A large area telescope for balloon-borne hard X-ray astronomy

A balloon-borne hard X-ray telescope is described that has been designed to make highly sensitive observations of cosmic sources in the energy range 15 to 300 keV. The payload is characterized by a combination of NaI(Tl) based detector of a novel design and spectroscopic proportional counters, providing a total sensitive area of 5000 cm² and a 1 standard deviation sensitivity at the level of about 4 × 10⁻⁶ photons cm⁻² s⁻¹ keV⁻¹. All of the telescope sub-systems are described including the micro-processor based orientation platform that provides a pointing stability of better than 10 arc min. The physical characteristics of the detectors are included along with a summary of the telescope performance during a balloon flight in 1982.     

Electrical and optical properties of 12CaO·7Al2O3 electride doped indium tin oxide thin film deposited by RF magnetron co-sputtering

12CaO·7Al₂O₃ electride (C12A7:e⁻) doped indium tin oxide (ITO) (ITO:C12A7:e⁻) thin films were fabricated on a glass substrate by an RF magnetron co-sputtering system with increasing number of C12A7:e⁻ chips (from 1 to 7) and at various oxygen partial pressure ratios. The optical transmittance of the ITO:C12A7:e⁻ thin film was higher than 70% in the visible wavelength region. In the electrical properties of the thin film, a decrease of the carrier concentration from 2.6 × 10²⁰ cm^− 3 to 2.1 × 10¹⁸ cm^− 3 and increase of the resistivity from 1.4 × 10^− 3 Ω cm to 4.1 × 10^− 1 Ω cm were observed with increasing number of C12A7:e⁻ chips and oxygen partial pressure ratios. It was also observed that the Hall mobility was decreased from 17.27 cm²·V^− 1·s^− 1 to 5.13 cm²·V^− 1·s^− 1. The work function of the ITO thin film was reduced by doping it with C12A7:e⁻.     

Solid–liquid interfacial energy of camphene

The Gibbs–Thomson coefficient and the solid–liquid interfacial energy for camphene have been measured to be (8.58±0.96)×10⁻⁸ K m and (4.43±0.49)×10⁻³ J m⁻², respectively, by a direct method. The grain boundary energy of camphene has also been calculated to be (8.36±0.92)×10⁻³ J m⁻² from the observed grain boundary groove shapes.     

Biosensor enhanced by glucose oxidase biomimetic membrane containing the platinum and silica nanoparticles

In this paper, glucose biosensor is fabricated with immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) in platinum and silica sol. The glucose biosensor combined with Pt and SiO₂ nanoparticles could make full use of the properties of nanoparticles. A set of experimental results indicates that the current response for the enzyme electrode containing platinum and silica nanoparticles increases from 0.32 µA cm^− 2 to 33 µA cm^− 2 in the solution of 10 mM β-D-glucose. The linear range is 3 × 10^− 5 to 3.8 × 10^− 3 M with a detection limit of 2 × 10^− 5 M at 3σ. The effects of the various volume ratios of Pt and SiO₂ sols with respect to the current response and the stability of the enzyme electrodes are studied.     

A study of very thin DLC foils as a gas barrier

Measurements of vacuum tightness and mechanical strength of diamond-like carbon (DLC) foils in the thickness range of 1–7 μg cm⁻² have been performed with a purpose to evaluate suitability of foils as a gas barrier. Hydrogen and argon at pressures from 10⁻² Pa to 20 kPa were used as test gases. The permeation rate specified as conductance density was found for the best sample of self-supporting foil to be around 1.5×10⁻³ l and 3.3×10⁻⁴ l s⁻¹ cm⁻² for H₂ and Ar, respectively. Conductance density of the same foils mounted on the frames with a mesh along the apertures as support was about twice higher than that for the self-supporting ones, likely due to the mechanical imperfections of the foil assemblies of the first ones. On the other hand, mesh-supported foils as thin as 3 μg cm⁻² and of 5 mm in diameter were withstanding the pressure of up to 18 kPa, while self-supporting foils of the same thickness ruptured at around 1.2 kPa. There was no observed relation between thickness of the foil and its mechanical properties and permeation rate. This suggests that rather tears and pinholes present in foils are the limiting factors of the foil–vacuum tightness and strength. Results obtained in the studies, presented in this work, demonstrate the ability of very thin DLC to isolate a high vacuum beam line from a gas cell in a variety of applications and ability to withstand the gas pressure relevant, in particular, to some gas-filled ionization chambers.     

