Study of the lattice strain relaxation in the Ga1-X Al X Sb/GaSb system by x-ray topography and high resolution diffraction

High resolution x-ray diffraction and topographic methods have been used to study lattice strain relaxation in the Ga_1-X Al _X Sb/GaSb system. Samples with layer thickness ranging between 0.1 and 6 m and with Al concentration x=0.402±0.005 have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy at 550 °C on (0 0 1) oriented undoped GaSb LEC substrates. A first critical thickness (t _C1), related to the misfit dislocation generation, has been found to be between 0.16 < t _C1 < 0.20 m. Due to the weak sensitivity of the rocking curve to the onset of relaxation, this result has been obtained by means of a double crystal topographic technique. A plateau region in the curve of the residual strain versus thickness has been observed for t ranging between 0.2 and 0.5 m. The residual strain _res shows a dependence close to t^–0.5 above a second critical thickness value t _C2 slightly larger than 0.5 m. Finally, in the last region above a layer thickness of 3 m, strong dislocation interaction effects seem to affect the relaxation. A comparison with theoretical models has been made.     

Photodoping and relaxation of persistent photoconductivity in YBa2Cu3Ox studied byin-situ transport measurements

We report on in-situ resistivity and Hall-effect studies of partially oxygen-depleted YBa₂Cu₃O_x thin films during white light illumination. The measurements were performed at various temperatures between the superconducting transition and room temperature. At all temperatures the resistivity and the Hall coefficient decreased as a function of the illumination time. The Hall number p_H and the Hall mobility _H, calculated within a simple one-band model, showed an increase of p_H during the illumination without a saturation. At low temperatures, _H behaved similarly to p_H. At 200 K, however, _H became constant after several hours of illumination, while at 260 K and 290 K, we observed a short increase of _H followed by a long-term decrease. From the different time dependences of _H and p_H, we conclude that two mechanisms contribute to the photodoping effect. Additionally, we observed that after termination of the illumination at 290 K the photodoped values of p_H and _H relaxed with substantially different time constants.     

The Interplay of Electronic and Nuclear Magnetism in PtFe x at Milli-, Micro-, and Nanokelvin Temperatures

We have measured ac susceptibility, nuclear magnetic resonance, and nuclear heat capacity of two PtFe _x samples with concentrations of magnetic impurities x = 11 ppm and 41 ppm at magnetic fields (0 ± 0.05) mTB248 mT. The susceptibility data have been measured at temperatures of 0.3 KT100 mK, no hint for nuclear magnetic ordering could be detected to a temperature of 0.3 K. The nuclear heat capacity data taken at 1.4 KT10 mK show enhanced values which scale with x at low polarization. This effect is described by a model assuming an internal magnetic field caused by the impurities. No indication for nuclear magnetic ordering could be detected to 1.4 K. The nuclear magnetic resonance experiments have been performed on these samples at 0.8 KT0.5 mK and 2.5 mTB22.8 mT as well as on three other samples with x = 5, 10, 31 ppm in a different setup at 40 KT0.5 mK and at 5.4 mTB200 mT. Spin-lattice and effective spin-spin relaxation times ₁and ₂ ^* of ¹⁹⁵ Pt strongly depend on x and on the external magnetic field. No temperature dependence of ₁and ₂ ^* could be detected and the NMR data, too, give no hint for nuclear magnetic ordering to 0.8 K.     

Submicron diameter nickel filaments and their polymer-matrix composites

Discontinuous nickel filaments of diameter 0.4 m and having a carbon core of diameter 0.1 m were fabricated by electroplating nickel on discontinuous carbon filaments. They exhibited a grain size of 0.016 m and electrical resistivity of about 5 × 10^–6 ·cm. In an amount as low as 7 vol.% in a polymer (polyether sulfone) matrix, they resulted in a composite exhibiting electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of 87 dB and reflection coefficient 0.95 at 1–2 GHz, tensile strength 52 MPa, tensile ductility 1.0%, and density 1.87 g/cm³.     

