Applied Physics

Study of Fluorine-Doped TiO[sub 2] Sol-Gel Thin Coatings

T. Giannakopoulou, N. Todorova, T. Vaimakis, S. Ladas, and C. Trapalis
TiO is an excellent material for degradation of many environmental contaminants. Its photocatalytic activity is restricted by UV spectral region that can be extended to visible region using different doping techniques. Effect of fluorine-doping on the optical properties of sol-gel prepared TiO thin ... [J. Sol. Energy Eng. 130, 041007 (2008)] published Fri Sep 5, 2008.

Mesostructured Anatase TiO[sub 2] for Visible Light and UV Photocatalysis With Confinement Effect and Semiconductor Coupling

Florence Bosc, Andre Ayral, Nicolas Keller, and Valerie Keller
Hexagonal and cubic mesostructured TiO anatase were synthesized by a templating sol-gel method using triblock copolymers as structuring agents, and used as photocatalysts for providing geometrical assistance to a photocatalytic reaction. The visible light and UV photocatalytic removal of gas-phase c ... [J. Sol. Energy Eng. 130, 041006 (2008)] published Fri Sep 5, 2008.

Preparation and Characterization of Nanocrystalline Pt/TCG Counterelectrodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Antigoni V. Katsanaki, Dimitris S. Tsoukleris, Polycarpos Falaras, Haido S. Karayianni, and Marie-Claude Bernard
Transparent counter electrodes were prepared on transparent conductive glass (TCG) substrates from a hexachloroplatinic acid (HPtCl) solution applying the thermal decomposition method in combination with the spin-coating deposition technique. The effect of the precursor concentration and the number ... [J. Sol. Energy Eng. 130, 041008 (2008)] published Fri Sep 5, 2008.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Dibutyl Phthalate: Effect of Catalyst Immobilization

O. Bajt, J. Zita, P. Novotna, J. Krysa, and J. Jirkovsky
The degradation processes of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), an important pollutant, are rather slow and do not lead to the complete decomposition. In the present work the photocatalytic degradation of dibutyl phthalate in the presence of TiO was studied. Experiments were carried out in suspensions and wit ... [J. Sol. Energy Eng. 130, 041005 (2008)] published Fri Sep 5, 2008.

Plasmon enhanced fluorescence microscopy below quantum noise limit with reduced photobleaching effect

Partha Pratim Mondal, Richard J. Gilbert, and Peter T. C. So
We propose a plasmon enhanced fluorescence microscopy technique below the quantum noise limit. This is achieved by exciting fluorescent molecules with photon number squeezed (PNS) light and using nanoparticles as an enhancer for overcoming the low absorption cross section. PNS light has an inherent ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093901 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Magnetic field-induced reverse transformation in B2-type NiCoMnAl shape memory alloys

R. Kainuma, W. Ito, R. Y. Umetsu, K. Oikawa, and K. Ishida
Effects of the addition of Co to the NiMnAl alloy on the martensitic and magnetic properties were investigated. The magnetic properties of the parent (P) phase drastically changed from paramagnetic to ferromagnetic, while the magnetization in the martensite (M) phase slightly decreased with increasi ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091906 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Limiting nature of continuum generation in silicon

Prakash Koonath, Daniel R. Solli, and Bahram Jalali
Spectral broadening in silicon through self-phase modulation is studied numerically and experimentally in the normal dispersion regime. Temporal dynamics of the free carriers generated during the propagation of optical pulses, through the process of two-photon absorption, affect the amplitude and ph ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091114 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Variable optical delays at 1.55 mu m using fast light in an InAs/InP quantum dash based semiconductor optical amplifier

A. Martinez, G. Aubin, F. Lelarge, R. Brenot, J. Landreau et al.
Room temperature optical variable delays are demonstrated using InAs/InP quantum dash semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) at 1.55 [mu]m. A microwave frequency modulated single optical beam allows to demonstrate fast light through the achievement of maximum optical delays of 136 ps at 250 MHz an ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091116 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Asymmetric transport in asymmetric T-shaped graphene nanoribbons

Yuan Ping Chen, Yue E. Xie, L. Z. Sun, and Jianxin Zhong
We propose an asymmetric T-shaped graphene nanoribbon (TGNR) that shows peculiar transport properties. In the vicinity of the Fermi level, the electron transmissions from the vertical graphene nanoribbon (GNR) to the two ends of the horizontal GNR are highly asymmetric. The electrons mostly transmit ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 092104 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Hybrid metamaterials enable fast electrical modulation of freely propagating terahertz waves

Hou-Tong Chen, Sabarni Palit, Talmage Tyler, Christopher M. Bingham, Joshua M. O. Zide et al.
We demonstrate fast electrical modulation of freely propagating terahertz waves at room temperature using hybrid metamaterial devices. The devices are planar metamaterials fabricated on doped semiconductor epitaxial layers, which form hybrid metamaterialSchottky diode structures. With an applied ac ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091117 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Quantitative differential interference contrast microscopy based on structured-aperture interference

Xiquan Cui, Matthew Lew, and Changhuei Yang
We report a quantitative differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope based on a structured-aperture (SA) wavefront sensor. Unlike a conventional DIC microscope, the SA-DIC microscope can separate the amplitude and the phase gradient information of the image wavefront, and form quantitative i ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091113 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

A 0.2--0.5 THz single-band heterodyne receiver based on a photonic local oscillator and a superconductor-insulator-superconductor mixer

Satoshi Kohjiro, Kenichi Kikuchi, Masaaki Maezawa, Tomofumi Furuta, Atsushi Wakatsuki et al.
We have demonstrated that a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer pumped by a photonic local oscillator (LO) covers the whole frequency range of 0.20.5 THz. In the bandwidth of 74% of the center frequency, this single-band receiver exhibits noise temperature of T<=20hf/k, where h is P ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093508 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Magnetic and magneto-optical properties of Fe-doped SrTiO[sub 3] films

Hyun-Suk Kim, Lei Bi, G. F. Dionne, and C. A. Ross
Epitaxial films of magnetically doped SrTiFeO (x<=0.5) were grown on (001) LaAlO substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Structural and magnetic studies indicate that the observed ferromagnetism is intrinsic rather than from an impurity phase. The higher transparency with Fe doping is attributed to c ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 092506 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Mechanical and electrical evaluation of parylene-C encapsulated carbon nanotube networks on a flexible substrate

Chia-Ling Chen, Ernesto Lopez, Yung-Joon Jung, Sinan Muftu, Selvapraba Selvarasah et al.
Carbon nanotube networks are an emerging conductive nanomaterial with applications including thin film transistors, interconnects, and sensors. In this letter, we demonstrate the fabrication of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) networks on a flexible polymer substrate and then provide encapsulati ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093109 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Piezoelectric properties of low-temperature sintered Li-modified (Na, K)NbO[sub 3] lead-free ceramics

Ke Wang, Jing-Feng Li, and Nan Liu
LiNbO-doped (Na, K)NbO lead-free piezoceramics were prepared by conventional sintering at a temperature as low as 950 degrees C using excess NaO additives. The crystal structure changed from orthorhombic to tetragonal with increasing LiNbO amount since the phase transition temperature T shifted do ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 092904 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Single-laser-shot detection of nitric oxide in reacting flows using electronic resonance enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering

Ning Chai, Sameer V. Naik, Normand M. Laurendeau, Robert P. Lucht, Sukesh Roy et al.
Single-laser-shot electronic resonance enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (ERE-CARS) spectra of nitric oxide (NO) were generated using the 532 nm output of an injection-seeded Nd:YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) laser as the pump beam, a broadband dye laser at approximately 591 nm as the St ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091115 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Improved effective mass theory for silicon nanostructures

K. Nehari, M. Lannoo, F. Michelini, N. Cavassilas, M. Bescond et al.
Effective mass theory is known to fail for nanostructures of indirect band gap materials such as silicon. We show that this situation can be remedied by going beyond the conventional second order expansion in the wave vector k. The method including fourth order terms is developed for the conduction ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 092103 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

ZnO film thickness effect on surface acoustic wave modes and acoustic streaming

X. Y. Du, Y. Q. Fu, S. C. Tan, J. K. Luo, A. J. Flewitt et al.
Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices were fabricated on ZnO thin films deposited on Si substrates. Effects of ZnO film thickness on the wave mode and resonant frequency of the SAWs have been investigated. Rayleigh and Sezawa waves were detected, and their resonant frequencies decrease with increase i ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 094105 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Hot optical phonon decay in carbon nanotubes

G. Pennington, S. J. Kilpatrick, and A. E. Wickenden
We simulate hot optical phonon decay in small diameter (<0.7 nm) carbon nanotubes, solving the phonon Boltzmann transport equation using Monte Carlo methods incorporating the full phonon spectrum and phonon-phonon scattering. Results indicate decay times inversely proportional to the lattice temper ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093110 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Transformation from molecular to polymeric nitrogen at high pressures and temperatures: In situ x-ray diffraction study

I. A. Trojan, M. I. Eremets, S. A. Medvedev, A. G. Gavriliuk, and V. B. Prakapenka
We studied the mechanism of the structural transformation of molecular nitrogen to atomic single-bonded nitrogen with a cubic gauche (cg-N) crystal structure using x-ray diffraction in situ at a pressure of ~140 GPa and temperatures up to 2000 K in a diamond anvil cell. The anvils, with a toroidal ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091907 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Laser wavelength dependence of extreme ultraviolet light and particle emissions from laser-produced lithium plasmas

Akihisa Nagano, Takayasu Mochizuki, Shuji Miyamoto, and Sho Amano
Maximum extreme ultraviolet (EUV) conversion efficiencies (CEs) of 2.3% and 1.8% were achieved in planar Li targets by using pulsed 2omega and 1omega Nd:YAG laser irradiation, respectively. In a forced recombination scheme, the total CE can be expected to be about 4%. The maximum kinetic energy of t ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091502 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Multiple impact regimes in liquid environment dynamic atomic force microscopy

