Clustering study in Eu(DBM)_3Phen-doped polymer optical fibers by optical properties and near-field scanning microscopy

The clusters of Eu^3＋ ion in Eu（DBM）3Phen-doped polymethyl methacrylate （PMMA） have been studied by three means. The relative fluorescence intensity ratio of the ^5D0 → ^7F2 to ^5D0 → ^7F1 transitions with different concentrations of Eu^3＋ in Eu（DBM）3Phen-doped PMMA and metastable-state （^5D0） lifetime dependence on Eu^3＋ concentration axe analyzed. The analysis indicates that there axe no clustering effects in Eu^3＋ ions of Eu（DBM）3Phen-doped PMMA when the Eu^3＋ doping concentration is up to 1.0 wt.-%. At the same time, the clustering effect has not been observed by the scanning neax-field optical microscopy （SNOM） in Eu（DBM）3Phen-doped PMMA with 1.0 wt.-% of Eu^3＋ ions. The analysis reveals that a high concentration of Eu^3＋ can be incorporated into polymer optical fiber （POF） without clustering effect.

Design of three-dimensional imaging lidar optical system for large field of view scanning

Three-dimensional(3D)lidar has been widely used in various fields.The MEMS scanning system is one of its most important components,while the limitation of scanning angle is the main obstacle to improve the demerit for its application in various fields.In this paper,a folded large field of view scanning optical system is proposed.The structure and parameters of the system are determined by theoretical derivation of ray tracing.The optical design software Zemax is used to design the system.After optimization,the final structure performs well in collimation and beam expansion.The results show that the scan angle can be expanded from±5°to±26.5°,and finally the parallel light scanning is realized.The spot diagram at a distance of 100 mm from the exit surface shows that the maximum radius of the spot is 0.506 mm with a uniformly distributed spot.The maximum radius of the spot at 100 m is 19 cm,and the diffusion angle is less than 2 mrad.The energy concentration in the spot range is greater than 90%with a high system energy concentration,and the parallelism is good.This design overcomes the shortcoming of the small mechanical scanning angle of the MEMS lidar,and has good performance in collimation and beam expansion.It provides a design method for large-scale application of MEMS lidar.

Acoustical properties of a 3D printed honeycomb structure filled with nanofillers:Experimental analysis and optimization for emerging applications

The novelty of this research lies in the successful fabrication of a 3D-printed honeycomb structure filled with nanofillers for acoustic properties,utilizing an impedance tube setup in accordance with ASTM standard E 1050-12.The Creality Ender-3,a 3D printer,was used for printing the honeycomb structures,and polylactic acid(PLA)material was employed for their construction.The organic,inorganic,and polymeric compounds within the composites were identified using fourier transformation infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy.The structure and homogeneity of the samples were examined using a field emission scanning electron microscope(FESEM).To determine the sound absorption coefficient of the 3D printed honeycomb structure,numerous samples were systematically developed using central composite design(CCD)and analysed using response surface methodology(RSM).The RSM mathematical model was established to predict the optimum values of each factor and noise reduction coefficient(NRC).The optimum values for an NRC of 0.377 were found to be 1.116 wt% carbon black,1.025 wt% aluminium powder,and 3.151 mm distance between parallel edges.Overall,the results demonstrate that a 3Dprinted honeycomb structure filled with nanofillers is an excellent material that can be utilized in various fields,including defence and aviation,where lightweight and acoustic properties are of great importance.

Dilute long period stacking/order(LPSO)-variant phases along the composition gradient in a Mg-Ho-Cu alloy

