Topological objects in the O(3) nonlinear sigma model

We study the topological defects in the nonlinear O(3) sigma model in terms of the decomposition of U(1) gauge potential. Time-dependent baby skyrmions are discussed in the (2 + 1)-dimensional spacetime with the CP1 field. Furthermore, we show that there are three kinds of topological defects-vortex lines, point defects and knot exist in the (3 + 1)-dimensional model, and their topological charges, locations and motions are determined by the phi-mapping topological current theory.

A study of the suppression of the high-temperature helium embrittlement in an oxide-particle dispersion strengthened alloy

In this paper, an investigation on the micro-structure of an Fe-base oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) alloy irradiated with high-energy Ne-20 ions to different doses at a temperature around 0.5T(m) (T-m is the melting point of the alloy) is presented. Investigation with the transmission electron microscopy found that the accelerated growth of voids at grain-boundaries, which is usually a concern in conventional Fe-base alloys under conditions of inert-gas implantation, was not observed in the ODS alloy irradiated even to the highest dose (12000 at.ppm Ne). The reason is ascribed to the enhanced recombination of point defects and strong trapping of Ne atoms at the interfaces of the nano-scale oxide particles in grains. The study showed that ODS alloys have good resistance to the high-temperature inter-granular embrittlement due to inert-gas accumulation, exhibiting prominence of application in harsh situations of considerable helium production at elevated temperatures like in a fusion reactor.

Study on nanohardness of helium-implanted 4H-SiC

The hardness of 4H-SiC, which was high-temperature (500 K) helium-Implanted to fluences of 3 x 10(16) Ions cm(-2) and subsequently thermally annealed at the temperature ranging from 773 to 1273 K, was studied by nanoindentation It is found that the hardness of the implanted 4H-SiC increases at the first, then decreases, and then increases again with increasing annealing tempeature in the temperature range of 500-1273 K, and significant increase in hardness is observed at 773 K. The behavior is ascribed to the changes of the density, length, and tangling of the covalent Si-C bond through the recombination of point defects, clustering of He-vacancy, and growth of helium bubbles during the thermal annealing

Tunable photoluminescent and cathodoluminescent properties of ZnO and ZnO : Zn phosphors

ZnO and ZnO: Zn powder phosphors were prepared by the polyol-method followed by annealing in air and reducing gas, respectively. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence ( CL) spectra, respectively. The results indicate that all samples are in agreement with the hexagonal structure of the ZnO phase and the particle sizes are in the range of 1-2 mu m. The PL and CL spectra of ZnO powders annealed at 950 degrees C in air consist of a weak ultraviolet emission band ( similar to 390 nm) and a broad emission band centered at about 527 nm, exhibiting yellow emission color to the naked eyes. When the sample was reduced at the temperatures from 500 to 1050 degrees C, the yellow emission decreased gradually and disappeared completely at 800 degrees C, whereas the ultraviolet emission band became the strongest. Above this temperature, the green emission ( similar to 500 nm) appeared and increased with increasing of reducing temperatures.

Electromechanical properties of engineered lead free potassium sodium niobate based materials