John Melcher, Xin Xu, and Arvind Raman
A canonical assumption in dynamic atomic force microscopy is that the probe tip interacts with the sample once per oscillation cycle. We show this key ansatz breaks down for soft cantilevers in liquid environments. Such probes exhibit drum roll like dynamics with sequential bifurcations between osci ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093111 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Anisotropic optical gain in m-plane In[sub x]Ga[sub 1 - x]N/GaN multiple quantum well laser diode wafers fabricated on the low defect density freestanding GaN substrates

T. Onuma, K. Okamoto, H. Ohta, and S. F. Chichibu
The threshold power density for the stimulated emission (SE) at 400 nm of m-plane InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (QW) laser diode (LD) wafer excited with a stripe along the c-axis was found to be lower than along the a-axis, although the SEs exhibited transverse electric field mode for both configu ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091112 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Optical lever calibration in atomic force microscope with a mechanical lever

Hui Xie, Julien Vitard, Sinan Haliyo, and Stephane Regnier
A novel method that uses a small mechanical lever has been developed to directly calibrate the lateral sensitivity of the optical lever in the atomic force microscope (AFM). The mechanical lever can convert the translation into a nanoscale rotation angle with a flexible hinge that provides an accura ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 096101 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Development of a high-brightness and low-divergence lithium neutral beam for a Zeeman polarimetry on JT-60U

Atshushi Kojima, Kensaku Kamiya, Harukazu Iguchi, Takaaki Fujita, Hideto Kakiuchi et al.
A high-brightness and low-divergence neutral beam is obtained for a Zeeman polarimetry of edge plasmas on JT-60U. The electron density and the pitch angle of the magnetic field line, thus the plasma current density distribution, can be measured by the Zeeman polarimetry using the lithium beam. A the ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 093502 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Improved beam uniformity in multimode fibers using piezoelectric-based spatial mode scrambling for medical applications

Lianshan Yan, X. Steve Yao, Lynn Lin, and Xiaojun Chen
We improve the beam uniformity passing through multimode fibers using piezoelectric-based spatial mode scrambling. Both fiber squeezing and stretching techniques are applied and compared. A more than sixfold difference in the power intensity crossing the output beam profile without mode scrambling c ... [Opt. Eng. 47, 090502 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

High-mobility microcrystalline silicon thin-film transistors prepared near the transition to amorphous growth

Kah-Yoong Chan, Dietmar Knipp, Aad Gordijn, and Helmut Stiebig
Thin-film transistors (TFTs) are core elements of novel display media on rigid or flexible substrates, radio-frequency identification tags on plastic foils, and other large area electronic applications. Microcrystalline silicon TFTs prepared at temperatures compatible with flexible substrates (15020 ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 054506 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Generalized theory of thermoelectric figure of merit

M. Apostol
The fundamental equations of thermoelectricity are reviewed in a more general and rigorous context and the efficiency quotient of the thermoelements is derived, with emphasis on the relevance of the figure of merit parameter. The JouleLenz, thermoelectric and thermoconducted heat are identified, and ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053704 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Optical detection and characterization of graphene by broadband spectrophotometry

Alexander Gray, Mehdi Balooch, Stephane Allegret, Stefan De Gendt, and Wei-E Wang
The spectra of optical constants, index of refraction (n), and extinction coefficient (k) of graphene and graphite are obtained in the wavelength range of 1901000 nm (6.531.24 eV) using broadband optical spectrophotometry in conjunction with the ForouhiBloomer dispersion relations for n and k. Measu ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053109 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

First-principles study of the electronic and optical properties in rhombohedral LaAlO[sub 3]

Xin Luo and Biao Wang
In this paper, the electronic structure, chemical bonding, and optical properties of rhombohedral LaAlO are investigated by using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave method with the generalized gradient approximation. The analysis of the electronic density profile, Mulliken charge, an ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053503 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Structural, electrical, and optical properties of thermally evaporated nanocrystalline PbTe films

Jianfei Wang, Juejun Hu, Xiaochen Sun, Anuradha M. Agarwal, Lionel C. Kimerling et al.
Nanocrystalline PbTe films are deposited on different substrates at room temperature through thermal evaporation. The films are stoichiometric single-phase polycrystalline with (200) texture. Electrical properties of the films are analyzed in the framework of a grain boundary channel conduction mode ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053707 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Direct structural evidence of the change in N-III bonding in (GaIn)(NAs) before and after thermal annealing

K. Volz, T. Torunski, O. Rubel, and W. Stolz
The blueshift of the fundamental energy gap of (GaIn)(NAs) upon thermal treatment is well established. However, the physical reason is still controversially discussed in literature. In the present paper we give direct structural evidence using transmission electron microscopy in combination with str ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053504 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Multiphoton absorption in CsLiB[sub 6]O[sub 10] with femtosecond infrared laser pulses

J. N. Babu Reddy, V. B. Naik, Suja Elizabeth, H. L. Bhat, N. Venkatram et al.
Nonlinear absorption and refraction characteristics of cesium lithium borate (CsLiBO) crystal have been studied using Z-scan technique. Ti:sapphire laser with 110 fs pulse width operating at 800 nm wavelength and pulse repetition rate of 1 kHz is used as the source of photons. Intensity of the laser ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053108 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

The role of Ca traces in the passivation of silicon dioxide dielectrics for electron transport in pentacene organic field effect transistors

Niels Benson, Andrea Gassmann, Eric Mankel, Thomas Mayer, Christian Melzer et al.
Recently, n-type transport in organic field effect transistors (OFETs) incorporating pentacene on a silicon dioxide (SiO) dielectric has been demonstrated by Ahles et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 4499 (2004)]. The electron transport was made possible by modifying the dielectric/semiconductor interface ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 054505 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Modeling the electromigration failure time distribution in short copper interconnects

V. M. Dwyer
The electromigration (EM) lifetime in short copper interconnects is modeled using a previously developed means of generating realistic interconnect microstructures combined with the one-dimensional stress evolution equation of Korhonen et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 73, 3790 (1993)]. This initial analysis d ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053708 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Anisotropic behavior of exchange coupling in textured Nd[sub 2]Fe[sub 14]B/alpha -Fe multilayer films

W. B. Cui, S. J. Zheng, W. Liu, X. L. Ma, F. Yang et al.
Exchange coupling has been realized in textured NdFeB/alpha-Fe multilayer films. A Mo spacer layer has proved to be effective for preventing interdiffusion at the interface region between the hard-magnetic NdFeB and the soft-magnetic alpha-Fe layer in these multilayer films. Anisotropic behavior of ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053903 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Sequential tunneling through a two-level semiconductor quantum dot system coupled to magnetic leads

M. J. Ma, M. B. A. Jalil, and S. G. Tan
Sequential transport through a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) weakly coupled to two collinear magnetic leads is analyzed theoretically based on the master equation method. The transport model considers two discrete energy levels in the dot, i.e., the lowest unoccupied epsilon (electron) and the high ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053902 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Determination of complex refractive index of thin metal films from terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

Da-xiang Zhou, E. P. J. Parrott, Douglas J. Paul, and J. Axel Zeitler
Thin metal films alone or incorporated in a multilayer stack structure with dielectric films are good candidates of terahertz absorbers necessary for achieving the maximum responsivity in microbolometer devices. However, the design and optimization of these absorber structures depend on the knowledg ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053110 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Electroluminescent characteristics of scandium and yttrium 8-quinolinolates

Marina A. Katkova, Vasilii A. Ilichev, Alexey N. Konev, Mikhail N. Bochkarev, Alexey G. Vitukhnovsky et al.
Efficient electroluminescence (EL) was obtained in organic light-emitting devices using 8-quinolinolate complexes of scandium (Scq) and yttrium (Yq) as emitters. Compared to the device based on the analogous Alq complex, no notable difference in the EL performances of the Yq device can be found; how ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053706 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Acoustic waves guided by a fluid layer on a piezoelectric substrate

A. N. Darinskii and M. Weihnacht
This paper theoretically studies the propagation and the generation of leaky acoustic waves in a fluid layer enclosed between the half-infinite YZ-LiNbO (lithium niobate) substrate coated with a thin SiO (silicone dioxide) layer and the half-infinite domain occupied by silicone rubber. The plane wav ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 054904 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Structural and dielectric properties of epitaxial SrTiO[sub 3] films grown directly on GaAs substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy

Z. P. Wu, W. Huang, K. H. Wong, and J. H. Hao
Epitaxial SrTiO films were grown on GaAs (001) substrates without any buffer layers using laser molecular beam epitaxy technique. The reflection high-energy electron diffraction observations have revealed that a layer-by-layer growth of SrTiO was achieved at optimized deposition conditions. The crys ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 054103 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Finite element modeling for temperature stabilization of gated Hall sensors

B. Jouault, L. Bouguen, S. Contreras, A. Kerlain, and V. Mosser
Using finite element analysis, we have calculated the Hall voltage of gated Hall sensors in the temperature range (55 degrees C, 125 degrees C). We investigated how both the sensor shape and the external connections influence the Hall voltage and its thermal drift. The numerical results are in exc ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053705 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Weak antilocalization and beating pattern in high electron mobility Al[sub x]Ga[sub 1 - x]N/GaN two-dimensional electron gas with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling

W. Z. Zhou, T. Lin, L. Y. Shang, L. Sun, K. H. Gao et al.
The weak antilocalization (WAL) effects of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in high mobility AlGaN/GaN heterostructure as well as beating patterns in the Shubnikovde Haas (SdH) oscillatory magnetoresistance have been investigated by means of magnetotransport measurements before and after illu ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053703 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Composite electrode of carbon nanotubes and vitreous carbon for electron field emission

