Synthesis of an LED structure on the \left( {11\bar 20} \right) and (0001) faces of mesa stripes grown by selective-area epitaxy

The influence of the carrier-gas type on the character of formation of p-GaN layers on the faces (0001), $\left( {11\bar 20} \right)$ , and $\left( {11\bar 22} \right)$ of a mesa-stripe structure, formed by the selective-area epitaxy method. A light-emission diode having a rectangular cross section with an active region made of InGaN/GaN quantum wells was formed on the (0001) and $\left( {11\bar 20} \right)$ faces of the mesa stripe structure. LED prototypes on free GaN stripes detached from the substrate were created.     

Elastic Properties of Monoclinic \hbox {ZrO}_{2} at Finite Temperatures Via First Principles

The structural and elastic properties of orthorhombic $\hbox {ZrO}_{2}\,(m\hbox {-ZrO}_{2})$ as a function of temperature are investigated by the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) correction scheme in the framework of density functional theory (DFT) and the quasi-harmonic Debye model. The thirteen independent elastic constants of $m\hbox {-ZrO}_{2}$ at temperatures to 3200 K are theoretically investigated for the first time. It is found that with increasing temperature, all elastic constants change, especially $C_{35}\hbox { and }C_{25}$ change rapidly in the temperature range of 1400 K to 1600 K and 2200 K to 2600 K, respectively. We also obtain the bulk modulus $B$ , shear modulus $G$ , Young’s moduli $E$ , as well as Poisson’s ratio $\sigma $ of $m\hbox {-ZrO}_{2}$ at high temperatures. Our work suggests that it is very important to predict the melting properties of materials via the elastic constants at temperatures.     

Copper crystals on the (11\bf{\bar{2}}0) sapphire plane: orientation relationships, triple line ridges and interface shape equilibrium

The orientation relationships (ORs) of copper crystals on a $ (11\bar{2}0) $ sapphire substrate equilibrated at 1253 K are presented. They barely depend on the procedures used in sample preparation, i.e. dewetting of a copper film in the liquid state or in the solid state. The most frequent OR found is Cu(111) || Al₂O₃ $ (11\bar{2}0) $ and Cu $ [1\bar{1}0] $ within few degrees from Al₂O₃[0001]. A secondary, lower frequency OR is also observed: Cu(001) || Al₂O₃ $ (11\bar{2}0) $ with Cu $ [1\bar{1}0] $ within a few degrees from either Al₂O₃ $ [1\bar{1}00] $ or Al₂O₃[0001]. These ORs do not follow the Fecht and Gleiter model which proposes that dense directions of the metal should align with dense directions of the oxide. On annealing, even at a temperature about half of the melting point of sapphire, fast diffusion of sapphire at the copper/sapphire interface is observed: the copper particles tend to achieve their interfacial equilibrium shapes by sinking into the substrate, and sapphire ridges form at the triple line. Finally, it is shown that the Cu(111) || Al₂O₃ $ (11\bar{2}0) $ interface remains flat at the atomic scale, and is therefore part of the copper/sapphire equilibrium interfacial shape.     

Specific Heat of K_{0.71}Na_{0.29}Fe_2As_2 at Very Low Temperatures

A commercially available calorimeter has been used to investigate the specific heat of a high-quality K $_{0.71}$ Na $_{0.29}$ Fe $_2$ As $_2$ single crystal. The addenda heat capacity of the calorimeter is determined in the temperature range $0.02 \, \mathrm{K} \le T \le 0.54 \, \mathrm{K}$ . The data of the K $_{0.71}$ Na $_{0.29}$ Fe $_2$ As $_2$ crystal imply the presence of a large $T^2$ contribution to the specific heat which gives evidence of $d$ -wave order parameter symmetry in the superconducting state. To improve the measurements, a novel design for a calorimeter with a paramagnetic temperature sensor is presented. It promises a temperature resolution of $\Delta T \approx 0.1 \, \mathrm{\mu K}$ and an addenda heat capacity less than $200 \, \mathrm{pJ/K}$ at $ T < 100 \, \mathrm{mK}$ .     

