Effects of Mg substitution on the structural and magnetic properties of Co0.5Ni（0.5-x）MgxFe2O4 nanoparticle ferrites

In this study, nanocrystalline Co-Ni-Mg ferrite powders with composition Coo.5Nio.5-xMgxFe2O4 are successfully synthesized by the co-precipitation method. A systematic investigation on the structural, morphological and magnetic properties of un-doped and Mg-doped Co-Ni ferrite nanoparticles is carried out. The prepared samples are characterized using x-ray diffraction （XRD） analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, field emission scanning electron microscopy （FESEM）, and vibrating sample magnetometry （VSM）. The XRD analyses of the synthesized samples confirm the formation of single-phase cubic spinel structures with crystallite sizes in a range of - 32 nm to - 36 nm. The lat- tice constant increases with increasing Mg content. FESEM images show that the synthesized samples are homogeneous with a uniformly distributed grain. The results of IR spectroscopy analysis indicate the formation of functional groups of spinel ferrite in the co-precipitation process. By increasing Mg2- substitution, room temperature magnetic measurement shows that maximum magnetization and coercivity increase from - 57.35 emu/g to - 61.49 emu/g and - 603.26 Oe to 684.11 Oe （l Oe = 79.5775 A.m-l）, respectively. The higher values of magnetization Ms and Mr suggest that the opti- mum composition is Co0.5Ni0.4Mg0.1Fe204 that can be applied to high-density recording media and microwave devices.

Effects of annealing temperature on shape transformation and optical properties of germanium quantum dots

The influences of thermal annealing on the structural and optical features of radio frequency（rf） magnetron sputtered self-assembled Ge quantum dots（QDs） on Si（100） are investigated.Preferentially oriented structures of Ge along the（220） and（111） directions together with peak shift and reduced strain（4.9%to 2.7%） due to post-annealing at 650 ℃ are discerned from x-ray differaction（XRD） measurement.Atomic force microscopy（AFM） images for both pre-annealed and post-annealed（650 ℃） samples reveal pyramidal-shaped QDs（density - 0.26×10^11 cm^-2） and dome-shape morphologies with relatively high density - 0.92×10^11 cm^-2,respectively.This shape transformation is attributed to the mechanism of inter-diffusion of Si in Ge interfacial intermixing and strain non-uniformity.The annealing temperature assisted QDs structural evolution is explained using the theory of nucleation and growth kinetics where free energy minimization plays a pivotal role.The observed red-shift - 0.05 eV in addition to the narrowing of the photoluminescence peaks results from thermal annealing,and is related to the effect of quantum confinement.Furthermore,the appearance of a blue-violet emission peak is ascribed to the recombination of the localized electrons in the Ge-QDs/SiO2 or GeOx and holes in the ground state of Ge dots.Raman spectra of both samples exhibit an intense Ge-Ge optical phonon mode which shifts towards higher frequency compared with those of the bulk counterpart.An experimental Raman profile is fitted to the models of phonon confinement and size distribution combined with phonon confinement to estimate the mean dot sizes.A correlation between thermal annealing and modifications of the structural and optical behavior of Ge QDs is established.Tunable growth of Ge QDs with superior properties suitable for optoelectronic applications is demonstrated.

Germanium nanoislands grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering: Annealing time dependent surface morphology and photoluminescence

Structural and optical properties of ～ 20 nm Ge nanoislands grown on Si（100） by radio frequency （rI） magnetron sputtering under varying annealing conditions are reported. Rapid thermal annealing at a temperature of 600 ℃ for 30 s, 90 s, and 120 s are performed to examine the influence of annealing time on the surface morphology and photoluminescence properties. X-ray diffraction spectra reveal prominent Ge and GeO2 peaks highly sensitive to the annealing time. Atomic force microscope micrographs of the as-grown sample show pyramidal nanoislands with relatively high-density （～ 10^11 cm^-2）. The nanoislands become dome-shaped upon annealing through a coarsening process mediated by Oswald ripening. The room temperature photoluminescence peaks for both as-grown （～ 3.29 eV） and annealed （～ 3.19 eV） samples consist of high intensity and broad emission, attributed to the effect of quantum confinement. The red shift （～ 0.10 eV） of the emission peak is attributed to the change in the size of the Ge nanoislands caused by annealing. Our easy fabrication method may contribute to the development of Ge nanostructure-based optoelectronics.

