Control of light-matter interactions in two-dimensional materials with nanoparticle-on-mirror structures

Light-matter interactions in two-dimensional(2D)materials have been the focus of research since the discovery of graphene.The light-matter interaction length in 2D materials is,however,much shorter than that in bulk materials owing to the atomic nature of 2D materials.Plasmonic nanostructures are usually integrated with 2D materials to enhance the light-matter interactions,offering great opportunities for both fundamental research and technological applications.Nanoparticle-on-mirror(NPoM)structures with extremely confined optical fields are highly desired in this aspect.In addition,2D materials provide a good platform for the study of plasmonic fields with subnanometer resolution and quantum plasmonics down to the characteristic length scale of a single atom.A focused and up-to-date review article is highly desired for a timely summary of the progress in this rapidly growing field and to encourage more research efforts in this direction.In this review,we will first introduce the basic concepts of plasmonic modes in NPoM structures.Interactions between plasmons and quasi-particles in 2D materials,e.g.,excitons and phonons,from weak to strong coupling and potential applications will then be described in detail.Related phenomena in subnanometer metallic gaps separated by 2D materials,such as quantum tunneling,will also be touched.We will finally discuss phenomena and physical processes that have not been understood clearly and provide an outlook for future research.We believe that the hybrid systems of 2D materials and NPoM structures will be a promising research field in the future.

Effect of strain on structure and electronic properties of monolayer C_(4)N_(4)

The first-principles calculations are performed to examine structural,mechanical,and electronic properties at large strain for a monolayer C_(4)N_(4),which has been predicted as an anchoring promising material to attenuate shuttle effect in Li–S batteries stemming from its large absorption energy and low diffusion energy barrier.Our results show that the ideal strengths of C_(4)N_(4)under tension and pure shear deformation conditions reach 13.9 GPa and 12.5 GPa when the strains are 0.07 and 0.28,respectively.The folded five-membered rings and diverse bonding modes between carbon and nitrogen atoms enhance the ability to resist plastic deformation of C_(4)N_(4).The orderly bond-rearranging behaviors under the weak tensile loading path along the[100]direction cause the impressive semiconductor–metal transition and inverse semiconductor–metal transition.The present results enrich the knowledge of the structure and electronic properties of C_(4)N_(4)under deformations and shed light on exploring other two-dimensional materials under diverse loading conditions.

Aseismic performances of constrained damping lining structures made of rubber-sand-concrete

Flexible damping technology considering aseismic materials and aseismic structures seems be a good solution for engineering structures.In this study,a constrained damping structure for underground tunnel lining,using a rubber-sand-concrete(RSC)as the aseismic material,is proposed.The aseismic performances of constrained damping structure were investigated by a series of hammer impact tests.The damping layer thickness and shape effects on the aseismic performance such as effective duration and acceleration amplitude of time-domain analysis,composite loss factor and damping ratio of the transfer function analysis,and total vibration level of octave spectrum analysis were discussed.The hammer impact tests revealed that the relationship between the aseismic performance and damping layer thickness was not linear,and that the hollow damping layer had a better aseismic performance than the flat damping layer one.The aseismic performances of constrained damping structure under different seismicity magnitudes and geological conditions were investigated.The effects of the peak ground acceleration(PGA)and tunnel overburden depth on the aseismic performances such as the maximum principal stress and equivalent plastic strain(PEEQ)were discussed.The numerical results show the constrained damping structure proposed in this paper has a good aseismic performance,with PGA in the range(0.2-1.2)g and tunnel overburden depth in the range of 0-300 m.

Selection and modification of ground motion records using Newmark-Hall spectrum as target spectrum for long-period structures

Input ground motions have significant impacts on the uncertainty of structural responses in time-history analysis.In this study,records were selected and scaled for the evaluation of mean structural responses according to the target spectrum.The Newmark-Hall spectrum is closely related to seismic response of short,medium and long-period structures,so it was taken as the target spectrum here.The nonlinear time-history analyses of 9-story and 20-story steel moment-resisting frame structures were carried out as examples.They represent medium and long-period buildings,respectively.Three target spectra with risk of 50%,10%and 2%probabilities for exceedance in 50 years were calculated by the average Newmark-Hall spectrum method for three ground motion sets developed in the SAC Steel Project.The predicted structural mean responses of these Newmark-Hall spectra were compared with those calculated by the average spectral acceleration method for the same record set.It is found that both methods have similar accuracy for estimating the structural mean response.However,the method proposed herein is more effective in reducing the variability of the structural responses.Also,the proposed method is more advantageous for the time-history analysis of long-period structures or structures with more severe nonlinear responses under strong seismic excitations.