K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN), is the most promising lead free material for substituting lead zirconate titanate (PZT) which is still the market leader used for sensors and actuators. To make KNN a real competitor, it is necessary to understand and to improve its properties. This goal is pursued in the present work via different approaches aiming to study KNN intrinsic properties and then to identify appropriate strategies like doping and texturing for designing better KNN materials for an intended application. Hence, polycrystalline KNN ceramics (undoped, non-stoichiometric; NST and doped), high-quality KNN single crystals and textured KNN based ceramics were successfully synthesized and characterized in this work. Polycrystalline undoped, non-stoichiometric (NST) and Mn doped KNN ceramics were prepared by conventional ceramic processing. Structure, microstructure and electrical properties were measured. It was observed that the window for mono-phasic compositions was very narrow for both NST ceramics and Mn doped ceramics. For NST ceramics the variation of A/B ratio influenced the polarization (P-E) hysteresis loop and better piezoelectric and dielectric responses could be found for small stoichiometry deviations (A/B = 0.97). Regarding Mn doping, as compared to undoped KNN which showed leaky polarization (P-E) hysteresis loops, B-site Mn doped ceramics showed a well saturated, less-leaky hysteresis loop and a significant properties improvement. Impedance spectroscopy was used to assess the role of Mn and a relation between charge transport – defects and ferroelectric response in K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN) and Mn doped KNN ceramics could be established. At room temperature the conduction in KNN which is associated with holes transport is suppressed by Mn doping. Hence Mn addition increases the resistivity of the ceramic, which proved to be very helpful for improving the saturation of the P-E loop. At high temperatures the conduction is dominated by the motion of ionized oxygen vacancies whose concentration increases with Mn doping. Single crystals of potassium sodium niobate (KNN) were grown by a modified high temperature flux method. A boron-modified flux was used to obtain the crystals at a relatively low temperature. XRD, EDS and ICP analysis proved the chemical and crystallographic quality of the crystals. The grown KNN crystals exhibit higher dielectric permittivity (29,100) at the tetragonal-to-cubic phase transition temperature, higher remnant polarization (19.4 μC/cm2) and piezoelectric coefficient (160 pC/N) when compared with the standard KNN ceramics. KNN single crystals domain structure was characterized for the first time by piezoforce response microscopy. It could be observed that <001> - oriented potassium sodium niobate (KNN) single crystals reveal a long range ordered domain pattern of parallel 180° domains with zig-zag 90° domains. From the comparison of KNN Single crystals to ceramics, It is argued that the presence in KNN single crystal (and absence in KNN ceramics) of such a long range order specific domain pattern that is its fingerprint accounts for the improved properties of single crystals. These results have broad implications for the expanded use of KNN materials, by establishing a relation between the domain patterns and the dielectric and ferroelectric response of single crystals and ceramics and by indicating ways of achieving maximised properties in KNN materials. Polarized Raman analysis of ferroelectric potassium sodium niobate (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN) single crystals was performed. For the first time, an evidence is provided that supports the assignment of KNN single crystals structure to the monoclinic symmetry at room temperature. Intensities of A′, A″ and mixed A′+A″ phonons have been theoretically calculated and compared with the experimental data in dependence of crystal rotation, which allowed the precise determination of the Raman tensor coefficients for (non-leaking) modes in monoclinic KNN. In relation to the previous literature, this study clarifies that assigning monoclinic phase is more suitable than the orthorhombic one. In addition, this study is the basis for non-destructive assessments of domain distribution by Raman spectroscopy in KNN-based lead-free ferroelectrics with complex structures. Searching a deeper understanding of the electrical behaviour of both KNN single crystal and polycrystalline materials for the sake of designing optimized KNN materials, a comparative study at the level of charge transport and point defects was carried out by impedance spectroscopy. KNN single crystals showed lower conductivity than polycrystals from room temperature up to 200 ºC, but above this temperature polycrystalline KNN displays lower conductivity. The low temperature (T < 200 ºC) behaviour reflects the different processing conditions of both ceramics and single crystals, which account for less defects prone to charge transport in the case of single crystals. As temperature increases (T > 200 ºC) single crystals become more conductive than polycrystalline samples, in which grain boundaries act as barriers to charge transport. For even higher temperatures the conductivity difference between both is increased due to the contribution of ionic conduction in single crystals. Indeed the values of activation energy calculated to the high temperature range (T > 300 ºC) were 1.60 and 0.97 eV, confirming the charge transport due to ionic conduction and ionized oxygen vacancies in single crystals and polycrystalline KNN, respectively. It is suggested that single crystals with low defects content and improved electromechanical properties could be a better choice for room temperature applications, though at high temperatures less conductive ceramics may be the choice, depending on the targeted use. Aiming at engineering the properties of KNN polycrystals towards the performance of single crystals, the preparation and properties study of (001) – oriented (K0.5Na0.5)0.98Li0.02NbO3 (KNNL) ceramics obtained by templated grain growth (TGG) using KNN single crystals as templates was undertaken. The choice of KNN single crystals templates is related with their better properties and to their unique domain structure which were envisaged as a tool for templating better properties in KNN ceramics too. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed for the templated ceramics a monoclinic structure at room temperature and a Lotgering factor (f) of 40% which confirmed texture development. These textured ceramics exhibit a long range ordered domain pattern consisting of 90º and 180º domains, similar to the one observed in the single crystals. Enhanced dielectric (13017 at TC), ferroelectric (2Pr = 42.8 μC/cm2) and piezoelectric (d33 = 280 pC/N) properties are observed for textured KNNL ceramics as compared to the randomly oriented ones. This behaviour is suggested to be due to the long range ordered domain patterns observed in the textured ceramics. The obtained results as compared with the data previously reported on texture KNN based ceramics confirm that superior properties were found due to ordered repeated domain pattern. This study provides an useful approach towards properties improvement of KNN-based piezoelectric ceramics. Overall, the present results bring a significant contribution to the pool of knowledge on the properties of sodium potassium niobate materials: a relation between the domain patterns and di-, ferro-, and piezo-electric response of single crystals and ceramics was demonstrated and ways of engineering maximised properties in KNN materials, for example by texturing were established. This contribution is envisaged to have broad implications for the expanded use of KNN over the alternative lead-based materials.

