Recent Advances in New Band Rare-earth Doped Fiber Amplifiers

Broadband,high bit rate,long hauls and system intelligence are current trends in developing fiber optic communication systems.The ever-increasing traffic demands have made it urgent to develop new band optical fiber amplifier.Laser characteristics of various rare-earth ion including Er3+,Tm3+,Pr3+,Dy3+,Ho3+,and Nd3+ doped fiber are reviewed.Recent advances of rare-earth doped fiber amplifiers with wide-band and flat gain are also introduced.

Microscale Crystalline Rare-Earth Doped Resonators for Strain-Coupled Optomechanics

Rare-earth ion doped crystals for hybrid quantum technologies are an area of growing interest in the solid-state physics community. We have earlier theoretically proposed a hybrid scheme of a mechanical resonator which is fabricated out of a rare-earth doped mono-crystalline structure. The rare-earth ion dopants have absorption energies which are sensitive to crystal strain, and it is thus possible to couple the ions to the bending motion of the crystal cantilever. This type of resonator can be useful for either investigating the laws of quantum physics with material objects or for applications such as sensitive force-sensors. Here, we present the design and fabrication method based on focused-ion-beam etching techniques which we have successfully employed in order to create such microscale resonators, as well as the design of the environment which will allow studying the quantum behavior of the resonators.

Thermal and Structural Characterization of Transparent Rare-Earth Doped Lead Fluoride Glass-Ceramics

The devitrification of glasses with composition 50GeO2-40PbO-10PbF2-xREF3, RE = Gd, Eu, 0 3+: β-PbF2 nanocrystals embedded in a glassy oxide matrix. This transformation is investigated using thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. A comparison with RE3+: β-PbF2 ceramics prepared by standard ceramic techniques is performed. The Rare Earth cations show a strong nucleating effect for the precipitation of the RE3++: β-PbF2 nanocrystals. The evolution of the unit cell parameters of the REF3: β-PbF2 solid solution results from a combined effect of Pb2+-RE3+ substitution and interstitial F– introduction. In the glass ceramics, RE3+: β-PbF2 nanocrystals are constrained by the glassy matrix when they form with a pressure equivalent to 1.6 GPa. The constrained nanocrystals can return to a relaxed state by chemical dissolution of the embedding glassy matrix, followed by thermal treatments.

Optical Fiber Torsion Sensor with Mechanically Induced Long Period Fiber Gratings in Rare-Earth Doped Fibers

In this work wavelength sensitivity in mechanically induced long period fiber gratings (MLPFG) is analyzed. This analysis is first carried out both in standard single-mode fiber SMF-28 and in Er-doped fibers. The mechanical analysis for both types of fibers under different torsion conditions is presented. In order to apply the torsion one of the fiber ends is fixed while torsion is applied on the other end. A MLPFG whose period is 503 μm is used to press the fiber after torsion is applied. This allows for micro curvatures to be formed on the fiber, which in turn generates a periodical index perturbation on it. Here, it was noted that the sensitive wavelength shift of the rejection bands is bigger for Er-doped fibers. For a torsion of 6 turns applied to 10 cm of doped fiber the wavelength peaks can be moved up to 25 nm, which is longer to what was detected on standard fibers. Therefore, by using Er-doped fibers to monitor torsion on structures will give more sensitive and accurate results than using standard fibers. These results can be employed for sensing applications, especially for small to medium size structures, which can be mechanical, civil or aeronautics.

J-mixing Effect of the Crystal-field on the Spectroscopic Characteristics of Rare-earth Doped Laser Crystals

By using the re-derived formulae for both line-strength of electricdipole transition and simple J-mixing coefficients within the 4f shell in a rare-earthion, the spectroscopic properties of the luminescent material Eu3+ =Y2O3 and laser crystals Tb3+:=YAlO3 and Nd3+:YVO4, are investigated in detail. On the basis of three fitting Ω parameters and the effective reduced matrix elements, the spectral linestrengths, spontaneous emission probabilities, fluorescent branching ratios and lifetimeare calculated. The better agreement between theoretical results and experimental dataindicates the importance of J-mixing in the spectroscopic study of laser crystals.

