Abstract: We present a model that describes the effect of elastic constraint on the thermodynamics of hydrogen absorption and desorption in biphasic core-shell nanoparticles, where the core is a hydride forming metal. In particular, the change of the hydride formation enthalpy and of the equilibrium pressure for the metal/hydride transformation are described as a function of nanoparticles radius, shell thickness, and elastic properties of both core and shell. To test the model, the hydrogen sorption isotherms of Mg-MgO core-shell nanoparticles, synthesized by inert gas condensation, were measured by means of optical hydrogenography. The model's predictions are in good agreement with the experimentally determined plateau pressure of hydrogen absorption. The features that a core-shell systems should exhibit in view of practical hydrogen storage applications are discussed with reference to the model and the experimental results. Copyright (C) 2013, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract: Complementary logic based on tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs) would drastically reduce power consumption thanks to the TFET's potential to obtain a sub-60 mV/dec subthreshold swing (SS). However, p-type TFETs typically do not meet the performance of n-TFETs for direct bandgap III-V configurations. The p-TFET SS stays well above 60 mV/dec, due to the low density of states in the conduction band. We therefore propose a source configuration in which a highly doped region is maintained only near the tunnel junction. In the remaining part of the source, the hot carriers in the exponential tail of the Fermi-Dirac distribution are blocked by reducing the doping degeneracy, either with a source section with a lower doping concentration or with a heterostructure. We apply this concept to n-p-i-p configurations consisting of In0.53Ga0.47As and an InP-InAs heterostructure. 15-band quantum mechanical simulations predict that the configurations with our source design can obtain sub-60 mV/dec SS, with an on-current comparable to the conventional source design. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Abstract: This paper reports on the incorporation of three commercial fluorescent dyes, i.e., rhodamine 6G, fluorescein, and fluorescent brightener 184, in plasma coatings, by utilizing a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor, and the subsequent monitoring of the coatings homogeneity based on the emitted fluorescent light. The plasma coatings are qualitatively characterized with fluorescence microscopy, UVvis spectroscopy and profilometry for the determination of the coating thickness. The emitted fluorescent light of the coating correlates to the amount of dye per area, and deviations of these factors can hence be observed by monitoring the intensity of this light. This allows monitoring the homogeneity of the plasma coatings in a fast and simple way, without making major adjustments to the process.

Abstract: Scheelite related compounds (A',A '')(n)[(B',B '')O-4](m) with B', B '' = W and/or Mo are promising new materials for red phosphors in pc-WLEDs (phosphor-converted white-light-emitting-diode) and solid-state lasers. Cation substitution in CaMoO4 of Ca2+ by the combination of Na+ and Eu3+, with the creation of A cation vacancies, has been investigated as a factor for controlling the scheelite-type structure and the luminescent properties. Na5Eu(MoO4)(4) and NaxEu(2-x)/33+square(2-x)/3MoO4 (0.138 <= x <= 0.5) phases with a scheelite-type structure were synthesized by the solid state method; their structural characteristics were investigated using transmission electron microscopy. Contrary to powder synchrotron X-ray diffraction before, the study by electron diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy in this paper revealed that Na0.286Eu0.571MoO4 has a (3 + 2)D incommensurately modulated structure and that (3 + 2)D incommensurately modulated domains are present in Na0.200Eu0.600MoO4. It also confirmed the (3 + 1)D incommensurately modulated character of Na(0.138)Eu(0.621)Mo04. The luminescent properties of all phases under near-ultraviolet (n-UV) light have been investigated. The excitation spectra of these phosphors show the strongest absorption at about 395 nm, which matches well with the commercially available n-UV-emitting GaN-based LED chip. The emission spectra indicate an intense red emission due to the D-5(0) -> F-7(2) transition of Eu3+, with local minima in the intensity at Na0.286Eu0.571MoO4 and Na0.200Eu0.600MoO4 for similar to 613 nm and similar to 616 nm bands. The phosphor Na5Eu(MoO4)(4) shows the brightest red light emission among the phosphors in the Na2MoO4-Eu2/3MoO4 system and the maximum luminescence intensity of Na5Eu(MoO4)(4) (lambda(ex) = 395 nm) in the D-5(0) -> F-7(2) transition region is close to that of the commercially used red phosphor YVO4:Eu3+ (lambda(ex) = 326 nm). Electron energy loss spectroscopy measurements revealed the influence of the structure and Na/Eu cation distribution on the number and positions of bands in the UV-optical-infrared regions of the EELS spectrum.

