Ultrathin FBG pressure sensor with enhanced responsivity

An ultrathin fiber Bragg grating pressure sensor with enhanced sensitivity is demonstrated. A novel piston-like diaphragm with a hard core in the center is used as the sensing element to enhance the responsivity. Both the theoretical analysis and the experimental results show that the Young's modulus of the diaphragm and the radius of the hard core have significant effect on the pressure responsivity. By optimizing these two parameters, a pressure responsivity of 7 nm/MPa has been achieved.

Study on mechanical properties of GaN epitaxy films grown on sapphire by MOCVD

GaN epitaxy films were grown on (0001) oriented sapphire substrate by metal-organic vapor deposition(MOCVD). AFM and SEM were used to analyze the surface morphology of GaN films. Hardness and critical load of GaN films were measured by an nano-indentation tester, friction coefficient by reciprocating UMT-2MT tribometer. It is found that the surface of GaN film is smooth and the epitaxial growth mechanism is in two-dimension mode, GaN epitaxy films also belong to ultra-hardness materials, whose hardness is 22.1 MPa and elastic modulus is 299.5 GPa. Adhesion strength of epitaxial GaN to sapphire is high, and critical load reaches 1.6 N. Friction coefficient against GCr15 ball is steadily close to 0.13, while GaN films turns to be broken rapidly by using Si3N4 ceramic ball as counterpart.

The wave function evolution of an exciton in a bilayer system: Turning on a static in-plane electric field

The time evolution of the ground state wave function of an exciton in an ideal bilayer system is investigated within the framework of the effective-mass approximation. All of the moduli squared of the ground state wave functions evolve with time as cosine functions after an in-plane electric field is applied to the bilayer system. The variation amplitude and period of the modulus squared of the ground state wave function increase with the in-plane electric field F-r for a fixed in-plane relative coordinate r and fixed separation d between the electron and hole layers. Moreover, the variation amplitude and period of the modulus squared of the ground state wave function increase with the separation d for a fixed r and fixed in-plane electric field. Additionally, the modulus squared of the ground state wave function decreases as r increases at a given time t for fixed values of d and F-r. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

An investigation on the pressure-induced phase transition of nanocrystalline ZnS

An in situ energy dispersive x-ray diffraction study on nanocrystalline ZnS was carried out under high pressure up to 30.8 GPa by using a diamond anvil cell. The phase transition from the wurtzite to the zinc-blende structure occurred at 11.5 GPa, and another obvious transition to a new phase with rock-salt structure also appeared at 16.0 GPa-which was higher than the value for the bulk material. The bulk modulus and the pressure derivative of nanocrystalline ZnS were derived by fitting the Birch-Murnaghan equation. The resulting modulus was higher than that of the corresponding bulk material, indicating that the nanomaterial has higher hardness than the bulk material.

Pressure-induced phase transition of nanocrystalline zinc sulfide

In situ energy dispersive X-ray diffraction measurements on nanocrystalline zinc sulfide have been performed by using diamond anvil cell with synchrotron radiation. There is a phase transition which the ultimate structure is rocksalt when the pressure is up to 16.0GPa. Comparing the structure of body materials, the pressure of the phase transition of nano zinc sulfide is high. We fit the: Birch-Murnaghan equation of state and obtained its ambient pressure bulk modulus and its pressure derivative. The bulk modulus of nanocrystalline zinc sulfide is higher than that of body materials, it indicate that the rigidity of nanocrystalline zinc sulfide is high.

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].

Electronic, structural, and optical properties of crystalline yttria

The electronic structure of crystalline Y2O3 is investigated by first-principles calculations within the local-density approximation (LDA) of the density-functional theory. Results are presented for the band structure, the total density of states (DOS), the atom-and orbital-resolved partial DOS. effective charges, bond order, and charge-density distributions. Partial covalent character in the Y-O bonding is shown, and the nonequivalency of the two Y sites is demonstrated. The calculated electronic structure is compared with a variety of available experimental data. The total energy of the crystal is calculated as a function of crystal volume. A bulk modulus B of 183 Gpa and a pressure coefficient B' of 4.01 are obtained, which are in good agreement with compression data. An LDA band gap of 4.54 eV at Gamma is obtained which increases with pressure at a rate of dE(g)/dP = 0.012 eV/Gpa at the equilibrium volume. Also investigated are the optical properties of Y2O3 up to a photon energy of 20 eV. The calculated complex dielectric function and electron-energy-loss function are in good agreement with experimental data. A static dielectric constant of epsilon(O)= 3.20 is obtained. It is also found that the bottom of the conduction band consists of a single band, and direct optical transition at Gamma between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band may be symmetry forbidden.

Fracture properties of PECVD silicon nitride thin films by long rectangular memrane bulge test

Bulge test combined with a refined load-deflection model for long rectangular membrane was applied to determine the mechanical and fracture properties of PECVD silicon nitride (SiNx) thin films. Plane-strain modulus E-ps prestress s(0), and fracture strength s(max) of SiNx thin films deposited both on bare Si substrate and on SiO2-topped Si substrate were extracted. The SiNx thin films on different substrates possess similar values of E-ps and s(0) but quite different values of s(max). The statistical analysis of fracture strengths were performed by Weibull distribution function and the fracture origins were further predicted.