Ground- and excited-state properties of M-center oxygen vacancy aggregates in the bulk and the surface of MgO

Aggregates of oxygen vacancies (F centers) represent a particular form of point defects in ionic crystals. In this study we have considered the combination of two oxygen vacancies, the M center, in the bulk and on the surface of MgO by means of cluster model calculations. Both neutral and charged forms of the defect M and M+ have been taken into account. The ground state of the M center is characterized by the presence of two doubly occupied impurity levels in the gap of the material; in M+ centers the highest level is singly occupied. For the ground-state properties we used a gradient corrected density functional theory approach. The dipole-allowed singlet-to-singlet and doublet-to-doublet electronic transitions have been determined by means of explicitly correlated multireference second-order perturbation theory calculations. These have been compared with optical transitions determined with the time-dependent density functional theory formalism. The results show that bulk M and M+ centers give rise to intense absorptions at about 4.4 and 4.0 eV, respectively. Another less intense transition at 1.3 eV has also been found for the M+ center. On the surface the transitions occur at 1.6 eV (M+) and 2 eV (M). The results are compared with recently reported electron energy loss spectroscopy spectra on MgO thin films.

Temperature-dependent orientational ordering on a spherical surface modeled with a lattice spin model

We study the orientational ordering on the surface of a sphere using Monte Carlo and Brownian dynamics simulations of rods interacting with an anisotropic potential. We restrict the orientations to the local tangent plane of the spherical surface and fix the position of each rod to be at a discrete point on the spherical surface. On the surface of a sphere, orientational ordering cannot be perfectly nematic due to the inevitable presence of defects. We find that the ground state of four +1/2 point defects is stable across a broad range of temperatures. We investigate the transition from disordered to ordered phase by decreasing the temperature and find a very smooth transition. We use fluctuations of the local directors to estimate the Frank elastic constant on the surface of a sphere and compare it to the planar case. We observe subdiffusive behavior in the mean square displacement of the defect cores and estimate their diffusion constants.

TL, EPR and optical absorption in natural grossular crystal

Grossular is one of six members of silicate Garnet group. Two samples GI and GII have been investigated concerning their luminescence thermally stimulated (TL). EPR and optical absorption and the measurements were carried out to find out whether or not same point defects are responsible for all three properties. Although X-rays diffraction analysis has shown that both GI and GII have practically the same crystal structure of a standard grossular crystal, they presented different behavior in many aspects. The TL glow curve shape, TL response to radiation dose, the effect of annealing at high temperatures before irradiation, the dependence of UV bleaching parameters on peak temperature, all of them differ going from GI to GII. The EPR signals around g = 2.0 as well as at g = 4.3 and 6.0 have much larger intensity in GI than in GII. Very high temperature (> 800 degrees C annealing causes large increase in the bulk background absorption in GI, however, only very little in GII. In the cases of EPR and optical absorption, the difference in their behavior can be attributed to Fe3+ ions; however, in the TL case one cannot and the cause was not found as yet. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Does the TL supralinearity occur during irradiation in alkali halides?