Silicon beam telescope for CMS detector tests

A beam telescope providing precision track measurements as reference for other detectors has been upgraded in the CERN H2 test beam. The apparatus was completely rebuilt from the detector wafers and front-end electronics to the data acquisition system. The new detector setup consists of eight 5.6×5.6 cm² sized DC coupled silicon microstrip detectors. Typical position resolution values of about 7.5 μm were measured. Details of the setup are described and results from the recent beam tests are reported.     

Annealing effects on irradiated nn silicon detectors

The performance of ATLAS forward region full-sized n⁺n prototype silicon micro-strip detectors has been studied after irradiation with 2×10¹⁴ protons/cm² and 52 days annealing at 20°C. The signal-to-noise ratio measured at −10°C with LHC speed read-out was found to be degraded primarily due to increased noise. The reduction in the reverse current and the changes in the voltage needed for maximum charge collection have both been studied as a function of annealing time. Above the depletion voltage, no effect on the charge collection efficiency has been observed during this annealing period.     

Novel oxidative electrophilic coupling reactions of phenoxazine derivatives with MBTH and their applications to spectrophotometric determination of residual chlorine in drinking water and environmental water samples

Novel, sensitive and rapid spectrophotometric methods, using phenoxazine (PNZ), 2-chlorophe-noxazine (CPN) and 2-trifluoromethylphenoxazine (TPN) as chromogenic reagents for the determination of residual chlorine are proposed. The methods are based on the reduction of chlorine by an electrophilic coupling reagent, 3-methyl-2-benzothiazoline hydrazono hydrochloride hydrate (MBTH) in mild hydrochloric acid medium and subsequent coupling with PNZ, CPN or TPN. The blue color formed in the reaction showed maximum absorbance at 680–690 nm and obeyed Beer's law over the range 0.1–2.2 μg ml⁻¹. The molar absorptivity values with PNZ, CPN and TPN were 2.80 × 10⁴, 2.67 × 10⁴ and 1.91 × 10⁴ l mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹ and Sandell's sensitivity values were 0.028, 0.027 and 0.028 μg cm⁻² respectively. The proposed methods were successfully applied in the determination of residual chlorine in drinking water and environmental water samples. The performance of proposed methods was evaluated in terms of Student's t-test and variance ratio F-test which indicated the significance of proposed methods over the standard spectrophotometric method.     

Fast silicon p doped low temperature bolometer

The construction of a fast silicon p doped low temperature bolometer is described. It is a 5 × 5 × 0.3 mm Si <100 > n-type chip whose surface has been implanted with p doses of the order of 10¹⁸cm⁻³. The bolometer has a response time better than 1 μs, a responsivity of 10⁴VW⁻¹ and a NEP of .     

BL Lacs bright in rays

In this preview we consider implications from the recent AGILE γ-ray detection of the BL Lac 0716+714 in September–October 2007, marked by two intense flaring episodes reaching peak fluxes of 200×10⁻⁸ photons cm⁻² s⁻¹ in the energy range 0.1–10 GeV. The source shows no evidence of emission lines or disk radiation, related to any surrounding gas; its pure non-thermal radiation is effectively represented in terms of the synchrotron-self Compton radiation in the Thomson regime, also supported by the observed quadratic relation of the γ-ray to the X-ray flux variations. With source parameters so derived, we find a total jet power of about 4×10⁴⁵ erg s⁻¹, that makes 0716+714 one of the brightest gas-poor BL Lacs so far detected at γ-ray energies. Thus it provides an ideal benchmark to compare its intrinsic luminosity with the top power extractable from a maximally rotating black-hole via the Blandford–Znajek mechanism. With a mass close to 5×10⁸M for the associated BH, we find the source to remain close to the Blandford–Znajek threshold during the flare. Other gas-poor but weaker BL Lacs remain well below the threshold. These findings and those expected from FERMI will provide a powerful test of GR at work.     

