Ultrasonic pulse echo technique was used to study cupric oxide (CuO) thin films. CuO thin films were prepared using sol gel technique. They were doped with Lithium (Li) (1%, 2% and 4%).
Thin films’ thickness (d) and band gap energy (Eg) were measured. In addition, elastic moduli (longitudinal (L), shear (G), bulk (K) and Young’s (E)) and Poisson’s ratio (v) were determined to estimate the microstructure properties of the prepared films.
The study ameliorated the used transducers to overcome their dead zone and beam scattering; wedges were developed. The results showed the effectiveness of these wedges. They enhanced transducers’ sensitivity by changing the dead zone, beam diameter, beam directivity and waves’ transmission.
Also, the study noted that Li doping caused the improvement of CuO thin films to be more useful in solar cell fabrication. Li-CuO thin films had narrower band gap. Thus, they acquired a high quantum yield for the excited carriers; also they gained more efficiency to absorb solar light.
The paper deals with spectral and lasing characteristics of
thulium-doped optical fibers fabricated by means of two doping
techniques,
i.e. via a conventional solution-doping method and via
a nanoparticle-doping method. The difference in fabrication was the
application of a suspension of aluminum oxide nanoparticles of defined
size instead of a conventional chloride-containing solution. Samples of
thulium-doped silica fibers having nearly identical chemical composition
and waveguiding properties were fabricated. The sample fabricated by
means of the nanoparticle-doping method exhibited longer lifetime,
reflecting other observations and the trend already observed with the
fibers doped with erbium and aluminum nanoparticles. The fiber
fabricated by means of the nanoparticle-doping method exhibited a lower
lasing threshold (by ~20%) and higher slope efficiency (by ~5% rel.).
All these observed differences are not extensive and deserve more
in-depth research; they may imply a positive influence of the
nanoparticle approach on properties of rare-earth-doped fibers for fiber
lasers.
The results of activity studies of four catalysts in methanol synthesis have been presented. A standard industrial catalyst TMC-3/1 was compared with two methanol catalysts promoted by the addition of magnesium and one promoted by zirconium. The kinetic analysis of the experimental results shows that the Cu/Zn/Al/Mg/1 catalyst was the least active. Although TMC-3/1 and Cu/Zn/Al/Mg/2 catalysts were characterised by a higher activity, the most active catalyst system was Cu/Zn/Al/Zr. The activity calculated for zirconium doped catalyst under operating conditions was approximately 30% higher that of TMC-3/1catalyst. The experimental data were used to identify the rate equations of two types - one purely empirical power rate equation and the other one - the Vanden Bussche & Froment kinetic model of methanol synthesis. The Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst modified with zirconium has the highest application potential in methanol synthesis.
In this work studies ofM OVPE growth of InAlGaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures are presented. The HRXRD and SIMS measurements indicate the high structural and optical properties as well as high uniformity oft hickness and composition ofI nAlGaAs quantum wells. This work is the .rst step towards elaboration oft he technology oft he strained InAlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures for advanced optoelectronic devices working in the visible part oft he spectrum. The investigations ofSi (n-type), Zn (p-type) .-doped GaAs epilayers and centre Si-.-doped InxGa1-xAs single quantum well (SQW) are presented. The .-doping layer was formed by SiH4 or DEZn introduction during the growth interruption. The electrical and optical properties oft he obtained structures were examined using C-V measurement, EC-V electrochemical pro.ler, Raman spectroscopy (RS), photore.ectance (PR) and photocurrent (PC) spectroscopies. Technology oft hick GaN layers grown on sapphire by HVPE is very promising as a part off reestanding GaN substrates manufacturing. Further works will be focused on the optimisation of growth, separating layers from substrates and surface polishing. The in.uence oft he growth parameters on the properties of( Ga, Al)N/Al2O3 and Mg dopant incorporation was studied.
Introduction: The history of using performance-enhancing substances (PES) is long and it goes back to ancient times. At present, PES are employed at all levels of sport competition, starting from Olympic level contestants to individuals recreationally involved in various sports disciplines.
Purpose: The objective of the study was examining the views on doping in sports in a group of physicians, together with evaluating the frequency of their contacts with this phenomenon, in their professional activities.
Methods: The investigation was carried out using a validated questionnaire developed by the authors. Questionnaire included 34 questions divided into 6 sections. In total, 257 individuals participated in the study. The percentage of answers was 75.81%.
Results: Among the responders, 96.50% believed that using PES by sports competitors represented unethical behavior. 42% participants declared that they met doping problem during their professional career. Almost one-third of the physicians (28.79%) declared that during their work, they consulted patient suffering from adverse side eff ects resulting from using PES.