Effect of cobalt on the magnetoresistance characteristics of rare-earth doped manganites

The effect of cobalt-doping on the magnetic,transport and magnetoresistance characteristics of La1-xSrxMnO3 was investigated.The results show that the magnetoelectric property of rare-earth doped manganites is greatly affected by substitution of Co for Mn sites.The Curie temperature as well as the magnetic moment decreases with the increase of doping concentration,and the samples exhibit obvious characteristics of the spin glass state.Moreover,the magnetoresistance is evidently modulated by doping concentration,and the relevant temperature dependence is also suppressed.In addition,low-temperature magnetoresistance is significantly promoted as doping concentration increases,which renders a value of approximately 50% in the temperature range of 5-200 K and varies within 12.5%.It can be attributed to the effect of spin scattering, induced by cobalt doping,on the itinerant electrons of Mn ions,thus introducing a spin-disorder region into the ferromagnetic region of double-exchange interaction between neighbouring Mn^3＋ and Mn^4＋ ions.

Progress on rare-earth doped ZnO-based varistor materials

Rare-earth(RE)doping can greatly enhance the voltage gradient of ZnO-based varistors,and their nonlinear coefficient,leakage current,energy absorption capability,through-current capability and residual voltage can also be improved to certain extent.In this review,the progress on RE-doped ZnO-based varistor materials in recent years was summarized.The mechanism of RE doping on the electrical performance of ZnO varistors was analyzed.The issues in exploring new ZnO-based varistor materials by RE doping were indicated,and the development trends in this area were proposed.

Mechanical behaviors of alumina ceramics doped with rare-earth oxides

The effects of three types of additives Y2O3, La2O3, and Sm2O3 on the sintering and mechanical behaviors of alumina ceramics were investigated. The bending strengths of alumina ceramics with Sm2O3 and Y2O3 additions were 455 and 439 MPa, respectively, higher than that with La2O3 addition. The fi＇acture toughness of the ceramics with Sm2O3 and Y2O3 were also higher than that with La2O3 addition. The fracture mode of rare earth oxides doped alumina ceramics exhibited obvious transgranular fractures as well as intergranular fracture. The results of research show that the improvement of bending strength and fracture toughness of alumina ceramics with rare earth oxides was achieved by refining the grain size and strengthening the grain boundary.

Co-doped BaFe_(2)As_(2) Josephson junction fabricated with a focused helium ion beam

Josephson junction plays a key role not only in studying the basic physics of unconventional iron-based superconductors but also in realizing practical application of thin-film based devices,therefore the preparation of high-quality iron pnictide Josephson junctions is of great importance.In this work,we have successfully fabricated Josephson junctions from Co-doped BaFe_(2)As_(2)thin films using a direct junction fabrication technique which utilizes high energy focused helium ion beam(FHIB).The electrical transport properties were investigated for junctions fabricated with various He^(+)irradiation doses.The junctions show sharp superconducting transition around 24 K with a narrow transition width of 2.5 K,and a dose correlated foot-structure resistance which corresponds to the effective tuning of junction properties by He^(+)irradiation.Significant J_c suppression by more than two orders of magnitude can be achieved by increasing the He^(+)irradiation dose,which is advantageous for the realization of low noise ion pnictide thin film devices.Clear Shapiro steps are observed under 10 GHz microwave irradiation.The above results demonstrate the successful fabrication of high quality and controllable Co-doped BaFe_(2)As_(2)Josephson junction with high reproducibility using the FHIB technique,laying the foundation for future investigating the mechanism of iron-based superconductors,and also the further implementation in various superconducting electronic devices.

Mechanism of Phase Transformation and Formation of Barium Hexafer rite Doped with Rare-Earths in Sol-Gel Process

The phase-transformation in sol-gel preparation of barium hexaferrite and the formation of barium hexaferrite doped with La 3+ were studied by chemical p hase analysis, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectrometry analysis. The expe rimental results show that phase transformation reactions of FeCO 3, Fe 2O 3 and BaFe 2O 4, barium hexaferrite and γ-Fe 2O 3 take place in the heat tr eatment of gel. While the doping lanthanide ion replace barium ion, an equivalen t quantity of Fe 3+ are reduced to Fe 2+ to maintain the charge equili brium.

