Photonic crystals and Bragg gratings for the mid-IR and terahertz spectral ranges

A method for the fabrication of 2D periodic structures by contact optical photolithography with image inversion is reported. The optical properties of photonic crystals and Bragg gratings for mid-IR and terahertz emitters are considered. The possibility of raising the integral emission intensity of light-emitting diodes for the mid-IR spectral range is demonstrated. The requirements to gratings for the output of terahertz emission generated by surface plasmons excited in layers of narrow-gap degenerate semiconductors with an accumulation layer are determined.     

RHEED monitoring of elastic stresses during MBE growth of group III nitride heterostructures

Results of statistical analysis of the patterns of reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) measured during molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of heterostructures of wide-bandgap (Al, Ga, In)N compounds are presented, which can be used for determining the lateral lattice constant (a) of the epitaxial layers. It is established that the error of determination can vary from a minimum of 0.17% up to several percent, depending on the contrast of RHEED patterns, which is determined by the stoichiometry of MBE growth. It is demonstrated that the RHEED data can reveal relaxation of elastic stresses during the growth of short-period {GaN(4 nm)/AlN(6nm)}₃₀/AlN superlattices.     

Photochemical source of metals for sediments

A mass budget study of major in-lake Al fluxes, palaeolimnological data on a >10,000 year old sediment record, and in situ photochemical experiments performed at Plesné Lake (Czech Republic) suggest that photochemical liberation of organically bound aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) by solar radiation is a significant natural source of their ionic species for lakes and subsequent oxyhydroxides for sediments. The results show that photochemically induced transformation of dissolved Al and Fe to solid oxyhydroxides deposited to Plesné Lake sediment dominated (91 and 73%, respectively) their sedimentary flux throughout the preindustrial era, since soil formation initiated in the catchment. The following sequence of processes occurs: (i) soil organic acids dissolve and bind metals and export them from terrestrial to aquatic systems. (ii) Photochemical decomposition of organic-metal complexes liberates a significant portion (approximately 50% in Pleseé Lake) of organically bound Al and Fe as inorganic ions. (iii) The liberated ionic Al and Fe hydrolyze, precipitate as oxyhydroxide particles, and settle. We hypothesise that the same Al and Fe transporting process occurs in other lakes and coastal marine areas and is ecologically important because Al and Fe oxyhydroxides can bind trace metals and phosphorus.     

Primary structure of apolipophorin-III from the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella

BACKGROUND: Neurobiological research has implicated the dopamine and serotonin systems in the pathogenesis of autism. Open-label reports suggest that the serotonin2A-dopamine D2 antagonist risperidone may be safe and effective in reducing the interfering symptoms of patients with autism. METHODS: Thirty-one adults (age [mean+/-SD], 28.1+/-7.3 years) with autistic disorder (n=17) or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (n=14) participated in a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of risperidone. Patients treated with placebo subsequently received a 12-week open-label trial of risperidone. RESULTS: For persons completing the study, 8 (57%) of 14 patients treated with risperidone were categorized as responders (daily dose [mean+/-SD], 2.9+/-1.4 mg) compared with none of 16 in the placebo group (P<.002). Risperidone was superior to placebo in reducing repetitive behavior (P<.001), aggression (P<.001), anxiety or nervousness (P<.02), depression (P<.03), irritability (P<.01), and the overall behavioral symptoms of autism (P<.02). Objective, measurable change in social behavior and language did not occur. Nine (60%) of 15 patients who received treatment with open-label risperidone following the double-blind placebo phase responded. Other than mild, transient sedation, risperidone was well tolerated, with no evidence of extrapyramidal effects, cardiac events, or seizures. CONCLUSION: Risperidone is more effective than placebo in the short-term treatment of symptoms of autism in adults.     

