Electric and magnetic losses and gains in determining the sign of refractive index

Within the framework of classic electromagnetic theories, we have studied the sign of refractive index of optical medias with the emphases on the roles of the electric and magnetic losses and gains. Starting from the Maxwell equations for an isotropic and homogeneous media, we have derived the general form of the complex refractive index and its relation with the complex electric permittivity and magnetic permeability, i.e. n = root epsilon mu, in which the intrinsic electric and magnetic losses and gains are included as the imaginary parts of the complex permittivity and permeability, respectively, as epsilon = epsilon(r) + i(epsilon i) and mu = mu(r) + i mu(i). The electric and magnetic losses are present in all passive materials, which correspond, respectively, to the positive imaginary permittivity and permeability epsilon(i) > 0 and mu(i) > 0. The electric and magnetic gains are present in materials where external pumping sources enable the light to be amplified instead of attenuated, which correspond, respectively, to the negative imaginary permittivity and permeability epsilon(i) < 0 and mu(i) < 0. We have analyzed and determined uniquely the sign of the refractive index, for all possible combinations of the four parameters epsilon(r), mu(r), epsilon(i), and mu(i), in light of the relativistic causality. A causal solution requires that the wave impedance be positive Re {Z} > 0. We illustrate the results for all cases in tables of the sign of refractive index. One of the most important messages from the sign tables is that, apart from the well-known case where simultaneously epsilon < 0 and mu < 0, there are other possibilities for the refractive index to be negative n < 0, for example, for epsilon(r) < 0, mu(r) > 0, epsilon(i) > 0, and mu(i) > 0, the refractive index is negative n < 0 provided mu(i)/epsilon(i) > mu(r)/vertical bar epsilon(r)vertical bar. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Theoretical analysis and experimental study of Fourier transformation of Franz-Keldysh oscillations in GaAs

Fourier transformation (FT) has been used in the theoretical line shape analysis of Franz-Keldysh oscillations (FKOs) in detail by numerical simulations. FKOs from the surface-intrinsic-n(+) GaAs structure were obtained in photoreflectance (PR) measurements with various modulation light intensities and with different strengths of bias light illumination, which were used to change the static electric field in the intrinsic layer of the sample. The FT spectra of the PR spectra, including the real part, imaginary part, and the modulus, were very consistent with the theoretical line shapes. The ratio of the square root of the reduced mass (root mu (L)/root mu (H)) and the ratio of transition strength of the electron heavy hole to the electron light hole were obtained from the PT spectra. In addition, the electric field in the intrinsic layer of the sample without and with bias illumination and the modulation field induced by photomodulation were also obtained. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)02123-X].

Fourier transformation study of the Franz-Keldysh Oscillation in SIN+ GaAs structures

Fourier transformation (FT) method has been used in the theoretical lineshape analysis of the Franz-Keldysh Oscillation (FKO) in detail by numerical simulation. The FKO of a set of GaAs SIN+ samples was obtained in photoreflectance measurements. The FT spectra of a part of the samples,including of the real part,imaginary part, and mode of the FT,are well consistent with the theoretical lineshapes. The ratio of the square root of the reduced mass of the light hole (LH) to the heavy hole (HH), root mu(1)/root mu(h), obtained in the analysis was in the range of 0.805 to 0.816 for different samples. In addition,the built-in electric field F-1, and the modulation field delta F = F-1 - F-2 induced by photo-modulation were also obtained in the analysis. However,for a few samples great difference was found in the lineshape of the real part and imaginary part of their FT spectra from the theoretical lineshape. In this case the mode of the FT spectra still can be used to obtain useful information.

Nanosecond nonlinear absorption in Au and Ag nanoparticles precipitated glasses induced by a femtosecond laser

We obtain Au and Ag nanoparticles precipitated in glasses by irradiation of focused femtosecond pulses, and investigate the nonlinear absorptions of the glasses by using Z-scan technique with ns pulses at 532 nm. We observe the saturable absorption behavior for An nanoparticles precipitated glasses and the reverse saturable ones for Ag ones. We also obtain, by fitting to the experimental results in the light of the local field effect near and away from the surface plasmon resonance, chi(m)((3)) = 4.5 x 10(-7) and 5.9 x 10(-8) esu for m the imaginary parts of the third-order susceptibilities for Au and Ag nanoparticles, respectively. The nonlinear response of Au nanoparticles in the glass samples arises mainly from the hot-electron contribution and the saturation of the interband transitions near the surface plasmon resonance, whereas that of Ag nanoparticles in the glass samples from the interband transitions. These show that the obtained glasses can be used as optoelectronic devices suiting for different demands. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantum Confinement and Electronic Properties of Rutile TiO2 Nanowires

The quantum confinement effect, electronic properties, and optical properties of TiO2 nanowires in rutile structure are investigated via first-principles calculations. We calculate the size- and shape-dependent band gap of the nanowires and fit the results with the function E-g = E-g(bulk) + beta/d(alpha). We find that the quantum confinement effect becomes significant for d < 25 angstrom, and a notable anisotropy exists that arises from the anisotropy of the effective masses. We also evaluate the imaginary part of the frequency-dependent dielectric function [epsilon(2)(omega)] within the electric-dipole approximation, for both the polarization parallel [epsilon(parallel to)(2)(omega)] and the perpendicular [epsilon 1/2(omega)] to the axial (c) direction. The band structure of the nanowires is calculated, with which the fine structure of epsilon(parallel to)(2)(omega) has been analyzed.

