Polarisation behaviour of diode lasers with frequency selective feedback

The paper reviews recent results obtained with diode lasers used in external hybrid cavities with frequency selective feedback. Such cavities attract continuing interest for several reasons. They generate a tunable single laser mode with very low linewidths (usually a few tens of kilohertz). Very wide discrete tunable ranges over 100 nm for Fabry-Perot type and over 200 nm for quantum well lasers are achieved. They can be made to oscillate in a tunable mode having the desired polarization state,TE orTM and, in some cases, simultaneously atTE andTM. This is done by designing a cavity that increases strongly theTM/TE intensity ratio and by using coatings on one laser facet that greatly lower bothTE andTM reflectivities. High-speed polarization switching in the gigahertz range is possible by inserting passive or active polarization selecting elements in the cavity. For all these reasons hybrid external cavities are attractive for applications in optical metrology, spectroscopy and optical communications. Moreover, the external cavity configuration allows the study of physical mechanisms in the laser diode by inducing on purpose phenomena that would have been otherwise impossible to achieve with free-running lasers.     

Corrosion inhibition of carbon steel in acid chloride solution using ethoxylated fatty alkyl amine surfactants

Four novel non-ionic ethoxylated fatty alkyl amine surfactants (I–IV) were synthesised and investigated as corrosion inhibitors of carbon steel in 1 M hydrochloric acid solution using gravimetric, open circuit potential and potentiostatic polarisation techniques. The percentage inhibition efficiency (η%) for each inhibitor increased with increasing concentration until the critical micelle concentration (cmc) was reached. The maximum inhibition efficiency approached 95.1% in the presence of 400 ppm of the inhibitor (IV). It was found that the adsorption of the surfactants on carbon steel followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Potentiostatic polarisation data indicated that these surfactants act as mixed type inhibitors. The values of activation energy (E _a*) of carbon steel dissolution in 1 M HCl were calculated in the absence and presence of 400 ppm of each inhibitor. Finally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the surface morphology of polished carbon steel surfaces and those immersed in 1 M HCl in the absence and presence of 400 ppm of inhibitor (IV).     

Fabrication of large area flexible and highly transparent film by a simple Ag nanowire alignment

This article describes the fabrication of a flexible polymer thin film incorporating a highly aligned Ag nanowire array, resulting in high transparency and polarisation that are useful for potential applications to optical filters, electronic and optical devices and negative refractive index materials.     

Effect of ecofriendly sealing coat against corrosion protection of steel rebars in concrete

Phosphating is one of the most important chemical conversion treatments for steel, mainly to improve corrosion resistance and paint adhesion and as an absorbing layer for waxes, oils, lacquers, etc. However, phosphate coating are crystalline and porous and need a sealing treatment after phosphating. Chromate sealing is a well known practice, and due to its toxicity, development of an ecofriendly sealing treatment is very essential. This paper focuses on the effect of zinc phosphate chemical conversion coating with the addition of nano-SiO₂ to protect the mild steel rebars against corrosion in chloride contaminated concrete. The coated surfaces were characterised by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Corrosion resistances of coated and uncoated rebars were evaluated by anodic polarisation, linear polarisation resistance, Tafel and alternating current impedance spectroscopy and cyclic polarisation technique. The results indicated that the coated rebars have considerably reduced the corrosion rate even in the presence of 3% chloride environments.     

大都市核心区的社会空间隔离--以上海市静安区南京西路街道为例

当今,我国城市正经历着重要的社会转型,一方面新的社会阶层的成长使得社会结构更加复杂,另一方面全球化和经济重组则趋于导向增长的社会极化.就空间趋势而言,隔离已在多种尺度上出现.大都市核心区马赛克状的隔离是不平衡开发的直接产物,而一个极化的居住结构是日益锐化的社会经济隔离的自然结果.通过对上海市静安区南京西路街道地区的案例,研究了大都市核心区的社会空间隔离.     

Direct current electrodeposition of Zn and Zn–SiC nanocomposite coatings

Pure Zn and Zn matrix composite coatings containing nano-sized SiC particles with an average size of 50 nm were prepared from the zinc sulphate bath. The effect of the particle concentration and current density on the amount of particles embedded was examined. Electron microscopic studies revealed that the coating morphology was modified by the presence of SiC nanoparticles. Corrosion resistance properties of the coatings were studied using a potentiodynamic polarisation technique in 1M NaCl solution. It was established that agglomeration of nanoparticles worsens corrosion resistance properties of Zn–SiC coatings. However, the presence of well dispersed nanoparticles significantly improves the corrosion resistance of the zinc. Incorporation of SiC nanoparticles also improves the microhardness of the zinc matrix.     

Effects of pH and chloride concentration on pitting corrosion of AA6061 aluminum alloy

Effects of pH solution and chloride (Cl⁻) ion concentration on the corrosion behaviour of alloy AA6061 immersed in aqueous solutions of NaCl have been investigated using measurements of weight loss, potentiodynamic polarisation, linear polarisation, cyclic polarisation experiment combined with open circuit potential transient technique and optical or scanning electron microscopy.The corrosion behaviour of the AA6061 aluminum alloy was found to be dependant on the pH and chloride concentration [NaCl] of solution. In acidic or slightly neutral solutions, general and pitting corrosion occurred simultaneously. In contrast, exposure to alkaline solutions results in general corrosion. Experience revealed that the alloy AA6061 was susceptible to pitting corrosion in all chloride solution of concentration ranging between 0.003 wt% and 5.5 wt% NaCl and an increase in the chloride concentration slightly shifted both the pitting E_pit and corrosion E_cor potentials to more active values. In function of the conditions of treatment, the sheets of the alloy AA6061 undergo two types of localised corrosion process, leading to the formation of hemispherical and crystallographic pits.Polarisation resistance measurements in acidic (pH = 2) and alkaline chloride solutions (pH = 12) which are in good agreement with those of weight loss, show that the corrosion kinetic is minimised in slightly neutral solutions (pH = 6).     

Microstructure and corrosion behaviour of plain carbon steel–B4C composite produced by GTAW method in 3·5 wt-%NaCl solution

In this work, the corrosion behaviour of metal matrix composite plain carbon steel–B₄C was studied in 3·5 wt-%NaCl solution. The composite was locally produced as weld band on plain carbon steel by means of gas tungsten arc welding process and using nickel as wetting agent. Samples from weld band, heat affected zone and base regions were extracted precisely, and electrochemical techniques including open circuit potential, linear polarisation resistance, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarisation in combination with SEM-EDX surface analysis and microhardness were used for characterisation. The results showed that hardness value of made composite increased significantly to 642 HV10. However, the corrosion resistance of composite region during 7 days (168 h) of exposure to 3·5 wt-%NaCl solution was slightly reduced. This was attributed to the fact that B₄C particles play as cathode site for oxygen reduction; therefore, they increase the corrosion rate slightly.     

Long term assessment of a hybrid electrochemical treatment

Monitoring the performance of systems installed to protect against/halt the corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete is essential in ensuring that the reinforcing bar (rebar) is adequately protected and remains in a non‐corroding state. A chloride contaminated concrete test block containing a hybrid anode system has been periodically monitored over the past 4.5 years to assess the anode current output and thus, the protection offered to the steel. De‐polarisation and impedance analysis data have been acquired to calculate steel corrosion rates. Both tests indicated that the steel was passive in the concrete environment and that the anode was able to protect all of the embedded steel despite the difficult geometry of the sample. It was also found that after 2 years it was still possible to drive a high current from the installed anode.