Stability of hydrogenated nanodiamonds under extreme ultraviolet irradiation

It is generally accepted that diamond is resistant to a wide spectrum of electromagnetic radiation from the ultraviolet through to the soft X-ray range, which makes it very attractive for the fabrication of diamond-based photodetectors. However the effect of photon radiation on the diamond structure has not yet been examined. In the work presented here, photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to study the graphitization of nanodiamond crystallites exposed to extreme ultraviolet radiation. Under such irradiation, the surface hydrogen groups and graphite species are found to prevent graphitization. The mechanism of radiation-induced nanodiamond graphitization is discussed.     

Studies on adsorption equilibrium of xylenes in AEL framework using biased GCMC and energy minimization

The adsorption of xylene isomers in AlPO₄-11 (AEL network) was investigated using biased grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. Preferential o-xylene adsorption was predicted by the simulations, in agreement with previously reported experimental data. In AlPO₄-11 the selective adsorption behavior comes from the smaller length of the o-xylene molecule along the crystallographic c-axis compared to p-xylene. This is in contrast to AlPO₄-5 and AlPO₄-8, where the ortho-selectivity is caused by the characteristic face-to-face positioning of o-xylene. Energy minimization studies were also performed in a flexible AlPO₄-11 lattice to study the structural changes upon xylene adsorption. The energy minimization study showed that the AlPO₄-11 crystal distorts upon p- and o-xylene adsorption. The distortion mechanism is related to the strong interaction between xylene methyl groups and the sieve oxygen atoms in the O3 position in the wide region of the pore.     

Molecular weight effect on the obtainment of parallel and perpendicular orientation in thermotropic poly(diethylene glycol <Emphasis Type="Italic">p,p′</Emphasis>-bibenzoate)

Summary The effect of molecular weight on the uniaxial orientation process has been analyzed in two samples of thermotropic poly(diethylene glycol p,p′-bibenzoate), evaluating the influence of that parameter on the type of orientation obtained. Several strain rates and deformation temperatures have been tested in order to map out the conditions for obtaining the two different kinds of orientation. The results show that in the lower molecular weight PDEB sample (M_w=31200) it is rather easy to get exclusively perpendicular “anomalous” orientation, with the molecular axes aligned transversely to the stretching direction. However, it is extremely difficult to obtain 100% parallel “normal” orientation. On the contrary, either type of orientation or a mixture of them can be easily developed for the higher molecular weight PDEB sample (M_w=102900).     

Evaluating the mixing performance of a ribbon blender

This paper investigates the effects of processing and equipment parameters of a ribbon blender (i.e. loading method of lubricant, fill level, blade speed and blade design) on magnesium stearate homogeneity. A core sampling technique is used to obtain at least one hundred samples per sampling event, which are extracted throughout the blender and yield a thorough characterization of the entire bed. The results presented here can be used as a guideline to develop appropriate blending processes and characterization protocols for ribbon blenders.     

3D velocity from 3D Doppler radial velocity

We present local least squares and regularization frameworks for computing 3D velocity (3D optical flow) from 3D radial velocity measured by a Doppler radar. We demonstrate the performance of our algorithms quantitatively on synthetic radial velocity data and qualitatively on real radial velocity data, obtained from the Doppler radar at Kurnell Radar station, Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia. Radial velocity can be used to predict the future positions of storms in sequences of Doppler radar datasets.© 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 15, 189–198, 2005     

Growth of highly orientated strontium barium niobate thin films on Si substrates through the sol–gel process using a K: SBN template layer

We report the growth of highly C-axis orientation of Sr _x Ba_1−x Nb₂O₆ (SBN) thin films on p-type (100) Si substrates by using a potassium-substituted SBN template layer with the sol–gel method. The crystallization of SBN thin films was found closely related to the potassium ion doping concentration and the postannealing temperature of the K-SBN template layer. Secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis showed that potassium elements were accumulated at the interface of the template layer and silicon substrate. SBN films postannealed at 750 °C with K-SBN template layer has a smaller full width at half maximum of X-ray rocking curve of 2.45° than that of 5.40° for the pure SBN films. By introducing a template layer, the surface morphologies of SBN films fabricated on silicon substrate were greatly improved.     

Formation mechanism of 21R AlN-polytypoids in aluminothermic reduction and nitridation process

Synthesis of 21R AlN polytypoids was investigated using Al and ultrafine SiO₂ powder in a flowing nitrogen atmosphere by means of thermal gravity (TG), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electronic microscope (SEM) linked with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The results showed that the formation mechanism of AlN polytypoids was different from that in reaction sintering process using Si₃N₄, AlN, Al₂O₃ and other sintering additive as raw materials. It was suggested that firstly Al reduce SiO₂ into Si and is also nitrided into AlN, then AlN, Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ dissolve into silicon liquid until the AlN polytypoids precipitate in saturated liquid in a flowing nitrogen atmosphere at lower than 1700 °C.     

Electrical characteristics of the ITO/HgInTe photodiodes

Photodiodes designed to be sensitive in the region 0.5–1.7 μm and obtained by vacuum magnetron sputtering of the ITO (SnO₂ + In₂O₃) layer on the surface of the Hg₃In₂Te₆ single crystal are studied. The electrical characteristics, measured at 265–333 K, indicate that the mechanism of charge transport in the diodes under study is thermionic. The current-voltage characteristic and its temperature variations are described quantitatively based on the energy diagram and the found parameters of the heterojunction. Original Russian Text ? L.A. Kosyachenko, I.M. Rarenko, E.F. Sklyarchuk, I.I. German, Sun Weiguo, 2006, published in Fizika i Tekhnika Poluprovodnikov, 2006, Vol. 40, No. 5, pp. 568–571.     

Sandia National Laboratories Validation Workshop: Structural dynamics application

This article specifies a virtual structural dynamic subsystem and some systems, as well as mathematical models that approximately simulate them. The purpose is to define a setting for model validations conceived by participants in the Sandia National Laboratories Validation Workshop. Some broad guidelines for the model validations are set, as well as a regulatory requirement to be satisfied by the target system. Participants are directed to present techniques for subsystem model validation, to analytically predict whether or not the regulatory requirement will be met, and to estimate the likelihood of accuracy of the prediction.     

Conceptual damage-sensitive features for structural health monitoring: Laboratory and field demonstrations

The use of damage-sensitive features to evaluate structural condition or health is a very critical aspect of structural health monitoring. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential of two different damage-sensitive features for detecting damage. Different damage scenarios are simulated on a large-scale laboratory structure and a three-span highway bridge for demonstration. The features presented in this paper are the modal flexibility-based deflection and curvature both of which are obtained directly from dynamic properties. In the literature, flexibility associated with mode shapes and mode shapes curvatures have been mostly explored. In this study, multi-input–multi-output dynamic data are used to obtain modal flexibility, which is a close approximation to the actual flexibility. A main novelty is that the curvature is calculated from the deflected shapes using the modal flexibility as opposed to using modal vectors. In this paper, the theory of the methodology is explained and then experimental studies and results are presented. For the experimental studies, the laboratory specimen and the three-span bridge were gradually damaged. It is shown that both deflection and curvature are conceptual and physically meaningful features for damage detection and localization. The issues and the requirements for these features to perform successfully are also presented.