Abstract: We present a theoretical study on optical properties such as optical conductance and light transmission coefficient for mono- and multi-layer graphene systems with AB- and ABC-stacking. Considering an air/graphene/dielectric-water structure, the optical coefficients for those graphene systems are examined and compared. The universal optical conductance sigma(N)(0)=N pi e(2)/(2h) for N layer graphene systems in the visible region is verified. For N 3 layer graphene, the mini-gap induced absorption edges can be observed in odd layers AB-stacked multilayer graphene, where the number and position of the absorption edges are decided by the layers number N. Meanwhile, we can observe the optical absorption windows for those graphene systems in the infrared to terahertz bandwidth (0.2-150 THz). The absorption window is induced by different transition energies required for inter- and intra-band optical absorption channels. We find that the depth and width of the absorption window can be tuned not only via varying temperature and electron density but also by changing the number of graphene layers and the stacking order. These theoretical findings demonstrate that mono- and multi-layer graphene systems can be applied as frequency tunable optoelectronic devices working in infrared to terahertz bandwidth. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract: The influence of silicene's strong spin-orbit interaction and of an external electric field E-z on the transport coefficients are investigated in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field B. For finite E-z the spin and valley degeneracy of the Landau levels is lifted and leads to additional plateaus in the Hall conductivity, at half-integer values of 4e(2)/h, due to spin intra-Landau-level transitions that are absent in graphene. These plateaus are more sensitive to disorder and thermal broadening than the main plateaus, occurring at integral values of 4e(2)/h, when the Fermi level passes through the Landau levels. We also evaluate the Hall and longitudinal resistivities and critically contrast the results with those for graphene on a substrate.

Abstract: The interband optical absorption in Si/SiO2 quantum wells is calculated as function of the well width (W) and the evolution from an indirect to a direct gap material as function of the well width is investigated. In order to compute the electron states in the conduction band, the 30-band k . p model is employed, whereas the 6-band Luttinger-Kohn model is used for the hole states. We found that the effective direct band gap in the quantum well agrees very well with the W-2 scaling result of the single-band model. The interband matrix elements for linear polarized light oscillate with the quantum well width, which agrees qualitatively with a single band calculation. Our theoretical results indicate that the absorption can be maximized by a proper choice of the well width. However, the obtained absorption coefficients are at least an order of magnitude smaller than for a typical direct semiconductor even for a well width of 2 nm. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Abstract: Scanning electron microscopy, focused ion beam (FIB), and transmission electron microscopy are combined to study the intergrowth of 90 degrees rotational components and of ramps in coffin-shaped ZSM-5 crystals. The 90 degrees rotational boundaries with local zig-zag features between different intergrowth components are observed in the main part of crystal. Also a new kind of displacement boundary is described. At the displacement boundary there is a shift of the unit cells along the boundary without a change in orientation. Based on lamellae prepared with FIB from different positions of the ramps and crystal, the orientation relationships between ramps and the main part of the crystal are studied and the three-dimensional morphology and growth mechanism of the ramp are illustrated.

Abstract: We analyze the combined effect of three ingredients of an aggregation model-surface tension, particle flow and particle source-representing typical characteristics of many aggregation growth processes in nature. Through extensive numerical experiments and for different underlying lattice structures we demonstrate that the location of incoming particles and their preferential direction of flow can significantly affect the resulting general shape of the aggregate, while the surface tension controls the surface roughness. Combining all three ingredients increases the aggregate shape plasticity, yielding a wider spectrum of shapes as compared to earlier works that analyzed these ingredients separately. Our results indicate that the considered combination of effects is fundamental for modeling the polymorphic growth of a wide variety of structures in confined geometries and/or in the presence of external fields, such as rocks, crystals, corals, and biominerals.