Fracture properties of silicon carbide thin films charcterized by bulge test of long membranes

The mechanical properties and fracture behavior of silicon carbide (3C-SiC) thin films grown on silicon substrates were characterized using bulge testing combined with a refined load-deflection model for long rectangular membranes. Plane-strain modulus E-ps, prestress so, and fracture strength s(max) for 3C-SiC thin films with thickness of 0.40 mu m and 1.42 mu m were extracted. The E, values of SiC are strongly dependent on grain orientation. The thicker SIC film presents lower so than the thinner film due to stress relaxation. The s(max) values decrease with increasing film thickness. The statistical analysis of the fracture strength data were achieved by Weibull distribution function and the fracture origins were predicted.

A Novel 0.72-6.2GHz Continuously-Tunable Delta Sigma Fractional-N Frequency Synthesizer

This paper presents a wideband Delta Sigma-based fractional-N synthesizer with three integrated quadrature VCOs for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication applications. It continuously covers a wide range frequency from 0.72GHz to 6.2GHz that is suitable for multiple communication standards. The synthesizer is designed in 0.13-um RE CMOS process. The dual clock full differential multi-modulus divide (MMD) with low power consumption can operate over 9GHz under the worst condition. In the whole range frequency from 0.72GHz to 6.2GHz, the maximal tuning range of the QVCOs reaches 33.09% and their phase noise is -119d8/Hz similar to 124d8/Hz @1MHz. Its current is less than 12mA at a 1.2V voltage supply when it operates at the highest frequency of 6.2GHz.

Quakes in solid quark stars

A starquake mechanism for pulsar glitches is developed in the solid quark star model. It is found that the general glitch natures (i.e., the glitch amplitudes and the time intervals) could be reproduced if solid quark matter, with high baryon density but low temperature, has properties of shear modulus mu(c) = 10(30-34) erg/cm(3) and critical stress sigma(c) = 10(18similar to24) erg/cm(3). The post-glitch behavior may represent a kind of damped oscillations. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Laterally Electrostatically Driven Poly 3C-SiC Folded-Beam Resonant Microstructures

Micromachined comb-drive electrostatic resonators with folded-cantilever beams were designed and fabricated. A combination of Rayleigh＇s method and finite-element analysis was used to calculate the resonant frequency drift as we adjusted the device geometry and material parameters. Three micromachined lateral resonant resonators with different beam widths were fabricated. Their resonant frequencies were experimentally measured to be 64.5,147.2, and 255.5kHz, respectively, which are in good agreement with the simulated resonant frequency. It is shown that an improved frequency performance could be obtained on the poly 3C-SiC based device structural material systems with high Young＇s modulus.

Interface energy and its influence on interface fracture between metal and ceramic thin films in nanoscale

A theoretical model about the size-dependent interface energy between two thin films with different materials is developed by considering the chemical bonding contribution based on the thermodynamic expressions and the structure strain contribution based on the mechanical characteristics. The interface energy decreases with reducing thickness of thin films, and is determined by such available thermodynamic and mechanical parameters as the melting entropy, the melting enthalpy, the shear modulus of two materials, etc. The predicted interface energies of some metal/MgO and metal/Al2O3 interfaces based on the model are consistent with the results based on the molecular mechanics calculation. Furthermore, the interface fracture properties of Ag/MgO and Ni/Al2O3 based on the atomistic simulation are further compared with each other. The fracture strength and the toughness of the interface with the smaller structure interface energy are both found to be lower. The intrinsic relations among the interface energy, the interface strength, and the fracture toughness are discussed by introducing the related interface potential and the interface stress. The microscopic interface fracture toughness is found to equal the structure interface energy in nanoscale, and the microscopic fracture strength is proportional to the fracture toughness. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3501090]

The main factor influencing the tensile properties of surface nano-crystallized graded materials

The improved mechanical properties of surface nano-crystallized graded materials produced by surface severe plastic deformation ((SPD)-P-2) are generally owing to the effects of the refined structure, work-hardened region and compressive residual stress. However, during the (SPD)-P-2 process, residual stress is produced simultaneously with work-hardened region, the individual contribution of these two factors to the improved mechanical properties remains unclear. Numerical simulations are carried out in order to answer this question. It is found that work hardening predominates in improving the yield strength and the ultimate tensile strength of the surface nano-crystallized graded materials, while the influence of the residual stress mainly emerges at the initial stage of deformation and decreases the apparent elastic modulus of the surface nano-crystallized graded materials, which agrees well with the experimental results. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nanoadhesion of a Power-Law Graded Elastic Material

The Dugdale-Barenblatt model is used to analyze the adhesion of graded elastic materials at the nanoscale with Young's modulus E varying with depth z according to a power law E = E-0(z/c(0))(k) (0 < k < 1) while Poisson's ratio v remains a constant, where E-0 is a referenced Young's modulus, k is the gradient exponent and c(0) is a characteristic length describing the variation rate of Young's modulus. We show that, when the size of a rigid punch becomes smaller than a critical length, the adhesive interface between the punch and the graded material detaches due to rupture with uniform stresses, rather than by crack propagation with stress concentration. The critical length can be reduced to the one for isotropic elastic materials only if the gradient exponent k vanishes.