Irradiation induced effects on Ni3N/Si bilayer system

The irradiation effect in Ni₃N/Si bilayers induced by 100 MeV Au ions at fluence 1.5 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm² was investigated at room temperature. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction determined the formation of Ni₂Si and Si₃N₄ phases at the interface. The roughness of the thin film was measured by atomic force microscopy. X-ray reflectivity was used to measure the thickness of thin films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has provided the elemental binding energy of Ni₃N thin films. It was observed that after irradiation (Ni 2p_3/2) peak shifted towards a lower binding energy. Optical properties of nickel nitride films, which were deposited onto Si (100) by ion beam sputtering at vacuum 1.2 × 10⁻⁴ torr, were examined using Au ions. In-situ I–V measurements on Ni₃N/Si samples were also undertaken at room temperature which showed that there is an increase in current after irradiation.     

Surface and grain-boundary energies as well as surface mass transport in polycrystalline CeO2

The multiphase equilibration technique for the determination of the equilibrium angles that develop at the interphase boundaries of a solid–liquid–vapor system, has been used to calculate the surface and interfacial energies in polycrystalline CeO₂ and CeO₂/Cu system in argon atmosphere at the temperature range 1473–1773 K. Linear temperature functions were obtained by extrapolation, for the surface energy γ_sv (J/m²) = 2.465–0.563 × 10⁻³ T and the grain-boundary energy γ_ss (J/m²) = 1.687–0.391 × 10⁻³ T of the ceramic, as well as for the interfacial energy γ_sl (J/m²) = 2.623–1.389 × 10⁻³(T −1356 K) of the CeO₂/Cu system. Grain-boundary grooving studied on polished surfaces of CeO₂ annealed in argon atmosphere at the same temperature range has shown that surface diffusion was the dominant mechanism for the mass transport. The surface diffusion coefficient can be expressed according to the equation D_s (m²/s) = 3.82 × 10⁻⁴ exp(−308,250/RT).     