Conclusions: In Poland, physicians regard using PES as unethical behavior. They believe that a health care system professional should participate in counteracting doping in sports. Physicians — regardless of their specialty — are also exposed to PES-related problems in their professional work. In view of the above facts and the consistently increasing popularity of PES, extending the knowledge in this field among physicians seems to be of importance to allow for their offering better medical services to their patients.
Analysis is performed of the contemporary views on the effect of ion etching (ion-beam milling and reactive ion etching) on physical properties of HgCdTe and on the mechanisms of the processes responsible for modification of these properties under the etching. Possibilities are discussed that ion etching opens for defect studies in HgCdTe, including detecting electrically neutral tellurium nanocomplexes, determining background donor concentration in the material of various origins, and understanding the mechanism of arsenic incorporation in molecular-beam epitaxy-grown films.
The aims of this study were to enhance electronic, photophysical and optical properties of molecular semiconductors. For this purpose, the isomers of the B-doped molecule (5,5′-Dibromo-2,2′-bithiophene) have been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) based on B3LYP/6-311++G** level of theory. The isomers were first calculated using kick algorithm. The most stable isomers of the B-doped molecule are presented depending on the binding energy, fragmentation energy, ionization potential, electron affinity, chemical hardness, refractive index, radial distribution function and HOMO-LUMO energy gap based on DFT. Ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) spectra have been also researched by time-dependent (TD) DFT calculations. The value of a band gap for isomer with the lowest total energy decreases from 4.20 to 3.47 eV while the maximum peaks of the absorbance and emission increase from 292 to 324 nm and 392 to 440 nm with boron doped into 5,5′-Dibromo-2,2′-bithiophene. Obtained results reveal that the B-doped molecule has more desirable optoelectronic properties than the pure molecule.
Studies of background donor concentration (BDC) in HgCdTe samples grown with different types of technology were performed with the use of ion milling as a means of eliminating the compensating acceptors. In bulk crystals, films grown with liquid phase epitaxy and films fabricated with molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si substrates, BDC of the order of ~1014 cm-3 was revealed. Films grown with metal−organic chemical vapour deposition and with MBE on GaAs substrates showed BDC of the order of ~1015 cm-3. A possibility of assessing the BDC in acceptor (arsenic)−doped HgCdTe was demon− strated. In general, the studies showed the effectiveness of ion milling as a method of reducing electrical compensation in n−type MCT and as an excellent tool for assisting evaluation of BDC.
We demonstrated two methods of increasing the bandwidth of a broadband light source based on amplified spontaneous emission in thulium-doped fibres. Firstly, we have shown by means of a comprehensive numerical model that the full-width at half maximum of the thulium-doped fibre based broadband source can be more than doubled by using specially tailored spectral filter placed in front of the mirror in a double-pass configuration of the amplified spontaneous emission source. The broadening can be achieved with only a small expense of the output power. Secondly, we report results of the experimental thulium-doped fibre broadband source, including fibre characteristics and performance of the thulium-doped fibre in a ring laser setup. The spectrum broadening was achieved by balancing the backward amplified spontaneous emission with back-reflected forward emission.
The work three ceramic compositions based on PbZr0.49Ti0.51O3 doped with manganese (Mn), antimony (Sb), lanthanum (La) and tungsten (W) were obtained. The introduction of a set of admixtures was aimed at improving the sinterability of ceramic materials and optimizing its electrophysical parameters. Multi-component materials of the PZT-type with a general formula: Pb(Zr0.49Ti0.51)0.94Mn0.021Sb0.016LayWzO3 (where y from 0.008 to 0.012 and z from 0.012 to 0.014) were prepared by the conventional mixed oxide method. After mixing and drying the powder mixtures were calcined in air at 850°C for 4 h, while densification of the powders was carried out by the free sintering method at 1150°C for 2 h. The final steps of technology were grinding, polishing, annealing and putting silver paste electrodes onto both surfaces of the samples for electrical testing.
XRD, SEM, EDS, dielectric, ferroelectric, piezoelectric properties and DC electrical conductivity of the obtained ceramic compositions were carried out. X-ray tests of the crystal structure conducted at room temperature have shown that all obtained the PZT-type materials were a single phase (perovskite type) without the presence of a foreign phase. Symmetry of the crystal lattice was identified as space group P4mm. Temperature dielectric studies have shown high values of dielectric permittivity and low dielectric loss. The presented physical properties of ceramic samples based on PZT confirm their predisposition for application in modern microelectronic and micromechatronic applications.
The paper presents the technology and basic properties of three compositions of lead-free ceramics: (i) (K0.44Na0.52Li0.04)NbO3, (ii) (K0.44Na0.52Li0.04)NbO3+0.5%mol Nd2O3 and (iii) (K0.44Na0.52Li0.04)NbO3+0.5%mol Pr2O3. Powders of the designed compositions based on KNLN were obtained with the classic ceramic technology, as a result of solid phase synthesis, from a mixture of simple oxides and carbonates. The synthesis of ceramic powders was carried out at Ts = 900°C for ts = 4 h, while compaction by free sintering at Tsint = 1100°C for tsint = 2 h.
