Correspondence between neutron depolarization and higher order magnetic susceptibility to investigate ferromagnetic clusters in phase separated systems

It is a tough task to distinguish a short-range ferromagnetically correlated cluster-glass phase from a canonical spin-glass-like phase in many magnetic oxide systems using conventional magnetometry measurements. As a case study, we investigate the magnetic ground state of La0.85Sr0.15CoO3, which is often debated based on phase separation issues. We report the results of two samples of La0.85Sr0.15CoO3 (S-1 and S-2) prepared under different conditions. Neutron depolarization, higher harmonic ac susceptibility and magnetic relaxation studies were carried out along with conventional magnetometry measurements to differentiate subtle changes at the microscopic level. There is no evidence of ferromagnetic correlation in the sample S-2 attributed to a spin-glass phase, and this is compounded by the lack of existence of a second order component of higher harmonic ac susceptibility and neutron depolarization. A magnetic relaxation experiment at different temperatures complements the spin glass characteristic in S-2. All these signal a sharp variance when we consider the cluster-glass-like phase (phase separated) in S-1, especially when prepared from an improper chemical synthesis process. This shows that the nonlinear ac susceptibility is a viable tool to detect ferromagnetic clusters such as those the neutron depolarization study can reveal.

Glass, Gel, and Liquid Crystals: Arrested States of Graphene Oxide Aqueous Dispersions

Colloidal systems with competing interactions are known to exhibit a range of dynamically arrested states because of the systems' inability to reach its underlying equilibrium state due to intrinsic frustration. Graphene oxide (GO) aqueous dispersions constitute a class of 2D-anisotropic colloids with competing interactions long-range electrostatic repulsion, originating from ionized groups located on the rim of the sheets, and weak dispersive attractive interactions originating from the unoxidized graphitic domains. We show here that aqueous dispersions of GO exhibit a range of arrested states, encompassing fluid, glass, and gels that coexist with liquid-crystalline order with increasing volume fraction. These states can be accessed by varying the relative magnitudes of the repulsive and attractive forces. This can be realized by changing the ionic strength of the medium. We observe at low salt concentrations, where long-range electrostatic repulsion dominates, the formation of a repulsive Wigner glass, while at high salt concentrations, when attractive forces dominate, the formation of gels exhibits a nematic to columnar liquid-crystalline transition. The present work highlights how the chemical structure of GO hydrophilic ionizable groups and hydrophobic graphitic domains coexisting on a single sheet gives rise to a rich and complex array of arrested states.

Imaging Flow Cytometry With Femtosecond Laser-Micromachined Glass Microfluidic Channels

Microfluidic/optofluidic microscopy is a versatile modality for imaging and analyzing properties of cells/particles while they are in flow. In this paper, we demonstrate the integration of fused silica microfluidics fabricated using femtosecond laser machining into optofluidic imaging systems. By using glass for the sample stage of our microscope, we have exploited its superior optical quality for imaging and bio-compatibility. By integrating these glass microfluidic devices into a custom-built bright field microscope, we have been able to image red blood cells in flow with high-throughputs and good fidelity. In addition, we also demonstrate imaging as well as detection of fluorescent beads with these microfluidic devices.

Dynamics of Glass Forming Liquids with Randomly Pinned Particles

It is frequently assumed that in the limit of vanishing cooling rate, the glass transition phenomenon becomes a thermodynamic transition at a temperature T-K. However, with any finite cooling rate, the system falls out of equilibrium at temperatures near T-g(> T-K), implying that the very existence of the putative thermodynamic phase transition at T-K can be questioned. Recent studies of systems with randomly pinned particles have hinted that the thermodynamic glass transition may be observed for liquids with randomly pinned particles. This expectation is based on the results of approximate calculations that suggest that the thermodynamic glass transition temperature increases with increasing concentration of pinned particles and it may be possible to equilibrate the system at temperatures near the increased transition temperature. We test the validity of this prediction through extensive molecular dynamics simulations of two model glass-forming liquids in the presence of random pinning. We find that extrapolated thermodynamic transition temperature T-K does not show any sign of increasing with increasing pinning concentration. The main effect of pinning is found to be a rapid decrease in the kinetic fragility of the system with increasing pin concentration. Implications of these observations for current theories of the glass transition are discussed.