Comprehensive characterization of hydride VPE grown GaN layers and templates

GaN community has recently recognized that it is imperative that the extended, and point defects in GaN and related materials, and the mechanisms for their formation are understood. This is a first and an important step, which must be followed by defect reduction before full implementation of this material and its allied binaries/ternaries in devices. This review is based on a recent concerted effort to establish benchmarks as far as defects are concerned, and identify the basic issues involved. Samples were analyzed for extended defects by TEM and chemical etches, for polarity by electric force microscopy and convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED), for point defects by DLTS, for optical quality and deep defects by photoluminescence (PL), for vacancies by positron annihilation, for donor and acceptor like states within the gap by ODMR and EPR, and for carrier transport targeted for defects and impurities by variable temperature and magnetic field-dependent Hall measurements.Hydride VPE samples grown at Lincoln Laboratories with 1.5, 5.5 and 55 μm thicknesses were investigated for defects by TEM, and their polarity was found to be Ga-polarity, as expected, by CBDE combined with simulations. The density of misfit dislocations at the substrate/EPI interface was determined to be on the order of 10¹³ cm⁻² based on high-resolution electron microscopy images. The threading dislocation density decreased gradually with distance from the interface, reaching a value of about 10⁸ cm⁻² at the surface of a 55 μm film. A 200 μm thick laser separated and free-standing HVPE grown GaN template grown at Samsung was also characterized similarly. The free surface and substrate sides were confirmed to be Ga- and N-polarity, respectively. The density of dislocations near the N-face was determined to be, in order, (3±1)×10⁷ and (4±1)×10⁷ by cross-sectional TEM and plan-view TEM, respectively. Identical observations on the Ga-face revealed the defect concentration to be less than 1×10⁷ cm⁻² by plan-view TEM and 5×10⁵ cm⁻² by cross-sectional TEM.Defects in a 10 μm thick GaN layer grown by HVPE at Lincoln Laboratory have been investigated by photo electrochemical (PEC) etching, and by wet etching in hot H₃PO₄ acid and molten KOH. Threading vertical wires (i.e. whiskers) and hexagonal-shaped etch pits are formed on the etched sample surfaces by PEC and wet etching, respectively. Using atomic force microscopy, one finds the density of “whisker-like” features to be 2×10⁹ cm⁻², the same value found for the etch-pit density on samples etched with both H₃PO₄ and molten KOH. Values agree well with TEM results.A free standing GaN template has been characterized for its structural and optical properties using X-ray diffraction, defect delineation etch followed by imaging with atomic force microscopy (AFM). The Ga-face and the N-face of the c-plane GaN exhibited a wide variation in terms of the defect density. The defect concentrations on Ga- and N-faces were about 5×10⁵ cm⁻² for the former and about 1×10⁷ cm⁻² for the latter, again in good agreement with TEM results mentioned above.High resolution X-ray rocking curves (omega scans) were measured. The [0 0 2] symmetric and [1 0 4] asymmetric peaks in 10 μm thick HVPE films had FWHM values between 5.8 and 7.9 arcmin, and 3.9 and 5.2 arcmin, respectively. The Samsung template investigated had wide diffraction peaks (20.6 and 24 arcmin for [0 0 2] and [1 0 4] diffractions, respectively) on the Ga-face, similar for the N-face, when a 2 mm slit size was used. When the slit size was reduced to 0.02 mm, the Ga- and N-face [0 0 2] peaks reduced to 69 and 160 arcsec. A bowing radius of 1.2 m was calculated to account for increased broadening with wider slits.In the HVPE layer studied, SIMS investigations indicate that both O and Si concentrations drop rapidly away from the surface into the sample — mainly due in part to the artifact of the technique and in part due to condensates on the surface of the sample, down to about 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ for Si and high 10¹⁶ cm⁻³ for O. The Ga-face profile in the Samsung template indicated levels below mid-10¹⁶ cm⁻³ for all three of the impurities. The picture is different for the N-side, however, as it was juxtaposed to the substrate during growth and was mechanically polished after laser separation. The impurity concentration on this face, depending on the species, is some 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than the case for the Ga-face.Transport properties as a function of the layer thickness, ranging from about 1 to 68 μm, while all the other parameters being the same, as they evolve from the sapphire/GaN interface and up were determined in epitaxial layers. A strong dependence on distance from the interface was observed with the averaged mobility figures increasing from 190 cm²/V s in the 5 μm film to 740 cm²/V s in the 68 μm film. The preliminary differential Hall measurements indicate that the mobility at the surface of the thick layer is about 1200 cm²/V s. Electron mobilities in free-standing template were 1425 cm²/V s at T=273 K and 7385 cm²/V s at T=48.2 K. By using the most recent unscreened acoustic deformation potential and allowing only the acceptor concentration to vary (2.4×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for the best fit), one obtains an excellent fit to the measured mobility in the temperature range of 30–273 K by using an iterative BTE method. In addition, an excellent fit for the temperature-dependent electron concentration was also obtained utilizing the acceptor concentration determined from the fit to the Hall data, and the charge balance equation. This led to a donor concentration of 1.6×10¹⁶ cm⁻³, and activation energy of 26 meV, the latter being the highest reported in the literature for GaN.In the free-standing template, the Γ₅ and Γ₆ free excitons were identified from emission measurements by utilizing polarization geometries where the E field is perpendicular to the c-axis, favoring the Γ₅ exciton, and E field parallel to the c-axis (incident beam from the edge of the wafer) favoring the Γ₆ exciton. Focusing on the defect region of the PL spectrum, the N-face of the sample exhibited the usual yellow line. However, the Ga-face exhibited a broad band encompassing both yellow and green bands. The yellow luminescence in the free-standing template is weak and can be easily saturated. In contrast, the green luminescence is dominant and is attributed to the isolated defect involving gallium vacancy, whereas the yellow luminescence is related to the same defect bound to dislocation or surface-bound structural defect.Deep centers have been characterized by DLTS in HVPE-grown GaN epilayers of different thickness and dislocation densities, and templates. The main deep centers, such as A₁, B, and D, show higher concentrations in thinner samples, which suggests a correlation to the high dislocation densities. Based on the anti-correlation between A₁ and B, which is observed in thin HVPE-GaN layers, the defect B was tentatively attributed to N_Ga. Centers A₁ and E₁ found in thin HVPE-GaN are very similar to centers A₂ and E induced by electron-irradiation, indicating their point-defect