Germinação de sementes e emergência de plântulas de Tabebuia rosea (Bertoloni) a.p. de Candolle (Bignoniaceae), uma espécie exótica com potencial invasor

Este estudo teve por objetivo determinar os efeitos da temperatura e da luz na germinação de sementes de Tabebuia rosea, bem como avaliar a influência dos ambientes de pleno sol e sob dossel na emergência de suas plântulas. Foram testadas temperaturas constantes de 10 a 45 ºC com intervalos de 5 ºC, sob luz branca e escuro. Verificou-se que a faixa ótima de temperatura para a germinação foi de 20 a 40 ºC na luz e de 20 a 35 ºC no escuro. As sementes apresentaram maior sincronização da germinação a 25 ºC na luz e 30 ºC no escuro. Os resultados indicam que as sementes de Tabebuia rosea podem germinar em ampla faixa de temperatura, tanto em ambientes abertos, com disponibilidade de luz, quanto em locais com ausência de luz, enterradas no solo ou, mesmo, no interior das florestas. Essa germinação, bem como o recrutamento das plântulas, tanto a pleno sol quanto sob a sombra da vegetação, indica o potencial invasor da espécie.

Influência da relação superfície/volume e do tempo de fritura sobre as alterações da mistura azeite de dendê-óleo de soja

Objetivou-se com este estudo determinar a influência dos fatores relação superfície/volume (S/V) e tempo de fritura sobre a alteração da mistura azeite de dendê-óleo de soja em frituras descontínuas de batatas chips.Foram realizados dois procedimentos de fritura com relações S/V de 0,5 e 1,0 cm-1 e temperatura média de 180°C. O óleo foi aquecido por um período de 7,25 horas. As amostras obtidas durante o processo de fritura foram analisadas pelas determinações de índice de peróxidos, compostos polares totais, ácidos graxos livres e índice de refração. Todas as determinações analíticas foram influenciadas pelo tempo de fritura, verificando-se aumentos significativos destes parâmetros ao longo do processo de fritura. O fator relação S/V apresentou influência sobre os valores dos índices de peróxidos e de refração. A mistura azeite de dendê-óleo de soja apresentou alteração acima do limite recomendado para óleos de fritura (compostos polares totais > 25%) a partir de 6,25 horas de fritura.

Caracterização do óleo das sementes de Pachira aquatica Aublet para aproveitamento alimentar

Os frutos de Pachira aquatica Aublet apresentam sementes comestíveis com características organolépticas muito apreciadas pelas populações amazônicas, sendo pouco utilizados em outras regiões. Este trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar as sementes quanto à composição centesimal e determinar as características físico-químicas e perfil de ácidos graxos. A determinação da composição centesimal das sementes (teores de umidade, lipídios, proteínas, cinzas e carboidratos) e análises do óleo extraído das mesmas (ácidos graxos livres, índices de peróxido, iodo, refração, saponificação, ponto de fusão e perfil de ácidos graxos) foram realizadas seguindo metodologia oficial. O teor de óleo nas sementes 38,39% demonstrou que estas têm potencial para aproveitamento industrial. Das características físico-químicas analisadas, o óleo extraído das sementes apresentou 39,2% de ácidos graxos livres (expresso em % ácido oleico), índice de iodo de 27,4 g I2.100 g-1, índice de saponificação de 208,0 mg.KOH g-1, índice de refração (40 °C) de 1,4569 e ponto de fusão de 41,9 °C. Quanto à composição de ácidos graxos do óleo predominaram os ácidos palmítico (44,93%), oleico (39,27%) e linoleico (11,35%). Tal fato favorece o uso deste óleo como matéria-prima para as indústrias alimentícia, farmacêutica e de cosméticos.

Epitaxially grown LiNbO3 thin films by polymeric precursor method

LiNbO3 thin films were grown on (0001) sapphire substrates by a chemical route, using the polymeric precursor method. The overall process consists of preparing a coating solution from the Pechini process, based on metallic citrate polymerization, the precursor films, deposited by dip coating, are then heat treated to eliminate the organic material and to synthesize the phase. In this work, we studied the influence of the heat treatment on the structural and optical properties of single-layered films. Two routes were also investigated to increase the film thickness: increasing the viscosity of the coating solution and/or increasing the number of successively deposited layers. The x-ray diffraction theta -2 theta scans revealed the c-axis orientation of the single- and multilayered films and showed that efficient crystallization can be obtained at temperatures as low as 400 degreesC, the phi-scan diffraction evidenced the epitaxial growth with two in-plane variants, A microstructural study revealed that the films were crack free, homogeneous, and relatively dense. Finally, the investigation of the optical properties (optical transmittance and refractive index) confirmed the good quality of the films. These results indicate that the polymeric precursor method is a promising process to develop lithium niobate waveguides.

