Probing the carrier capture rate of a single quantum level

The performance of many semiconductor quantum-based structures is governed by the dynamics of charge carriers between a localized state and a band of electronic states. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy, we studied the transport of inelastic tunneling electrons through a prototypical localized state: an isolated dangling-bond state on a Si(111) surface. From the saturation of the current at an energy resonant with this state, the hole capture rate by the dangling bond was determined. By further mapping the spatial extension of its wave function, the localized nature of the level was found to be consistent with the small magnitude of its cross section. This approach illustrates how the microscopic environment of a single defect critically affects its carrier dynamics.     

Role of intermolecular forces in defining material properties of protein nanofibrils

Protein molecules have the ability to form a rich variety of natural and artificial structures and materials. We show that amyloid fibrils, ordered supramolecular nanostructures that are self-assembled from a wide range of polypeptide molecules, have rigidities varying over four orders of magnitude, and constitute a class of high-performance biomaterials. We elucidate the molecular origin of fibril material properties and show that the major contribution to their rigidity stems from a generic interbackbone hydrogen-bonding network that is modulated by variable side-chain interactions.     

The radio-frequency single-electron transistor (RF-SET): A fast and ultrasensitive electrometer

A new type of electrometer is described that uses a single-electron transistor (SET) and that allows large operating speeds and extremely high charge sensitivity. The SET readout was accomplished by measuring the damping of a 1.7-gigahertz resonant circuit in which the device is embedded, and in some ways is the electrostatic "dual" of the well-known radio-frequency superconducting quantum interference device. The device is more than two orders of magnitude faster than previous single-electron devices, with a constant gain from dc to greater than 100 megahertz. For a still-unoptimized device, a charge sensitivity of 1.2 x 10(-5) e/hertz was obtained at a frequency of 1.1 megahertz, which is about an order of magnitude better than a typical, 1/f-noise-limited SET, and corresponds to an energy sensitivity (in joules per hertz) of about 41 Planck's over 2pi.     

Spin transfer torques in MnSi at ultralow current densities

Spin manipulation using electric currents is one of the most promising directions in the field of spintronics. We used neutron scattering to observe the influence of an electric current on the magnetic structure in a bulk material. In the skyrmion lattice of manganese silicon, where the spins form a lattice of magnetic vortices similar to the vortex lattice in type II superconductors, we observe the rotation of the diffraction pattern in response to currents that are over five orders of magnitude smaller than those typically applied in experimental studies on current-driven magnetization dynamics in nanostructures. We attribute our observations to an extremely efficient coupling of inhomogeneous spin currents to topologically stable knots in spin structures.     

镍小团簇中金属键的E L F和L O L函数研究

用非限制性密度泛函方法UBP86泛函结合def2-TZVP基组获得了Ni2～6团簇的几何结构并用ELF(ElectronLocalized Function)和LOL(Localized Orbital Locator)函数对小镍团簇的电子结构进行拓扑分析.研究结果表明,除Ni2团簇外,团簇中Ni—Ni键的成键临界点不在键轴上,为弯曲键.镍团簇中Ni—Ni间的金属键为部分共价键,其价层Basin的布局数均小于1e,并且团簇中存在多个多中心价层Basin.团簇中各个化学键均强烈离域化.团簇中的单电子主要位于内层轨道,并没有参与成键.     

Fluid control in multichannel structures by electrocapillary pressure

We demonstrate control of fluid motion in three-dimensional structures with thousands of microchannels. Fluids are manipulated via an electrocapillary pressure, originating from electrostatic control of the solid/fluid interfacial tension in the microchannels. Reversible fluid displacement has been achieved for all channel orientations with respect to gravity. The velocities of several centimeters per second are nearly two orders of magnitude higher than the velocities demonstrated by other electrofluidic actuation principles.     

阮、月琴共鸣面板的振动特性

采用快速傅立叶变换频谱分析仪测定了阮、月琴共鸣面板在0～1 000 Hz频率范围内的各阶振动频率、声振动传播速度及声辐射强度,并分析了各阶振动频率对应的振动模态.对于阮,较易测得50、135、236.25、307.5、345、435、642.5、737.5 Hz等阶共振频率;对于月琴,较易测得56.25、111.25、...     

Linear Accelerators for Protons: New Developments: Some recent developments have made feasible proton accelerators of much higher power than earlier models

The performance of existing linear accelerators has improved dramatically in the last few years as a result of redesign of the injector. The peak beams available surpass in intensity and quality those from other accelerators. Usually the operation has been pulsed, with a low duty factor. However, the recently developed accelerating structures now make it attractive to raise the average beam power by several orders of magnitude. New possibilities are apparent for the use of such beams for research in nuclear physics and other sciences.     