Formation Of Dendritic Nanostructures In Pyrex Glass Anodically Bonded To Silicon Coated With An Aluminum Thin Film

Anodic bonding with thin films of metal or alloy as an intermediate layer, finds increasing applications in micro/nanoelectromechanical systems. At the bonding temperature of 350 degrees C, voltage of 400 V, and 30 min duration, the anodic bonding is completed between Pyrex glass and crystalline silicon coated with an aluminum thin film with a thickness comprised between 50 and 230 nm. Sodium-depleted layers and dendritic nanostructures were observed in Pyrex 7740 glass adjacent to the bonding interface. The sodium depletion width does not increase remarkably with the thickness of aluminum film. The dendritic nanostructures result from aluminum diffusion into the Pyrex glass. This experimental research is expected to enhance the understanding of how the depletion layer and dendritic nanostructures affect the quality of anodic bonding. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fractal Pattern Formation In Anodic Bonding Of Pyrex Glass/Al/Si

Anodic bonding of Pyrex glass/Al/Si is an important bonding technique in micro/nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) industry. The anodic bonding of Pyrex 7740 glass/Aluminum film/Silicon is completed at the temperature from 300 degrees C to 375 degrees C with a bonding voltage between 150 V and 450 V. The fractal patterns are formed in the intermediate Al thin film. This pattern has the fractal dimension of the typical two-dimensional diffusion-limited aggregation (2D DLA) process, and the fractal dimension is around 1.7. The fractal patterns consist of Al and Si crystalline grains, and their occurrences are due to the limited diffusion, aggregation, and crystallization of Si and Al atoms in the intermediate Al layers. The formation of the fractal pattern is helpful to enhance the bonding strength between the Pyrex 7740 glass and the aluminum thin film coated on the crystal silicon substrates.

Tensile Tests Of Micro Anchors Anodically Bonded Between Pyrex Glass And Aluminum Thin Film Coated On Silicon Wafer

Micro anchor is a kind of typical structures in micro/nano electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS), and it can be made by anodic bonding process, with thin films of metal or alloy as an intermediate layer. At the relative low temperature and voltage, specimens with actually sized micro anchor structures were anodically bonded using Pyrex 7740 glass and patterned crystalline silicon chips coated with aluminum thin film with a thickness comprised between 50 nm and 230 nm. To evaluate the bonding quality, tensile pulling tests have been finished with newly designed flexible fixtures for these specimens. The experimental results exhibit that the bonding tensile strength increases with the bonding temperature and voltage, but it decreases with the increase of the thickness of Al intermediate layer. This kind of thickness effect of the intermediate layer was not mentioned in the literature on anodic bonding. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Small scale, grain size and substrate effects in nano-indentation experiment of film-substrate systems

The mechanical properties of film-substrate systems have been investigated through nano-indentation experiments in our former paper (Chen, S.H., Liu, L., Wang, T.C., 2005. Investigation of the mechanical properties of thin films by nano-indentation, considering the effects of thickness and different coating-substrate combinations. Surf. Coat. Technol., 191, 25-32), in which Al-Glass with three different film thicknesses are adopted and it is found that the relation between the hardness H and normalized indentation depth h/t, where t denotes the film thickness, exhibits three different regimes: (i) the hardness decreases obviously with increasing indentation depth; (ii) then, the hardness keeps an almost constant value in the range of 0.1-0.7 of the normalized indentation depth h/t; (iii) after that, the hardness increases with increasing indentation depth. In this paper, the indentation image is further investigated and finite element method is used to analyze the nano-indentation phenomena with both classical plasticity and strain gradient plasticity theories. Not only the case with an ideal sharp indenter tip but also that with a round one is considered in both theories. Finally, we find that the classical plasticity theory can not predict the experimental results, even considering the indenter tip curvature. However, the strain gradient plasticity theory can describe the experimental data very well not only at a shallow indentation depth but also at a deep depth. Strain gradient and substrate effects are proved to coexist in film-substrate nano-indentation experiments. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Formation of dendritic nanostructures in Pyrex glass anodically bonded to silicon coated with an aluminum thin film

Anodic bonding with thin films of metal or alloy as an intermediate layer, finds increasing applications in micro/nanoelectromechanical systems. At the bonding temperature of 350 degrees C, voltage of 400 V, and 30 min duration, the anodic bonding is completed between Pyrex glass and crystalline silicon coated with an aluminum thin film with a thickness comprised between 50 and 230 nm. Sodium-depleted layers and dendritic nanostructures were observed in Pyrex 7740 glass adjacent to the bonding interface. The sodium depletion width does not increase remarkably with the thickness of aluminum film. The dendritic nanostructures result from aluminum diffusion into the Pyrex glass. This experimental research is expected to enhance the understanding of how the depletion layer and dendritic nanostructures affect the quality of anodic bonding. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inherent Shear-Dilatation Coexistence In Metallic Glass

Shear deformation can induce normal stress or hydrostatic stress in metallic glasses [ Nature Mater. 2 ( 2003) 449, Intermetallics 14 ( 2006) 1033]. We perform the bulk deformation of three-dimensional Cu46Zr54 metallic glass (MG) and Cu single crystal model systems using molecular dynamics simulation. The results indicate that hydrostatic stress can incur shear stress in MG, but not in crystal. The resultant pronounced asymmetry between tension and compression originates from this inherent shear-dilatation coexistence in MG.