Optical constants of cubic GaN/GaAs(001): Experiment and modeling

The optical constants epsilon(E)=epsilon(1)(E)+iepsilon(2)(E) of unintentionally doped cubic GaN grown on GaAs(001) have been measured at 300 K using spectral ellipsometry in the range of 1.5-5.0 eV. The epsilon(E) spectra display a structure, associated with the critical point at E-0 (direct gap) and some contribution mainly coming from the E-1 critical point. The experimental data over the entire measured spectral range (after oxide removal) has been fit using the Holden-Munoz model dielectric function [M. Munoz et al., J. Appl. Phys. 92, 5878 (2002)]. This model is based on the electronic energy-band structure near critical points plus excitonic and band-to-band Coulomb-enhancement effects at E-0, E-0 + Delta(0) and the E-1, E-1 + Delta(1), doublet. In addition to evaluating the energy of the E-0 critical point, the binding energy (R-1) of the two-dimensional exciton related to the E-1 critical point was estimated using the effective mass/k.p theory. The line, shape of the imaginary part of the cubic-GaN dielectric function shows excitonic effects at room temperature not withstanding that the exciton was not resolved. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

Synthesis, structural and electrical characterizations of Sr2Fe1-xMxNbO6 (M = Zn and Cu) with double perovskite structure

Sr2Fe1-xZnxNbO6-x/2 (0 <= x <= 0.5) and Sr2Fe1-xCuxNbO6-x/2 (0.01 <= x <= 0.05) with the double perovskite structure have been synthesized. The crystal structures at room temperature were determined from Rietveld refinements of X-ray powder diffraction data. The plots of the imaginary parts of the impedance spectrum, Z '', and the electric modulus, M '', versus log (frequency), possess maxima for both curves separated by less than a half decade in frequency with associated capacities of 2 nF. The enhancement of the overall conductivity Of Sr2Fe1-xMxNbO6-x/2 (M = Cu and Zn) is observed, as increases from 2.48 (3) x 10(-4) S/cm for Sr2FeNbO6 to 3.82 (5) x 10(-3) S/cm for Sr2Fe0.8Zn0.2NbO5.9 at 673 K. Sr2Fe0.8Zn0.2NbO5.9 is chemically stable under the oxygen partial pressure from 1 atm to 10(-22) atm at 873 K. The p and n-type electronic conductions are dominant under oxidizing and reducing conditions, respectively, suggesting a small-polaron hopping mechanism of electronic conduction.

Study of the ionic conductivity of polymer electrolyte using imaginary impedance spectroscopy

Polymeric electrolytes of (PEO1)(10) LiClO4-Al2O3 (PEO: poly (ethyleneoxide)) and (PEO2)(16)LiClO4-EC (EC: ethylene carbonate) were prepared. We proposed an equivalent circuit and gave the meaning of the concerned circuit elements. When the impedance spectrum deformed severely, the ionic conductivity of polymer electrolyte was determined by using the maximum of imaginary impedance, which is a convenient method.

In situ analysis of electropolymerization of aniline by combined electrochemistry and surface plasmon resonance

The combination of electrochemistry with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been used to characterize the growth of polyaniline (PAn) on a gold electrode surface during potential cycling. Potential-modulated SPR characteristics of the PAn film were also revealed. The potential switch between the oxidized and reduced states of PAn can lead to a large change of SPR response due to the variation in the imaginary part of the dielectric constant of PAn film resulting from the transition of the film in conductivity. The redox transition of the PAn film during potential cycling is very profitable to the SPR measurements. Two modes of SPR measurement, SPR angular scan (R-theta) and the time evolution of the reflectivity change at a fixed angle (R-t), were displayed to study the growth process of the PAn film. The angle shift of the resonance minimum recorded at each cathodic limit of cyclic potential scanning allows for the unambiguous measurement of the film growth. During cyclic potential scanning, the R-t curve was repeatedly modulated with the direction of the potential ramp as a result of the redox switch of the PAn film, and the amplitude of potential-modulated reflectivity change was well correlated with the cyclic number. The time differential of the R-t curve permits continuous monitoring of the film growth process. These results illustrate that the combined technique is suitable for studying the electropolymerization process of a conducting polymer.

One century record of contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls in core sediments from the southern Yellow Sea

Sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 28 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured at a 2-cm interval in a core sample from the middle of the southern Yellow Sea for elucidating their historical variations in inflow and sources. The chronology was obtained using the Pb-210 method. PAHs concentrations decreased generally with depth and two climax values occurred in 14-16 cm and 20-22 cm layers, demonstrating that the production and usage of PAHs might reach peaks in the periods of 1956-1962 and 1938-1944. The booming economy and the navy battles of the Second World War might explain why the higher levels were detected in the two layers. The result of principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that PAHs were primarily owing to the combustion product. Down-cored variation of PCB concentrations was complex. Higher concentrations besides the two peaks being the same as PAHs were detected from 4 to 8 cm, depositing from 1980 to 1992, which probably resulted from the disposal of the out-dated PCB-containing equipment. The average Cl percentage of PCBs detected was similar to that of the mixture of Aroclor 1254 and 1242, suggesting they might origin from the dielectrical and heat-transfer fluid. The total organic carbon (TOC) content played a prevalent role in the adsorption of high molecular weight PAHs (>= 4-ring), while no obvious relationship among total PCBs, the concentration of congeners, and TOC was found.