Nature of interfacial defects and their roles in strain relaxation at highly lattice mismatched 3C-SiC/Si (001) interface

Misfit defects in a 3C-SiC/Si (001) interface were investigated using a 200 kV high-resolution electron microscope with a point resolution of 0.194 nm. The [110] high-resolution electron microscopic images that do not directly reflect the crystal structure were transformed into the structure map through image deconvolution. Based on this analysis, four types of misfit dislocations at the 3C-SiC/Si (001) interface were determined. In turn, the strain relaxation mechanism was clarified through the generation of grow-in perfect misfit dislocations (including 90 degrees Lomer dislocations and 60 degrees shuffle dislocations) and 90 partial dislocations associated with stacking faults. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3234380]

Passively mode-locking Nd : Gd0.5Y0.5VO4 laser with an In(0.25)Ga(0.75)Aa absorber grown at low temperature

We have demonstrated stable self-starting passive mode locking in a diode-end-pumped Nd:Gd-0.8-Y0.5VO4 laser by using an In0.25Ga0.75As absorber grown at low temperature (LT In0.25Ga0.75As absorber). An In0.25Ga0.75As single-quantum-well absorber, which was grown directly on the GaAs buffer by use of the metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition technique, acts simultaneously as a passive mode-locking device and as an output coupler. Continuous-wave mode-locked pulses were obtained at 1063.5 nm. We achieved a pulse duration of 2.6 ps and an average output power of 2.15 W at a repetition rate of 96.4 MHz. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.

Electronic structure and optical gain saturation of InAs1-xNx/GaAs quantum dots

The electronic band structures and optical gains of InAs1-xNx/GaAs pyramid quantum dots (QDs) are calculated using the ten-band k . p model and the valence force field method. The optical gains are calculated using the zero-dimensional optical gain formula with taking into consideration of both homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadenings due to the size fluctuation of quantum dots which follows a normal distribution. With the variation of QD sizes and nitrogen composition, it can be shown that the nitrogen composition and the strains can significantly affect the energy levels especially the conduction band which has repulsion interaction with nitrogen resonant state due to the band anticrossing interaction. It facilitates to achieve emission of longer wavelength (1.33 or 1.55 mu m) lasers for optical fiber communication system. For QD with higher nitrogen composition, it has longer emission wavelength and less detrimental effect of higher excited state transition, but nitrogen composition can affect the maximum gain depending on the factors of transition matrix element and the Fermi-Dirac distributions for electrons in the conduction bands and holes in the valence bands respectively. For larger QD, its maximum optical gain is greater at lower carrier density, but it is slowly surpassed by smaller QD as carrier concentration increases. Larger QD can reach its saturation gain faster, but this saturation gain is smaller than that of smaller QD. So the trade-off between longer wavelength, maximum optical, saturation gain, and differential gain must be considered to select the appropriate QD size according to the specific application requirement. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3143025]

Tunneling magnetoresistance in (Ga,Mn)As/Al-O/CoFeB hybrid structures

Tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) in Ga(0.9)2Mn(0.08)As/Al-O/Co40Fe40B20 trilayer hybrid structure as a function of temperature from 10 to 50 K with magnetic field vertical bar H vertical bar <= 2000 Oe has been studied. TMR ratio of 1.6% at low fields at 10 K was achieved with the applied current of 1 mu A. The behavior of junction resistance was well explained by the tunneling resistance across the barrier. Strong bias dependences of magnetoresistance and junction resistance were presented. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3068418]

Low heat and high efficiency Nd:GdVO4 laser pumped by 913 nm

A Nd:GdVO4 crystal is pumped directly into its emitting level at 913 nm for the first time to the best of our knowledge. 3.35 W output laser emitting at 1063 nm is achieved in a 1.1 at.% Nd-doped Nd:GdVO4. The crystal absorbs pumping light of 4.30 W at 913 nm and produces a very low quantity of heat with the opto-optic conversion efficiency of 77.2%. The average slope efficiency is 81.2% from 0.21 W, at the threshold, to 4.30 W of absorbed pump power. Because of the very weakly thermal effect, the near-diffraction-limit beam is easily obtained with beam quality factor of M-2 approximate to 1.1.