Application of Non-Isothermal Thermogravimetric Method to Interpret the Decomposition Kinetics of \hbox {NaNO}_{3}, \hbox {KNO}_{3}, and \hbox {KClO}_{4}

The non-isothermal thermogravimetric method was used to study the thermal decomposition of \(\hbox {KClO}_{4}, \hbox {KNO}_{3}\) , and \(\hbox {NaNO}_{3}\) at heating rates of (5, 10, 15, and 20)  \(\hbox {K}\cdot \hbox {min}^{-1}\) . The activation energy of thermal decomposition reactions was computed by isoconversional methods of Ozawa–Flynn–Wall, Kissinger–Akahiro–Sunose, and Friedman equations. Also, the kinetic triplet of the thermal decomposition of salts was determined by the model-fitting method of the modified Coats–Redfern equation. The activation energies of \(\hbox {KClO}_{4}, \hbox {KNO}_{3}\) , and \(\hbox {NaNO}_{3}\) of (293 to 307, 160 to 209, and 192 to 245)  \(\hbox {kJ}\cdot \hbox {mol}^{-1}\) , respectively, are obtained by non–isothermal isoconversional methods. The modified Coats and Redfern method showed that the most probable mechanism functions \(g(\alpha )\) of \([-\hbox {ln}(1 - \alpha )]^{1/3}\) (model A3: Arami–Erofeev equation) and \((1 - \alpha )^{-1}- 1\) (model F2: second order) can be used to predict the decomposition mechanisms of \(\hbox {KClO}_{4}\) , \(\hbox {KNO}_{3}\) , and \(\hbox {NaNO}_{3}\) , respectively.     

Dislocation structure at a \{ {\overline{1} 2\overline{1} 0} \}/ {\langle} 10\overline{1} 0 {\rangle} low-angle tilt grain boundary in LiNbO3

LiNbO₃ is a ferroelectric material with a rhombohedral R3c structure at room temperature. A LiNbO₃ bicrystal with a $ \{ {\overline{1} 2\overline{1} 0} \}/ {\langle}10\overline{1} 0{\rangle}$ 1° low-angle tilt grain boundary was successfully fabricated by diffusion bonding. The resultant boundary was then investigated using high-resolution TEM. The boundary composed a periodic array of dislocations with $ b = { 1}/ 3{\langle} \overline{1} 2\overline{1} 0{\rangle} $ . They dissociated into two partial dislocations by climb. A crystallographic consideration suggests that the Burgers vectors of the partial dislocations should be $ 1/ 3{\langle}01\overline{1} 0{\rangle} $ and $ 1/ 3{\langle}\overline{1} 100{\rangle} $ , and a stacking fault on $ \{ {\overline{1} 2\overline{1} 0} \} $ is formed between the two partial dislocations. From the separation distance of a partial dislocation pair, a stacking fault energy on $ \{ {\overline{1} 2\overline{1} 0} \} $ was estimated to be 0.25?J/m² on the basis of isotropic elasticity theory.     

Evidence for One-Gap Superconductivity in Mg(B_{1-x}C_{x})_{2} Single Crystals at x=0.132 by Point-Contact Spectroscopy

We report the results of directional point-contact measurements in Mg(B $_{1-x}$ C $_{x})_{2}$ single crystals. The amplitudes of the gaps, $\Delta_{\pi}$ and $\Delta_{\sigma}$ , were determined for each C content by fitting the experimental low-temperature normalized conductance curves of our “soft” point contacts with the BTK model generalized to the two-band case. We found that, on increasing the carbon content, $\Delta_{\sigma}$ decreases almost linearly with $T_{c}$ and $\Delta_{\pi}$ slightly increases until, at $x=0.132$ (where $T_{c}=19$ K), they assume the same value $\Delta =3.2 \pm 0.9$ meV. This result is confirmed by the temperature and magnetic-field dependence of the conductance curves at this C content, which do not show any evidence of two distinct gap values. In particular, the Δ versus T curve follows very well a standard BCS curve, with a gap ratio $2\Delta /k_{B} T_{c}=3.9$ . These experimental findings are compared to the theoretical predictions of the two-band model in the Eliashberg formulation.     

\text{ CO}_{2} Laser-Based Pulsed Photoacoustic Ammonia Detection

Detecting ammonia traces is relevant in health, manufacturing, and security areas, among others. As ammonia presents a strong absorption band (the $\nu _{2}$ mode) around 10  $\upmu $ m, some of the physical properties which may influence its detection by means of pulsed photoacoustic (PA) spectroscopy with a TEA $\text{ CO}_{2}$ laser have been studied. The characteristics of the ammonia molecule and the laser intensity may result in a nonlinear dependence of the PA signal amplitude on the laser fluence. Ammonia absorption can be described as a simple two-level system with power broadening. As $\text{ NH}_{3}$ is a polar molecule, it strongly undergoes adsorption phenomena in contact with different surfaces. Therefore, physical adsorption–desorption at the cell’s wall is studied. A theoretical model, based on Langmuir’s assumptions, fits well to the experimental results with stainless steel. Related to these studies, measurements led to the conclusion that, at the used fluenced values, dissociation by multiphotonic absorption at the 10P(32) laser line may be discarded. A calibration of the system was performed, and a detection limit around 190 ppb (at 224 $\text{ mJ}\cdot \text{ cm}^{-2}$ ) was achieved.     