Time-resolved holography with photoelectrons

Ionization is the dominant response of atoms and molecules to intense laser fields and is at the basis of several important techniques, such as the generation of attosecond pulses that allow the measurement of electron motion in real time. We present experiments in which metastable xenon atoms were ionized with intense 7-micrometer laser pulses from a free-electron laser. Holographic structures were observed that record underlying electron dynamics on a sublaser-cycle time scale, enabling photoelectron spectroscopy with a time resolution of almost two orders of magnitude higher than the duration of the ionizing pulse.     

微波真空干燥机干燥系统的设计及干燥均匀性的改善

结果表明:增加谐振腔长度可增加等宽高矩形谐振腔的谐振频率模式数目,提高微波场均匀性;90 cm×90 cm×100cm矩形谐振腔具有242个谐振频率模式;在千燥室上、下壁面对角交叉、均匀布置微波馈口可保证回转干燥的均匀性;采用筛底载料盘或降料层厚度,均可缩短物料颗粒蒸发水分的迁移路径,提高干燥速度,缩短干燥时间.以胡萝...     

Electrical conductivity of olivine, wadsleyite, and ringwoodite under upper-mantle conditions

Geophysical models show that electrical conductivity in Earth's mantle rises about two orders of magnitude through the transition zone in the depth range 410 to 660 kilometers. Impedance measurements obtained on Mg1.8Fe0.2SiO4 olivine, wadsleyite, and ringwoodite at up to 20 gigapascals and 1400 degreesC show that the electrical conductivities of wadsleyite and ringwoodite are similar and are almost two orders of magnitude higher than that of olivine. A conductivity-depth profile to 660 kilometers, based on these laboratory data, shows a conductivity increase of almost two orders of magnitude across the 410-kilometer discontinuity; such a profile favors a two-layer model for the upper mantle. Activation enthalpies of 1.2 to 1.7 electron volts permit appreciable lateral variations of conductivity with lateral temperature variations.     

Edge surfaces in lithographically textured molybdenum disulfide

Lithographic techniques were used to expose edge surfaces in layered molybdenum disulfide single crystals. This microstructuring produced ideal samples for the study of the surface morphology and electronic structure of this catalytically important material. The optical absorption that was measured at mid-gap increased by two orders of magnitude after texturing. This increase resulted from reduced molybdenum at surface defects that are located on edge planes, as shown by photoemission spectroscopy. This information cannot easily be obtained on conventional crystals with predominantly basal plane surfaces.     

整板结构的古筝共鸣面板振动模态的研究

【目的】古筝的演奏效果除了与演奏者的技艺有关,与古筝本身的结构也有密不可分的联系。其中共鸣面板接收琴弦的振动并引起共振发声,是古筝发声过程中至关重要的一部分。本研究以整板结构古筝共鸣面板为研究对象,利用不同分析方法探讨其声学振动性能。【方法】采用ZSDASP信号采集分析软件对整板结构共鸣面板进行实验模态分析,得出各阶次共振频率及对应模态振型的特点和规律;并建立整板结构共鸣面板的三维模型,对其进行计算模态分析,验证计算模态分析应用于本研究的可行性。【结果】通过实验模态分析和计算模态分析均得出,随着振动阶次的升高,整板结构共鸣面板模态振型均趋于复杂,且对应的共振频率也逐渐增大;在实验模态结果中,(0, n)、(1, n)和(2, n)等阶次的共振频率较易识别;(0, n)阶对应的模态振型相对清晰易识别,但(1, n)、(2, n)中较低阶次对应的模态振型不明显;计算模态能够识别到的各阶频率所对应的振型为(1, n)和(2, n)阶,与实验模态结果相比缺少(0, n)阶,但计算模态分析得到的结果更具连续性,能够识别到(1, n)和(2, n)的所有阶次,而实验模态分析时个别阶次不够明显。【结...     

Physical limits and design principles for plant and fungal movements

The typical scales for plant and fungal movements vary over many orders of magnitude in time and length, but they are ultimately based on hydraulics and mechanics. We show that quantification of the length and time scales involved in plant and fungal motions leads to a natural classification, whose physical basis can be understood through an analysis of the mechanics of water transport through an elastic tissue. Our study also suggests a design principle for nonmuscular hydraulically actuated structures: Rapid actuation requires either small size or the enhancement of motion on large scales via elastic instabilities.     