E. Y. Matsubara, J. M. Rosolen, and S. Ravi P. Silva
In this work, the electron field emission behaviour of electrodes formed by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown onto monolithic vitreous carbon (VCarbon) substrates with microcavities is presented. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the microstructure of the films. Tungsten probes, stai ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 054303 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Truncated photonic crystal cavities with optimized mode confinement

Carl A. Bauer, Gregory R. Werner, and John R. Cary
Optimization of a truncated, dielectric photonic crystal cavity leads to configurations that are far from truncated crystal cavities, and which have significantly better radiation confinement. Starting from a two-dimensional truncated photonic crystal cavity with optimal Q-factor, moving the rods fr ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053107 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Fabrication of quartz mold with submicrometer features based on laser-assisted contact transfer method

Yung-Chun Lee, Chun-Hsiang Chen, Cheng-Yu Chiu, and Fuh-Yu Chang
We report a simple method for fabricating quartz molds with submicrometer- and nanoscaled surface structures. It utilizes an excimer laser as the energy source and a roller-type contact-printing setup for directly transferring a patterned metallic thin film from a silicon mold to a quartz substrate. ... [J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS 7, 033006 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Thickness Dependence of Proton Conductivity of Amorphous Aluminosilicate Nanofilm

Yoshitaka Aoki, H. Habazaki, and Toyoki Kunitake
AlSiO films exhibit a drastic change of proton conductivity across the film by reducing their thickness to less than 100 nm. The temperature and humidity dependence of conductivity of the sub-100 nm films is quite different from those of the thicker films. Furthermore, in the former thickness rang ... [Electrochem. Solid-State Lett. 11, P13 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Influence of Si Content on the Phase Formation of W[sub 1 - x]Si[sub x](0.30 <= x <= 0.74) Gate Electrodes and Their Work Function

C. M. Lin and J. S. Chen
Tungsten silicide (WSi, continuous increase in Si content ranging from 30 to 74 atom %) films are deposited on SiO/Si substrates by cosputtering from W and Si targets. After deposition, the samples are subject to a thermal annealing at 900 degrees C to form crystalline silicide phases. With their al ... [Electrochem. Solid-State Lett. 11, H309 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

A Blue-Emitting Gd(Nb,P)O[sub 4]:Bi[sup 3+] Phosphor for Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp Applications

Jung Min Kim, Bo Yong Han, Hyun Ju Lee, and Jae Soo Yoo
A phosphor, GdBiNbPO, was synthesized by substituting phosphate, PO, into a niobate-based GdNbO host lattice. This phosphor showed dramatically improved luminance intensity in the blue region under 254 nm excitation compared to reports for GdNbO:Bi. The band-to-band transitions of PO in GdBiNbPO ar ... [Electrochem. Solid-State Lett. 11, E29 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Concept for Charge Storage in Electrochemical Capacitors with Functionalized Carbon Electrodes

David Pech, Daniel Guay, Thierry Brousse, and Daniel Belanger
Carbon functionalized with sulfophenyl moieties provides an interesting way to understand the interdependence between the ionic species of the electrolyte and the electrode materials in carbon-based electrochemical capacitors. In situ measurements of the ionic resistivity of the electrolyte upon pol ... [Electrochem. Solid-State Lett. 11, A202 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Comparative Study of Phenolics Degradation Between Biological and Photocatalytic Systems

J. A. Herrera Melian, J. Arana, J. A. Ortega, F. Martin Munoz, E. Tello Rendon et al.
Phenol and phenol compounds are toxic organics that can be found in many industrial wastewaters. Biological wastewater treatments are considered to be the most convenient methods owing to their efficiency and low economic cost. Nonetheless, many organic pollutants are refractory to bacterial degrada ... [J. Sol. Energy Eng. 130, 041003 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Comparative Study of Photocatalytic Degradation Mechanisms of Pyrimethanil, Triadimenol, and Resorcinol

J. Arana, C. Fernandez Rodriguez, J. A. Herrera Melian, O. Gonzalez Diaz, and J. Perez Pena
The photocatalytic degradation of an endocrine disruptor (resorcinol) and of two fungicides (pyrimethanil and triadimenol) has been studied and compared. The effect of pH, oxygen, and HO on the photocatalytic degradation of these compounds has been established. The three organics were analyzed by me ... [J. Sol. Energy Eng. 130, 041002 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Preliminary Study of the Disinfection of Secondary Wastewater Using a Solar Photolytic-Photocatalytic Reactor

Hector Hernandez-Garcia, Hector Lopez-Arjona, Juan Francisco Rodriguez, and Rosario Enriquez
Our main purpose was to study the disinfection of a secondary wastewater anaerobic effluent by a combined photolytic-photocatalytic continuous reactor using solar irradiation. This reactor had a rectangular section and included back-and-forth-flow internal channels. It comprised two compartments: th ... [J. Sol. Energy Eng. 130, 041004 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Solar Thermochemical Water-Splitting Ferrite-Cycle Heat Engines

Richard B. Diver, James E. Miller, Mark D. Allendorf, Nathan P. Siegel, and Roy E. Hogan
Thermochemical cycles are a type of heat engine that utilize high-temperature heat to produce chemical work. Like their mechanical work producing counterparts, their efficiency depends on the operating temperature and on the irreversibility of their internal processes. With this in mind, we have inv ... [J. Sol. Energy Eng. 130, 041001 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

The Influence of Viscous Effects and Physical Scale on Cavitation Tunnel Contraction Performance

P. A. Brandner, J. L. Roberts, and G. J. Walker
The general performance of an asymmetric cavitation tunnel contraction is investigated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) including the effects of fluid viscosity and physical scale. The horizontal and vertical profiles of the contraction geometry were chosen from a family of four-term sixth-o ... [J. Fluids Eng. 130, 101301 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Influence of Torque on the Lift and Drag of a Particle in an Oscillatory Flow

Paul F. Fischer, Gary K. Leaf, and Juan M. Restrepo
In the work of Fischer et al. (2002, Forces on Particles in an Oscillatory Boundary Layer, J. Fluid Mech., 468, pp. 327347, 2005; Influence of Wall Proximity on the Lift and Drag of a Particle in an Oscillatory Flow, ASME J. Fluids Eng., 127, pp. 583594) we computed the lift and drag forces on a sph ... [J. Fluids Eng. 130, 101303 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Extended Angular Range of a Three-Hole Cobra Pressure Probe for Incompressible Flow

Katia Maria Arguelles Diaz, Jesus Manuel Fernandez Oro, and Eduardo Blanco Marigorta
This paper analyzes the operative characteristics of a three-hole cobra type probe especially designed to attain an angular range higher than 180 deg for planar turbulent flows. A new calibration and data reduction method are also introduced, discriminating three different zones inside the angular ... [J. Fluids Eng. 130, 101401 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

A General Macroscopic Turbulence Model for Flows in Packed Beds, Channels, Pipes, and Rod Bundles

A. Nakayama and F. Kuwahara
This study focuses on Nakayama and Kuwahara's two-equation turbulence model and its modifications, previously proposed for flows in porous media, on the basis of the volume averaging theory. Nakayama and Kuwahara's model is generalized so that it can be applied to most complex turbulent flows such a ... [J. Fluids Eng. 130, 101205 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Estimation of Cavitation Limits From Local Head Loss Coefficient

Raul Sanchez, Luis Juana, Francisco V. Laguna, and Leonor Rodriguez-Sinobas
Cavitation effects in valves and other sudden transitions in water distribution systems are studied as their better understanding and quantification is needed for design and analysis purposes and for predicting and controlling their operation. Two dimensionless coefficients are used to characterize ... [J. Fluids Eng. 130, 101302 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Pressure Drop Through Anisotropic Porous Mediumlike Cylinder Bundles in Turbulent Flow Regime

Tongbeum Kim and Tian Jian Lu
Pressure drop through anisotropic porous mediumlike cylinder bundles is experimentally examined in turbulent flow regime. Three porosities, epsilon=0.66, 0.82, and 0.90, are considered. The flow blockage by the cylinder bundles is varied, with the yaw angle (alpha) used as an anisotropic measure. Wh ... [J. Fluids Eng. 130, 104501 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Prediction of Dynamic Stall Onset for Oscillatory Low-Speed Airfoils

W. Sheng, R. A. McD. Galbraith, and F. N. Coton
This research presents some common features of oscillatory airfoils, and the method for indicating dynamic stall onset for the unsteady process. Under deep stall conditions, the stall-onset angle in oscillation is independent of the mean angle of the oscillatory motion, and by combining the reduced ... [J. Fluids Eng. 130, 101204 (2008)] published Thu Sep 4, 2008.