Planar and UV written channel optical waveguides prepared with siloxane poly(oxyethylene)-zirconia organic-inorganic hybrids. Structure and optical properties

Organic-inorganic hybrids were prepared using ureapropyltriethoxysilane, methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane and acrylic acid modified zirconium(IV) n-propoxide precursors and were characterized by small angle X-ray scattering, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The results indicate an effective interaction between the zirconium-based nanoparticles and the siliceous nanodomains that induces changes in the hybrids' emission features. Planar waveguides were obtained by spin-coating of the prepared sols on sodalime and silica substrates. Refractive index, thickness, number of propagating modes, and attenuation coefficient were measured at 543.5, 632.8 and 1550 nm by the prism coupling technique. The synergism between the two hybrid precursors resulted in monomode planar waveguides with low losses in the infrared ( from 0.6-1.1 dB cm(-1)) which also support a number of propagating modes in the visible ( losses from 0.4-1.5 dB cm(-1)). Channel waveguides were also obtained by UV photopatterning using amplitude or phase masks and propagating modes were observed at 1550 nm.

Ferroelectric and optical properties of Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 thin film

Barium strontium titanate (Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3) thin films have been prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates using a soft solution processing. X-ray diffraction and also micro-Raman spectroscopy showed that the Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 thin films exhibited a tetragonal structure at room temperature. The presence of Raman active modes was clearly shown at the 299 and 725 cm(-1) peaks. The tetragonal-to-cubic phase transition in the Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 thin films is broadened, and suppressed at about 35 degreesC, with a maximum dielectric constant of 948 (100 kHz). Electrical measurements for the prepared Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 thin films showed a remnant polarization (P-r) of 6.5 muC/cm(2), a coercive field (E-c) of 41 kV/cm, and good insulating properties. The dispersion of the refractive index is interpreted in terms of a single electronic oscillator at 6.97 eV. The direct band gap energy (E-g) and the refractive index (n) are estimated to be 3.3 eV and n = 2.27-2.10, respectively. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Optical properties of potassium niobate thin films prepared by the polymeric precursor method

Thin films of potassium niobate were deposited on MgO (100) substrates by the polymeric precursor method and annealing in static air at 600 degreesC for 20 h. The obtained films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the prism coupling method. The phi-scan diffraction evidenced the growth of the films with fourfold symmetry. AFM study shows that the films are homogeneous, dense and present a smooth surface. The refractive index and optical losses were strongly influenced by the degree of crystallinity. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Femtosecond nonlinear optical properties of lead-germanium oxide amorphous films

The nonlinear (NL) response of lead-germanium oxide amorphous films was investigated using a Ti:saphire laser delivering pulses of approximate to 150 fs at 800 nm. The Kerr shutter technique was employed to reveal the time response of the nonlinearity that is smaller than 150 fs. The sign and magnitude of the nonlinearity were obtained using a novel technique called thermally managed eclipse Z scan which allows the simultaneous characterization of cumulative and noncumulative NL effects. The NL refractive index of electronic origin, n(2)approximate to 2x10(-17) m(2)/W, and the NL absorption coefficient, alpha(2)approximate to 3x10(3) cm/GW, were determined. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE PLASMA ENVIRONMENT AND THE COMPOSITION AND OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF PLASMA-POLYMERIZED THIN-FILMS PRODUCED IN RF DISCHARGES OF C2H2-SF6 MIXTURES

Polymer films were grown in rf discharges containing different proportions of C2H2 and SF6. Quantitative optical emission spectrometry (actinometry) was used to follow the trends in the plasma concentrations of the species H and F, and more tentatively, of CH, CF, and CF2, as a function of the feed composition. Infrared spectroscopy revealed the density of CH and CF bonds in the deposited material. As the partial pressure of SF6 in the feed was increased, the degree of fluorination of the polymer also rose. The form of the dependency of the deposition rate on the proportion of SF6 in the feed was in good qualitative agreement with the activated growth model. From transmission ultraviolet visible spectroscopy data the refractive index and the absorption coefficient of the polymers were calculated as a function of the deposition parameters. Since the optical gap depended to some extent upon the degree of fluorination, it could, within limits, be determined by a suitable choice of the proportion of SF6 in the feed. A qualitative explanation of this relationship is given.