nature. Centers A, C, and D are not affected by 1 MeV electron-irradiation, thus ruling out the possibility of these centers being identical to any EI-induced centers; however, their nature remains unknown. As the layer thickness decreases, an increase of deep centers, both in species and concentrations, was clearly observed, which is believed to be closely associated with the significant increase of threading dislocations as revealed by TEM. Based on a comparison with EI-induced centers and an observation of anti-correlation, A₁ is tentatively assigned to N_I, and B to N_Ga. The template exhibited a new trap B′, with parameters E_T=0.53 eV and σ_T=1.5×10⁻¹⁵ cm² on the Ga-face, in addition to the four traps commonly observed in various epitaxial GaN layers. For the N-face, an N vacancy-related trap E₁, with E_T=0.18 eV and σ_T=4×10⁻¹⁷ cm², was observed. On the other hand, the Ga-face sample contained trap C, with E_T=0.35 eV and σ_T=1.6×10⁻¹⁵ cm². This trap may be related to surface damage caused by the RIE process employed.Electron beam and optical depth-profiling of thick (5.5–68 μm) n-type HVPE-GaN samples have been carried out using electron beam-induced current (EBIC) and micro-PL to determine the minority carrier diffusion length, L, and minority carrier lifetime. The minority carrier diffusion length increased linearly from 0.25 μm, at a distance of about 5 μm from the GaN/sapphire interface, to 0.63 μm at the GaN surface for a 36 μm thick sample. The increase in L was accompanied by a corresponding increase in PL band-to-band radiative transition intensity as a function of distance from the GaN/sapphire interface. These observations in PL intensity and minority carrier diffusion length have been attributed to a reduced carrier mobility and lifetime at the interface and to scattering at threading dislocations.Positron annihilation experiments have been conducted in HVPE films with varying thicknesses from 1 to 68 μm. Mg-doped samples and bulk GaN platelets have also been investigated and the behavior of positron annihilation in Mg-doped samples established. Unlike the Mg-doped samples, the positron lifetime in the HVPE samples increased with decreasing lattice temperature. This was interpreted as acceptors in these n-type samples being due to Ga vacancies as opposed to relatively shallow acceptor impurities. The similarities in the behavior of these samples and those investigated previously where the III/V ratio was changed also lend support to the Ga vacancy argument. Previous investigations established that as the III/V is lowered by increasing the ammonia flow during the growth, the Ga vacancy concentration increased. Using Mg-doped samples as a standard, the vacancy concentration was determined to be about 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ near the surface for the layer with a thickness greater than 30 μm. Assuming that the growth parameters in the set of layers with varying thicknesses that were investigated are the same, the Ga vacancy concentration increases to mid-10¹⁹ cm⁻³ near the interface. Since the interfacial region is n-type and highly conductive, this region must also contain even larger concentrations of O and/or N vacancies which lead to n-type material. SIMS results already indicate mid-10¹⁹ cm⁻³ levels of O being present in this region. This has been attributed to O out-diffusion from sapphire as previously reported.FTIR, ODMR and EPR measurements have been performed in GaN layers and templates. In FTIR measurements, two absorption bands corresponding to binding energies of 30.9 (Si) and 33.9 meV were found. Splitting of the binding energies with magnetic field is consistent with an effective mass of 0.22m₀. Angular rotation studies were performed with the magnetic field oriented perpendicular and parallel to the c-axis to provide symmetry information. The ODMR on the 2.2 eV peak in a 5–10 μm thick GaN layer, the notorious yellow emission, showed signatures of shallow donor (effective mass like) and deep defect centers with g-values of 1.95 and 1.99, respectively. The 3.27 eV peak with resolved LO phonon replicas, which is the blue peak observed in many GaN films grown by a variety of methods, is attributed to transitions involving shallow acceptors with g2.1 and g2.0. ODMR on the 2.4 eV “green” PL band in the free-standing template also revealed evidence for shallow donors with a g-value of 1.95 and other deeper centers. The larger line width of the shallow donor signal from the template, relative to that found for the epitaxial layers, is indicative of a lower concentration of this center, which leads to an increased hyperfine interaction. EPR studies confirmed the notable difference between the epilayers and the template, particularly the larger line widths in the template due to the lower concentration of shallow donors. Specifically, the free-standing sample has about 6×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ uncompensated donors while the epilayers have a concentration about a factor of four higher.Calculations indicate that incorporation of Si has a negligible effect on the lattice constant, but O and Mg can lead to an observable expansion of the lattice. Since values of the GaN lattice constant have often been based on bulk crystals that are now known to contain large concentrations of oxygen, the “true” GaN lattice constant is actually smaller than what has been measured for such crystals. Boron is an unintentional impurity that can be introduced during MBE growth. There has been speculation about whether B might act as an acceptor in GaN; this would require it to be incorporated on the nitrogen site. Computations indicate that incorporating B on the N site is energetically unfavorable. Even if it did incorporate there, it would act as a deep, rather than a shallow acceptor. Formation energies of H in AlN and GaN have also been calculated. The behavior of H in AlN is very similar to GaN: H⁺ dominates in p-type, H⁻ in n-type. Surprisingly, H in InN behaves exclusively as a donor, i.e. it is not amphoteric as in GaN and AlN, but actually contributes to the n-type conductivity of the material.Scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) has been applied to measure the local thermal conductivity of epitaxial GaN as it is affected to a large extent by phonon scattering, and a closer to the true value of this parameter can be obtained by a local measurement in areas of lower defect concentration such as those found in the wing regions of lateral epitaxially grown GaN. The method relies on a thermo-resistive tip forming one quadrant of a Winston bridge. The bridge is balanced with the tip heated followed by bringing the tip in contact with the sample under test which cools down due to thermal dissipation. However, the feedback circuit attempts to keep the thermo-resistance and thus the tip temperature the same. The square of the feedback voltage necessary for this is proportional to the thermal conductivity. Accurate values can be obtained with calibration using known substrates such as GaSb, GaAs, InP, Si and Al metal. Using SThM, thermal conductivity, κ, values of 2.0–2.1 W/cm K in the wing regions of lateral epitaxially grown GaN, 1.70–1.75 W/cm K in HVPE grown GaN, and 3.0–3.3 W/cm K for free-standing AlN have been measured.     