Defected Ground Structure Multiple Input-Output Antenna For Wireless Applications

In this paper,the investigation of a novel compact 2×2,2×1,and 1×1 Ultra-Wide Band(UWB)based Multiple-Input Multiple-Output(MIMO)antenna with Defected Ground Structure(DGS)is employed.The proposed Electromagnetic Radiation Structures(ERS)is composed of multiple radiating elements.These MIMO antennas are designed and analyzed with and without DGS.The feeding is introduced by a microstrip-fed line to significantly moderate the radiating structure’s overall size,which is 60×40×1 mm.The high directivity and divergence characteristics are attained by introducing the microstripfed lines perpendicular to each other.And the projected MIMO antenna structures are compared with others by using parameters like Return Loss(RL),Voltage Standing Wave Ratio(VSWR),Radiation Pattern(RP),radiation efficiency,and directivity.The same MIMO set-up is redesigned with DGS,and the resultant parameters are compared.Finally,the Multiple Input and Multiple Output Radiating Structures with and without DGS are compared for result considerations like RL,VSWR,RP,radiation efficiency,and directivity.This projected antenna displays an omnidirectional RP with moderate gain,which is highly recommended for human healthcare applications.By introducing the defected ground structure in bottom layer the lower cut-off frequencies of 2.3,4.5 and 6.0 GHz are achieved with few biological effects on radio propagation in human body communications.The proposed design covers numerous well-known wireless standards,along with dual-function DGS slots,and it can be easily integrated into Wireless Body Area Networks(WBAN)in medical applications.This WBAN links the autonomous nodes that may be situated either in the clothes,on-body or beneath the skin of a person.This system typically advances the complete human body and the inter-connected nodes through a wireless communication channel.

Structured mirror array for two-dimensional collimation of a chromium beam in atom lithography

Direct-write atom lithography,one of the potential nanofabrication techniques,is restricted by some difficulties in producing optical masks for the deposition of complex structures.In order to make further progress,a structured mirror array is developed to transversely collimate the chromium atomic beam in two dimensions.The best collimation is obtained when the laser red detunes by natural line-width of transition 7S3 → 7P40 of the chromium atom.The collimation ratio is 0.45 vertically（in x axis）,and it is 0.55 horizontally（in y axis）.The theoretical model is also simulated,and success of our structured mirror array is achieved.

Band gaps structure and semi-Dirac point of two-dimensional function photonic crystals

Two-dimensional function photonic crystals, in which the dielectric constants of medium columns are the functions of space coordinates , are proposed and studied numerically. The band gaps structures of the photonic crystals for TE and TM waves are different from the two-dimensional conventional photonic crystals. Some absolute band gaps and semiDirac points are found. When the medium column radius and the function form of the dielectric constant are modulated, the numbers, width, and position of band gaps are changed, and the semi-Dirac point can either occur or disappear. Therefore,the special band gaps structures and semi-Dirac points can be achieved through the modulation on the two-dimensional function photonic crystals. The results will provide a new design method of optical devices based on the two-dimensional function photonic crystals.

TWO-DIMENSIONAL ALGEBRAIC SOLITARY WAVE AND ITS VERTICAL STRUCTURE IN STRATIFIED FLUID

The algebraic solitary wave and its associated eigenvalue problem in a deep stratified fluid with a free surface and a shallow upper layer were studied. And its vertical structure was examined. An exact solution for the derived 2D Benjamin-Ono equation was obtained, and physical explanation was given with the corresponding dispersion relation. As a special case, the vertical structure of the weakly nonlinear internal wave for the Holmboe density distribution was numerically investigated, and the propagating mechanism of the internal wave was studied by using the ray theory.