Enhanced conductivity and weakened magnetism in Pb-doped Sr_(2)IrO_(4)

Group IV element Pb has been selected as the dopant to dope at the Sr site of Sr_(2)IrO_(4). It is exciting to find that the single-phase crystal structure could be maintained with a high Pb doping level of up to x=0.3 in Sr_(2-x)Pb_(x)IrO_(4). The mapping data obtained from energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analyses give solid evidence that the Pb ions are uniformly distributed in the Sr_(2)IrO_(4) matrix. The incorporation of Pb leads to a moderate depression of the canted antiferromagnetic ordering state. The electrical conductivity could be greatly enhanced when the Pb doping content is higher than x=0.2.The present results give a fresh material base to explore new physics in doped Sr_(2)IrO_(4) systems.

Hole-Doped Nonvolatile and Electrically Controllable Magnetism in van der Waals Ferroelectric Heterostructures

Electrical control of magnetism in van der Waals semiconductors is a promising step towards development of two-dimensional spintronic devices with ultralow power consumption for processing and storing information.Here, we propose a design for two-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures(vdWHs) that can host ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism simultaneously under hole doping. By contacting an In Se monolayer and forming an InSe/In_(2)Se_(3) vd WH, the switchable built-in electric field from the reversible out-of-plane polarization enables robust control of the band alignment. Furthermore, switching between the two ferroelectric states(P_↑ and P_↓)of hole-doped In_(2)Se_(3) with an external electric field can interchange the ON and OFF states of the nonvolatile magnetism. More interestingly, doping concentration and strain can effectively tune the magnetic moment and polarization energy. Therefore, this provides a platform for realizing multiferroics in ferroelectric heterostructures,showing great potential for use in nonvolatile memories and ferroelectric field-effect transistors.

A Simple Urea Approach to N-Dopedα-Mo_(2)C with Enhanced Superconductivity

Chemical doping is a critical factor in the development of new superconductors or optimizing the superconducting transition temperature(T_(c))of the parent superconducting materials.Here,a new simple urea approach is developed to synthesize the N-dopedα-Mo_(2)C.Benefiting from the simple urea method,a broad superconducting dome is found in the Mo_(2)C_(1−x)N_(x)(0≤x≤0.49)compositions.X-ray diffraction results show that the structure of𝛼α-Mo_(2)C remains unchanged and there is a variation of lattice parameters with nitrogen doping.Resistivity,magnetic susceptibility,and heat capacity measurement results confirm that T_(c)was strongly increased from 2.68K(x=0)to 7.05K(x=0.49).First-principles calculations and our analysis indicate that increasing nitrogen doping leads to a rise in the density of states at the Fermi level and doping-induced phonon softening,which enhances electron–phonon coupling.This results in an increase in𝑇T_(c)and a sharp rise in the upper critical field.Our findings provide a promising strategy for fabricating transition metal carbonitrides and provide a material platform for further study of the superconductivity of transition metal carbides.

Neutral and metallic vs.charged and semiconducting surface layer in acceptor doped CeO_(2)

The monomolecular surface layer of acceptor doped CeO_(2) may become neutral and metallic or charged and semiconducting.This is revealed in the theoretical analysis of the oxygen pressure dependence of the surface defects concentration in acceptor doped ceria with two different dopant types and operated under different oxygen pressures.Recently published experimental data for highly reduced Sm0.2Ce0.8O1.9-x(SDC)containing a fixed valence dopant Sm3+are very different from those published for Pr0.1Ce0.9O_(2)-x(PCO) with the variable valence dopant Pr4+/Pr3+being reduced under milder conditions.The theoretical analysis of these experimental results fits very well the experimental results of SDC and PCO.It leads to the following predictions:the highly reduced surface of SDC is metallic and neutral,the metallic surface electron density of state is gs=0.9×10^(38)J-1·m^(-2)(1.4×1015eV^(-1)·cm^(-2)),the electron effective mass is meff,s=3.3me,and the phase diagram of the reduced surface has theα(fcc)structure as in the bulk.In PCO a double layer is predicted to be formed between the surface and the bulk with the surface being negatively charged and semiconducting.The surface of PCO maintains high Pr^(3+) defect concentration as well as relative high oxygen vacancy concentration at oxygen pressures higher than in the bulk.The reasons for the difference between a metallic and semiconducting surface layer of acceptor doped CeO_(2) are reviewed,as well as the key theoretical considerations applied in coping with this problem.For that we make use of the experimental data and theoretical analysis available for acceptor doped ceria.