Abstract: Ion irradiation of carbon nanotubes very often leads to defect formation. However, we have recently shown that Ar ion irradiation in a limited energy window of 1025 eV may enhance the initial cap nucleation process, when the carbon network is in contact with the metal nanocatalyst. Here, we employ reactive molecular dynamics simulations to demonstrate that ion irradiation in a higher energy window of 1035 eV may also heal network defects after the nucleation stage through a non-metal-mediated mechanism, when the carbon network is no longer in contact with the metal nanocatalyst. The results demonstrate the possibility of beneficially utilizing ions in e.g. plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition of carbon nanotubes.

Abstract: Advanced transmission electron microscopy and statistical parameter estimated quantification procedures were applied to study the room temperature quasi-dynamical strain glass state in NiTi alloys. Nanosized strain pockets are visualised and the displacements of the atom columns are quantified. A comparison is made with conventional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images of point defect induced strains in NiAl alloys.

Abstract: Transverse magnetic focusing properties of graphene using a ballistic four terminal structure are investigated. The electric response is obtained using the semiclassical billiard model. The transmission exhibits pronounced peaks as a consequence of skipping orbits at the edge of the structure. When we add a pn-junction between the two probes, snake states along the pn-interface appear. Injected electrons are guided by the pn-interface to one of the leads depending on the value of the applied magnetic field. Oscillations in the resistance are found depending on the amount of particles that end up in each lead.

Abstract: The ground state of colloidal magnetic particles in a modulated channel are investigated as a function of the tilt angle of an applied magnetic field. The particles are confined by a parabolic potential in the transversal direction while in the axial direction a periodic substrate potential is present. By using Monte Carlo simulations, we construct a phase diagram for the different crystal structures as a function of the magnetic field orientation, strength of the modulated potential, and the commensurability factor of the system. Interestingly, we found first-and second-order phase transitions between different crystal structures, which can be manipulated by the orientation of the external magnetic field. A reentrant behavior is found between two-and four-chain configurations, with continuous second-order transitions. Novel configurations are found consisting of frozen solitons of defects. By changing the orientation and/or strength of the magnetic field and/or the strength and periodicity of the substrate potential, the system transits through different phases.

Abstract: We numerically investigate the spin-orbit (SO) coupling effect on the magnetic flux evolution of energy and supercurrent in mesoscopic d-wave superconducting loops by solving the spin-generalized Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations self-consistently. It is found that the energy spectrum splits when the SO interaction is involved and the Majorana zero mode can be realized in the [100] edges of square systems for an appropriate SO coupling strength. Superconducting phase transitions appear when the energy gap closes, accompanied by energy jumps between different energy parabolas in the ground state, which provides a possible mechanism to support fractional flux periodicity of supercurrent. Moreover, in the case of rectangular loops with SO coupling, the jumps of the ground-state energy gradually disappear by increasing the ratio of length to height of the sample, and a paramagnetic response with opposite direction of the screening current around zero flux value can occur in such systems.

Abstract: Mechanical alloying and ball milling are low cost, up-scalable techniques for the preparation of high purity chalcogenide nanopowders to be used as precursor material for printing thin film solar cells. In this study, high purity copper indium selenium (Cu-In-Se) alloy nanopowders with 20-200 nm particle size were synthesized from macroscopic elemental Cu, In and Se powders via mechanical alloying and planetary ball milling. The particle size distribution, morphology, composition, and purity level of the synthesized Cu-In-Se alloy nanopowders were investigated. Thin Cu-In-Se alloy nanopowder ink coatings, deposited on Mo-coated glass substrates by doctor blading, were converted into a CuInSe2 semiconductor film by selenization heat treatment in Se vapor. The CuInSe2 film showed semiconducting band gap around 1 eV measured by photoluminescence spectroscopy. CuInSe2 absorber layer based thin film solar cell devices were fabricated to assess their performance. The solar cell device showed a total efficiency of 4.8%, as measured on 0.25 cm(2) area cell. (c) 2014 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.