A simple route of morphology control and structural and optical properties of ZnO grown by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition

Employing the metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) technique, we prepare ZnO samples with different morphologies from the film to nanorods through conveniently changing the bubbled diethylzinc flux (BDF) and the carrier gas flux of oxygen (OCGF). The scanning electron microscope images indicate that small BDF and OCGF induce two-dimensional growth while the large ones avail quasi-one-dimensional growth. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman scattering analyses show that all of the morphology-dependent ZnO samples are of high crystal quality with a c-axis orientation. From the precise shifts of the 2 theta. locations of ZnO (002) face in the XRD patterns and the E-2(high) locations in the Raman spectra, we deduce that the compressive stress forms in the ZnO samples and is strengthened with the increasing BDF and OCGF. Photoluminescence spectroscopy results show all the samples have a sharp ultraviolet luminescent band without any defects-related emission. Upon the experiments a possible growth mechanism is proposed.

Multiple valley couplings in nanometer Si metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors

We investigate the couplings between different energy band valleys in a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) device using self-consistent calculations of million-atom Schrodinger-Poisson equations. Atomistic empirical pseudopotentials are used to describe the device Hamiltonian and the underlying bulk band structure. The MOSFET device is under nonequilibrium condition with a source-drain bias up to 2 V and a gate potential close to the threshold potential. We find that all the intervalley couplings are small, with the coupling constants less than 3 meV. As a result, the system eigenstates derived from different bulk valleys can be calculated separately. This will significantly reduce the simulation time because the diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix scales as the third power of the total number of basis functions. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Small-divergence singlemode emitting tapered distributed-feedback quantum cascade lasers

A tapered distributed feedback quantum cascade laser emitting at lambda similar to 8.1 mu m is reported. Utilising a tapered waveguide structure with a surface metal grating, the device exhibited singlemode operation over the temperature range of 100 to 214 K, with sidemode suppression ratio > 20 dB and a nearly diffraction limited far-field beam divergence angle of 5.4 degrees.

Synthesis Gas Generation by Chemical-Looping Reforming Using Ce-Based Oxygen Carriers Modified with Fe, Cu, and Mn Oxides

Chemical-looping reforming (CLR) is a technology that can be used for partial oxidation and steam reforming of hydrocarbon fuels. It involves the use of a metal oxide as an oxygen carrier, which transfers oxygen from combustion air to the fuel. Composite oxygen carriers of cerium oxide added with Fe, Cu, and Mn oxides were prepared by co-precipitation and investigated in a thermogravimetric analyzer and a fixed-bed reactor using methane as fuel and air as oxidizing gas. It was revealed that the addition of transition-metal oxides into cerium oxide can improve the reactivity of the Ce-based oxygen carrier. The three kinds of mixed oxides showed high CO and H-2 selectivity at above 800 degrees C. As for the Ce-Fe-O oxygen carrier, methane was converted to synthesis gas at a H-2/CO molar ratio close to 2:1 at a temperature of 800-900 degrees C; however, the methane thermolysis reaction was found on Ce-Cu-O and Ce-Mn-O oxygen carriers at 850-900 degrees C. Among the three kinds of oxygen carriers, Ce-Fe-O presented the best performance for methane CLR. On Ce-Fe-O oxygen carriers, the CO and H-2 selectivity decreased as the Fe content increased in the carrier particles. An optimal range of the Ce/Fe molar ratio is Ce/Fe > 1 for Ce-Fe-O oxygen carriers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that the microstructure of the Ce-Fe-O oxides was not dramatically changed before and after 20 cyclic reactions. A small amount of Fe3C was found in the reacted Ce-Fe-O oxides by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis.

Fabrication of Windowed Very-Small-Aperture Laser Diodes

A windowed very-small-aperture laser 9VSAL0 source for use in high-resolution near field optical data storage is fabricated. The windowed regions are introduced to avoid shorting the pn junction with metal coating and suppress the COD effect. It facilitates producing VSAL by simplified technology and improves the laser performance. A VSAL with 400nm small sperture is demonstrated by focused ion beam (FIB0 and the output power is 0.3mW at 31mA.

Preparation of A-type zeolite membranes on nonporous metal supports by using electrophoretic technique

A-type zeolite membranes were prepared on the nonporous metal supports by using electrophoretic technique. The as-synthesized membranes were characterized by XRD and SEM. The effect of the applied potential on the formation of the A-type zeolite membrane was investigated, and the formation mechanism of zeolite membrane in the electric field was discussed. The results showed that the negative charged zeolite particles could migrate to the anode metal surface homogenously and rapidly under the action of the applied electric field, consequently formed uniform and dense membranes in short time. The applied potential had great effect on the membrane formation, and more uniform and denser zeolite membranes were prepared on the nonporous metal supports with 1 V potential.

