Third-order optical nonlinearities of lead-free (Na1-xKx)(0.5)Bi0.5TiO3 thin films

(Na1-xKx)(0.5)Bi0.5TiO3 (NKBT) (x = 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3) thin films with good surface morphology and rhombohedral perovskite structure were fabricated on quartz substrates by a sol-gel process. The fundamental optical constants (the band gaps, linear refractive indices and absorption coefficients) of the films were obtained through optical transmittance measurements. The nonlinear optical properties were investigated by Z-scan technique performed at 532 nm with a picosecond laser. A two-photon absorption effect closely related with potassium-doping content was found in thin films, and the nonlinear refractive index n(2) increases evidently with potassium-doping. The real part of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility chi((3)) is much larger than its imaginary part, indicating that the third-order optical nonlinear response of the NKBT films is dominated by the optical nonlinear refractive behavior. These results show that NKBT thin films have potential applications in nonlinear optics. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electronic structures and mechanical properties of uranium monocarbide from first-principles LDA plus U and GGA plus U calculations

The electronic structure, elastic constants, Poisson's ratio, and phonon dispersion curves of UC have been systematically investigated from the first-principles calculations by the projector-augmented-wave (PAW) method. In order to describe precisely the strong on-site Coulomb repulsion among the localized U 5f electrons, we adopt the local density approximation (LDA) + U and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) + U formalisms for the exchange correlation term. We systematically study how the electronic properties and elastic constants of UC are affected by the different choice of U as well as the exchange-correlation potential. We show that by choosing an appropriate Hubbard U parameter within the GGA + U approach, most of our calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Therefore. the results obtained by the GGA + U with effective Hubbard parameter U chosen around 3 eV for UC are considered to be reasonable. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of nitrogen annealing on electrical properties of lead zirconate titanate thin film deposited on titanium metal foil

We report on improved electrical properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) film deposited on titanium metal foil using nitrogen annealing. After nitrogen annealing of the PZT capacitors, symmetric capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics, higher dielectric constant and breakdown field, less change of dielectric constant with frequency, lower dielectric loss and leakage current are obtained. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dose rate dependence of electrical characteristics of lead zirconate titanate capacitors

The influence of gamma-radiation dose rate on the electrical properties of lead zirconate titanate capacitors was investigated. More severe degradations in dielectric constant, coercive field, remanent polarization and capacitance-voltage (C-V) curves occurred with increasing radiation dose at lower dose rates. The electrical properties exhibited distinct radiation dose rate dependence and the worst-case degradation occurred at the lowest dose rate. The radiation-induced degradation of parameters such as the coercive field drift and distortion of the C-V curve can be recovered partly through post-irradiation annealing.

Broad-spectrum and long-lifetime emissions of Nd3+ ions in lead fluorosilicate glass

A novel Nd3+-doped lead fluorosilicate glass (NPS glass) is prepared by a two-step melting process. Based on the absorption spectrum a Judd-Ofelt theory analysis is made. The emission line width of NPS glass is 44.2nm. The fluorescence decay lifetime of the 4F3/2 level is 586±20μsec, and the stimulated emission cross-section is 0.87×10-20cm2 at 1056nm. A laser oscillation is occurred at 1062nm when pumped by 808nm Diode Laser. The slope efficiency is 23.7% with a 415mJ threshold. It is supposed that NPS glass is a good candidate for using in ultra-short pulse generation and amplification by the broad emission bandwidth and long fluorescence lifetime.