National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Publications

5781 articles found

2011. Transport in a hybrid normal metal/topological superconductor Kondo model

Authors: Chirla, R; Dinu, IV; Moldoveanu, V; Moca, CP

Published: NOV 5 2014, PHYSICAL REVIEW B, 90, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.90.195108

We investigate the equilibrium and nonequilibrium transport through a quantum dot in the Kondo regime, embedded between a normal metal and a topological superconductor supportingMajorana bound states at its end points. We find that the Kondo physics is significantly modified by the presence of theMajorana modes. When the Majorana modes are coupled, aside from the Kondo scale T-K, a new energy scale T* << T-K emerges, that controls the low-energy physics of the system. At lowtemperatures, the ac conductance is suppressed for frequencies below T*, while the noise spectrum acquires a similar to omega(3) dependence. At high temperatures, T >> T-K, the regular logarithmic dependence in the differential conductance is also affected. Under nonequilibrium conditions, and in particular in the {T, B}-> 0 limit, the differential conductance becomes negative. These findings indicate that the changes in transport may serve as clues for detecting the Majorana bound states in such systems. In terms of methods used, we characterize the transport by using a combination of perturbative and renormalization-group approaches.

2012. Thermal behaviour and characterisation of new biologically active Cu(II) complexes with benzimidazole as main ligand

Authors: Badea, M; Vlaicu, ID; Olar, R; Constand, M; Bleotu, C; Chifiriuc, MC; Marutescu, L; Lazar, V; Grecu, MN; Marinescu, D

Published: NOV 2014, JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, 118, 1133, DOI: 10.1007/s10973-014-3745-z

Four coordination compounds of copper(II) were synthesised and characterised in solid state by elemental analysis, infrared, electronic and EPR spectroscopy, as well as by thermal analysis (TG/DTA). The complexes were formulated on the basis of experimental data as: [Cu(BzIm)(2)(H2O)]center dot H2O (1), [Cu-2(Acr)(4)(HBzIm)(2)] (2), [Cu(Acr)(2)(HBzIm)(2)] (3) and [Cu(Acr)(2)(HBzIm)(2)(H2O)]center dot H2O (4). IR data are in accordance with the unidentate nature of benzimidazole, in complexes (2), (3) and (4), and bridge bidentate nature of benzimidazole, in complex (1), while acrylato acts as uni- or bridge/chelate ligand. The electronic spectra display the characteristic pattern of square planar, square pyramidal, or octahedral stereochemistry, also confirmed by EPR spectra. Thermal decomposition evidenced several well-defined steps as dehydration of complexes (1) and (4), benzimidazole molecule releases for all complexes and acrylate decomposition in carbonate for complexes (3) and (4). In all four cases, the final residue after thermal treatment in air flow is copper(II) oxide, formed during the decomposition steps for complexes (3) and (4), and, respectively, after the oxidation of the metallic copper for complexes (1) and (2). Antimicrobial activities of the complexes have been determined by in vitro assays, against various Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial and fungal strains. Copper(II) complexes were also evaluated for their cytotoxicity on eukaryotic cells.

2013. Forward current enhanced elimination of the radiation induced boron-oxygen complex in silicon n(+)-p diodes

Authors: Makarenko, LF; Lastovskii, SB; Yakushevich, HS; Moll, M; Pintilie, I

Published: NOV 2014, PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI A-APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, 211, 2562, DOI: 10.1002/pssa.201431315

Using forward current injection with densities in the range 15-30A/cm(2) we can effectively eliminate the radiation-induced boron-oxygen complex, which is the main compensating center in irradiated Si solar cells. It was found that for a given forward current density the elimination rate is decreasing with increasing irradiation dose. Additionally, some evidences have been obtained on the negative-U properties of the radiation-induced boron-oxygen complex.

2014. Synthesis, physico-chemical characterization and thermal behavior of new complexes with N4O2 donor set

Authors: Olar, R; Scaeteanu, G; Vlaicu, ID; Marutescu, L; Badea, M

Published: NOV 2014, JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, 118, 1202, DOI: 10.1007/s10973-014-3809-0

Three new coordinative compounds of the type [Co(en)(2)CO3]center dot 0.75H(2)O (1) and [M(en)(2)(H2O)(2)]CO3 ((2) M:Ni, (3) M:Cu; en: ethylenediamine) were synthesized and characterized. The IR and UV-Vis spectral data indicate that ethylenediamine acts as chelate, while carbonate ions act as bidentate chelate ligand for (1)/counter ion for (2) and (3) generating complexes with octahedral stereochemistry. The thermal behavior provided confirmation of the complexes composition, as well as the number and the nature of water molecules and the intervals of thermal stability. The biological assays revealed a good activity against Enterococcus faecium for copper complex.