Microlens coupled interdigital photoconductive switch

Gabor Matthaus, Stefan Nolte, Rico Hohmuth, Martin Voitsch, Wolfgang Richter et al.
A large-area terahertz emitter based on an interdigital finger electrode photoconductive switch on low-temperature grown GaAs attached to a hexagonal microlens array is demonstrated. The hexagonal arranged microlenses direct the incident IR excitation pulses into specified electrode gaps, resulting ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091110 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Reduction in critical current density for spin torque transfer switching with composite free layer

Cheng-Tyng Yen, Wei-Chuan Chen, Ding-Yeong Wang, Yuan-Jen Lee, Chih-Ta Shen et al.
A composite free layer (CFL) consisting of a soft layer and a hard layer exchange coupled in parallel is proposed. The experimental results showed that the critical current density (J) can be reduced from 7.05 x 10 A/cm of strong coupled CoFeB(12.5 A)/Ru(4 A)/NiFe(17.5 A) CFL to 2.65 x 10 A/cm ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 092504 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

In situ tuning of a photonic band gap with laser pulses

A. Pasquazi, S. Stivala, G. Assanto, V. Amendola, M. Meneghetti et al.
We report on light-induced optical tuning of colloidal photonic crystals doped with gold nanoparticles (Au-nps). By resonantly exciting the Au-np surface plasmon absorption with picosecond pulses at 0.53 [mu]m in a standard pump-probe setup, we observed permanent changes in the stop band resonance ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091111 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Dye-sensitized solar cells consisting of dye-bilayer structure stained with two dyes for harvesting light of wide range of wavelength

Fumi Inakazu, Yusuke Noma, Yuhei Ogomi, and Shuzi Hayase
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) containing dye-bilayer structure of black dye and NK3705 (3-carboxymethyl-5-[3-(4-sulfobutyl)-2(3H)-bezothiazolylidene]-2-thioxo-4-thiazolidinone, sodium salt) in one TiO layer (2-TiO-BD-NK) are reported. The 2-TiO-BD-NK structure was fabricated by staining one TiO ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093304 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Solid phase epitaxy of ferrimagnetic Y[sub 3]Fe[sub 5]O[sub 12] garnet thin films

Y. Krockenberger, H. Matsui, T. Hasegawa, M. Kawasaki, and Y. Tokura
Epitaxial YFeO thin films were grown on (111) GdGaO substrates by pulsed laser deposition and subsequent annealing above 1270 K. The as-grown films deposited at temperatures below 1070 K were amorphous and the absence of trivalent iron ions has been verified by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 092505 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Surface stress induced structural transformations and pseudoelastic effects in palladium nanowires

Jijun Lao and Dorel Moldovan
Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the surface stress induced structural transformations and pseudoelastic behaviors in palladium nanowires. For wires with a initial orientation, the simulations indicate that when the cross-sectional area is less than 2.18 x 2.18 nm, the nanowi ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093108 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Piezoelectric K[sub 0.5]Na[sub 0.5]NbO[sub 3] thick films derived from polyvinylpyrrolidone-modified chemical solution deposition

Lingyan Wang, Kui Yao, and Wei Ren
Lead-free KNaNbO (KNN) ferroelectric films with enhanced thickness of 3.5 [mu]m were prepared by a polyvinylpyrrolidone-modified chemical solution deposition method. A single perovskite phase with a dense morphology and (100) orientation was obtained at relatively low annealing temperature of 600 ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 092903 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Polarization of defect related optical transitions in chalcopyrites

Katja Hones, Michael Eickenberg, Susanne Siebentritt, and Clas Persson
We investigate the symmetry of shallow acceptors in Cu chalcopyrites by polarization dependent photoluminescence measurements and density functional calculations. We determine the influence of the band symmetry versus the site symmetry. The polarization of the emitted or absorbed light is parallel t ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 092102 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

V-shaped electro-optic response observed in a chiral ferroelectric smectic liquid crystal

V. Manjuladevi, Yu. P. Panarin, Jang-Kun Song, J. K. Vij, and B. K. Sadashiva
We report on the observation of V-shaped switching in a ferroelectric liquid crystal cell over a wide range of temperatures. Results of the optical transmittance in the visible region give us the helical pitch for various temperatures of the ferroelectric liquid crystalline compound used. We show th ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093507 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Realization of write-once-read-many-times memory devices based on poly(N-vinylcarbazole) by thermally annealing

Jian Lin and Dongge Ma
A nonvolatile write-once-read-many-time (WORM-time) memory device based on poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) films was realized by thermally annealing. The device can be fabricated using a simple spin coat method. It was found that the control of PVK film surface morphology by thermally annealing plays a ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093505 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

A planar layer configuration for surface plasmon interference nanoscale lithography

K. V. Sreekanth, V. M. Murukeshan, and J. K. Chua
A planar layer configuration for surface plasmon interference lithography to realize one-dimensional periodic nanostructure is proposed and numerically demonstrated in this letter. High electric field distribution compared to conventional prism based configuration is found to be achievable with this ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093103 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Ultrafast electron dynamics and cubic optical nonlinearity of freestanding thin film of double walled carbon nanotubes

N. Kamaraju, Sunil Kumar, B. Karthikeyan, Alexander Moravsky, R. O. Loutfy et al.
Ultrafast degenerate pump-probe experiments performed on a freestanding film of double walled carbon nanotubes near the first metallic transition energy of outer tube show ultrafast (97 fs) photobleaching followed by a photoinduced absorption with a slow relaxation of 1.8 ps. Femtosecond closed and ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091903 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Monitoring the Bragg peak location of 73 MeV/u carbon ions by means of prompt gamma-ray measurements

E. Testa, M. Bajard, M. Chevallier, D. Dauvergne, F. Le Foulher et al.
By means of a time-of-flight technique, we measured the longitudinal profile of prompt gamma-rays emitted by 73 MeV/u C ions irradiating a polymethyl methacrylate target. This technique allowed us to minimize the shielding against neutrons and scattered gamma-rays, and to correlate prompt gamma emi ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093506 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Atomic scale analysis of the effect of the SiO[sub 2] passivation treatment on InAs/GaSb superlattice mesa sidewall

M. Herrera, M. Chi, M. Bonds, N. D. Browning, Joseph N. Woolman et al.
We have analyzed by electron microscopy techniques the effect of the deposition of a SiO passivation layer on an InAs/GaSb type-II superlattice (SL) mesa with applications as a photodetector. Our images reveal good conformal coverage by the SiO upon an undulating edge of the SL mesa. However, we hav ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093106 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Compact high power broadband Er[sup 3+] - Yb[sup 3+]-codoped superfluorescent fiber source

Feng Song, Zhenzhou Cheng, Changguang Zou, Lin Han, Xiaochen Yu et al.
Compact high power broadband superfluorescent fiber source has been demonstrated using an ultrashort ErYb-codoped phosphate glass fiber. The fiber is 10.4-cm-long and at 1.68 W pump power, an output power of 16.85 mW, a mean wavelength of 1540.9 nm, a bandwidth of 18.4 nm, and a slope efficiency of ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091108 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

The alpha - gamma - epsilon triple point of iron investigated by high pressure--high temperature neutron scattering

S. Klotz, Y. Le Godec, Th. Strassle, and U. Stuhr
We present high pressurehigh temperature diffraction data in the 010 GPa and 3001000 K range of all three main iron phases. The refinements of the diffraction patterns give molar volumes to high precision and show that the alphagammaepsilon triple point is located at 8.20.1 GPa and 678 K. These val ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091904 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Nanoparticle-induced light scattering for improved performance of quantum-well solar cells

D. Derkacs, W. V. Chen, P. M. Matheu, S. H. Lim, P. K. L. Yu et al.
We report on the improved performance of InP/InGaAsP quantum-well waveguide solar cells via light scattering from deposited dielectric or metal nanoparticles. The integration of metal or dielectric nanoparticles above the quantum-well solar cell device is shown to couple normally incident light into ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091107 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Wavevector-dependent quantum-size effect in electron decay length at Pb thin film surfaces

Xin Liu, S. B. Zhang, X. C. Ma, Jin-Feng Jia, Qi-Kun Xue et al.
The physical origin of quantum-size effects (QSEs) and its impact on the decay length of electrons in Pb thin films are studied by first-principles calculations. We show that QSE is not only size but also wavevector dependent: being maximum at [overline Gamma ] due to strong interlayer coupling bet ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093105 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Three-dimensional imaging of aerosol particles with scanning proton microprobe in a confocal arrangement

M. Zitnik, P. Pelicon, N. Grlj, A. G. Karydas, D. Sokaras et al.
We have reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) element-specific distributions of aerosol microparticles captured in a thick quartz filter. The characteristic x rays were induced by a proton microprobe and detected by a Si(Li) spectrometer equipped with a polycapillary lens. Combining a fine microbeam ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 094104 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Trap distribution and the impact of oxygen-induced traps on the charge transport in poly(3-hexylthiophene)

Julia Schafferhans, Andreas Baumann, Carsten Deibel, and Vladimir Dyakonov
The trap distribution in the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) was investigated by fractional thermally stimulated current measurements. Two defect states with activation energies of about 50 and 105 meV and Gaussian energy distributions were revealed. The first is assigned to the tail of th ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093303 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Ultrathin epitaxially grown bismuth (111) membranes

T. Payer, I. Rajkovic, M. Ligges, D. von der Linde, M. Horn-von Hoegen et al.
An ex situ cleaning and etching technique was applied to NaCl single crystals to prepare atomically flat and clean NaCl surfaces. These were used as substrates for molecular beam epitaxial growth of ultrathin continuous Bi(111) films. The high film qualityas studied with low energy electron diffract ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093102 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Solution processable ionic p-i-n phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes

Byoungchoo Park, Mi Young Han, and Seung Seok Oh
We report efficient light-emission from solution-processed single-layered phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PHOLEDs) that were doped with ionic salt and treated with simultaneous electrical and thermal annealing. Because the simultaneous annealing causes the adsorption of salt ions at th ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093302 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

High-power AlInGaN-based violet laser diodes with InGaN optical confinement layers

Sung-Nam Lee, J. K. Son, H. S. Paek, Y. J. Sung, K. S. Kim et al.
InGaN optical confinement layers (OCLs) were introduced into blue-violet AlInGaN-based laser diodes (LDs), resulting in the drastic improvements of lasing performance. Comparing with conventional LD structure, the lowest threshold current density of 2.3 kA/cm has been achieved by adding 100-nm-thic ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091109 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Atomic force microscope local oxidation nanolithography of graphene

Lishan Weng, Liyuan Zhang, Yong P. Chen, and L. P. Rokhinson
We demonstrate the local oxidation nanopatterning of graphene films by an atomic force microscope. The technique provides a method to form insulating trenches in graphene flakes and to fabricate nanodevices with sub-nanometer precision. We demonstrate fabrication of a 25-nm-wide nanoribbon and submi ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093107 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

A yellow-emitting Ce[sup 3+] phosphor, La[sub 1 - x]Ce[sub x]Sr[sub 2]AlO[sub 5], for white light-emitting diodes