χ measurements and optical limiting studies of 2-chloro-5-nitro-N′-[(1E)-phenylmethylidene] benzohydrazide with substituents

The nonlinear optical properties of hydrazones substituted with different donor groups were studied using single beam Z-scan technique with nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. The nonlinear response in these molecules was found to increase with increase in the donor strength of the substituted group. The χ⁽³⁾ value of these molecules is found to be of the order of 10⁻¹³ esu. The nonlinear refractive index (n₂) of the samples is found to be negative and the largest value of n₂ obtained for the strong donor-substituted molecule is −8.83 × 10⁻¹¹ esu. All samples show good optical limiting behavior at 532 nm. The best optical limiting behavior was observed with the molecule substituted by a strong electron donor.     

Experimental comparison of different dead-time correction techniques in single-channel counting experiments

For single-channel counting, the dead-time correction method using transmission formulae was compared experimentally with the live-time technique. Agreement is within 4×10⁻⁴ for count rates up to 10⁴ s⁻¹ when the formulae for dead times in series are used and the dead-time value related to the analogue pulse width is adjusted for the BIPM modules. At higher count rates, a bias of 2×10⁻³ is observed. Two different live-time modules were compared and it was demonstrated that the live-time correction is also sensitive to the analogue pulse width and to the duration or rise time of the clock pulses. When these effects are taken into account, the two modules differ by only 5×10⁻⁴.     

Electrochemical behaviour of Cu24Zn5Al alloy in alkaline medium in the presence of chloride ions and benzotriazole

This paper deals with electrochemical behaviour of Cu24Zn5Al alloy in a sodium tetraborate solution (borax), in the presence of chloride ions and benzotriazole. It was found that during anodic polarization of the investigated alloy, in a sodium tetraborate solution, at lower potentials, copper (I)-oxide formed on the alloy surface. The voltammograms show peak potential shifts corresponding to the formation of Cu₂O towards more positive values with longer immersion time. It was found that chloride ions had an activating effect in a sodium tetraborate solution containing various concentrations of chloride ions (0.001, 0.005, 0.010, 0.050 and 0.100 mol dm⁻³ Cl⁻). It was observed that Cu24Zn5Al alloy corroded more intensely in more concentrated solutions and with longer exposure to Cl⁻. Investigations of the effect of inhibitor concentrations (8.4 × 10⁻⁶, 8.4 × 10⁻⁵, 8.4 × 10⁻⁴ and 8.4 × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³ BTA in 0.1 mol dm⁻³ borax solution) showed that BTA had a good protective effect. The inhibiting effect of BTA was also confirmed with various times of immersion of this alloy in a 1.7 × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³ solution of this inhibitor.     