Automated voltammetric system for shipboard determination of metal speciation in sea water

An automated and semi-intelligent voltammetric system is described for trace metal analysis. The system consists of a voltammeter interfaced with a personal computer, a sample changer, 2 peristaltic pumps, a motor burette and a hanging mercury drop electrode. The system carries out fully automatically approximately 5 metal determinations per hour (including at least 3 repetitive scans and calibration by standard addition) at trace levels encountered in clean sea water. The computer program decides what level of standard addition to use and evaluates the data prior to switching to the next sample. Alternatively, the system can be used to carry out complexing ligand titration with copper whilst recording the labile copper concentration; in this mode up to 8 full titrations are carried out per day. Depth profiles for chromium speciation in the Mediterranean Sea and a profile for copper complexing ligand concentrations in the North Atlantic Ocean measured on board-ship with the system are presented. The chromium speciation was determined using a new method to differentiate between Cr(III) and Cr(VI) utilizing adsorption of Cr(III) on silica particles.

The fragmentation of gold nanoparticles induced by small biomolecules

Spherical gold nanoparticles (3-5 nm) undergo a surprising fragmentation without extra energy imput and are converted into ultrasmall particles (less than 1.5 nm), which is a direct result of electron transfer between gold nanoparticles and cysteine.

Effect of annealing on the deformation mechanism of a styrene/n-butyl acrylate copolymer latex film investigated by synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering

The deformation mechanism of a styrene/n-butyl acrylate copolymer latex film subjected to uniaxial tensile stress was studied by small-angle X-ray scattering. The influence of annealing at 23, 60, 80, and 100 degrees C for 4 h on microscopic deformation processes was elucidated. It was demonstrated that the microscopic deformation mechanism of the latex films transformed gradually from nonaffine deformation behavior to affine deformation behavior with increasing annealing temperature.

DNA-Templated Gold Nanoparticles Formation

The interaction between HAuCl4 and DNA has enabled creation of DNA-templated gold nanoparticles without formation of large nanoparticles. It was found that spheral DNA-HAuCl4 hybrid of 8.7 nm in diameter, flower-like DNA-HAuCl4 hybrid, nanoparticles chains and nanoparticles network of DNA-HAuCl4 hybrid could be obtained by varying the reaction conditions, including DNA concentration and reaction temperature. The intermediate product was investigated by shortening the reaction time of DNA and HAuCl4, and the obtained nanoparticles preserved a small DNA segment, which indicated that the reaction between DNA and HAuCl4 had a process.

Improved Melting Strength of Polypropylene by Reactive Compounding With Ultrafine Full-Vulcanized Polybutadiene Rubber (UFBR) Particles

Ultrafine full-vulcanized polybutadiene rubber (UFBR) in particle sizes of ca. 50-100 nm has been used for modifying mechanical and processing performances of polypropylene (PP), and PP-g-maleic anhydride (PP-MA) has been used as a compatibilizer for enhancing the interfacial adhesion between the two components. The results show that PP/UFBR possesses rheological behaviors such as highly branched PP when UFBR content in blends reaches 10 wt%, while in contrast, the much low content of UFBR combining small amount of PP-MA endows the material with rheological characteristics of high melt strength materials like highly branched PP.

Near compensated half-metal in Sr2NiOsO6

The electronic and magnetic properties of tetragonal double perovskite Sr2NiOsO6 were studied by use of the density functional theory and including the spin-orbit coupling. Compensated half-metal is found if the spin-orbit coupling is not considered. Spin-orbit coupling induces orbital moments on both Ni and Os, making Sr2NiOsO6 a near compensated half-metal. Ferromagnetic phase is slightly favored over antiferromagnetic phase (by 4 meV). The small energy difference also suggests that both phases are competitive for the ground state. At ferromagnetic phase, the calculated net magnetic moment is 3.53 mu(B), in good agreement with experimental value of 3.44 mu(B). At antiferromagnetic phase, the net magnetic moment is 0.69 mu(B), in which the contribution from the net spin moment is 0.09 mu(B).

DEFORMATION OF SOFT COLLOIDAL CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE - THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCES BY SYNCHROTRON SMALL-ANGLE X-RAY SCATTERING ON TENSILE STRETCHED POLYMERIC LATEX FILM

Films obtained via drying a polymeric latex dispersion are normally colloidal crystalline where latex particles are packed into a face centered cubic (fcc) structure. Different from conventional atomic crystallites or hard sphere colloidal crystallites, the crystalline structure of these films is normally deformable due to the low glass transition temperature of the latex particles. Upon tensile deformation, depending on the drawing direction with respect to the normal of specific crystallographic plane, one observes different crystalline structural changes. Three typical situations where crystallographic c-axis, body diagonal or face diagonal of the fcc structure of the colloidal crystallites being parallel to the stretching direction were investigated.