Study of Glass-Transition Kinetics of Pb-Modified Se_{80}In_{20} System by Using Non-isothermal Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Glass-transition kinetics of $\mathrm{Se}_{80}\mathrm{In}_{20-\mathrm{x}}\mathrm{Pb}_{\mathrm{x}}$ ( $x =$ 0, 5, 10, and 15) chalcogenide glasses have been carried out at different heating rates by using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) under the non-isothermal condition. The glass-transition temperature $T_{\mathrm{g}}$ and peak glass-transition temperature $T_{\mathrm{pg}}$ have been determined from DSC thermograms. The reduced glass temperature $T_{\mathrm{rg}}$ , total relaxation time $\tau _{T_{g}}$ thermal-stability parameters $K^{l}$ and $S$ , the activation energy of glass transition $E_{\mathrm{g}}$ , the fragility index $F_{\mathrm{i}}$ , and the average coordination number $\langle Z\rangle $ have been calculated on the basis of the experimental results. The temperature differences $(T_{\mathrm{c}}-T_{\mathrm{g}}), K_{\mathrm{gl}}, K^{l}, S$ , and $E_{\mathrm{g}}$ are found to be maxima for $\mathrm{Se}_{80}\mathrm{In}_{10}\mathrm{Pb}_{10}$ glass. This indicates that $\mathrm{Se}_{80}\mathrm{In}_{10}\mathrm{Pb}_{10}$ glass has the highest thermal stability and glass-forming ability in the investigated compositional range. These results could be explained on the basis of modification of the chemical bond formation due to incorporation of Pb in the Se–In glassy matrix.     

Cryptanalysis of a key exchange protocol based on the endomorphisms ring End{(\mathbb{Z}_{p} \times \mathbb{Z}_{p^2})}

Climent et?al. (Appl Algebra Eng Commun Comput 22:91?C108, 2011) identified the elements of the endomorphisms ring End ${(\mathbb{Z}_p \times \mathbb{Z}_{p^2})}$ with elements in a set, E _p , of matrices of size 2?× 2, whose elements in the first row belong to ${\mathbb{Z}_{p}}$ and the elements in the second row belong to ${\mathbb{Z}_{p^2}}$ . By taking advantage of matrix arithmetic, they proposed a key exchange protocol using polynomial functions over E _p defined by polynomials in ${\mathbb{Z}[X]}$ . In this note, we show that this protocol is insecure; it can be broken by solving a set of 10 consistent homogeneous linear equations in 8 unknowns over ${\mathbb{Z}_{p^2}}$ .     

Annealing Effect on Microstructure and Superconductivity of K_{x}Fe_{y}Se_{2} Synthesized by an Easy One-step Method

High-quality superconducting K $_{x}$ Fe $_{y}$ Se $_{2}$ single crystals were synthesized using an easy one-step method. Detailed annealing studies were performed to make clear the phase formation process in K $_{x}$ Fe $_{y}$ Se $_{2}$ . Compatible observations were found in temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction patterns, back-scattered electron images and corresponding electromagnetic properties, which proved that good superconductivity performance was closely related to the microstructure of superconducting component. Analysis based on the scaling behavior of flux pinning force indicated that the dominant pinning mechanism was $\Delta T_\mathrm{c}$ pinning and independent of connectivity. The annealing dynamics studies were also performed, which manifested that the humps in temperature-dependent resistance curves were induced by competition between the metallic/superconducting and the semiconducting/insulating phases.     