Won Bin Im, Young-Il Kim, Natalie N. Fellows, Hisashi Masui, G. A. Hirata et al.
A yellow-emitting phosphor, LaCeSrAlO, is reported that displays a peak in the excitation at 450 nm and a peak in the emission at 556 nm. When this phosphor is pumped by a blue InGaN light-emitting diode (lambda=450 nm) we obtain white light with color rendering index (R) between 81 and 85 and co ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091905 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

A complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor compatible monocantilever 12-point probe for conductivity measurements on the nanoscale

L. Gammelgaard, P. Boggild, J. W. Wells, K. Handrup, Ph. Hofmann et al.
We present a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor compatible, nanoscale 12-point-probe based on TiW electrodes placed on a SiO monocantilever. Probes are mass fabricated on Si wafers by a combination of electron beam and UV lithography, realizing TiW electrode tips with a width down to 250 nm an ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 093104 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Terahertz emission from black silicon

P. Hoyer, M. Theuer, R. Beigang, and E.-B. Kley
We report on a terahertz emitter made out of black silicon. The black surface structure absorbs the whole optical pump power in the very surface. In contrast to expectations for indirect semiconductors, the black structure shows an emission in the terahertz range. The emitted radiation of the black ... [Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091106 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Design of a simple annular electron beam source and its operating characteristics in single and repetitive shot modes

Limin Li, Lie Liu, Qifu Xu, Jianchun Wen, and Yonggui Liu
In this work, design and performance of an annular carbon fiber cathode are presented. Measurements on this cathode were performed in a single high-voltage pulse generator (600 kV, 50 ns, and 50 Omega) and a repetitive one (350 kV, <10 ns, 180 Omega, and 100 Hz), respectively. In a single pulse r ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 094701 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Cooling an optical fiber to 4.5 K by indirect thermal contact with a liquid-helium flow and spectroscopic temperature measurements

Daisuke Hashimoto and Kaoru Shimizu
We have made it possible to cool a 10-m-long optical fiber to 4.5 K in a compact helium-flow cryostat. The cryostat is vacuum loaded and the cooling principle is based on thermal contact with a copper holder cooled by the liquid-helium flow. To measure the temperature directly, we employed two diffe ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 093102 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Si/SiC Heterojunctions Fabricated by Direct Wafer Bonding

M. R. Jennings, A. Perez-Tomas, O. J. Guy, R. Hammond, S. E. Burrows et al.
The physical and electrical properties of Si/SiC heterojunctions formed by direct wafer bonding are presented. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and imaging reveal an improved bonding quality when Si wafers are transferred to on-axis substrates as opposed to off-axis epitaxial layers. AFM analysis of th ... [Electrochem. Solid-State Lett. 11, H306 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Water-Retention Effect of Composite Membranes with Different Types of Nanometer Silicon Dioxide

L. Wang, Dan Zhao, H. M. Zhang, D. M. Xing, and B. L. Yi
Four kinds of composite membranes were prepared by the solution-cast method with Nafion resin, poly(tetrafluoroethylene), and different types of SiO. They are SiO sulfonated by 1,3-propane sultone (denoted as SiO1,3PS), SiO sulfonated by HSO (denoted as SiOSOH), and pure SiO. The SiO content was con ... [Electrochem. Solid-State Lett. 11, B201 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Electric self-inductance of quasi-two-dimensional magnetic-dipolar-mode ferrite disks

M. Sigalov, E. O. Kamenetskii, and R. Shavit
An electric current flowing around a loop produces a magnetic field and hence a magnetic flux through the loop. The ratio of the magnetic flux to the electric current is called the (magnetic) self-inductance. Can there be a dual situation with a magnetic current flowing around a loop and producing a ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053901 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

GaN-based microdisk light emitting diodes on (111)-oriented nanosilicon-on-insulator templates

S. Tripathy, T. E. Sale, A. Dadgar, V. K. X. Lin, K. Y. Zang et al.
InGaN/GaN microdisk light emitting diodes (LEDs) on (111)-oriented nanosilicon-on-insulator (nano-SOI) substrates are demonstrated. The (111)-oriented thin SOI substrates are prepared by separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX) method. The InGaN/GaN LED structures are grown on these SIMOX templa ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053106 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Simulation of nanosecond pulsed laser ablation of copper samples: A focus on laser induced plasma radiation

M. Aghaei, S. Mehrabian, and S. H. Tavassoli
A thermal model for nanosecond pulsed laser ablation of Cu in one dimension and in ambient gas, He at 1 atm, is proposed in which equations concerning heat conduction in the target and gas dynamics in the plume are solved. These equations are coupled to each other through the energy and mass balance ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053303 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Noncontact modulated laser calorimetry of liquid silicon in a static magnetic field

Hidekazu Kobatake, Hiroyuki Fukuyama, Izuru Minato, Takao Tsukada, and Satoshi Awaji
Accurate thermal transport properties of high-temperature liquid silicon, such as those of heat capacity, emissivity, and thermal conductivity, are required for improving numerical modeling to produce high-quality silicon crystals using the Czochralski method. However, contamination from contact mat ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 054901 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Electronic properties of doped silicon nanocrystal films

Robert Lechner, Andre R. Stegner, Rui N. Pereira, Roland Dietmueller, Martin S. Brandt et al.
The structural and electrical properties before and after laser annealing of spin-coated films of doped silicon nanocrystals (ncs) produced from the gas phase are presented. While the as-deposited films form a porous network of ncs and show only weak electrical conductivity independent of the doping ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053701 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Growth and spectroscopic properties of Pr[sup 3+]:NaLa(MoO[sub 4])[sub 2] crystal

Weijie Guo, Yanfu Lin, Xinghong Gong, Yujin Chen, Zundu Luo et al.
A Pr:NaLa(MoO) (NLM) single crystal has been grown by the Czochralski method. Thermal expansion coefficients of the crystal were measured. Polarized absorption spectra, polarized fluorescence spectra, and fluorescence decay curves of the crystal were recorded at room temperature. Detailed polarized ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053105 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Advances in the mass spectrometric study of the laser vaporization of graphite

R. Pflieger, M. Sheindlin, and J.-Y. Colle
Reliable experimental data on graphite vaporization and especially on carbon vapor composition exist only up to 25003000 K. Data measured at higher temperatures are questionable due to several experimental limitations, such as the difficult temperature determination and the not straightforward corre ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 054902 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Charged particle transport through a periodic electrostatic potential having a small spatial period

C. A. Ordonez
A classical trajectory Monte Carlo study is reported regarding charged particle transport through an electrostatic potential, which is periodic with a spatial period that is smaller than the radius of cylindrical electrodes that produce the potential. The electrodes are identically shaped and have a ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 054903 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Hollow cathode conditioning and discharge initiation

Binyamin Rubin and John D. Williams
In the framework of developing a fast-starting hollow cathode, one must understand how a cathode is conditioned for operation. The desorption of known contaminates as a function of heater power was measured to quantify cathode conditioning characteristics. In addition to conditioning, a study of hol ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053302 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

A simple method to characterize the afterpulsing effect in single photon avalanche photodiode

H. T. Yen, S. D. Lin, and C. M. Tsai
A simple method is introduced for studying the afterpulsing effect in InGaAs single photon avalanche photodiode. The afterpulsing probability is obtained through measuring the detection efficiencies of various biasing pulses, while the incident photons are kept constant. The effect of excess bias an ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 054504 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Epitaxial silicon minority carrier diffusion length by photoluminescence

D. H. Baek, S. B. Kim, and D. K. Schroder
Photoluminescence (PL) is a convenient contactless method to characterize semiconductors. Its use for room-temperature silicon characterization has only recently been implemented. We have developed the relevant theory and compared it with experimental data initially for bulk Si wafers and then exten ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 054503 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Electrical and structural properties of AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN heterojunctions

A. Y. Polyakov, N. B. Smirnov, A. V. Govorkov, A. V. Markov, T. G. Yugova et al.
The electrical and structural properties of AlN/GaN heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy on sapphire are compared with those of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. The structural characteristics as assessed by x-ray diffraction show little difference but the electron density in the two-dimension ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053702 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Spectral characteristics of continuous wave broadband from a fiber laser with a low dispersion fiber in the cavity

Deepa Venkitesh and R. Vijaya
The spectral width of the continuous wave broadband generated in an erbium doped fiber ring laser containing a dispersion shifted fiber (DSF) in a filterless cavity is found to be governed by the nature of the gain spectrum of the doped fiber, in addition to the nonlinear effects. This dependence is ... [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 053104 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Visual-servoing of a six-degree-of-freedom robotic manipulator for automated microassembly task execution

Yasser H. Anis, James K. Mills, and William L. Cleghorn
This paper introduces a visual-servoing system used in the automation of microelectromechanical system microassembly. In the proposed system, small microparts, 20 [mu]m wide and 2 [mu]m thick, are automatically grasped using a passive compliant microgripper in a first step toward achieving complet ... [J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS 7, 033017 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Optimization of toroidal electrostatic analyzers for measurements of low energy particles in space

P. Decreau, R. Prange, and J. J. Berthelier
After having used an analytical expression in the form of a power series expansion to calculate the interelectrode electrostatic field in the general case of a toroidal electrostatic analyzer, we derive approximate analytical expressions for the most interesting response functions (geometrical facto ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 995 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

New signal-processing instrument for dual-wavelength/split-beam spectrophotometers

Charles W. Wade
Several new techniques for processing signals from dual-wavelength/split-beam spectrophotometers are discussed and contrasted with earlier methods. Based on these techniques, a signal-processing instrument has been built which achieves significant improvements in speed, range, accuracy, and noise re ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 987 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Modified airlock door for the introduction of frozen specimens into the JEM 100B electron microscope

