Magnetic triangular bubble lattices in bismuth-doped yttrium iron garnet

Magnetic bubbles have again become a subject of significant attention following the experimental observation of topologically nontrivial magnetic skyrmions. In recent work, tailoring the shape of the bubbles is considered a key factor for their dynamics in spintronic devices. In addition to the reported circular, elliptical, and square bubbles, here we observe triangular bubble domains in bismuth-doped yttrium iron garnet(Bi-YIG) using Kerr microscopy. The bubble domains evolve from discrete circular to latticed triangular and hexagonal shapes. Further, the orientation of the triangular bubbles in the hexagonal lattices can be flipped by decreasing the magnetic field. The sixfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy of Bi-YIG(111) crystal, which is presumably the mechanism underlying the triangular shape of the bubbles, is measured as1179 erg/cm~3. The study of the morphologies of topologically trivial bubbles in YIG offers insight into nontrivial spin textures, which is appealing for future spintronic applications.

Wavefront evolution of the signal beam in Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplifier

We studied the evolution of wavefront aberration(WFA) of a signal beam during amplification in a Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplification(CPA) system. The results verified that the WFA of the amplified laser beam has little relation with the change of the pump beam energies. Transverse parasitic lasing that might occur in CPA hardly affects the wavefront of the signal beam. Thermal effects were also considered in this study, and the results show that the thermal effect cumulated in multiple amplification processes also has no obvious influence on the wavefront of the signal beam for a single-shot frequency. The results presented in this paper confirmed experimentally that the amplification in a Ti:sapphire CPA system has little impact on the WFA of the signal beam and it is very helpful for wavefront correction of single-shot PW and multi-PW laser systems based on Ti:sapphire.

Responsivity and noise characteristics of AlGaN/GaN-HEMTterahertz detectors at elevated temperatures

The responsivity and the noise of a detector determine the sensitivity. Thermal energy usually affects both the responsivity and the noise spectral density. In this work, the noise characteristics and responsivity of an antenna-coupled AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility-transistor(HEMT) terahertz detector are evaluated at temperatures elevated from 300 K to 473 K. Noise spectrum measurement and a simultaneous measurement of the source–drain conductance and the terahertz photocurrent allow for detailed analysis of the electrical characteristics, the photoresponse, and the noise behavior. The responsivity is reduced from 59 mA/W to 11 mA/W by increasing the detector temperature from 300 K to 473 K. However,the noise spectral density maintains rather constantly around 1–2 pA/Hz^(1/2) at temperatures below 448 K, above which the noise spectrum abruptly shifts from Johnson-noise type into flicker-noise type and the noise density is increased up to one order of magnitude. The noise-equivalent power(NEP) is increased from 22 pW/Hz^(1/2) at 300 K to 60 pW/Hz^(1/2) at 448 K mainly due to the reduction in mobility. Above 448 K, the NEP is increased up to 1000 pW/Hz^(1/2) due to the strongly enhanced noise. The sensitivity can be recovered by cooling the detector back to room temperature.

Trends in ultrashort and ultrahigh power laser pulses based on optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

Since the proof-of-principle demonstration of optical parametric amplification to efficiently amplify chirped laser pulses in 1992, optical parametric chirped pulse amplification（OPCPA） became the most promising method for the amplification of broadband optical pulses. In the meantime, we are witnessing an exciting progress in the development of powerful and ultrashort pulse laser systems that employ chirped pulse parametric amplifiers. The output power and pulse duration of these systems have ranged from a few gigawatts to hundreds of terawatts with a potential of tens of petawatts power level. Meanwhile, the output pulse duration based on optical parametric amplification has entered the range of fewoptical-cycle field. In this paper, we overview the basic principles, trends in development, and current state of the ultrashort and laser systems based on OPCPA, respectively.

THE MECHANISM OF ELECTROREDUCTION OF NEODYMIUM IN MOLTEN CHLORIDES

The cathodic reduction of neodymium ion has been studied using voltammetry and chronopotentiometry methods in KCl-NaCl-NdCl_3 melt saturated by metallic neodymium.The electrode reaction of cathodic re- duction of Nd ion has been found to be Nd^2++2e→Nd in this molten salt system,and the reaction is a rever- sible and diffusion-controlled process.The electrochemical reduction potential of Nd is about-3.2V(versus chlorine reference electrode).

Tribological study of N-containing borate derivatives and their synergistic antioxidation effects with T531

Two N-containing borates, BTES and BMES, were synthesized with dodecyl phenol, 2-(N-containing heterocyclic) ethan-1-ol, boric acid, and dibutylamine, and their tribological properties in rapeseed oil(RSO) were investigated using a four-ball tester. The results showed that the load-carrying ability(P_B value) of RSO can be improved by 40.9% and 67.9%, respectively, when using 0.5 wt% BTES and BMES. Moreover, the antiwear and friction-reducing performances of the additive-containing oils increased with the additive concentration. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results of the worn steel ball surfaces showed that BTES and BMES formed protective films, which contained boron oxide, iron oxide, ferrous sulfate, ferrous sulfide(for BMES), and other organic nitrogen compounds, on the metal surfaces. The better load-carrying and antiwear performances of BMES than those of BTES might be due to their different sulfur contents, which result in different tribochemical reaction films on the contact surfaces. The oxidation stability tests showed that BTES and BMES possessed synergistic antioxidation activity with N-phenyl-α-naphthylamine(T531), and consequently, the oxidation activation energy of the oil sample increased by 77.85% and 82.19%, respectively, compared with that of RSO when the oil sample contained 0.05 wt% BTES/BMES and 0.25% T531.