Scale-free intermittent flow in crystal plasticity

Under stress, crystals irreversibly deform through complex dislocation processes that intermittently change the microscopic material shape through isolated slip events. These underlying processes can be revealed in the statistics of the discrete changes. Through ultraprecise nanoscale measurements on nickel microcrystals, we directly determined the size of discrete slip events. The sizes ranged over nearly three orders of magnitude and exhibited a shock-and-aftershock, earthquake-like behavior over time. Analysis of the events reveals power-law scaling between the number of events and their magnitude, or scale-free flow. We show that dislocated crystals are a model system for studying scale-free behavior as observed in many macroscopic systems. In analogy to plate tectonics, smooth macroscopic-scale crystalline glide arises from the spatial and time averages of disruptive earthquake-like events at the nanometer scale.     

Colossal ionic conductivity at interfaces of epitaxial ZrO2:Y2O3/SrTiO3 heterostructures

The search for electrolyte materials with high oxygen conductivities is a key step toward reducing the operation temperature of fuel cells, which is currently above 700 degrees C. We report a high lateral ionic conductivity, showing up to eight orders of magnitude enhancement near room temperature, in yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/strontium titanate epitaxial heterostructures. The enhancement of the conductivity is observed, along with a YSZ layer thickness-independent conductance, showing that it is an interface process. We propose that the atomic reconstruction at the interface between highly dissimilar structures (such as fluorite and perovskite) provides both a large number of carriers and a high-mobility plane, yielding colossal values of the ionic conductivity.     

The ground state of the pseudogap in cuprate superconductors

We present studies of the electronic structure of La(2-x)BaxCuO4, a system where the superconductivity is strongly suppressed as static spin and charge orders or "stripes" develop near the doping level of x = (1/8). Using angle-resolved photoemission and scanning tunneling microscopy, we detect an energy gap at the Fermi surface with magnitude consistent with d-wave symmetry and with linear density of states, vanishing only at four nodal points, even when superconductivity disappears at x = (1/8). Thus, the nonsuperconducting, striped state at x = (1/8) is consistent with a phase-incoherent d-wave superconductor whose Cooper pairs form spin-charge-ordered structures instead of becoming superconducting.     

Fast mass transport through sub-2-nanometer carbon nanotubes

We report gas and water flow measurements through microfabricated membranes in which aligned carbon nanotubes with diameters of less than 2 nanometers serve as pores. The measured gas flow exceeds predictions of the Knudsen diffusion model by more than an order of magnitude. The measured water flow exceeds values calculated from continuum hydrodynamics models by more than three orders of magnitude and is comparable to flow rates extrapolated from molecular dynamics simulations. The gas and water permeabilities of these nanotube-based membranes are several orders of magnitude higher than those of commercial polycarbonate membranes, despite having pore sizes an order of magnitude smaller. These membranes enable fundamental studies of mass transport in confined environments, as well as more energy-efficient nanoscale filtration.     

Thousandfold change in resistivity in magnetoresistive la-ca-mn-o films

A negative isotropic magnetoresistance effect more than three orders of magnitude larger than the typical giant magnetoresistance of some superlattice films has been observed in thin oxide films of perovskite-like La(0.67)Ca(0.33)MnOx. Epitaxial films that are grown on LaAIO(3) substrates by laser ablation and suitably heat treated exhibit magnetoresistance values as high as 127,000 percent near 77 kelvin and approximately 1300 percent near room temperature. Such a phenomenon could be useful for various magnetic and electric device applications if the observed effects of material processing are optimized. Possible mechanisms for the observed effect are discussed.     

Zodiacal dust and deep-sea sediments

The recent detection of radioactive Al(26) in marine sediments has led to the conclusion that it is brought into the earth's atmosphere by micrometeorites which have been exposed, in interplanetary space, to solar high-energy protons. The Al(26) method is not precise enough to yield directly a reliable value for the mass accretion rate to the earth to better than about 3 orders of magnitude, but is sufficiently accurate to allow a crucial decision between two widely differing of interplanetary dust which have been proposed to explain observations of the zodiacal light. The two models lead to Al(26) concentrations which would differ by about 5 orders of magnitude. Thus, the presence of Al(26) is consistent with the zodiacal dust model with particles of some tens of microns rather then with submicron particles. From this model a mass accretion to the earth then be calculated which is set at 1250 (upper limit, 2500; lower limit, 250) tons per day, or 2.8 x 10(-15) g/cm(2) sec, or 4.5 x 10(11) g over the earth per This value does not depend on the flux of the solar high-energy particles, which may be uncertain by an order of magnitude or more. The presence of Al(26) supports the idea that an important fraction of the dust is stony in composition material density, and thus eliminates some more exotic dust models, as such one consisting entirely of carbon grains. We may also conclude that the accreted dust particles have been in the solar system and exposed to protons from solar high-energy particles for a time interval which is greater than a significant of the Al(26) half-life (0.74 x 10(6) years).