Thermodynamic equilibrium theory-guided design and synthesis of Mg-doped LiFe_(0.4)Mn_(0.6)PO_(4)/C cathode for lithium-ion batteries

Mn-rich LiFe_(1-x)Mn_(x)PO_(4)(x>0.5),which combines the high operation voltage of LiMnPO_(4)with excellent rate performa nce of LiFePO4,is hindered by its sluggish kinetic properties.Herein,thermodynamic equilibrium analysis of Mn^(2+)-Fe^(2+)-Mg^(2+)-C_(2)O_(4)^(2-)-H_(2)O system is used to guide the design and preparation of insitu Mg-doped(Fe_(0.4)Mn_(0.6))_(1-x)Mg_(x)C_(2)O_(4)intermediate,which is then employed as an innovative precursor to synthesize high-performance Mg-doped LiFe_(0.4)Mn_(0.6)PO_(4).It indicates that the metal ions with a high precipitation efficiency and the stoichiometric precursors with uniform element distribution can be achieved under the optimized thermodynamic conditions.Meanwhile,accelerated Li+diffusivity and reduced charge transfer resistance originating from Mg doping are verified by various kinetic characterizations.Benefiting from the contributions of inherited homogeneous element distribution,small particle size,uniform carbon layer coating,enhanced Li+migration ability and structural stability induced by Mg doping,the Li(Fe_(0.4)Mn_(0.6))_(0.97)Mg_(0.03)PO_(4)/C exhibits splendid electrochemical performance.

Density functional theory study of B- and Si-doped carbons and their adsorption interactions with sulfur compounds

Understanding the adsorption interactions between carbon materials and sulfur compounds has far-reaching impacts,in addition to their well-known important role in energy storage and conversion,such as lithium-ion batteries.In this paper,properties of intrinsic B or Si single-atom doped,and B-Si codoped graphene(GR)and graphdiyne(GDY)were investigated by using density functional theory-based calculations,in which the optimal doping configurations were explored for potential applications in adsorbing sulfur compounds.Results showed that both B or Si single-atom doping and B-Si codoping could substantially enhance the electron transport properties of GR and GDY,improving their surface activity.Notably,B and Si atoms displayed synergistic effects for the codoped configurations,where B-Si codoped GR/GDY exhibited much better performance in the adsorption of sulfurcontaining chemicals than single-atom doped systems.In addition,results demonstrated that,after B-Si codoping,the adsorption energy and charge transfer amounts of GDY with sulfur compounds were much larger than those of GR,indicating that B-Si codoped GDY might be a favorable material for more effectively interacting with sulfur reagents.

Cation-doped LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_(2) cathode with high rate performance

The nickel-rich layered cathode material LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_(2)(NCM811)has high energy density,lower cost and is a promising cathode material currently under development.However,its electrochemical and structural stability is poor during cycling.Among the many modification methods,cation doping has been consistently proven to be an effective strategy for enhancing electrochemical performance.Herein,the NCM811 cathode material was modified by solid-phase reactions with Mg and Al doped.In addition,the corresponding mechanism of NCM811 cathode material-doped modification is explored by density functional theory(DFT)calculations,and we have extended this approach to other ternary cathode materials with different ratios and obtained universal laws.Combined with DFT calculations,the results show that Mg2+occupies the Li+site and reduces the degree of Li^(+)/Ni^(2+) mixture;Al^(3+) acts as a structural support during charging and discharging to prevent structural collapse.The electrochemical properties were tested by an electrochemical workstation and the LAND system,and the results showed that the capacity retention rate increased to varying degrees from 63.66%to 69.87%and 89.05%for NCM811-Mg and NCM811-Al at room temperature after 300 cycles,respectively.This study provides a theoretical basis and design strategy for commercializing cationic-doped modification of nickel-rich cathode materials.