Field and excitation dependent ultrasonic attenuation in3He-B

Sound absorption of³He-B at 0 bar was studied at a frequency of 10 MHz. We performed pulsed experiments with different pulse lengths (4 to 15 s) and pulse powers (0.1 to 160 W) in the temperature range 0.2 < T/T_C < 2. For pulse power less than pth 50 W, and in the temperature range 0.4 to 0.8 T_c and zero field, the attenuation coefficient a decreases monotonically at about 0.2 cm^–1 per decade of power. Above pth. increases up to values of 3.5 cm^–1 and 1.9 cm^–1 at highest power for temperatures of 0.8 T_c and 0.4 T_c, respectively. At pulse power around 100 W and at the lowest temperatures, the attenuation changes within the first 200 s after the application of the pulse; also increases with increasing field. In the normal fluid decreases with increasing power. All of our observations are lacking a rigorous theoretical understanding.     

Pt black powder as a heat exchanger at ultralow temperature

We have studied a series of Pt black sinters. They were produced under different pressure and temperature conditions, resulting in packing fractions ranging from 40 up to 60%. The samples were sintered to a highly polished copper surface of 2.0×1.3 cm² with a thickness from 25 m up to 1 mm. Dependent on the presintering temperature a specific surface area between 90 m²/cm³ and 180 m²/cm³ is found. The electrical resistivity was about 114 ·cm at room temperature and 50 ·cm at 4.2 K for 40% density and 56 ·cm and 23 ·cm for 60% density, respectively. The microscopic structure of several samples was characterized by electron microscopy and neutron diffraction techniques. A porosity around 0.5 m and an anisotropic particle size of only 70 Å was found. This indicates that this material can well be used as a heat exchanger at ultralow temperature.     

Sintering of aluminium nitride: Particle size dependence of sintering kinetics

The effect of particle size (0.78 4.4 m) on the sintering kinetics of AIN powder was investigated in the temperature range from 1600 to 2000° C and the results were analysed on the basis of vacancy diffusion models. The mechanisms of sintering are discussed.Fractional shrinkage is proportional to the nth power of soaking time with n = 0.20 for 4.4 m and 1.5 m powders and 0.33 for 0.78 m powder. For the 0.78 m powder at 1900° C, however, n decreases gradually as grain growth proceeds. The experimental activation energy for sintering is between 92 kcal/mole for 4.4 m and 129 kcal/mole for 0.78 m powder. Unlike this activated energy, the rate of sintering and the diffusion constant calculated from it increase drastically with decrease of particle size; the derived diffusion constant for 1.5 m powder is 10¹ to 10² times larger than that of 4.4 m powder, and for 0.78 m powder the diffusion constant is estimated to be still higher.The particle-size dependence of parameter n and the diffusion constant seems to be caused by a variation in predominant diffusion mechanisms; namely, bulk diffusion in coarse powder and surface or grain-boundary diffusion in fine powder.     

Structural properties and enumeration of quasi cyclic codes

Given any finite fieldF _q , an (N, K) quasi cyclic code is defined as aK dimensional linear subspace ofF _q ^N which is invariant underT ⁿ for some integern, 0 <n N, and whereT is the cyclic shift operator. Quasi cyclic codes are shown to be isomorphic to theF _q []-submodules ofF _q ^N where the product(gl)· is naturally defined as ₀ + ₁T ⁿ +...+ _m T ^mn if()= ₀ + ₁ +...+ _{m m} .In the case where (N/n, q)=1, all quasi cyclic codes are shown to be decomposable into the direct sum of a fixed number of indecomposable components called irreducible cyclicF _q []-submodules providing for the complete characterisation and enumeration of some subclasses of quasi cyclic codes including the cyclic codes, the quasi cyclic codes with a cyclic basis, the maximal and the irreducible ones. Finally a general procedure is presented which allows for the determination and characterisation of the dual of any quasi cyclic code.     

Measurement of the Micrometer Diameters of Focused Laser-Beam Radiation with a Thin-Wire Bolometer

The profile distributions of a focused Gaussian beam of 63-m laser radiation for E- and H-polarizations were recorded by a thin-wire bolometer 3 m in diameter. The profiles were used to determine the beam diameters, which were D ^E = (8.16 ± 0.12) m and D ^H = (8.00 ± 0.12) m upon elimination of the dominant systematic errors.     

Ohm resistivity of electroless copper layers as a function of their thicknesses

The electric Ohm resistivity of electroless Cu depositions on dielectric substrates as a function of their thicknesses is studied. Substantial deviations (up to 10–20 times) from the standard resistivity ( = 1.7 cm^–1) below 0.5 (m thicknesses are observed. The experimental data show for the entire region of thicknesses (d 0.07–5 m) a power function between the relative resistivity changes (/) and the inverse thickness of depositions (d )–(/ (1/d )^0.8. This empirical relation is discussed as an effect of the porous structure of the metallic layers deposited on the substrate. A scanning electron micrography was applied in order to visualize the morphology of the depositions. The micrographs clearly show the evolution of the deposition profile: starting from separate islands at the very beginning of the process, and gradually covering the entire area with continuous but porous metal layers.     