Influence of earthquake ground motion incoherency on multi-support structures

A linear response history analysis method is used to determine the influence of three factors:geometric incoherency,wave-passage,and local site characteristics on the response of lnulti-support structures subjected to differential ground motions.A one-span frame and a reduced model of a 24-span bridge,located in Las Vegas,Nevada are studied,in which the influence of each of the three factors and their combinations are analyzed.It is revealed that the incoherency of earthquake ground motion can have a dramatic influence on structural response by modifying the dynamics response to uniform excitation and inducing pseudo-static response,which does not exist in structures subjected to uniform excitation.The total response when all three sources of ground motion incoherency are included is generally larger than that of uniform excitation.

Topology Optimization of Compliant Mechanisms with Geometrical Nonlinearities Using the Ground Structure Approach

The majority of topology optimization of compliant mechanisms uses linear finite element models to find the structure responses.Because the displacements of compliant mechanisms are intrinsically large,the topological design can not provide quantitatively accurate result.Thus,topological design of these mechanisms considering geometrical nonlinearities is essential.A new methodology for geometrical nonlinear topology optimization of compliant mechanisms under displacement loading is presented.Frame elements are chosen to represent the design domain because they are capable of capturing the bending modes.Geometrically nonlinear structural response is obtained by using the co-rotational total Lagrange finite element formulation,and the equilibrium is solved by using the incremental scheme combined with Newton-Raphson iteration.The multi-objective function is developed by the minimum strain energy and maximum geometric advantage to design the mechanism which meets both stiffness and flexibility requirements, respectively.The adjoint method and the direct differentiation method are applied to obtain the sensitivities of the objective functions. The method of moving asymptotes（MMA） is employed as optimizer.The numerical example is simulated to show that the optimal mechanism based on geometrically nonlinear formulation not only has more flexibility and stiffness than that based on linear formulation,but also has better stress distribution than the one.It is necessary to design compliant mechanisms using geometrically nonlinear topology optimization.Compared with linear formulation,the formulation for geometrically nonlinear topology optimization of compliant mechanisms can give the compliant mechanism that has better mechanical performance.A new method is provided for topological design of large displacement compliant mechanisms.

Numerical Analyses of Bearing Capacity of Deep-Embedded Large-Diameter Cylindrical Structure on Soft Ground Against Lateral Loads

Presented in this paper is a three-dimensional plastic limit analysis method of bearing capacity of the deeply-embedded large-diameter cylindrical structure in the cross-anisotmpic soft ground. The most likely failure mechanism is assumed to be of a composite rupture surface which is composed of an individual wedge in the passive zone or two wedges in both active and passive zones near the mudline, depending on the separation or bonding state at the interface between the cylindrical structure and neighboring soils in the active wedge, and a truncated spherical slip surface at the base of the cylinder when the structure tends to overturn around a point located on the symmetry axis of the structure. The cylindrical structure and soil interaction system under consideration is also numerically analyzed by the finite element method by virtue of the general-purpose FEM software ABAQUS, in which the soil is assumed to obey tie Hill＇s criterion of yield. Both the failure mechanism assumed and the plastic limit analysis predictions are validated by numerical computations based on FEM. For the K0-consolidated ground of clays typically with anisotropic undrained strength property, it is indicated through a parametric study that limit analysis without consideration of anisotropy of soil overestimates the lateral ultimate bearing capacity of a deeply-embedded cylindrical structure in soft ground in a certain condition.

V-Shaped Monopole Antenna with Chichena Itzia Inspired Defected Ground Structure for UWB Applications

Due to rapid growth in wireless communication technology,higher bandwidth requirement for advance telecommunication systems,capable of operating on two or higher bands with higher channel capacities and minimum distortion losses is desired.In this paper,a compact Ultra-Wideband(UWB)V-shaped monopole antenna is presented.UWB response is achieved by modifying the ground plane with Chichen Itzia inspired rectangular staircase shape.The proposed V-shaped is designed by incorporating a rectangle,and an inverted isosceles triangle using FR4 substrate.The size of the antenna is 25 mm×26 mm×1.6 mm.The proposed V-shaped monopole antenna produces bandwidth response of 3 GHz Industrial,Scientific,and Medical(ISM),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX),(IEEE 802.11/HIPERLAN band,5G sub 6 GHz)which with an additional square cut amplified the bandwidth response up to 8 GHz ranging from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz attaining UWB defined by Federal Communications Commission(FCC)with a maximum gain of 3.83 dB.The antenna is designed in Ansys HFSS.Results for key performance parameters of the antenna are presented.The measured results are in good agreement with the simulated results.Due to flat gain,uniform group delay,omni directional radiation pattern characteristics and well-matched impedance,the proposed antenna is suitable for WiMAX,ISM and heterogeneous wireless systems.