The relationship between the high-frequency performance of supercapacitors and the type of doped nitrogen in the carbon electrode

Nitrogen doping has been widely used to improve the performance of carbon electrodes in supercapacitors,particularly in terms of their high-frequency response.However,the charge storage and electrolyte ion response mechanisms of different nitrogen dopants at high frequencies are still unclear.In this study,melamine foam carbons with different configurations of surfacedoped N were formed by gradient carbonization,and the effects of the configurations on the high-frequency response behavior of the supercapacitors were analyzed.Using a combination of experiments and first-principle calculations,we found that pyrrolic N,characterized by a higher adsorption energy,increases the charge storage capacity of the electrode at high frequencies.On the other hand,graphitic N,with a lower adsorption energy,increases the speed of ion response.We propose the use of adsorption energy as a practical descriptor for electrode/electrolyte design in high-frequency applications,offering a more universal approach for improving the performance of N-doped carbon materials in supercapacitors.

Mg-doped,carbon-coated,and prelithiated SiO_(x) as anode materials with improved initial Coulombic efficiency for lithium-ion batteries

Silicon suboxide(SiO_(x),x≈1)is promising in serving as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries with high capacity,but it has a low initial Coulombic efficiency(ICE)due to the irreversible formation of lithium silicates during the first cycle.In this work,we modify SiO_(x) by solid-phase Mg doping reaction using low-cost Mg powder as a reducing agent.We show that Mg reduces SiO_(2) in SiO_(x) to Si and forms MgSiO_(3) or Mg_(2)SiO_(4).The MgSiO_(3) or Mg_(2)SiO_(4) are mainly distributed on the surface of SiO_(x),which suppresses the irreversible lithium-ion loss and enhances the ICE of SiO_(x).However,the formation of MgSiO_(3) or Mg_(2)SiO_(4) also sacrifices the capacity of SiO_(x).Therefore,by controlling the reaction process between Mg and SiO_(x),we can tune the phase composition,proportion,and morphology of the Mg-doped SiO_(x) and manipulate the performance.We obtain samples with a capacity of 1226 mAh g^(–1) and an ICE of 84.12%,which show significant improvement over carbon-coated SiO_(x) without Mg doping.By the synergistical modification of both Mg doping and prelithiation,the capacity of SiO_(x) is further increased to 1477 mAh g^(–1) with a minimal compromise in the ICE(83.77%).

Rational Design of Cost-Effective Metal-Doped ZrO_(2)for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The design of cost-effective electrocatalysts is an open challenging for oxygen evolution reaction(OER)due to the“stable-oractive”dilemma.Zirconium dioxide(ZrO_(2)),a versatile and low-cost material that can be stable under OER operating conditions,exhibits inherently poor OER activity from experimental observations.Herein,we doped a series of metal elements to regulate the ZrO_(2)catalytic activity in OER via spin-polarized density functional theory calculations with van der Waals interactions.Microkinetic modeling as a function of the OER activity descriptor(G_(O*)-G_(HO*))displays that 16 metal dopants enable to enhance OER activities over a thermodynamically stable ZrO_(2)surface,among which Fe and Rh(in the form of single-atom dopant)reach the volcano peak(i.e.the optimal activity of OER under the potential of interest),indicating excellent OER performance.Free energy diagram calculations,density of states,and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations further showed that Fe and Rh are the effective dopants for ZrO_(2),leading to low OER overpotential,high conductivity,and good stability.Considering cost-effectiveness,single-atom Fe doped ZrO_(2)emerged as the most promising catalyst for OER.This finding offers a valuable perspective and reference for experimental researchers to design cost-effective catalysts for the industrial-scale OER production.