Thermoluminescence response of CaS:Bi nanophosphor exposed to 200 MeV Ag ion beam

A study of the thermoluminescence (TL) parameters has been performed on swift heavy ion exposed Bi³⁺ doped CaS nanophosphors prepared by the chemical co-precipitation method. All the samples have been exposed to 200 MeV Ag⁺¹⁵ ions in a fluence range of 1 × 10¹²–1 × 10¹³ ions/cm². The prominent TL glow peak at 403 K (observed for the γ-irradiated sample) appeared at the same position in the 200 MeV Ag⁺¹⁵ ion beam irradiated samples, while the other peak at 466 K disappeared and the broad peak normally measured at 534 K split into two peaks at 535 K and 582 K for the Ag⁺¹⁵ ion beam irradiated samples. The effect of different Bi³⁺ concentration has been investigated and it was found that the maximum TL intensity was measured for the 0.08 mol% sample. The effect of different heating rates on the TL response has also been determined. The trapping parameters (i.e. activation energy, frequency factor, order of kinetic) of all the individual peaks of the glow curves have been analysed by using Chen’s formulae. The low fading and linear TL response in the range of 1 × 10¹²–1 × 10¹³ ions/cm² will be helpful to explore the potential use of this material for heavy ion dosimetry.     

Chemical deposition of Al2O3 thin films on Si substrates

Uniform Al₂O₃ films were deposited on silicon substrates by the sol–gel process from stable coating solutions. The technological procedure includes spin coating deposition and investigating the influence of the annealing temperature on the dielectric properties. The layers were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Spectroscopy. The electrical measurements have been carried out on metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) structures. The C–V curves show a negative fixed charge at the interface and density of the interface state, Dit, 3.7 × 10¹¹ eV^− 1cm^− 2 for annealing temperature at 750 °C.     

Fluorescence and nonlinear optical properties of non-aggregating hexadeca-substituted phthalocyanine

Highly non-aggregating hexadeca-substituted phthalocyanine (Pc) complexes were prepared and their fluorescence and nonlinear optical properties were studied. Three visible fluorescence bands were observed when the Pc complexes were excited at 355 nm and found to be concentration dependent. They are attributed to the optical transitions S₂ → S₀ at 415 nm, T₂ → T₁ at 630 nm, and S₂ → S₁ at 755 nm. Nonlinear absorptive and refractive effects were measured with the help of Z-scan technique. Saturation absorption was observed at 632.8 nm where the nonlinear absorption coefficient is found to be very large (β = −2.8 × 10⁻² cm/W) and the refractive nonlinear coefficient γ = −9.5 × 10⁻¹¹ cm²/W. In the transparency domain at 532 nm, reverse absorption saturation is observed and β and γ are found to be 17.5 and 15.5 times smaller, respectively. Optical limiting performances are measured in the absorption and transparency domains. Purely refractive-based optical limiting at 632.8 nm is found to have a threshold of 0.16 kW/cm², lower than the reverse absorption saturation and refractive-based optical limiting of 0.90 kW/cm² at 532 nm.     

Kapitza resistance and thermal conductivity of Kapton in superfluid helium

We have determined simultaneously the Kapitza resistance, R_K, and the thermal conductivity, κ, of Kapton HN sheets at superfluid helium temperature in the range of 1.4–2.0 K. Five sheets of Kapton with varying thickness from 14 to 130 μm, have been tested. Steady-state measurement of the temperature difference across each sheet as a function of heat flux is achieved. For small temperature difference (10–30 mK) and heat flux density smaller than 30 W m⁻², the total thermal resistance of the sheet is determined as a function of sheet thickness and bath temperature. Our method determines with good accuracy the Kapitza resistance, R_K=(10540±444)T⁻³×10⁻⁶ K m² W⁻¹, and the thermal conductivity, κ=[(2.28±0.54)+(2.40±0.32)×T]×10⁻³ W m⁻¹ K⁻¹. Result obtained for the thermal conductivity is in good agreement with data found in literature and the Kapitza resistance’s evolution with temperature follows the theoretical cubic law.