Theoretical Study of Geometric Structures for Ground-state Al_nC(n=2-7) Clusters

With the aid of the molecular orbital DMol3 program,the energetics and electronic structures of several AlnC（n = 2-7） configurations have been searched and calculated by improved minimum energy paths（MEPs） by setting ＂imaging product＂.A new high symmetry,supervalence isomer of Al5C cluster,i.e.,D5h-Al5C,at the local minimum in the MEPs is detected.Several parameters,such as binding energy,HOMO-LUMO energy gap,vertical electron detachment energy and electron affinity energy,are calculated to characterize and evaluate the stability of three Al5C configurations,i.e.,D5h-Al5C,Cs-Al5C and C1-Al5C.The results show that the D5h-Al5C cluster is the ground state structure instead of Cs-Al5C.Due to the formation of many central σ bonds after polymerizing for D5h-Al5C,the decrease of the energy for HOMO orbit results in more territory for HOMO electrons of dislocation effect,then the energy difference between HOMO and LUMO is increasing to enhance the stability of molecules to produce such supervalence structure of Al5C cluster.The configuration evolution between D5h-Al5C,Cs-Al5C and C1-Al5C and the synthesis preference in the mode of Al5 ＋ C → Al5C reveals that the Cs-Al5C and C1-Al5C con-figurations are permissive to coexist with D5h-Al5C structure in energetics.

High-temperature ferromagnetism and strongπ-conjugation feature in two-dimensional manganese tetranitride

Two-dimensional(2D)magnetic materials have attracted tremendous research interest because of the promising application in the next-generation microelectronic devices.Here,by the first-principles calculations,we propose a twodimensional ferromagnetic material with high Curie temperature,manganese tetranitride MnN4monolayer,which is a square-planar lattice made up of only one layer of atoms.The structure is demonstrated to be stable by the phonon spectra and the molecular dynamic simulations,and the stability is ascribed to theπ–d conjugation betweenπorbital of N=N bond and d orbital of Mn.More interestingly,the MnN_(4)monolayer displays robust 2D ferromagnetism,which originates from the strong exchange couplings between Mn atoms due to theπ–d conjugation.The high critical temperature of 247 K is determined by solving the Heisenberg model using the Monte Carlo method.

Orthogonal expansion of ground motion and PDEM-based seismic response analysis of nonlinear structures

This paper introduces an orthogonal expansion method for general stochastic processes. In the method, a normalized orthogonal function of time variable t is first introduced to carry out the decomposition of a stochastic process and then a correlated matrix decomposition technique, which transforms a correlated random vector into a vector of standard uncorrelated random variables, is used to complete a double orthogonal decomposition of the stochastic processes. Considering the relationship between the Hartley transform and Fourier transform of a real-valued function, it is suggested that the first orthogonal expansion in the above process is carried out using the Hartley basis function instead of the trigonometric basis function in practical applications. The seismic ground motion is investigated using the above method. In order to capture the main probabilistic characteristics of the seismic ground motion, it is proposed to directly carry out the orthogonal expansion of the seismic displacements. The case study shows that the proposed method is feasible to represent the seismic ground motion with only a few random variables. In the second part of the paper, the probability density evolution method （PDEM） is employed to study the stochastic response of nonlinear structures subjected to earthquake excitations. In the PDEM, a completely uncoupled one-dimensional partial differential equation, the generalized density evolution equation, plays a central role in governing the stochastic seismic responses of the nonlinear structure. The solution to this equation will yield the instantaneous probability density function of the responses. Computational algorithms to solve the probability density evolution equation are described. An example, which deals with a nonlinear frame structure subjected to stochastic ground motions, is illustrated to validate the above approach.