Efficient Visible Photoluminescence from Self-Assembled Ge QDs Embedded in Silica Matrix

Measuring the growth parameters of Ge quantum dots （QDs） embedded in SiO2/Si hetero-structure is pre- requisite for developing the optoelectronic devices such as photovoltaics and sensors. Their optical properties can be tuned by tailoring the growth morphology and structures, where the growth parameters＇ optimizations still need to be explored. We determine the effect of annealing temperature on surface morphology, structures and optical properties of Ge//SiO2//Si hetero-structure. Samples are grown via rf magnetron sputtering and subsequent characterizations are made using imaging and spectroscopic techniques.

Growth of Ge/Si(100) Nanostructures by Radio-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering: the Role of Annealing Temperature

Surface morphologies of Ge islands deposited on Si(100) substrates are characterized and their optical properties determined.Samples are prepared by rf magnetron sputtering in a high-vacuum chamber and are annealed at 600℃,700℃ and 800℃ for 2 min at nitrogen ambient pressure.Atomic force microscopy,field emission scanning electron microscopy,visible photoluminescence (PL) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy are employed.The results for the annealing temperature-dependent sample morphology and the optical properties are presented.The density,size and roughness are found to be strongly influenced by the annealing temperature.A red shift of ~0.29 eV in the PL peak is observed with increasing annealing temperature.

Structural and Optical Behavior of Germanium Quantum Dots

Controlled growth,synthesis,and characterization of a high density and large-scale Ge nanostructure by an easy fabrication method are key issues for optoelectronic devices.Ge quantum dots(QDs)having a density of~1011 cm^(-2) and a size as small as~8 nm are grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on Si(100)substrates under different heat treatments.The annealing temperature dependent structural and optical properties are measured using AFM,XRD,FESEM,EDX,photoluminescence(PL)and Raman spectroscopy.The effect of annealing is found to coarsen the Ge QDs from pyramidal to dome-shaped structures as they grow larger and transform the nanoislands into relatively stable and steady state configurations.Consequently,the annealing allows the intermixing of Si into the Ge QDs and thereby reduces the strain energy that enhances the formation of larger nanoislands.The room temperature PL spectra exhibits two strong peaks at~2.87 eV and~3.21 eV attributed to the interaction between Ge,GeO_(x) and the possibility of the presence of QDs core-shell structure.No reports so far exist on the red shift~0.05 eV of the strongest PL peak that results from the effect of quantum confinement.Furthermore,the Raman spectra for the pre-annealed QDs that consist of three peaks at around~305.25 cm^(-1),409.19 cm^(-1) and 515.25 cm^(-1) are attributed to Ge-Ge,Ge-Si,and Si-Si vibration modes,respectively.The Ge-Ge optical phonon frequency shift(~3.27 cm^(-1))associated with the annealed samples is assigned to the variation of shape,size distribution,and Ge composition in different QDs.The variation in the annealing dependent surface roughness and the number density is found to be in the range of~0.83 to~2.24 nm and~4.41 to~2.14×10^(11)cm^(-2),respectively.

