m 2 , but its synthesis has been unsuccessful so far. Here, we calculated the ferroelectric properties of a series of Ruddleson-Popper (RP) phase SnO(SnTiO 3 ) n ( n  = 1 ∼ 6), with perovskite SnTiO 3 as the ending structure ( n  = ∞), using the first principles calculations. An analysis of RP phase tolerance factor indicated that the fabrication of the RP phase SnO(SnTiO 3 ) n may be easier than that for SnTiO 3 . For bulk SnO(SnTiO 3 ) 1 , the most stable phase is Aba2 with a spontaneous polarization of 0.53 C/m 2 along [110]. Aba2 is also the most stable phase for SnO(SnTiO 3 ) 1 under biaxial strain. For RP phase SnO(SnTiO 3 ) n on a SrTiO 3 substrate, there is also a phase transition with the increasing layer thickness n . The polarization increases with strain or layer thickness. The ferroelectric properties and size effect in the free standing RP phase SnO(SnTiO 3 ) n nanosheets were also investigated, and the in -plane polarization is 60% larger than that of the bulk.

Description: We investigate the growth-temperature dependence of the properties of the group-IV-based ferromagnetic semiconductor Ge 1− x Fe x films ( x  = 6.5% and 10.5%), and reveal the correlation of the magnetic properties with the lattice constant, Curie temperature ( T C ), non-uniformity of Fe atoms, stacking-fault defects, and Fe-atom locations. While T C strongly depends on the growth temperature, we find a universal relationship between T C and the lattice constant, which does not depend on the Fe content x . By using the spatially resolved transmission-electron diffractions combined with the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, we find that the density of the stacking-fault defects and the non-uniformity of the Fe concentration are correlated with T C . Meanwhile, by using the channeling Rutherford backscattering and particle-induced X-ray emission measurements, we clarify that about 15% of the Fe atoms exist on the tetrahedral interstitial sites in the Ge 0.935 Fe 0.065 lattice and that the substitutional Fe concentration is not correlated with T C . Considering these results, we conclude that the non-uniformity of the Fe concentration plays an important role in determining the ferromagnetic properties of GeFe.

Description: A strong microwave shielding effect due to the excitation of microwave eddy-currents exists for metallic films of sub-skin-depth thickness (10–100 nm). If the film is ferromagnetic, this effect strongly influences results of the broadband stripline ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectroscopy. It also potentially hampers the development of magnetically tuneable metamaterials. By means of rigorous numerical simulations, we address an important problem of the dependence of the eddy current effect on the width of the stripline used for driving magnetisation dynamics in the broadband FMR spectroscopy. We study theoretically electrodynamics of realistic striplines and also extend the main result from the case of continuous conductive films to periodic conductive nanostructures—magnonic crystals. Based on these findings, we also give recommendations on improving performance of magnetically tuneable metamaterials, which are based on conductive ferromagnetic films and nanostructures. In our simulations, we consider examples of microstrip lines which are 5  μ m to 1.5 mm wide. However, the simulation results should be equally applicable to coplanar waveguides with the same width of the signal line.

Description: We demonstrate a resolution of 45 nm with a sample size down to 3  μ m × 3  μ m is achieved in a short exposure time of 2 s, from the diffraction pattern generated by a table-top high harmonic source at around 30 nm. By using a narrow-bandwidth focusing mirror, the diffraction pattern's quality is improved and the required exposure time is significantly reduced. In order to obtain a high quality of the reconstructed image, the ratio of the beam size to the sample size and the curvature of the focused beam need to be considered in the reconstruction process. This new experimental scheme is very promising for imaging sub-10 nm scale objects with a table-top source based on a small inexpensive femtosecond laser system.

Description: Core/shell heterostructured TiO 2 /CdS x Se 1-x nanowire arrays (NWAs) were prepared via physical vapor deposition of CdS x Se 1-x layer onto the hydrothermal pre-grown TiO 2 NWAs with FTO as conductive substrate. By change the sulfur content ( x ) in the TiO 2 /CdS x Se 1-x nano-composites, it was observed that the light absorption edge can be gradually tuned within a broad wavelength from 540 to 710 nm. When used as photoanodes for hydrogen generation, the as-prepared TiO 2 /CdS x Se 1-x NWAs show much higher photoelectroncatalytic activity than the pristine TiO 2 NWAs. Moreover, the TiO 2 /CdS x Se 1-x photoelectrode with x  = 0.52 exhibited the highest photocurrent level and outstanding stability, which is more suitable for long-time hydrogen generation. This study may be useful in the design of alloy hetrostructure photoelectrodes with optimal chemical composition toward the more efficient solar conversion devices.

Description: This work studies the electron mobility in InAs nanowires (NWs), by solving the Boltzmann Transport Equation under the Momentum Relaxation Time approximation. The numerical solver takes into account the contribution of the main scattering mechanisms present in III-V compound semiconductors. It is validated against experimental field effect-mobility results, showing a very good agreement. The mobility dependence on the nanowire diameter and carrier density is analyzed. It is found that surface roughness and polar optical phonons are the scattering mechanisms that mainly limit the mobility behavior. Finally, we explain the origin of the oscillations observed in the mobility of small NWs at high electric fields.

Description: We investigate homeotropically aligned fluorophores and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) for luminescent solar concentrators using Monte-Carlo ray tracing. The homeotropic alignment strongly improves the trapping efficiency, while FRET circumvents the low absorption at homeotropic alignment by separating the absorption and emission processes. We predict that this design doped with two organic dye molecules can yield a 82.9% optical efficiency improvement compared to a single, arbitrarily oriented dye molecule. We also show that quantum dots are prime candidates for absorption/donor fluorophores due to their wide absorption band. The potentially strong re-absorption and low quantum yield of quantum dots is not a hindrance for this design.