Smaller Deborah number inducing more serrated plastic flow of metallic glass

Spherical nano-indentations of Cu46Zr54 bulk metallic glass (BMG) model systems were performed using molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations, focusing specifically on the physical origin of serrated plastic flow. The results demonstrate that there is a direct correlation between macroscopic flow serration and underlying irreversible rearrangement of atoms, which is strongly dependent on the loading (strain) rate and the temperature. The serrated plastic flow is, therefore, determined by the magnitude of such irreversible rearrangement that is inhomogeneous temporally. A dimensionless Deborah number is introduced to characterize the effects of strain rate and temperature on serrations. Our simulations are shown to compare favorably with the available experimental observations.

Thermal analysis of glasses in TeO2-BaF2-LaF3 systems

Divalent metal fluorides MF2 (M=Sr, Mg, Ca) in oxyfluoride tellurite glasses TeO2-BaF2-LaF3 were synthesized. The densities, refractive indices and characteristic temperatures of synthesized glasses were measured. The influence of divalent metal fluorides MF2 (M=Sr, Mg, Ca) on the thermal stability of oxyfluoride tellurite glasses TeO2-BaF2-LaF3 were studied. Results show that the replacement of BaF2 by SrF2 and MgF2 can enhance the thermal stability against crystallization of the glass. A glass system with good thermal stability was produced, which could be a potential candidate for the host materials of the fiber devices.

Lasing of CdSSe quantum dots in glass spherical microcavity

Glass spherical microcavities containing CdSSe semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) of a few microns in diameter are fabricated using a physical method. When a single glass microspherical cavity is excited by a laser beam at room temperature, very strong and sharp whispering gallery modes are shown on the background of PL spectra of CdSSe QDs, which confirms that coupling between the optical emission of embedded QDs and spherical cavity modes is realized. For a glass microsphere only 4.6 mum in diameter, it was found that the energy separation is nearly up to 26 nm both for TE and TM modes. With the increasing excitation intensity, the excitation intensity dependence of the emission intensity is not linear in the double-logarithmic scale. Above the threshold value, the linewidths of resonance modes become narrower. The lasing behavior is achieved at relatively low excitation intensity at room temperature. High optical stability and low threshold value make this optical system promising in visible microlaser applications. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Lasing of CdSSe quantum dots in glass spherical microcavity

Glass spherical microcavities containing CdSSe semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) of a few microns in diameter are fabricated using a physical method. When a single glass microspherical cavity is excited by a laser beam at room temperature, very strong and sharp whispering gallery modes are shown on the background of PL spectra of CdSSe QDs, which confirms that coupling between the optical emission of embedded QDs and spherical cavity modes is realized. For a glass microsphere only 4.6 mum in diameter, it was found that the energy separation is nearly up to 26 nm both for TE and TM modes. With the increasing excitation intensity, the excitation intensity dependence of the emission intensity is not linear in the double-logarithmic scale. Above the threshold value, the linewidths of resonance modes become narrower. The lasing behavior is achieved at relatively low excitation intensity at room temperature. High optical stability and low threshold value make this optical system promising in visible microlaser applications. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Computer simulation of miscibility and self-assembly structure for polymer-containing systems with special interactions

The miscibility and structure of A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends with special interactions were studied by a Monte Carlo simulation in two dimensions. The interaction between segment A and segment C was repulsive, whereas it was attractive between segment B and segment C. In order to study the effect of copolymer chain structure on the morphology and structure of A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends, the alternating, random and block A-B copolymers were introduced into the blends, respectively. The simulation results indicated that the miscibility of A-B block copolymer/C homopolymer blends depended on the chain structure of the A-B copolymer. Compared with alternating or random copolymer, the block copolymer, especially the diblock copolymer, could lead to a poor miscibility of A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends. Moreover, for diblock A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends, obvious self-organized core-shell structure was observed in the segment B composition region from 20% to 60%. However, if diblock copolymer composition in the blends is less than 40%, obvious self-organized core-shell structure could be formed in the B-segment component region from 10 to 90%. Furthermore, computer statistical analysis for the simulation results showed that the core sizes tended to increase continuously and their distribution became wider with decreasing B-segment component.