太阳能与燃煤供热干燥装置

为了适应乡镇企业的发展，满足农副产品加工的需要，充分利用广东当地丰富的太阳能资源，中国科学院广州能源研究所存广东省新会县副食品厂设计兴建了一座目前我国最大的太阳能与燃煤供热的生产性干燥装

The two- to three-dimensional growth transition of InAs/GaAs epitaxy layer studied by reflectance difference spectroscopy

In this work, we have adopted reflectance difference spectroscopy to study the evolution of InAs layer grown at different temperatures in GaAs matrix. Associated with the two- to three-dimensional growth transition of InAs layer, the transition energies and the in-plane optical anisotropy of InAs wetting layer exhibit abrupt changes. This provides a new way to decide the critical thickness h(c) for the growth transition. The obtained h(c)s are compared with those determined by atomic force microscope measurement, and discrepancy is found at high temperatures. The origin of the difference is clarified and the variations in hc with temperature are further discussed. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3494043]

Electron spin dynamics in heavily Mn-doped (Ga,Mn)As

Electron spin relaxation and related mechanisms in heavily Mn-doped (Ga,Mn) As are studied by performing time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements. At low temperature, s-d exchange scattering dominates electron spin relaxation, whereas the Bir-Aronov-Pikus mechanism and Mn impurity scattering play important roles at high temperature. The temperature-dependent spin relaxation time exhibits an anomaly around the Curie temperature (T(c)) that implies that thermal fluctuation is suppressed by short-range correlated spin fluctuation above T(c). (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3531754]

Interface energy and its influence on interface fracture between metal and ceramic thin films in nanoscale

A theoretical model about the size-dependent interface energy between two thin films with different materials is developed by considering the chemical bonding contribution based on the thermodynamic expressions and the structure strain contribution based on the mechanical characteristics. The interface energy decreases with reducing thickness of thin films, and is determined by such available thermodynamic and mechanical parameters as the melting entropy, the melting enthalpy, the shear modulus of two materials, etc. The predicted interface energies of some metal/MgO and metal/Al2O3 interfaces based on the model are consistent with the results based on the molecular mechanics calculation. Furthermore, the interface fracture properties of Ag/MgO and Ni/Al2O3 based on the atomistic simulation are further compared with each other. The fracture strength and the toughness of the interface with the smaller structure interface energy are both found to be lower. The intrinsic relations among the interface energy, the interface strength, and the fracture toughness are discussed by introducing the related interface potential and the interface stress. The microscopic interface fracture toughness is found to equal the structure interface energy in nanoscale, and the microscopic fracture strength is proportional to the fracture toughness. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3501090]

Extracting nanobelt mechanical properties from nanoindentation

A three-spring-in-series model is proposed for the nanobelt (NB) indentation test. Compared with the previous two-spring-in-series model, which considers the bending stiffness of atomic force microscope cantilever and the indenter/NB contact stiffness, this model adds a third spring of the NB/substrate contact stiffness. NB is highly flexural due to its large aspect ratio of length to thickness. The bending and lift-off of NB form a localized contact with substrate, which makes the Oliver-Pharr method [W. C. Oliver and G. M. Pharr, J. Mater. Res. 7, 1564 (1992)] and Sneddon method [I. N. Sneddon, Int. J. Eng. Sci. 3, 47 (1965)] inappropriate for NB indentation test. Because the NB/substrate deformation may have significant impact on the force-indentation depth data obtained in experiment, the two-spring-in-series model can lead to erroneous predictions on the NB mechanical properties. NB in indentation test can be susceptible to the adhesion influence because of its large surface area to volume ratio. NB/substrate contact and adhesion can have direct and significant impact on the interpretation of experimental data. Through the three-spring-in-series model, the influence of NB/substrate contact and adhesion is analyzed and methods of reducing such influence are also suggested. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3432748]