Kenneth A. Taylor and Robert M. Glaeser
An airlock door modification for the JEM 100B electron microscope is described. This modification permits prefrozen specimens to be introduced into the microscope without frost forming on the specimen or the specimen warming excessively. The imaging of hydrated biological material using frozen speci ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 985 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Stabilization of photomultipliers in liquid scintillation counters

Erkki Soini
A special stabilization system has been constructed to control the overall gain of photomultiplier tubes in a liquid scintillation counter. The system uses GaAsP light emitting diodes in the measurement chamber to produce separate reference light pulses for each photomultiplier tube. The system has ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 980 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Ultrahigh pressure diamond-anvil cell and several semiconductor phase transition pressures in relation to the fixed point pressure scale

G. J. Piermarini and S. Block
A diamond-anvil type optical cell of improved design has produced static pressures in gasketed samples up to 500 kilobar as measured by the ruby fluorescence technique. The ruby R line pressure shift is linear to 291 kilobar, and the maximum measured shift is extrapolated to 500 kilobar assuming con ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 973 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Minicomputer applications in solid state physics: Automated instrumentation for the de Haas--van Alphen effect

H. G. Alles and R. J. Higgins
A computer-assisted measurement system is described which has been optimized for the precise measurements of the amplitudes, phases, and frequencies of the de Haasvan Alphen oscillations. System software, architecture, and control concepts are described which have general utility in computer-control ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 963 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Design and properties of position-sensitive proportional counters using resistance--capacitance position encoding

C. J. Borkowski and M. K. Kopp
The construction and signal processing methods of several experimental gas-filled, position-sensitive proportional counters (PSPCs) using resistancecapacitance (RC) position encoding are described, and guidelines for the design and operation of these counters are given. Using these guidelines, we we ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 951 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Dye Lasers, edited by F. P. Sch[a-umlaut]fer. Reviewer

Stephen F. Jacobs
... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1133 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

The Laboratory Recorder by Galen W. Ewing and Harry A. Ashworth. Reviewer

D. W. Potter
... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1133 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Meeting on Technology arising from High Energy Physics, CERN. Reviewer

Brian Musgrave
... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1133 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Erratum: A gain-stabilizing detector for use in radioastronomy [Rev. Sci. Instrum. [bold 46], 169 (1975)]

M. J. Yerbury
... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1132 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

How to make high critical current joints in Ni--Ti wire

David G. Blair, HoJung Paik, and Robert C. Taber
Methods are presented for making high critical joints in various thicknesses of niobiumtitanium superconducting wire. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1130 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Machining hyperbolic electrodes with a straight edged tool

J. Morris Blair
A method is given for designing a milling machine cutting tool for forming hyperbolic electrode surfaces. The cutting edge of the tool is a straight line. Its orientation and spacing with respect to the axis of rotation of the tool have a simple relationship to the size of the hyperbola to be formed ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1129 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Fast, high-current, high-repetition-rate pulse generator for injection lasers

D. R. Armstrong, A. Katzir, and A. Yariv
The circuit described is capable of generating high-current (250 A), fast-rise-time (10 nsec), square-wave pulses into a 50-Omega load. This circuit may be used for driving injection lasers at high repetition rates (up to 1.5 kHz) when connected to coaxial cables. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1127 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Inexpensive liquid nitrogen pump

D. Chopra and H. Babb
We describe the design of a simple and inexpensive system for transferring liquid nitrogen from one container to another. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1126 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Technique for conductivity measurements on single crystals of organic materials

L. B. Coleman
A technique is described for making four probe conductivity measurements on small, fragile single crystals of organic compounds. Physical constraint of the sample is minimal, allowing repeated thermal cycling. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1125 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Bonded electrodes for use on the external surfaces of spacecraft

B. R. F. Kendall and J. O. Weeks
A new bonding process is described which is suitable for applying electrodes to the external surfaces of spacecraft and sounding rockets. A polyimide material containing small, uniform glass spheres provides the necessary insulation and mechanical strength. The bonded electrodes are simple to constr ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1123 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Electromagnetic levitation facility incorporating electron beam

G. Wouch, E. C. Okress, R. T. Frost, and D. J. Rutecki
An electromagnetic levitation apparatus incorporating an electron beam for auxiliary heating and melting has been developed for experiments on containerless vacuum purification and undercooled solidification of high melting materials. Stable levitation of 10-g specimens of molten tungsten has been a ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1122 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Inexpensive tungsten boat evaporation source

P. J. Silverman and J. W. Baker
A description is given of an inexpensive tungsten boat evaporation source which is easily made in the laboratory. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1121 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Pole-zero cancellation in the feedback circuit of wide-band preamplifiers to improve the baseline stability for high count rates or large signals

M. K. Kopp
Pole-zero cancellation was applied to the feedback circuit of wide-band preamplifiers to improve the baseline stability and reduce the saturation of the output for high count rates (10 counts/sec) or large output signals (>~1 V), without compromising the bias point stabilization. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1120 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Simple and inexpensive linear resistivity meter for applications in pure water measurements

Tomas Russ
A linear, liquid-resistivity meter circuit is described that operates by charging and discharging a capacitor through a cell in which the liquid is included, rendering no dc component across it. The resulting oscillating waveform is shown to have a period proportional to the cell resistance. A perio ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1118 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Contact shock-wave detector

A. J. Mulac and J. A. Guzman
A simple shock-wave detector for use in shock tube experiments is presented. The detector consists of a thin metal diaphragm and an electrode which contact upon arrival of the shock-wave pressure step. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1117 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Demountable optical windows using heat shrinkable tubing

R. N. Zitter and D. F. Koster
Heat shrinkable tubing provides a new way of mounting optical windows on systems that is simple and quick and permits fast and easy removal. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1116 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Design of a simple and inexpensive analog gate

H. Rosen, P. Robrish, and G. Jan de Vries
We have designed and built a simple and inexpensive analog gate which, when used in combination with an electrometer and a high gain photomultiplier, has a sensitivity of better than 1 photoelectron/sec and a linearity of better than 10% over a dynamic range of 1000. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1115 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Conversion of A-60 NMR spectrometers to Fourier transform operation

M. Tomkiewicz, W. J. Horsley, and M. P. Klein
A description of the instrumental modifications and additions required for the conversion of this class of field-swept, field-modulated 60-MHz NMR spectrometers is given. The rf portions are straightforward adaptations of the single-coil sample circuit to pulsed operation. The standard instrument ac ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1112 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Current-regulated, high-voltage power supply for cw gas lasers

Dwight Maxson, D. G. Seiler, and Larry Tipton
An economical, high-voltage, highly stable, current-regulated power supply with less than 0.1% rms ripple is described. The dynamic capabilities of 030 kV and 030 mA provide a versatile instrument for use with many cw gas lasers. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1110 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Lead-resistance-free resistance bridge for thermal conductivity measurements at low temperatures

Yingchieh Hsu
A bridge circuit is described. It eliminates the influence of sample temperature fluctuations as well as of lead resistance. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1109 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Resistance alloy for low temperatures

P. Warnecke and V. Kose
A ductile coppergermanium alloy shows a negative relative temperature coefficient of resistivity of a few parts in 10/K in the temperature range of 1.54.2 K. Resistors based on this material are studied for stability under thermal cycling. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1108 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

New high-temperature noble-metal thermocouple pairing

George E. Glawe
A new thermocouple pairing was formed by combining thermocouple elements from two existing commercially available thermocouples to form a new combination (Ir40 Rh/Pt40 Rh) thermocouple. The output of this new pairing is nearly linear with temperature, and approximately equal to the output of one of ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1107 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Water-jacketed electric field birefringence cell

E. D. Baily
A simple water-jacketed electric birefringence cell is described which is suitable for use with a laser light source. The electrodes in the cell form an integral part of the cell walls, thus permitting a low internal volume (~ 0.4 ml) to be achieved. This makes the cell particularly suitable for use ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1105 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Simple and reliable subsonic HF chemical laser with 40 W power output (16 W DF)

D. Proch, H. Pummer, K. L. Kompa, and J. Wanner
The design and performance of a transverse flow subsonic chemical laser with a total power output of 40 W for HF and 16 W for DF are presented. Laser operation has been observed in the wavelength range 2.63.0 [mu] for HF and 3.64.0 [mu] for DF resulting from v=21 and 10 transitions of the HF molecul ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1101 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Linearity of capacitance displacement transducers

Michael T. Gladwin and Joseph Wolfe
The calibration and in particular the linearity of a three-plate capacitance displacement transducer of range 1 mm and sensitivity 0.1 nm is measured with reference to a HeNe laser standard using a FabryPerot etalon. The magnitude of the nonlinearity over the operational range is compared with estim ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1099 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Three-transducer differential phase-shift method for the measurement of ultrasonic velocity in liquids

Chuan Chen and Nicholas E. Vanderborgh
A new method for determining ultrasonic velocity (500 kHz) is described. Differential phase shift measurements are made with a three-transducer cell to a precision of 0.2%. Calibration data are given for aqueous solutions of NaCl and with mixtures of water and tertiary butyl alcohol. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1095 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

New technique for determining the heating effects of the electron beam on metal foils in an electron microscope

William F. Lewis, Jordi Marti, and David I. Paul
We have devised a new method for determining the heating effects of the electron beam on metal foils in a transmission electron microscope. Thin specimens of tin, lead, and zinc were melted in the electron microscope using the combination of heat from the electron beam in ''normal'' usage and a prev ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1092 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Counting rate dependent gain shifts in flow proportional counters

N. Spielberg and D. I. Tsarnas
The counting rate dependent shift of pulse height distributions in cylindrical (flow) proportional counters has been studied. The effects of various counter tube constructional and operational parameters on this shift were investigated. Certain of these parameters also introduce time dependent featu ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1086 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Microwave Hall measurement techniques on low mobility semiconductors and insulators. II. Experimental procedures