Theoretical Investigations on Electrocaloric Properties of \mathrm{PbZr}_{0.95}\mathrm{Ti}_{0.05}\mathrm{O}_{3} Thin Film

Based on a phenomenological model, the electrocaloric effect (ECE) accompanied with the ferroelectric-to-paraelectric phase transition in a PbZr $_{0.95}$ 0.95 Ti $_{0.05}$ 0.05 O $_{3}$ 3 thin film was investigated. The extracted data reveal many features of the ECE such as electrocaloric entropy changes, heat capacity changes, and temperature changes as functions of temperature due to different electric fields shifts. From the behavior of the PbZr $_{0.95}$ 0.95 Ti $_{0.05}$ 0.05 O $_{3}$ 3 thin film in phase transitions, it leads to a large change of heat capacity of 105.94 J  ${\cdot }\,$ · kg ${^{-1}}\,{\cdot }\,{^{\circ }}$ ? 1 · ° C, a temperature change of 22.44 K, and a relative cooling power of 1469 J  ${\cdot }$ ·  kg $^{-1}$ ? 1 .     

Effect of Previous Milling of Precursors on Magnetoelectric Effect in Multiferroic {\mathrm{Bi}_{5}\mathrm{Ti}_{3}\mathrm{FeO}_{15}} Ceramic

$\mathrm{Bi}_{5}\mathrm{Ti}_{3}\mathrm{FeO}_{15}$ Bi 5 Ti 3 FeO 15 magnetoelectric (ME) ceramics have been synthesized and investigated. The ME effect can be described as an induced electric polarization under an external magnetic field or an induced magnetization under an external electric field. The materials in the ME effect are called ME materials, and they are considered to be a kind of new promising materials for sensors, processors, actuators, and memory systems. Multiferroics, the materials in which both ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity can coexist, are the prospective candidates which can potentially host the gigantic ME effect. $\mathrm{Bi}_{5}\mathrm{Ti}_{3}\mathrm{FeO}_{15}$ Bi 5 Ti 3 FeO 15 , an Aurivillius compound, was synthesized by sintering a mixture of $\mathrm{Bi}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3}, \mathrm{Fe}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3}$ Bi 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3 , and $\mathrm{TiO}_{2}$ TiO 2 oxides. The precursor materials were prepared in a high-energy attritorial mill for (1, 5, and 10) h. The orthorhombic $\mathrm{Bi}_{5}\mathrm{Ti}_{3}\mathrm{FeO}_{15}$ Bi 5 Ti 3 FeO 15 ceramics were obtained by a solid-state reaction process at 1313 K. The ME voltage coefficient ( $\alpha _\mathrm{ME}$ α ME ) was measured using the dynamic lock-in method. The highest ME voltage coefficient ( $\alpha _\mathrm{ME} = 8.28\,\text{ mV }{\cdot }\text{ cm }^{-1}{\cdot }\text{ Oe }^{-1})$ α ME = 8.28 mV · cm ? 1 · Oe ? 1 ) is obtained for the sample milled for 1 h at $H_\mathrm{DC }= 4$ H DC = 4  Oe (1 Oe = 79.58  $\text{ A }{\cdot }\text{ m }^{-1})$ A · m ? 1 ) .     

Magnetocaloric Effect in Half-Metallic Double Perovskite Sr_{0.4}Ba_{1.6-x}Sr_{x}FeMoO_{6}

The magnetocaloric effect in half-metallic double perovskite Sr $_{0.4}$ Ba $_{1.6-x}$ Sr $_{x}$ FeMoO $_{6}$ (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6) was investigated. It is shown that Sr $_{0.4}$ Ba $_{1.6-x}$ Sr $_{x}$ FeMoO $_{6}$ exhibits a magnetic entropy change of 0.078 J $\,\cdot \, $ kg $^{-1}\,\cdot \, $ K $^{-1}$ upon 0.2 T magnetic field variation. Through these results, polycrystalline samples of Sr $_{0.4}$ Ba $_{1.6-x}$ Sr $_{x}$ FeMoO $_{6 }$ have some potential applications for magnetic refrigerants over a wide-temperature range, including room temperature.     

Two new permutation polynomials with the form {\left(x^{2^k}+x+\delta\right)^{s}+x} over {\mathbb{F}_{2^n}}

This note presents two new permutation polynomials with the form ${p(x)=\left(x^{2^k}+x+\delta\right)^{s}+x}$ over the finite field ${\mathbb{F}_{2^n}}$ as a supplement of the recent work of Yuan, Ding, Wang and Pieprzyk.     