Coaxial variable-length resonator for determining the electromagnetic parameters of materials at normal and higher temperatures

Conclusions It is possible by means of the above resonator, according to our analysis and in the absence of air gaps between the sample and the line, to evaluate the real components and of permeability and permittivity respectively in the range of 2 to 100 with an error between ±3% and ±10% in the temperature range from room temperature to +400°C, and the imaginary components and (for tan and tan in the range of 0.001 to 2) with an error of 7 to 20% over the same temperature range.     

On crystal alignment in polycrystalline YBCO materials based on TEM observation

Previously, we have observed that parallel lattice fringes show up regularly in MTG samples, indicative of good alignment of unit cells in strips of size 100 nm × a few times 100 nm. We have prepared films ( 80 nm) for TEM observation using YBCO material fabricated by the conventional solid-state reaction method in order to study the crystal texture in a length scale from a few 100 nm down to 3 Å. Parallel lattice fringes are observed to stretch across a cross-section 0.3×0.5 m². Cross lattice fringes intersecting at 90° and 45° are observed as rare events. This result suggests that the degree of alignment in the crystal texture is higher than expected inside a grain of size a few m.     

Absolute frequency measurements of lasers in submillimeter and infrared ranges

Conclusion The investigations into lasers constructed in the submillimeter and infrared regions showed satisfactory results for their use in absolute frequency measurements. The fast-response nonlinear elements — W=Si and W=Ni point diodes — have been tested in the multiplier-mixer mode from 337 to 10 exclusively. The frequencies have been measured of the molecular lasers HCN (=337 ), D₂O (=84 ), H₂O (=28 ) and the P(14) CO₂ (=10.53 ) and R(30) (=10.18 ) lines. The measurement error of 5·10^–7 was determined by the indeterminacies of fixing the peak of the laser generation lines. An increase of the measurement accuracy will be achieved by the mutual tying in of the laser frequencies to one another.Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 10, pp. 59–61, October, 1976.     

Atomic force microscope studies of stainless steel: Surface morphology and colloidal particle adhesion

An atomic force microscope has been used to image four commercial stainless steel samples of widely differing surface finishes. Analysis of the images allowed quantification of surface roughness over different area scales, 50 × 50 m, 10 × 10 m and 1 × 1 m. The atomic force microscope was also used to measure directly the adhesion of a single polymer latex particle (radius 5 m) to the surface in solution using the colloid probe technique. It was found that the adhesion increased with decreasing roughness, except for the smoothest surface which exhibited very regular surface features on the area scale most relevant to adhesion of the particle (1 × 1 m). There was a good correlation between the variability of adhesion over each surface and the corresponding variability in surface roughness. Measurements of this type should prove useful in the technical/economic choice of surface finish for a particular purpose. As the colloid probe has dimensions comparable to those of bacteria and yeast cells, such measurements should especially be of value in the selection of surface finish likely to minimise bioadhesion.     

State of Radiorhodium in High-Level Liquid Waste from Regeneration of Spent Nuclear Fuel

The state of radiorhodium in liquid waste from processing of spent nuclear fuel was analyzed in detail by ESR and NMR spectroscopy on several nuclei. The most probable oxidation state of rhodium in nitric acid solutions is +3. Three procedures for preparing nitric acid solutions of rhodium were studied. The composition of Rh(III) complexes in these solutions is similar but not identical. The method for identifying the ionic composition of similar objects was proposed. The speciation of rhodium in nitric acid solutions with the acid concentration ranging from 2×10^{- 2} to 15 M was studied. Polynuclear oligomers with (-ONO₂)₂ bridges, mainly tetramers, are formed in solutions with CRh > 2 M, [NO₃ ^-] 8 M, and [H⁺] 0.7 M. At CRh = (1-2)×10^{- 2}, [NO₃ ^-] = 1-4 M, and [H⁺] = 0.4-4 M, the (-OH, -ONO₂) dimer and trimer prevail; at [NO₃ ^-] < 1 M and [H⁺] < 0.2 M, the (-OH, -ONO₂) dimer dominates. No Rh(III) aqua ion and no monomeric nitrate complexes were detected in the quasiequilibrium system at any concentrations of the components. In nitrate-nitrite solutions, both subnitrated (-OH, -ONO₂) Rh(III) oligomers and mononuclear Rh(III) nitroaqua complexes exist. The equilibrium between these species is attained very slowly and depends on the equilibrium concentration of nitrite anion. Forecast was given on isolation of rhodium from nitric acid solutions of SNF by extraction, ion-exchange, electrolytic, and precipitation procedures.     