Nonlinear optical properties of tungstate fluorophosphate glasses

The optical nonlinearity of tungstate fluorophosphate glasses, synthesized in the NaPO3-BaF2-WO3 system, was investigated through experiments based on the third-order susceptibility, chi((3)). Nonlinear (NL) refraction and NL absorption measurements in the picosecond regime were performed using the Z-scan technique at 532 nm. NL refractive index, n(2)proportional toRe chi((3)), ranging from 0.4x10(-14) cm(2)/W to 0.6x10(-14) cm(2)/W were determined. The two-photon absorption coefficient, alpha(2)proportional toIm chi((3)), for excitation at 532 nm, vary from 0.3 to 0.5 cm/GW. Light induced birefringence experiments performed in the femtosecond regime indicate that the response time of the nonlinearity at 800 nm is faster than 100 fs. The experiments show that chi((3)) is enhanced when the WO3 concentration increases and this behavior is attributed to the hyperpolarizabilities associated to W-O bonds. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Progress on holographic techniques to measure real-time phase and amplitude gratings in photosensitive materials

In this paper we present and demonstrate a technique that allows simultaneous and independent measurement of small changes in the refractive index and the absorption coefficient produced in photosensitive materials during holographic exposure. The technique is based on the synchronous detection of two-wave mixing signals in both directions of the transmitted interfering beams. By processing both signals it is possible to separate the diffraction contributions of the refractive index from the absorption coefficient and simultaneously stabilize the incident fringe pattern. The demonstration of this technique is undertaken by following the temporal evolution of the phase and amplitude modulations in photoresist films. To check the ability of the technique to perform numeric evaluations, for a positive photoresist the changes in the optical constants were measured and compared with those obtained using independent methods.

AN ACTINOMETRIC STUDY OF C2H2 PLASMA POLYMERIZATION AND FILM PROPERTIES

Thin polymer films were grown in radio frequency discharges containing C2H2. Actinometry revealed the trend in the plasma concentration of the CH species as a function of the operating pressure. The C-H bond density in the films, revealed by infrared analysis, was found to increase with the pressure of C2H2 in a similar way to that of the concentration of the CH species in the discharge. From transmission ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy data, optical parameters of the polymers, namely, the refractive index and the optical gap, were calculated. For the range of pressure studied, the refractive index decreased from 1.73 to 1.63 and the optical gap increased from 2.4 to 3.3 eV. Finally, measurements of the residual stress of the polymer films were carried out by the bending beam method, using a He-Ne laser, yielding values from 0.05 to 0.3 GPa. (C) 1995 American Vacuum Society.

Thermal properties of fluoride glasses and their gel precursors

Xerogels were prepared from zirconium, barium, aluminum, lanthanum and lithium acetates, corresponding to a Li containing ZBLA composition. The study of their thermal properties (DSC, TG/DTG, FT-IR) showed that they might be used as chemically stable precursors in the preparation of fluoride glasses. Hydrofluoric acid in solution was chosen as a mild fluorinating agent. This newly proposed technique of fluorinating allowed to obtain high quality ZBLALi glass which presents the advantage of higher thermal stability and homogeneity in comparison with the glass obtained using individual commercial fluorides.

Optical properties of Mg doped LiNbO3 thin films grown by polymeric precursor method.

Polymeric precursor solution was used to deposit by spin-coating pure and Mg doped LiNbO3 thin films on sapphire substrates. The effects of magnesium addition on crystallinity, morphology and optical properties of the annealed films were investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate the oriented growth of the films. AFM studies show that the films are very homogeneous, dense and present smooth surfaces. The refractive index and optical losses obtained by the prism coupling method were influenced by the magnesium addition.

Nonresonant third-order nonlinearity of antimony glasses at telecom wavelengths

We report measurements of the nonresonant nonlinear refractive index n(2) in antimony glasses at telecom wavelengths. The measurements were performed using the Z-scan technique with a 130 fs pulsed laser operating at five wavelengths in the range of 1400-1600 nm. Values of n(2)approximate to 10(-15) cm(2)/W were measured and a negligible two-photon absorption coefficient (< 0.003 cm/GW) was estimated for all glasses compositions. The samples present a good figure of merit for ultrafast all-optical switching. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.