XRD studies have shown that doping with praseodymium and neodymium promotes the formation of the tetragonal phase in the base composition (K0.44Na0.52Li0.04)NbO3 at lower temperatures. On the other hand, microstructural tests have shown that the admixture of neodymium and praseodymium improves the sinterability of ceramic samples during the technological process; however, the ceramic samples still exhibit high porosity.
A simple and robust method to generate a dual-wavelength mode-locked laser using a tunable Mach-Zehnder filter (TMZF) and a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) based saturable absorber (SA) is proposed and demonstrated. The proposed laser uses a thulium-doped fiber for lasing in the two-micron region and exploits the interferometric spectrum of the TMZF to produce dual peaks with nearly equal magnitude. SWCNT based SA enables mode-locking at a threshold value of 150.4 mW with distinct dual-wavelength peaks at 1919.2 nm and 1963.7 nm. The peaks have a calculated pulse width of 1.8 ps and 1.6 ps, respectively with a repetition rate of 9.1 MHz with a relatively high optical-signal-to-noise ratio value of 59.1 dB. The output is also observed to remain unchanged over time, indicating high stability. The proposed laser has a promising application, particularly in ultrafast gas molecular spectroscopy and sensing.
Transparent Al doped ZnO nanocrystalline films with a crystallite size less than 19 nm are obtained by spray pyrolysis. Band gap increases monotonically from 3.16 to 3.31 eV with increasing aluminum dopant up to 1.56 at.% facilitating increasing width of a transmission window in addition to the band gap tuning of 4.74% which compares favorably well with literature. UV emission with continuously increasing intensity is obtained which reflects on the good crystalline quality of the films. Also the defect emissions are suppressed remarkably as the dopant Al concentration increases in ZnO. The band gap tuning by quite small increment in dopant amount makes the present films, much attractive for the fabrication of light emitting devices with a much sought-for benefit of large area fabrication. FESEM shows the surface is granular with grain size lying in the range of 20–35 nm and EDX confirms the presence of Al in the doped samples.
In this paper our results of investigation on a pump power combiner in a configuration of 7×1 are presented. The performed combiner, with pump power of 80–85% transmission level, was successfully applied in a thulium doped fibre laser. The performed all-fibre laser setup reached a total CW output power of 6.42 W, achieving the efficiency on a 32.1% level
Photoactive nanofilled nematic is proposed. Stable three-component photoresponsive nanocomposite was prepared from photo-insensitive nanofilled nematic by inclusion of 3 wt.% azobenzene-containing photoactive mesogen 4-(4′-ethoxyphenylazo)phenyl hexanoate (EPH). The host nanofilled nematic was produced from the room-temperature nematic liquid crystal 4-n-heptyl cyanobiphenyl (7CB) and 3 wt.% filler of Aerosil 300 hydrophilic silica nanospheres of size 7 nm. Apparent effect of stimulation with a relatively weak continuous illumination by UV light (375 nm wavelength) takes place for both the alternating-current electric field-dependent optical transmittance and the electro-optic amplitude-frequency modulation by thin films (25 µm thick) of the EPH/aerosil/7CB nanocomposite. The light-stimulated electro-optics of EPH-doped aerosil/7CB films and the corresponding reversible light control are achieved through trans-cis-trans photoisomerization of the photoactive agent EPH. As such, the initial electro-optical response of the studied photoactive nanocomposites is recovered with continuous blue-light illumination. The examined EPH/aerosil/7CB nanocomposites exhibit photo-controllable electro-optical response that is of practical interest.
In the paper the analysis of up-conversion (UC) luminescence in 0.5Yb2O3/(0.25-1)Eu2O3 (mol.%) co-doped germanate glass and optical fibre has been investigated. Up-conversion emission of bands at 591, 616, 652, 701 nm to which correspond Eu3+: 5D0 → 7F1, 5D0 → 7F2, 5D0 → 7F3, 5D0 → 7F4 transitions, respectively was obtained as a result of cooperative energy transfer between Yb3+ and Eu3+ ions. The highest up-conversion emission (Yb3+ → Eu3+ energy transfer efficiency η = 24%) was obtained in 0.5Yb2O3/0.75Eu2O3 co-doped glass. Comparison of up-conversion and down-conversion luminescence spectra of bulk glass, glass fibre and different length double-clad optical fibre (up to 5 m) showed subtle differences in shape of the spectrum. In comparison to down – conversion emission (λexc = 405 nm) main UC luminescence band is red-shifted by 2 nm and is characterized by 5 nm greater full – width half – maximum (FWHM).