A monolithic distributed phase shifter based on right-handed nonlinear transmission lines at 30 GHz

The epitaxial material, device structure, and corresponding equivalent large signal circuit model of GaAs planar Schottky varactor diode are successfully developed to design and fabricate a monolithic phase shifter, which is based on right-handed nonlinear transmission lines and consists of a coplanar waveguide transmission line and periodically distributed GaAs planar Schottky varactor diode. The distributed-Schottky transmission-line-type phase shifter at a bias voltage greater than 1.5 V presents a continuous 0°–360° differential phase shift over a frequency range from 0 to 33 GHz. It is demonstrated that the minimum insertion loss is about 0.5 dB and that the return loss is less than-10 dB over the frequency band of 0–33 GHz at a reverse bias voltage less than 4.5 V. These excellent characteristics, such as broad differential phase shift, low insertion loss, and return loss, indicate that the proposed phase shifter can entirely be integrated into a phased array radar circuit.

A resistance formula for coherent multi-barrier structures

Using the Landauer formula and the quantum S-matrix scattering theory, we derive a resistance formula for multi-barrier structure under phase coherent transmission condition. This formula shows that when the transport is coherent, the potential wells of the structure are just like conductors contributing to the overall resistance. And because the resistance formula is derived based on the scattering theory, the barrier resistance will change with the number of scattering centres （i.e. the number of barriers） in the structure.

Temperature independent 80 Gb/s transmission system using spectral phase modulation-based TDC

A temperature independent 80-Gb/s 100-km transmission system is demonstrated with the use of spectral phase modulation-based tunable dispersion compensator （TDC）. The principle of dispersion compensation based on spectral phase modulation as well as the relationship between spectral phase modulation function and group velocity dispersion （GVD） are theoretically studied. TDC based on spectral phase modulation is implemented. The performance of 80-Gb/s transmission system is experimentally evaluated. The non- linear relationship between temperature and temperature-induced dispersion fluctuations is demonstrated through the asymmetric temperature-induced power penalty without dispersion compensation. With respect to the low temperature area, the temperature-induced dispersion fluctuations are smaller than those in the high temperature area. By using the proposed TDC, temperature independent 80-Gb/s transmission is successfully demonstrated under a temperature range of -20 60 ℃ with a power penalty of less than 0.8 dB.

Nanoscale materials transformations revealed by liquid phase TEM

Nanoscale materials often undergo structural,morphological,or chemical changes,especially in solution processes,where heterogeneity and defects may significantly impact the transformation pathways.Liquid phase transmission electron microscopy(TEM),allowing us to track dynamic transformations of individual nanoparticles,has become a powerful platform to reveal nanoscale materials transformation pathways and address challenging issues that are hard to approach by other methods.With the development of modern liquid cells,implementing advanced imaging and image analysis methods,and strategically exploring diverse systems,significant advances have been made in liquid phase TEM,including improved high-resolution imaging through liquids at the atomic level and remarkable capabilities in handling complex systems and reactions.In the past more than a decade,we spent much effort in developing and applying liquid phase TEM to elucidate how atomic level heterogeneity and defects impact various physicochemical processes in liquids,such as growth,self-assembly of nanoparticles,etching/corrosion,electrodeposition of alkali metals,catalyst restructuring during reactions,and so on.This article provides a brief review of the liquid phase TEM study of nanoscale materials transformations,focusing on the growth of nanomaterials with distinct shape/hierarchical structures,such as one-dimensional(1D)growth by nanoparticle attachment,two-dimensional(2D)growth with nanoparticles as intermediates,core-shell structure ripening,solid-liquid interfaces including those in batteries and electrocatalysis,highlighting the impacts of heterogeneity and defects on broad nanoscale transformation pathways.