Two-dimensional horizontal visibility graph analysis of human brain aging on gray matter

Characterizing the trajectory of the healthy aging brain and exploring age-related structural changes in the brain can help deepen our understanding of the mechanism of brain aging.Currently,most structural magnetic resonance imaging literature explores brain aging merely from the perspective of morphological features,which cannot fully utilize the grayscale values containing important intrinsic information about brain structure.In this study,we propose the construction of two-dimensional horizontal visibility graphs based on the pixel intensity values of the gray matter slices directly.Normalized network structure entropy(NNSE)is then introduced to quantify the overall heterogeneities of these graphs.The results demonstrate a decrease in the NNSEs of gray matter with age.Compared with the middle-aged and the elderly,the larger values of the NNSE in the younger group may indicate more homogeneous network structures,smaller differences in importance between nodes and thus a more powerful ability to tolerate intrusion.In addition,the hub nodes of different adult age groups are primarily located in the precuneus,cingulate gyrus,superior temporal gyrus,inferior temporal gyrus,parahippocampal gyrus,insula,precentral gyrus and postcentral gyrus.Our study can provide a new perspective for understanding and exploring the structural mechanism of brain aging.

Does variable stand structure associated with multi-cohort forests support diversity of ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) communities in the central Nearctic boreal forest？

Multi-cohort management （MCM） that retains a range of stand structures （age and size class） has been proposed to emulate natural disturbance and improve management in the Nearctic boreal forest. Although MCM forests contain both single- and multi-aged stands of mixed tree sizes, little is known about how variable stand structure affects associated fauna and biodiversity. Here, we examine the relationship between ground beetle （Coleoptera, Carabidae） communities and stand characteristics across a range of forest structure （=cohort classes）. Given that MCM classes are defined by the distribution of their tree-stem diameters, we ask whether parameters associated with these distributions （Weibull） could explain observed variation in carabid communities, and if so, how this compares to traditional habitat variables such as stand age, foliage complexity or volume of downed woody debris. We sampled carabids using weekly pitfall collections and compared these with structural habitat variables across a range of cohort classes （stand structure and age since disturbance） in 18 sites of upland mixed boreal forests from central Canada. Results showed that richness and diversity of carabid communities were similar among cohort classes. Weibull parameters from the diameter distribution of all stems were the strongest predictors of variation in carabid communities among sites, but vertical foliage complexity, understory thickness, and percentage of deciduous composition were also significant. The abundance of several carabid forest specialists was strongly correlated with tree canopy height, the presence of large trees, and high vertical foliage complexity. Our results demonstrate that variable forest structure, as expected under MCM, may be useful in retaining the natural range of ground beetle species across the central Nearctic boreal forest.

The effects of torsional ground motion on thin cylindric shell structures

The effects of torsional component of earthquake ground motion on thin cylindric shell structures were investigated qualitatively and quantitatively.The results show that the contributions of torsional component to structural response are related to the height,the radius-to-height ratio,and the stiffness of the structure.The structural response caused by torsional component can not be neglected for the containment structure of nuclear power plant and the industrial oil tank.

Electronic modulation of two-dimensional bismuth-based nanosheets for electrocatalytic CO_(2) reduction to formate: A review

Electrocatalytic CO_(2) reduction reaction(eCO_(2) RR)has significant relevance to settle the global energy crisis and abnormal climate problem via mitigating the excess emission of waste CO_(2) and producing high-value-added chemicals.Currently,eCO_(2) RR to formic acid or formate is one of the most technologically and economically viable approaches to realize high-efficiency CO_(2) utilization,and the development of efficient electrocatalysts is very urgent to achieve efficient and stable catalytic performance.In this review,the recent advances for two-dimensional bismuth-based nanosheets(2D Bi-based NSs)electrocatalysts are concluded from both theoretical and experimental perspectives.Firstly,the preparation strategies of 2D Bi-based NSs in aspects to precisely control the thickness and uniformity are summarized.In addition,the electronic regulation strategies of 2D Bi-based NSs are highlighted to gain insight into the effects of the structure-property relationship on facilitating CO_(2) activation,improving product selectivity,and optimizing carrier transport dynamics.Finally,the considerable challenges and opportunities of 2D Bi-based NSs are discussed to lighten new directions for future research of eCO_(2) RR.