Generalized Fundamental Equation of State for the Normal Alkanes (\hbox {C}_{5}{-}\hbox {C}_{50})

Based on the extended three-parameter corresponding-states principle and the most reliable experimental data of $n$ -alkanes, a generalized fundamental equation of state for technical calculations has been developed. This equation is in the form of the reduced Helmholtz free energy and takes the reduced density, reduced temperature, and acentric factor as variables. The proposed equation satisfies the critical conditions and Maxwell rule, shows correct behavior for the ideal curves and for the derivatives of the thermodynamic potentials, and allows the calculation of all thermodynamic properties including phase equilibrium of $n$ -alkanes from $n$ -pentane $(\hbox {C}_{5})$ to $n$ -pentacontane $(\hbox {C}_{50})$ over a temperature range from the triple point to 700 K with pressures up to 100 MPa. The new equation differs from the previous generalized equations of other authors by a wider range of variation of the acentric factor $\omega =0.25$ to 1.8, and by more accurately predicting thermal properties.     

Effect of Structural Relaxation on the In-Plane Electrical Resistance of Oxygen-Underdoped ReBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta } (Re = Y,Ho) Single Crystals

The effect of jumpwise temperature variation and room-temperature storing on the basal-plane electrical resistivity $\rho _{ab}$ of underdoped ReBa $_2$ Cu $_3$ O $_{7-\delta }$ (Re = Y, Ho) single crystals is investigated. Reducing the oxygen content has been revealed to lead to the phase segregation accompanied by both, labile component diffusion and structural relaxation in the sample volume. Room-temperature storing of ${\text {YBa}}_2{\text {Cu}}_3{\text {O}}_{7-\delta }$ single crystals with different oxygen hypostoichiometries leads to a substantial widening of the rectilinear segment in $\rho _{ab}(T)$ in conjunction with a narrowing of the temperature range of existence of the pseudogap state. It is established that the excess conductivity obeys an exponential law in a broad temperature range, while the pseudogap’s temperature dependence is described satisfactory in the framework of the BCS-BEC crossover theory. Substituting yttrium with holmium essentially effects the charge distribution and the effective interaction in CuO planes, thereby stimulating disordering processes in the oxygen subsystem. This is accompanied by a notable shift of the temperature zones corresponding to transitions of the metal-insulator type and to the regime of manifestation of the pseudogap anomaly.     

On quasi-cyclic codes over {\mathbb{Z}_q}

Quasi-cyclic (QC) codes are a remarkable generalization of cyclic codes. Many QC codes have been shown to be best for their parameters. In this paper, some structural properties of QC codes over the prime power integer residue ring ${\mathbb{Z}_q}$ are considered. An l-QC code of length lm over ${\mathbb{Z}_q}$ is viewed both as in the conventional row circulant form and also as a ${\frac{\mathbb{Z}_q[x]}{\langle x^m-1 \rangle}}$ -submodule of ${\frac{GR(q,l)[x]}{\langle x^m-1 \rangle}}$ , where GR(q, l) is the Galois extension ring of degree l over ${\mathbb{Z}_q}$ . A necessary and sufficient condition for cyclic codes over Galois rings to be free is obtained and a BCH type bound for them is also given. A sufficient condition for 1-generator QC codes to be ${\mathbb{Z}_q}$ -free is given and a formula to evaluate their ranks is derived. Some distance bounds for 1-generator QC codes are also discussed. The duals of QC codes over ${\mathbb{Z}_q}$ are also briefly discussed.     

Prediction Study of the Mechanical and Thermodynamic Properties of the \hbox {RBRh}_{3} (R = Sm, Eu, Gd, and Tb) Compounds

The structural, elastic, and thermodynamic properties of the cubic anti-perovskite $\hbox {RBRh}_{3}$ (R = Sm, Eu, Gd, and Tb) compounds have been investigated using first principles full-potential augmented-plane wave plus local orbitals (FP-APW+lo) method with the generalized gradient approximation. The ground-state quantities such as the lattice parameter, bulk modulus, and its pressure derivative, as well as elastic constants are estimated. Computed equilibrium lattice constants agree well with the available experimental data. The full set of first-order elastic constants and their pressure dependence, which have not been calculated or measured yet, have been determined. The elastic moduli increase linearly with increasing pressure and satisfy the generalized elastic stability criteria for cubic crystals under hydrostatic pressure. The shear modulus, Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio are calculated for ideal polycrystalline $\hbox {RBRh}_{3}$ aggregates. The Debye temperature is estimated from the average sound velocity. From the elastic parameter behavior, it is inferred that cubic anti-perovskites $\hbox {RBRh}_{3}$ are ductile in nature and that the bonding is predominantly of an ionic nature. Following the quasi-harmonic Debye model, the temperature effect on the lattice constant, bulk modulus, heat capacity, and Debye temperature is calculated reflecting the anharmonic phonon effects.