We have systematically investigated the microstructures of as-cast Mg_(97.49)Ho_(1.99)Cu_(0.43)Zr_(0.09)alloy by atomic resolution high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy(HAADF-STEM), revealing the coexistence of 18R, 14H and 24R long period stacking/order(LPSO) phases with fully coherent interfaces along step-like composition gradient in a blocky intermetallic compound distributed at grain boundary. The short-range order(SRO) L1_(2)-type Cu_(6)Ho_(8)clusters embedded across AB’C’A-stacking fault layers are directly revealed at atomic scale. Importantly, the order degree of SRO clusters in the present dilute alloy is significant lower than previous 6M and 7M in-plane order reported in ternary Mg-TM(transition metal)-RE(rare earth) alloys, which can be well matched by 9M in-plane order. This directly demonstrates that SRO in-plane L1_(2)-type clusters can be expanded into more dilute composition regions bounded along the definite TM/RE ratio of 3/4. In addition, the estimated chemical compositions of solute enriched stacking fault(SESF) in all LPSO variants are almost identical with the ideal SESF composition of 9M in-plane order, regardless of the type of LPSO phases. The results further support the viewpoint that robust L1_(2)-type TM_(6)RE_(8)clusters play an important role in governing LPSO phase formation.

Laser synthesis and functionalization of nanostructures

This article summarizes work at the Laser Thermal Laboratory and discusses related studies on the laser synthesis and functionalization of semiconductor nanostructures and two-dimensional(2D)semiconductor materials.Research has been carried out on the laser-induced crystallization of thin films and nanostructures.The in situ transmission electron microscopy(TEM)monitoring of the crystallization of amorphous precursors in nanodomains is discussed herein.The directed assembly of silicon nanoparticles and the modulation of their optical properties by phase switching is presented.The vapor-liquid-solid mechanism has been adopted as a bottom-up approach in the synthesis of semiconducting nanowires(NWs).In contrast to furnace heating methods,laser irradiation offers high spatial selectivity and precise control of the heating mechanism in the time domain.These attributes enabled the investigation of NW nucleation and the early stage of nanostructure growth.Site-and shape-selective,on-demand direct integration of oriented NWs was accomplished.Growth of discrete silicon NWs with nanoscale location selectivity by employing near-field laser illumination is also reported herein.Tuning the properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDCs)by modulating the free carrier type,density,and composition can offer an exciting new pathway to various practical nanoscale electronics.In situ Raman probing of laser-induced processing of TMDC flakes was conducted in a TEM instrument.

The influence of four dual-cure resin cements and surface treatment selection to bond strength of fiber post

In this study, we evaluate the influence of post surface pre-treatments on the bond strength of four different cements to glass fiber posts. Eighty extracted human maxillary central incisors and canines were endodontically treated and standardized post spaces were prepared. Four post pre-treatments were tested： （i） no pre-treatment （NS, control）, （ii） sandblasting （SA）, （iii） silanization （SI） and （iv） sandblasting followed by silanization （SS）. Per pre-treatment, four dual-cure resin cements were used for luting posts： DMG LUXACORE Smartmix Dual, Multilink Automix, RelyX Unicem and Panavia F2.0. All the specimens were subjected to micro push-out test. Two-way analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc tests were performed （α=0.05） to analyze the data. Bond strength was significantly affected by the type of resin cement, and bond strengths of RelyX Unicem and Panavia F2.0 to the fiber posts were significantly higher than the other cement groups. Sandblasting significantly increased the bond strength of DMG group to the fiber posts.

Characterization of microstructural features of Tamusu mudstone

Tamusu mudstone formation, located in the Alxa area in western Inner Mongolia, is considered a potential host formation for high-level radioactive waste(HLW) underground disposal in China. In this study, complementary analyses with X-ray diffraction(XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP), and N_(2) physisorption isotherm were conducted on the Tamusu mudstone to characterize its physical characteristics and microstructural features, such as mineral compositions and pore structure. Several minerals, including carbonates, feldspar, clays and analcime, were identified in Tamusu mudstone by XRD. Images from FE-SEM show that pores in the Tamusu mudstone were dominantly on nanometer scale and generally located within their mineral matrix or at the interface with non-porous minerals. The combination of the MIP and N_2 physisorption curves indicated that the Tamusu mudstone has diverse pore sizes, a porosity varying from 2.34% to 2.84%, and a total pore volume in the range of 0.0065—0.0222 cm^(3)/g with the average pore diameter ranging from 9.6 nm to 19.23 nm. The specific surface area measured by MIP(2.572—5.861 m^(2)/g) was generally higher than that by N_(2) physisorption(1.29—3.04 m^(2)/g), due to the pore network effect, pore shape(e.g. ink-bottle shape), or technique limits. The results related to pore information can be applied as an input in the future to model single-or multi-phase fluid flow and the transport of radionuclides in porous geomedium by migration and diffusion.