In the last ten to fifteen years, there has been a predominant belief that the linear-supralinear-sublinear behaviour of the TL response of alkali halides to the radiation dose necessarily occurs in the heating stage for TL reading. It is based on the assumption that coloration in these crystals grows linear-sublinearly with the dose during irradiation. Since both colour centre and TL centre are based on the same point defects the TL response should also grow linear-sublinearly with dose. In 1950, half a dozen authors showed that the coloration of F-centres in KCl takes place in two stages, the second one being responsible for non-linear behaviour. In this paper, we show that indeed in NaCl both F-centre and TL grow linear-supralinear-sublinearly with the dose during irradiation.

Correlation between thermoluminescence sensitivity and crystallization temperatures of quartz: Potential application in geothermometry

The thermoluminescence (TL) characteristics of quartz are highly dependent of its thermal history. Based on the enhancement of quartz luminescence occurred after heating, some authors proposed to use quartz TL to recover thermal events that affected quartz crystals. However, little is know about the influence of the temperature of quartz crystallization on its TL characteristics. In the present study, we evaluate the TL sensitivity and dose response curves of hydrothermal and metamorphic quartz with crystallization temperatures from 209 +/- 15 to 633 +/- 27 degrees C determined through fluid inclusion and mineral chemistry analysis. The studied crystals present a cooling thermal history, which allow the acquiring of their natural TL without influence of heating after crystallization. The TL curves of the studied samples present two main components formed by different peaks overlapped around 110 C and 200-400 degrees C. The TL sensitivity in the 200-400 degrees C region increases linearly with the temperature of quartz crystallization. No relationship was observed between temperatures of quartz crystallization and saturation doses (<100 Gy). The elevated TL sensitivity of the high temperature quartz is attributed to the control exerted by the temperature of crystallization on the substitution of Si(4+) by ions such as Al(3+) and Ti(4+), which produce defects responsible for luminescence phenomena. The linear relationship observed between TL in the 200-400 degrees C region and crystallization temperature has potential use as a quartz geothermometer. The relative abundance of quartz in the earth crust and the easiness to measure TL are advantageous in relation to geothermometry methods based on chemistry of other minerals. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of high density boron nitride nanotube film

Antiwetting BNNT films have been achieved by milling-ink method. Superhydrophobic (CA <5°) are demonstrated on films with stainless steel as substrate. The high density and purity are confirmed by EDX and NEXAFS. There are only a few oxygen point defects in the form of nitrogen vacancies due to ink and annealing process in air.

Electric contributions to magnetic force microscopy response from graphene and MoS2 nanosheets

Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) signals have recently been detected from whole pieces of mechanically exfoliated graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets, and magnetism of the two nanomaterials was claimed based on these observations. However, non-magnetic interactions or artefacts are commonly associated with MFM signals, which make the interpretation of MFM signals not straightforward. A systematic investigation has been done to examine possible sources of the MFM signals from graphene and MoS2 nanosheets and whether the MFM signals can be correlated with magnetism. It is found that the MFM signals have significant non-magnetic contributions due to capacitive and electrostatic interactions between the nanosheets and conductive cantilever tip, as demonstrated by electric force microscopy and scanning Kevin probe microscopy analyses. In addition, the MFM signals of graphene and MoS2 nanosheets are not responsive to reversed magnetic field of the magnetic cantilever tip. Therefore, the observed MFM response is mainly from electric artefacts and not compelling enough to correlate with magnetism of graphene and MoS2 nanosheets.