Mohamed M. Sayed and Charles R. Westgate
An experimental technique for the measurement of Hall mobilities at microwave frequencies is described. The design of a dual mode TE cavity is described, and a comparison among receivers for the detection system is given. A procedure for tuning the cavity for orthogonality, degeneracy, and equal qua ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1080 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Microwave Hall measurment techniques on low mobility semiconductors and insulators. I. Analysis

Mohamed M. Sayed and Charles R. Westgate
The relationships of microwave Hall mobilities and microwave conductivities in a semiconductor, placed at the center of a dual mode TE cavity, are expressed in terms of the loaded and unloaded voltage reflection coefficients, the sample and the cavity dimensions, the ratio of the output power to the ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1074 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Selective removal of either metastable species from a mixed [sup 3]P[sub 0,2] rare-gas metastable beam

F. B. Dunning, T. B. Cook, W. P. West, and R. F. Stebbings
A tunable cw laser has been used to selectively remove either of the two metastable species, P, which are initially present in a neon metastable beam. The method is applicable to other rare gases and provides the opportunity for separate investigation of effects due to atoms in either the P or P sta ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1072 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

One-dimensional focusing x-ray telescope for stellar x-ray astronomy

H. Helava, D. Mitchell, R. Novick, M. C. Weisskopf, and R. S. Wolff
A one-dimensional x-ray telescope of the KirkpatrickBaez design is described. The instrument consists of a grazing-incidence x-ray telescope and a multiwire proportional counter. The optics were provided with a gold reflecting surface to yield an energy response from below 0.25 to above 4.0 keV. The ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1066 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Microwave discharge atom source for chemical lasers

R. A. McFarlane
A high-power, cw microwave magnetron is used to produce a discharge in a gas column flowing at high velocity. The large atom production rate obtained makes this a valuable atom source for chemical laser application. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1063 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Quadrupole electrodes with flat faces

Noriyuki Sakudo and Tomonao Hayashi
A method to analyze multipole fields formed with flat-face electrodes by using conformal mapping is described. Quadrupole fields of various parameter values which define the electrode shape are analyzed by this method, and the optimum parameter values for making distortion components of the field mi ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1060 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Automated small sample calorimeter

R. E. Schwall, R. E. Howard, and G. R. Stewart
We describe an automated calorimetry system for measuring heat capacity in the range 135 K. The system employs an on-line computer for signal averaging and data reduction and is capable of performing rapid, accurate specific heat measurements on very small (1100 mg) samples. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1054 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Device for rapid manipulation of frequencies in NMR

J. L. Ackerman, R. K. Hester, and J. S. Waugh
A direct digital synthesis technique has been used to accomplish rapid changes in transmitter frequency in NMR without loss of phase coherence. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1051 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Automated, photon-counting Raman spectrometer

R. C. Harney and F. P. Milanovich
Current research directed towards establishing the use of laser Raman spectroscopy as an effective means of making rapid determinations of isotope abundance ratios in at least nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen has necessitated the construction of a spectrometer of unique capabilities. The instr ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1047 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Precision isoperibol calorimeter with automatic data acquisition and processing

C. Shin and C. M. Criss
A precision isoperibol calorimeter with automatic data acquisition and processing, capable of operating over a wide temperature range, has been constructed and tested. The calorimeter was designed to have a very low thermal modulus and fast equilibration time. A small vapor space above the liquid an ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1043 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Prealignment of gas laser cavities

K. G. Hernqvist and A. H. Firester
A method of coarse alignment and fine tuning of the cavity of a gas laser is presented. The laser cavity to be aligned is treated as a FabryPerot cavity, and its transmission of a frequency-swept laser is maximized. An experiment is described showing that this fine-tuning procedure results in maximu ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1040 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Method for measuring coincidences in the presence of a high level of accidental coincidences

Rudolf G. Suchannek, Stephen J. Young, and J. Roger Sheridan
An electronic system was developed for coincidence measurements in the presence of a high level of accidental coincidences, assuming the true coincidence rate is constant. This system eliminates the distortions produced by the use of two independent coincidence modules for measuring accidental coinc ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1037 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

On-line treatment chamber for surface studies

R. Bouwman, L. H. Toneman, and M. Moers
A simple, on-line treatment chamber for surface studies using a knife-edge sealing construction is described. In it samples can be treated with gases up to a pressure of 1 bar and up to a temperature of 600 degrees C at a leak conductance of about 10 liter/sec to the ultrahigh vacuum analyzing cham ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1035 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Simplified method for the calibration of an atom-probe field-ion microscope

Alfred Wagner, Thomas M. Hall, and David N. Seidman
A simplified method for determining the mass-to-charge ratio of single pulse-field evaporated atoms in a time-of-flight (TOF), atom-probe, field-ion microscpoe (FIM) is described. The method is rather insensitive to the value of the pulse factor (alpha). This is achieved physically by making the pul ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1032 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Logarithmic time base generator

L. J. Wills and E. F. Denby
A digital counting circuit is described that generates output pulses at intervals geometrically increasing at a rate proportional to the elapsed time, thus making it suitable as a logarithmic time base generator. The design procedure to deliver any number of pulses per decade of time and for any num ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1030 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Low-impedance, high-pressure feedthrough for nanosecond-pulsed high electric field investigations

R. E. Jones, Jr. and W. J. Keeler
A low-impedance coaxial feedthrough has been developed for nanosecond-pulsed high electric field investigations to 20 kilobar. This feedthrough is compatible with stripline conductors and has been used at low and room temperatures. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1028 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

High pressure--low temperature apparatus for electrical conductivity measurements

R. E. Jones, Jr., G. C. Anderson, and W. J. Keeler
Equipment is described for electrical measurements under hydrostatic pressures to 30 kilobar over the low to room temperature range. The piston and cylinder type pressure vessel of the high-pressure cryostat is actuated directly by a hydraulic ram at room temperature. Thermal isolation is achieved t ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1025 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Simple flow microphotometer for rapid cell population analysis

W. G. Eisert, R. Ostertag, and E.-G. Niemann
A simple particle analyzer has been developed using a modified high speed flow-through technique and absorption measurements of a continuous HeNe laser beam. From pulse-shape analysis and the integration of absorption pulses, size distributions of stained or unstained cells can be derived. The range ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1021 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Pressure gauge employing ultrasonic liquid level detection

R. D. Corsaro
A pressure gauge is described which accurately measures high static pressures. It features continuous digital readout, simple construction, and freedom from aging and hysteresis effects. While this device is thoroughly tested over the pressure range 1701000 bar, its characteristics can be reliably e ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1016 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Programmable control unit for a balloon-borne quadrupole mass spectrometer

E. Arijs and D. Nevejans
For the measurement of the ionic composition of the atmosphere a reprogrammable control unit for a quadrupole mass filter has been constructed. The heart of this unit consists of two programmable read only memories which allows the choice of 16 different measuring jobs by six telecontrol channels. T ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1010 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

High-vacuum Raman cell for the study of finite particle effects

H. K. Bockelmann, R. G. Schlecht, and R. McKay
A high-vacuum Raman cell using the backscattering geometry for use in studies of microcrystals, surface effects, and physical and chemical adsorption is described. The circuit and description for a temperature controller are also included. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 1008 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Intorduction to Electron and Ion Optics by Poul Dahl.Reviewer

Harald A. Enge
... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 936 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Electronics for Neurobiologists by Paul B. Brown.Reviewer

Gordon Silverman
... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 935 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Superconducting Magnet Systems by H. Brecha. Reviewer

A. D. McInturff
... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 935 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Recent Developments in Shock Tube Technology, editedby Daniel Bershader and Wayland Griffith. Reviewer

Vijay A. Kulkarny
... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 934 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Electrical Indicating Instruments, by G. F. Tagg. Reviewer

Forest K. Harris
... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 934 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Magnetic and Electric Suspensions, by Richard H. Frazier, Philip J. Gilinson, and George A. Oberbeck. Reviewer

Jesse W. Beams
... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 934 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Bakeable glass isolation valve for UHV systems

J. K. N. Sharma and D. C. Sharma
This note describes a bakeable (up to 450 degrees C) isolation valve made of glass using a standard ground ball and socket joint. The valve is useful for most glass UHV systems, e.g., field-ion microscopes or gauge calibration. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 932 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Electromagnetic generation of Rayleigh waves at MHz frequencies

T. J. Moran, M. J. Lin, F. Buchholtz, and R. L. Thomas
A contactless method of generating ultrasonic Rayleigh waves at MHz frequencies in metals using the electromagnetic generation technique is described. The method requires the use of photographic printed circuit techniques for the production of the meander coil transducers. Excellent efficiency is ac ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 931 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Rocking furnace for homogenization of melts

M. J. Mobley and W. S. Glaunsinger
A rocking furnace is described that permits variable agitation of melts prior to crystal growth. The design permits adjustment of furnace inclination, variation of oscillation frequency and amplitude, and rotation of the furnace into a vertical position. The fabrication of an explosion-proof furnace ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 930 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Modified ''Harvard'' dry dust disperser

David F. Ciliberti and Brian W. Lancaster
A modified dry dust disperser has been used to produce test aerosols from very fine powders which show a tendency to agglomerate in feeders and dispersion equipment. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 929 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Low noise and drift by parallel amplifiers

B. Sundqvist and G. Backstrom
A low noise and low drift amplifier has been constructed using several monolithic operational amplifiers in parallel. It is shown that each amplifier may be connected by only three resistors. An input noise of 0.15 [mu]V (pp) in the band 0.110 Hz was obtained with six amplifiers, and the noise is ex ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 928 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Simple moir[e-acute] calibrator for velocity transducers used in M[o-umlaut]ssbauer effect measurements

H. P. Wit
A simple instrument to make absolute velocity calibrations of velocity transducers used in Mossbauer effect measurements is described. A short comparison with other calibration techniques is made. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 927 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Generation and detection of plane-polarized ultrasound with a rotatable transducer