A note on the similarity solutions for free convection on a vertical plate

Summary The similarity solutions for free convection on a vertical plate when the (non-dimensional) plate temperature is x and when the (non-dimensional) surface heat flux is –x are considered. Solutions valid for 1 and 1 are obtained. Further, for the first problem it is shown that there is a value ₀, dependent on the Prandtl number, such that solutions of the similarity equations are possible only for >₀, and for the second problem that solutions are possible only for >–1 (for all Prandtl numbers). In both cases the solutions becomes singular as ₀ and as –1, and the natures of these singularities are discussed.     

Use of an osteoinductive biomaterial as a bone morphogenetic protein carrier

A porous calcium phosphate ceramic, which induced bone formation in soft tissues of dogs, was termed as osteoinductive biomaterial and studied as a carrier of bone morphogenetic protein (rhBMP-2). Cylinder implants (ø 4×5 mm) impregnated with 0, 1, 10 and 40 g rhBMP-2 were implanted in dorsal muscles of rabbits for five weeks. Histological observation and histomorphometric analysis were performed on thin un-decalcified sections. No bone formation was detected in the implants without rhBMP-2, while mature lamellar bone was found inside the implants with 1 g rhBMP-2, both on the outer surface and inside the implants with 10 g and 40 g rhBMP-2. Little difference in formed bone was found between 1 g and 10 g rhBMP-2, but no difference was found between 10 g and 40 g rhBMP-2. A significant difference in bone marrow formation was found among 1, 10 and 40 g rhBMP-2. The more rhBMP-2, the more bone marrow formed. The present results indicate that osteoinductive biomaterial is a good carrier of BMP and high dose of BMP is not necessary for bone formation in clinic. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers     

Particle size control of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene by recrystallization from DMSO

Batches of up to 46g of the insensitive explosive 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) have been recrystallized from DMSO in an effort to prepare larger particle-size material for recycling previously-used TATB and also for use in special formulations. The first part of the study investigated the conditions required to shift the particle-size distribution maximum from 50–70 m to several hundred micrometres in diameter. Distributions peaking at 200–246 m were successfully produced by varying the cooldown rate and degree of agitation during cooling. The second part of the study emphasized regeneration of the standard 50–70 m distribution from submicron size (ultrafine TATB) particles. The distributions peaking at 76–88 m, 27–31 m, and 15–17 m, successfully bracketed the target particle sizes, were grown by changing the degree of solution saturation. The choice of saturation temperature for the TATB/DMSO solution was based on earlier small-scale recrystallization and solubility work.     

Measurements of chemical potentials in superconducting tin whiskers

A superconductor / normal conductor potential probe pair was used to measure differences between the time-averaged electrochemical potentials _p of Cooper pairs and of quasiparticle excitations caused by a phase-slip center in several experimental situations. The results can only be understood by assuming that at a larger distance from the phase-slip center differs from the proposal of Skocpol, Beasley, and Tinkham by showing a swinging over or swinging below _p . We propose a modified slope of as a function of site. Possible explanations are discussed. The multiple-contact samples used also allow the study of the influence of phase-slip centers already present on the relaxation of nonequilibrium quasiparticles.     

Annealing behaviour of amorphous μ- phase alloys of FeW and MoCo

Crystallization in sputter deposited, amorphous FeW and MoCo of -phase composition alloys has been studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrical resistivity and X-ray diffraction. The amorphous alloys exhibit high thermal stability and transform directly to the equilibrium -phase with no intermediate metastable phase formation. In FeW, a tungsten-iron solid solution also forms as the alloy composition is actually in a two-phase ( + solid solution) region. In both alloys, the crystallites form on a very fine scale and the -phase is heavily faulted. The crystallization behaviour may be indicative of a marked similarity between the short range structure of the amorphous phase and the -phase structure. Changes in electrical resistivity during crystallization are in substantial agreement with the structural changes observed through TEM and X-ray analysis.