MBE growth and photoluminescent properties of InAsSb/AlSbAs quantum wells

Heterostructures with a single InAs_1−x Sb_x/AlSb_1−y As_y quantum well (QW) on (001) GaSb substrates have been grown by MBE and studied using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. High-intensity PL was observed at a temperature of 80 K, with a peak half-width of 30–50 meV and a peak wavelength in the range from 2 to 4.5 μm, depending on the QW width, which varied between 4 and 20 nm, respectively. The fundamental absorption edge of such QWs was calculated for a wide range of alloy compositions, x and y. Good correlation between the experimental and calculated dependences of the band gap on the InAsSb/AlSbAs QW thickness was obtained. __________ Translated from Fizika i Tekhnika Poluprovodnikov, Vol. 36, No. 12, 2002, pp. 1470–1474. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2002 by Solov’ev, Terent’ev, Toropov, Meltser, Semenov, Sitnikova, Ivanov, Meyer, Kop’ev.     

Isotope-pure 28Si layers grown by VPE

Vapor-phase epitaxy was used to grow Si layers enriched to 99.96% with ²⁸Si isotope. Secondary-ion mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy were used to demonstrate the high quality of the epitaxial material obtained.     

AlGaAs/GaAs diode lasers (1020–1100 nm) with an asymmetric broadened single transverse mode waveguide

Approaches to the development of laser heterostructures with a broadened single-mode waveguide are studied theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that the use of n- and p-type emitters with different refractive-index values ensures lasing in the fundamental mode only, if the thickness of the waveguide layer is 2 μm. The studied semiconductor lasers fabricated using the developed heterostructure feature internal optical losses amounting to 0.6 cm^?1; the divergence in the plane perpendicular to the p-n junction is 23°. In the continuous lasing mode at room temperature, a linear power-current characteristic is obtained at an output optical power as high as 7 W.     

Properties of Mg(Fe<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type=Italic>x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ga<Subscript><Emphasis Type=Italic>x</Emphasis></Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4 + δ</Subscript> solid solutions in stable and metastable states

Using pyrohydrolytic synthesis, we have obtained a continuous series of Mg(Fe_{1 − x} Ga _x )₂O_{4 + δ} solid solutions, as checked by X-ray diffraction. The magnetization and coercivity of the samples have been determined from field dependences in applied magnetic fields of ±5 T, and their conductivity has been assessed using current-voltage measurements at 300 K in electric fields from −200 to +200 V. The effective band gap of the solid solutions has been evaluated from their absorption spectra obtained by diffuse reflectance measurements. The optimal composition for spintronic applications is Mg(Fe_0.8Ga_0.2)₂O_{4 + δ}.     

An axisymmetric electric discharge as a means for remote heating of gas and for ignition of combustible gas mixture

Experimental and theoretical investigations are performed of gasdynamic phenomena accompanying a ring electric discharge excited in air at atmospheric pressure. It is experimentally demonstrated that the discharge generates a toroidal (three-dimensional) shock wave which cumulatively converges toward the axis. A mathematical model is constructed, which describes the process of focusing of the toroidal shock wave. The results of measurements of shock-wave processes accompanying the discharge are in good agreement with the calculation results; this enables one to estimate the gas temperature which may be attained in the region of cumulative convergence at some distance from the ring center. Results are given of first experiments in the excitation of a ring shock wave in a combustible gas mixture (stoichiometric mixture of CH₄:O₂).     

Electroluminescence of quantum-well structures on type-II InAs/GaSb heterojunctions

The electroluminescent properties of quantum-well diode structures on staggered type-II heterojunctions in the InAs/GaSb system, obtained by molecular-beam epitaxy on InAs substrates, are investigated. Electroluminescence is observed in the spectral range 3–4 μm at T=77 K. It is found that emission bands due to recombination transitions involving electrons from the size-quantization levels of both the self-matched quantum wells at the InAs/GaSb type-II heterojunction and of the square quantum wells in short-period superlattices. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 24, 50–56 (June 26, 1998)