Nelson N. Hsu and Wolfgang Sachse
The construction of a rotatable transducer for generating and detecting pulses of plane-polarized 10 MHz ultrasound is described. The usefulness of the transducer is demonstrated in attenuation measurements made along various symmetry directions on a single crystal, and in acoustical birefringence m ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 923 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Oxidized BN: An excellent source material for producing boron ion beams

R. De Keersmaecker
Several solid source loading materials for the production of a boron ion beam with a hot filament hollow cathode ion source are compared. As far as easy handling and large B currents are concerned, oxidized boron nitride is shown to be an excellent choice. Currents of 80 [mu]A B are routinely obtain ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 921 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Laser triggered switching of a pulsed, charged, oil filled spark gap

A. H. Guenther, G. L. Zigler, J. R. Bettis, and R. P. Copeland
A focused, Q-spoiled laser, aligned along the interelectrode axis of a pulse charged switch assembly, was used to initiate the conduction of an overvolted transformer oil filled gap. Laser power varied between 5 and 200 MW and the voltage pulse exhibited a risetime of 500 nsec to a voltage of 700 kV ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 914 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Stark cell for infrared--microwave double resonance experiments

M. Redon and M. Fourrier
A parallel-plate Stark cell giving a very homogeneous electric field is described. It can be used either for Stark spectroscopy in the infrared and microwave ranges or in infraredmicrowave double resonance experiments. Microwave absorption lines, 12.600 GHz frequency shifted, have been observed; it ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 911 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Ultraviolet source suitable for Tokamak preionization

P. Smeulders
In order to ionize molecular deuterium a photon energy greater than 15.6 eV is required. This is created by radiation from bombardment of a thick wall by energetic electrons, as in x- tubes. A high voltage pulse extracts the electrons by field emission from the sharp pointed electrode and accelerate ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 909 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Semiautomatic permeance tester for thick magnetic films

Paul A. Calcagno and David A. Thompson
An apparatus has been developed for the measurement of the permeance (effective permeabilitythickness product) of magnetic films for frequencies 1100 MHz and permeances up to 20 000 [mu] with an accuracy of 100 [mu]. This is suitable for permalloy films in the 0.55 [mu] thickness range, which are us ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 904 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Optical superheterodyne spectrum analyzer using an acousto-optic effect

El-S. El Badawy and J. Leblond
An optical superheterodyne analyzer, which is destined for high resolution spectral analysis in the optical domain, is described. The optical local oscillator of continuously variable frequency, the core of this analyzer, is obtained by means of an acousto-optic effect. By changing the acoustic freq ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 897 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Device for automatic compensation of zero drift for use with torsion pendulum apparatus for internal friction measurements

G. Bergamasco and G. Zini
An electronic device is described by which the rest position of a mechanical oscillating system can be locked onto a given point or angle. This is obtained by generating a square wave that develops a dc component every time the rest position of the system does not coincide with the required one, and ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 893 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Contained SEM for examining radioactive materials

P. A. Makohon, R. D. Sisson, and J. E. Sheehan
A contained scanning electron microscope (CSEM) was designed and constructed at the Savannah River Laboratory. The facility consists of two stainless-steel glove boxes with separate compartments for specimen mounting and coating, specimen decontamination, SEM column and sample chamber, and containme ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 889 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Probe for the measurement of magnetic fields with sub-nanosecond resolution

R. Serov, M. C. Richardson, and P. Burtyn
A double coil differential magnetic probe has been specifically devised for the measurement of magnetic fields with high temporal and spatial resolution. Having a response time of <1 nsec, a sensitivity of 0.3 V nsec G, and high discrimination (>~300) to all other types of background interference, i ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 886 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Automatic Bragg angle control with simple, inexpensive electronics

Arthur R. Storm
A simple, inexpensive comparator circuit and its associated equipment providing automatic Bragg angle control (ABAC) and allowing determination of lattice curvature and film stresses with scanning x-ray topographic cameras is described. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 883 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Plastic optical fiber displacement sensor for study of the dynamic response of a solid exposed to an intense pulsed electron beam

R. Bailly-Salins
The principle of the branched fiber bundle sensor has been known for many years. The apparatus which is described in this paper is distinguished by simple fabrication, low cost, high sensitivity, and a fast response time. It is used for measuring the velocity of the back surface of an irradiated alu ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 879 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Variable low temperature EPR cavity

B. D. Perlson and J. A. Weil
An EPR cavity system, operating in the range 12 K to room temperature, is described. Sample cooling is accomplished with a Displex helium gas refrigerator, operating for arbitrarily long periods with the use of only electricity. The system permits accurate rotation and manipulation of single crystal ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 874 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Automatic digital microwave hygrometer

Saburo Hasegawa and Daniel P. Stokesberry
This hygrometer is designed to measure the humidity of atmospheric air over the vapor pressure range 37400 Pa (0.0374 mbar). The instrument is an adaptation of a microwave refractometer using two cavities operating at 12 GHz. One cavity is exposed to the moist test air and the other is exposed to th ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 867 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Microcomputer interface for a pulsed NMR spectrometer

M. Kri?an
A relatively simple microcomputer interface for data acquisition from pulsed NMR experiments is described. The timing of the sampling of the NMR signal is performed by the interface itself, based on the pulses delivered by the spectrometer-pulse programmer. The acquired data are stored in a buffer m ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 863 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Calibration of large area scintillation counters on cosmic rays

Steven F. Saterlie and Donald R. Tompkins, Jr.
We report on the construction and calibration of a 6 m scintillation counter. The counter consisted of two 1.22 x 2.44 x 0.051 m pieces of clear Lucite which were optically joined along a common edge. Optically coupled on top of these were sixteen 0.61 x 0.61 x 0.019 m squares of NE 110 plastic scin ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 857 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Combination glove box--sample compartment cover for a Fourier transform ir spectrophotometer

Richard P. Oertel and Allen J. Fehl
A combination glove boxsample compartment cover has been constructed for a rapid scan Fourier transform ir spectrophotometer so that greater advantage can be taken of the speed and sensitivity of this type of instrument. While maintaining the atmospheric purge throughout the sample and optical chamb ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 855 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Time-of-flight measurements of low-energy electron energy distributions from ion--atom collisions

L. H. Toburen and W. E. Wilson
A time-of-flight technique for the measurement of the energy spectra of electrons ejected in ionatom collisions is described. Ionization is produced by a pulsed beam of protons which are obtained by chopping the dc proton beam from a Van de Graaff accelerator with a 3.33 MHz high voltage oscillator. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 851 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Apparatus for measuring rapidly varying electric fields in plasmas

C. W. Mendel, Jr.
A system is described which can measure plasma electric fields on nanosecond time and submillimeter distance scales. The measurement is made by observing the time dependent deflection of a 10 A beam of 22 keV He ions. The measurement does not perturb the plasma. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 847 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

High-power, ultrasonic fatigue testing machine

J. K. Tien, S. Purushothaman, R. M. Arons, J. P. Wallace, O. Buck et al.
A machine capable of fatigue testing high strength alloys at an ultrasonic frequency (20 kHz), and a range of temperatures likely to be encountered by such materials in aerospace and power generation applications and in basic research, is described. The machine is assembled entirely from commerciall ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 840 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Measuring the moment of inertia of irregular cross sections

R. Bruce Martin
A stereologic method for measuring any moment of an irregular plane section is described. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 838 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Laser Doppler velocimeter signal processing using sampling spectrum analysis

R. L. Simpson and P. W. Barr
A new technique for processing laser Doppler velocimeter signals by sampling spectrum analysis is presented. A swept-filter spectrum analyzer and pulse-shaping and sample-and-hold circuits are employed. Sampling turbulence frequencies up to 4 kHz. In contrast to most tracking techniques, high dropou ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 835 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Synchronized rapid scanning vacuum uv spectrometer

C. Weiser
By the introduction of a rotating mirror near the exit slit of a Rowland circle mounting, we have designed a rapid scanning spectrometer capable of being synchronized with a short duration source of radiation. The wavelength range 11502000 A is covered in 345 A increments by setting the entrance arm ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 830 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

System for reflection electron microscopy and electron diffraction at intermediate energies

J. M. Cowley, J. L. Albain, G. G. Hembree, P. E. Hojlund-Nielsen, F. A. Koch et al.
A system employing medium energy electrons (115 keV) for scanning microscopy and diffraction intensity measurements has been constructed. The specimen is situated in an UHV environment and can be cleaned by argon ion sputtering and heated up to 1000 degrees C. The resolution is currently about 300 ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 826 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

Pressure-scanning mm-wave dispersion spectrometer

H. J. Liebe
A differential refraction spectrometer for measuring the absolute intensity distribution of microwave spectra in gases by means of dispersion pressure profiles is described. The instrument was applied to study the 60 GHz band spectrum of oxygen under simulated atmospheric conditions (1010 Torr, 2523 ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 817 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

CO[sub 2] oscillator--pulse shaper--amplifier system producing 0.1 J in a 500 psec laser pulse

Hoi-Sing Kwok and Eli Yablonovitch
The output of an optical free induction decay pulse generator was amplified up to the 0.1 J level. A pulse width of 500 psec was resolved on a Tektronix 519 oscilloscope using a pyroelectric detector. This agreed well with a linear computer model of the system response. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 814 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.

CO[sub 2] oscillator--pulse shaper--amplifier system producing 0.1 J in a 500 psec laser pulse

Hoi-Sing Kwok and Eli Yablonovitch
The output of an optical free induction decay pulse generator was amplified up to the 0.1 J level. A pulse width of 500 psec was resolved on a Tektronix 519 oscilloscope using a pyroelectric detector. This agreed well with a linear computer model of the system response. ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46, 814 (2008)] published Wed Sep 3, 2008.