Precipitate Phases in an 11% Cr Ferritic/Martensitic Steel with Tempering and Creep Conditions

Precipitates in an 11% Cr ferritic/martensitic steel containing Nd with tempering and creep conditions were investigated using transmission electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The precipitates in the steel with a tempering condition were identified to be Cr-rich M23C6 carbide, Nb-rich/V-rich/Ta–Nb-rich MX carbides, Nbrich MX carbonitride, and Fe-rich M5C2 carbide. Nd-rich carbonitride, which is not known to have been reported previously in steels, was also detected in the steel after tempering. Most of the Nb-rich MX precipitates were dissolved, whereas the amount of Ta-rich MX precipitates was increased significantly in the steel after a creep test at 600 °C at an applied stress of180 MPa for 1,100 h. No Fe2 W Laves phase has been detected in the steel after tempering.（Fe, Cr）2W Laves phase with a relatively large size was observed in the steel after the creep test.

Microstructure and secondary phases in epitaxial LaBaCo_2O_(5.5 + δ) thin films

Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy was employed to investigate the microstructures and secondary phases in LaBaCo2O5.5＋δ（LBCO） thin films grown on SrTiO3 （STO） substrates. The as-grown films showed an epitaxial growth on the substrates with atomically sharp interfaces and orientation relationships of [100]LBCO//[100]STO and （001）LBCO//（001）STO. Secondary phases were observed in the films, which strongly depended on the sample fabrication conditions. In the film prepared at a temperature of 900 ℃, nano-scale CoO pillars nucleated on the substrate, and grew along the [001] direction of the film. In the film grown at a temperature of 1000 ℃, isolated nano-scale C0304 particles appeared, which promoted the growth of {111 } twinning structures in the film. The orientation relationships and the interfaces between the secondary phases and the films were illustrated, and the growth mechanism of the film was discussed.

Influence of tribofilm on superlubricity of highly-hydrogenated amorphous carbon films in inert gaseous environments

In this study,we mainly focus on the structural morphology and inter-atomic bonding state of tribofilms resulting from a highly-hydrogenated amorphous carbon(a-C:H) film in order to ascertain the underlying mechanisms for its superlubric behavior(i.e.,less than 0.01 friction coefficient).Specifically,we achieved superlubricity(i.e.,friction coefficients of down to 0.003) with this film in dry nitrogen and argon atmospheres especially when the tribo-pair is made of an a-C:H coated Si disk sliding against an a-C:H coated steel ball,while the a-C:H coated disk against uncoated ball does not provide superlubricity.We also found that the state of superlubricity is more stable in argon than in nitrogen and the formation of a smooth and uniformly-thick carbonaceous tribofilm appears to be one of the key factors for the realization of such superlubricity.Besides,the interfacial morphology of sliding test pairs and the atomic-scale bond structure of the carbon-based tribofilms also play an important role in the observed superlubric behavior of a-C:H films.Using Raman spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy,we have compared the structural differences of the tribofilms produced on bare and a-C:H coated steel balls.For the a-C:H coated ball as mating material which provided superlow friction in argon,structural morphology of the tribofilm was similar or comparable to that of the original a-C:H coating;while for the bare steel ball,the sp^2-bonded C fraction in the tribofilm increased and a fingerprint-like nanocrystalline structure was detected by high resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM).We also calculated the shear stresses for different tribofilms,and established a relationship between the magnitude of the shear stresses and the extent of sp^3-sp^2 phase transformation.

Stress-Induced Martensitic Transformation of Zr_(50)Cu_(25)Ni_(10)Co_(15) Nanocrystals Embedded in an Amorphous Matrix

The stress induced martensitic phase transformation of spherical ZrCu nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous matrix was studied in this paper. Microstructural observations revealed that the martensitic transformation of the nanocrystal was hindered by the surrounding amorphous coating. The existence of two-step transformation from the austenite phase（B2） to the base structure martensite（B19＇） and finally to the most stable superstructure martensite（Cm） was also demonstrated. The Cm martensite with（021） type I twinning symmetrically accommodation was surrounded by the B19＇ martensite with dislocation morphologies.