Mechanical properties of Al/a-C nanocomposite thin films synthesized using a plasma focus device

The Al/a-C nanocomposite thin films are synthesized on Si substrates using a dense plasma focus device with alu- minum fitted anode and operating with CH4/Ar admixture. X-ray diffractometer results confirm the formation of metallic crystalline Al phases using different numbers of focus shots. Raman analyses show the formation of D and G peaks for all thin film samples, confirming the presence of a-C in the nanocomposite thin films. The formation of Al/a-C nanocomposite thin films is further confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The scanning electron microscope results show that the deposited thin films consist of nanoparticles and their agglomerates. The sizes of th agglomerates increase with increasing numbers of focus deposition shots. The nanoindentation results show the variations in hardness and elastic modulus values of nanocomposite thin film with increasing the number of focus shots. Maximum values of hardness and elastic modulus of the composite thin film prepared using 20 focus shots are found to be about 10.7 GPa and 189.2 GPa, respectively.

Structural and mechanical properties of Al–C–N films deposited at room temperature by plasma focus device

The Al–C–N films are deposited on Si substrates by using a dense plasma focus（DPF） device with aluminum fitted central electrode（anode） and by operating the device with CH_4/N_2 gas admixture ratio of 1：1. XRD results verify the crystalline Al N（111） and Al_3CON（110） phase formation of the films deposited using multiple shots. The elemental compositions as well as chemical states of the deposited Al–C–N films are studied using XPS analysis, which affirm Al–N, C–C, and C–N bonding. The FESEM analysis reveals that the deposited films are composed of nanoparticles and nanoparticle agglomerates. The size of the agglomerates increases at a higher number of focus deposition shots for multiple shot depositions. Nanoindentation results reveal the variation in mechanical properties（nanohardness and elastic modulus）of Al–C–N films deposited with multiple shots. The highest values of nanohardness and elastic modulus are found to be about 11 and 185 GPa, respectively, for the film deposited with 30 focus deposition shots. The mechanical properties of the films deposited using multiple shots are related to the Al content and C–N bonding.

Comparison of rare earths doping(neodymium and samarium) on structural and magnetic properties of Ni-Zn-Bi nanoferrites

Excellent magnetic properties in ferrites are required for high-frequency applications and for wastewater treatment. Thus, the present study shows the comparison of magnetic and structural properties of Nd and Sm substituted Ni-Zn-Bi ferrites with the series Ni_(0.5)Zn_(0.5)Bi_(0.04)Nd_(x)Fe_(1.96-x)O_4(with step size 0.002)and Ni_(0.5)Zn_(0.5)Bi_(0.04)Sm_(x)Fe_(1.96-x)O_4(with step size 0.02) prepared using citrate precursor method. The impact of the substitution of rare earth ions(Nd and Sm) on magnetic properties of the synthesized samples is observed using a vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM). The saturation magnetization values enhance considerably from 52 to 58 emu/g for Nd^(3+)ions and 39 to 57 emu/g for Sm^(3+) ions, thus, making these materials magnetically hard. Further, the higher value of coercivity is also observed ranging from133 to 167 Oe for Nd^(3+)ions and 81 to 155 Oe for Sm^(3+) ions. The shape of hysteresis loops indicates a super paramagnetic and ferromagnetic behavior in the obtained samples. The squareness ratio value is<0.5, suggesting the uniaxial anisotropy of particles and hence, these ferrites are suitable for microwaveabsorbing and in permanent magnetic materials. The X-ray diffraction(XRD) pattern shows the formation of pure cubic crystallites, where, lattice parameters range from 0.840 to 0.839 nm and from 0.838to 0.839 nm for Nd^(3+)and Sm^(3+) ions substitution, respectively. The crystallite size ranges between 28.63to 29.89 nm and 18.33 to 26.23 nm, for substitution of Nd^(3+)and Sm^(3+) ions, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM) shows the formation of homogeneous grains, whereas, energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS) counts describe the purity of the samples. The Sm concentration x = 0.10has the maximum surface area with value of 42.6 m^(2)/g which proves to be having good data storage application due to high surface area. The zero-field cooled(ZFC) and field cooled(FC) data show that Nddoped Ni-Zn-Bi nanoferrites show superparamagnetic behaviour in the room temperature range which makes them suitable for practical applications.