Atom probe tomography investigation of heterogeneous short-range ordering in the 'komplex' phase state (K-state) of Fe-18Al (at.%)

We study an Fe-18Al (at.%) alloy after various thermal treatments at different times (24-336 h) and temperatures (250-1100 °C) to determine the nature of the so-called 'komplex' phase state (or "K-state"), which is common to other alloy systems having compositions at the boundaries of known order-disorder transitions and is characterised by heterogeneous short-range-ordering (SRO). This has been done by direct observation using atom probe tomography (APT), which reveals that nano-sized, ordered regions/particles do not exist. Also, by employing shell-based analysis of the three-dimensional atomic positions, we have determined chemically sensitive, generalised multicomponent short-range order (GM-SRO) parameters, which are compared with published pairwise SRO parameters derived from bulk, volume-averaged measurement techniques (e.g. X-ray and neutron scattering, Mössbauer spectroscopy) and combined ab-initio and Monte Carlo simulations. This analysis procedure has general relevance for other alloy systems where quantitative chemical-structure evaluation of local atomic environments is required to understand ordering and partial ordering phenomena that affect physical and mechanical properties.

Defeitos pontuais nos compostos intermetálicos ZrNi e Zr/sub 2/Ni estudados por dinâmica molecular

Empregamos a técnica de Dinâmica Molecular para estudar propriedades de defeitos pontuais nos compostos intermetálicos ZrNi e Zr2Ni. Descrevemos as configurações estáveis de defeitos e mecanismos de migração, assim como as energias envolvidas. Os potenciais interatômicos foram derivados do Embedded Atom Model. No intuito de levar em conta a variação de estequiometria causada pela presença de alguns tipos de defeitos em intermetálicos, apresentamos um método numérico que fornece a energia efetiva de formação de defeitos e aplicamos o método ao ZrNi e Zr2Ni. Os resultados mostraram que vacâncias são mais estáveis na sub—rede do Ni, com energia de formação de 0,83 e-0,61 eV em ZrNi e Zr2Ni, respectivamente. Vacâncias de Zr são instáveis em ambos compostos; elas decaem espontaneamente em pares anti—sítio e vacância de Ni. Configurações e energias de formação de intersticiais também foram calculadas e mostraram comportamentos similares. Em ZrNi, a migração de vacâncias ocorre preferencialmente nas direções [025] e [100], com as respectivas energias de migração 0,67 e 0,73 eV, e é um processo essencialmente bidimensional no plano (001). Em Zr,Ni, a migração de vacâncias é unidimensional, ocorrendo na direção [001], com energia de migração de 0,67 eV. Em ambos compostos a presença de defeitos de anti—sítio de Ni diminui a energia de migração da vacância de Ni em até 3 vezes e facilita a movimentação em três dimensões. Mecanismos de anel não são energeticamente eficientes em comparação com saltos diretos. As configurações estáveis de intersticiais em ambos compostos consistem em um átomo de Ni sobre o plano (001) entre dois vizinhos de Zr fora do plano. Intersticiais de Zr são instáveis e tendem a deslocar um átomo de Ni, ocupando seu sítio. Energias de deslocamento foram estudadas através de simulações de irradiação de ambos compostos. Durante o processo de colisão binária, um potencial universal ZBL foi usado para colisões a curta distância. Para distâncias intermediárias usamos um potencial de união arbitrário. Zr mostrou—se mais difícil de ser arrancado de seu sítio do que Ni. Encontramos valores de energia de deslocamento no intervalo de aproximadamente 29 eV até 546 eV. Alguns resultados experimentais são mostrados e apresentam boa concordância com os cálculos.

Impact of oxygen atmosphere on piezoelectric properties of CaBi2Nb2O9 thin films

CaBi2Nb2O9 (CBNO) thin films were deposited on platinum-coated silicon substrates by the polymeric precursor method, and were annealed in air and in an oxygen atmosphere. The structure, surface morphology and electrical properties of CBNO thin films have been investigated. The presence of an oxygen atmosphere during crystallization of the films affected the structure perfection and morphology, as well as ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. A reduction in P-r and piezoelectric coefficient, an increase of V-c and displacement of the Curie point is evident in the films crystallized in an oxygen atmosphere. The impact of exposure to the oxygen atmosphere on the creation of defects caused by bismuth and oxygen vacancies between layers was also investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. (c) 2007 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.