Spectral features and antibacterial properties of Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared by sol-gel method

Zn（1-x）Cux O（x=0.00, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05） nanoparticles are synthesized via the sol-gel technique using gelatin and nitrate precursors. The impact of copper concentration on the structural, optical, and antibacterial properties of these nanoparticles is demonstrated. Powder x-ray diffraction investigations have illustrated the organized Cu doping into ZnO nanoparticles up to Cu concentration of 5%（x = 0.05）. However, the peak corresponding to CuO for x= 0.01 is not distinguishable. The images of field emission scanning electron microscopy demonstrate the existence of a nearly spherical shape with a size in the range of 30–52 nm. Doping Cu creates the Cu–O–Zn on the surface and results in a decrease in the crystallite size. Photoluminescence and absorption spectra display that doping Cu causes an increment in the energy band gap. The antibacterial activities of the nanoparticles are examined against Escherichia coli（Gram negative bacteria）cultures using optical density at 600 nm and a comparison of the size of inhibition zone diameter. It is found that both pure and doped ZnO nanoparticles indicate appropriate antibacterial activity which rises with Cu doping.

Antibacterial properties of copper-substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles synthesized by co-precipitation method

Controlled growth and careful characterization of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles for antibacterial applica- tions are challenging. Copper-substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles （CuxCo1-xFe2O4）, where x = 0.0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0, were synthesized using an economical and simple co-precipitation technique. The crys- tal structure and antibacterial properties of the samples as a function of Cu-substituted content were systematically studied. With increasing Cu concentration, the nanopartide size decreased from ~30 to ~20 nm. The Fourier transform infra-red spectra exhibit two prominent fundamental absorption bands, at ~595 and 419 cm^-1. These bands correspond to intrinsic stretching vibrations of metals at tetrahedral and octahedral sites, respectively. The Raman scattering results reveal that increasing the Cu content enhances the local disorder at both tetrahedral and octahedral sub lattices. The results indicate that the substitution of Co with Cu in cobalt ferrite nanoparticles strongly influences the microstructure, crystal structure, and oarticle diameter, and also improves the antibacterial properties.

Optical behavior of self-assembled high-density Ge nanoislands embedded in SiO_2

The radio frequency magnetron sputtering method is used to prepare well-dispersed pyramidal-shaped Ge nanoislands embedded in amorphous SiO2 sublayers of various thicknesses. The estimated size and number density of Ge nanoislands in SiO2 sublayer thicknesses beyond 30 nm are approximately 15 nm and 1011 cm-2, respectively. Atomic force microscopy （AFM） reveals root mean square （RMS） roughness sensitivity as the SiO2 sublayer thickness varies from 30 to 40 nm. The formation of nanoislands with high aspect ratios is attributed to the higher rate of surface reactions between Ge adatoms and nucleated Ge islands than reactions associated with SiO2 and Ge. The Ge nanoisland polyorientation on SiO2 （50-nm thickness） is revealed by X-ray diffraction （XRD） patterns. Photoluminescence （PL） peaks of 2.9 and 1.65 eV observed at room temperature （RT） are attributed to the radiative recombination of electrons and holes from the Ge nanoislands/SiO2 and Si02/Si interfaces, respectively. The mean island sizes are determined by fitting the experimental Raman profile to two models, namely, the phonon confinement model and the size distribution combined with phonon confinement model. The latter model yields the best fit to the experimental data. We confirm that SiO2 matrix thickness variations play a significant role in the formation of Ge nanoislands mediated via the minimization of interfacial and strain energies. OCIS codes： 250.5230, 170.5660.

Intensity modulated silver coated glass optical fiber refractive index sensor

Miniature optical fiber sensors with thin films as sensitive elements could open new fields for optical fiber sensor applications. Thin films work as sensitive elements and a transducer to get response and feedback from environments, in which optical fibers act as a signal carrier. A novel Ag coated intensity modulated optical fiber sensor based on refractive index changes using IR and UV-Vis （UV-visible） light sources is proposed. The sensor with an IR light source has higher sensitivity compared to a UV-Vis source. When the refractive index is en- hanced to 1.38, the normalized intensity of IR and UV-Vis light diminishes to 0.2 and 0.8. respectively.