Influence of ash composition on the sintering behavior during pressurized combustion and gasification process

To determine the ash characteristics during fluidized bed combustion and gasification purposes, the investigation of the impacts of chemical composition of Jincheng coal ash on the sintering temperature was conducted. A series of experiments on the sintering behavior at 0.5 MPa was performed using the pressurized pressure-drop technique in the combustion and gasification atmospheres. Meanwhile, the mineral transformations of sintered ash pellets were observed using X-ray diffractometer （XRD） analyzer to better understand the experimental results. In addition, quantitative XRD and field emission scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer （FE-SEM/EDS） analyses of ash samples were used for clarifying the detailed ash melting mechanism. These results show that the addition of Fe203 can obviously reduce the sintering temperatures under gasification atmospheres, and only affect a little the sintering temperature under combustion atmosphere. This may be due to the presence of iron-bearing minerals, which will react with other ash compositions to produce low-melting-point eutectics. The FE-SEM/EDS analyses of ash samples with Fe203 additive show consistent results with the XRD measurements. The CaO and Na20 can reduce the sintering temperatures under both the combustion and gasification atmospheres. This can be also contributed to the formation of low-melting-point eutectics, decreasing the sintering temperature. Moreover, the fluxing minerals, such as magnetite, anhydrite, muscovite, albite and nepheline, contribute mostly to the reduction of the sintering temperature while the feldspar minerals, such as anorthite, gehlenite and sanidine, can react with other minerals to produce low-melting-point eutectics, and thereby reduce the sintering temperatures.

Large electrocaloric effect in BaTiO_3 based multilayer ceramic capacitors

The electrocaloric effect(ECE) of multilayer ceramic capacitor(MLCC) of Y5 V type was directly measured via a differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) method and a reference resistor was used to calibrate the heat flow due to the heat dissipation. The results are compared with those calculated from Maxwell relations by using the polarization data obtained from the polarization–electric field hysteresis loops. The direct method shows a larger ECE temperature change, which is accounted for the situation approaches an ideal condition. For the indirect method using Maxwell relations, only the polarization projection along the electric field was taken into account, which will be less than the randomly distributed real polarizations that contribute to the ECE. The MLCCs exhibit a broad peak of ECE around 80 C, which will be favorite for the practical ECE cooling devices.

Abrupt change of dielectric properties in mullite due to titanium and strontium incorporation by sol-gel method

Highly crystallized mullite has been achieved at temperatures of 1100℃and 1400℃by sol-gel technique in presence of titanium and strontium ions of different concentrations:G_(0)=0 M,G_(1)=0.002 M,G_(2)=0.01 M,G_(3)=0.02 M,G_(4)=0.1 M,G_(5)=0.2 M and G6=0.5 M.X-ray diffraction(XRD),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM),LCR meter characterized the samples.Mullite formation was found to depend on the concentration of the ions.The dielectric properties(dielectric constant,loss tangent and AC conductivity)of the composites have been measured,and their variation with increasing frequency and concentration of the doped metals was investigated.All the experiments were performed at room temperature.The composites showed maximum dielectric constants of 24.42 and 37.6 at 1400℃of 0.01 M concentration for titanium and strontium ions at 2 MHz,respectively.Due to the perfect nature of the doped mullite,it can be used for the fabrication of high charge storing capacitors and also as ceramic capacitors in the pico range.