2015. Pulse annealing electron paramagnetic resonance with probing transition ions

Authors: Nistor, SV; Stefan, M; Ghica, D

Published: NOV 2014, JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, 118, 1031, DOI: 10.1007/s10973-014-3743-1

The analysis of the sequence of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of trace amounts of substitutional probing paramagnetic ions incorporated in (nano)crystalline samples submitted to isothermal and isochronal pulse annealing treatments can offer a wealth of information on the thermally induced compositional and structural changes of the host material. The potential of this new thermal analysis method is illustrated here with results of such investigations on the thermal decomposition of crystalline zinc hydroxide (Zn(OH)(2)) and anhydrous zinc carbonate basic (Zn-5(CO3)(2)(OH)(6)) precursors containing trace amounts of substitutional Mn2+ probing ions into nanostructured zinc oxide-ZnO. The quantitative analysis of the sequence of isochronal pulse annealing EPR spectra could provide, besides the thermal decomposition curves of the two precursors, additional information about the structure of the resulting nanostructured ZnO, some of it hard to get by standard structural diffraction techniques. The analysis of both isochronal and isothermal pulse annealing EPR data was further used to investigate the crystallization mechanism of the initially formed nanostructured disordered ZnO and to quantitatively describe the further growth of the resulting ZnO nanocrystals with the increasing annealing temperature and duration.

2016. The Influence of the Microstructure and Morphology of CeO2 Buffer Layer on the Properties of YBCO Films PLD Grown on Ni Tape

Authors: Mihalache, V; Stefan, N; Enculescu, I; Mihailescu, IN; Socol, M; Miroi, M

Published: NOV 2014, JOURNAL OF SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND NOVEL MAGNETISM, 27, 2485, DOI: 10.1007/s10948-014-2679-9

YBa2Cu3O7-delta films were deposited on CeO2-buffered nickel substrates, with different buffer thickness. Full width at half maximum of rocking curve, Delta(omega), of CeO2 and yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO), as well as the critical temperature, T-c, of YBCO were shown to be strongly dependent on buffer thickness. They behave similarly but not proportional to the buffer thickness increase. This and the fact that Delta(omega) vs. buffer thickness and T-c vs. buffer thickness for YBCO behave similar with RMS roughness vs. thickness of CeO2 indicates that the surface peculiarity of buffers is responsible for YBCO properties. More precisely, the surface of CeO2 films prepared by the chemical solution route based on propionic acid is prone to agglomerate (de-wet) and the degree of agglomeration depends in an intricate way on buffer thickness. We showed that nor RMS roughness neither (00l) texture degree can define alone the surface suitable for c-axis YBCO nucleation. The {111} faceted grains (even in the case of high (00l) texture) and other defects generated by agglomeration supply a low fraction of (00l) flat terminations of buffer that affect the nucleation of c-axis-oriented YBCO phase. Moreover, the thermal instability of the surface morphology of CeO2 buffers (further development of de-wetting process, {111} faceted grains, etc. during superconducting layer deposition) influence the quality of YBCO films.

2017. The evanescent-wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy technique applied to the investigation of thermally grown oxides on Si(100)

Authors: Cotirlan-Simioniuc, C; Ghita, RV; Negrila, CC; Logofatu, C

Published: NOV 2014, APPLIED PHYSICS A-MATERIALS SCIENCE & PROCESSING, 117, 1365, DOI: 10.1007/s00339-014-8556-3

We report about the contribution of thermally grown SiOx overlayer on the SiOx/Si interface (with oxidation states Sin+, where n = 1, 2, 3, 4) to the optical losses of a resonant spectroscopic cavity. The experiments on Si oxide thin films were performed in evanescent wave for Si samples in contact with a total internal reflection surface of a BK7 prism. The evanescent field can be exploited to investigate properties and processes such as the absorption of thin film or solid/air interface reactions. The results show that the oxide overlayer thickness grows with the thermal exposure time and is limited after more than 7 h of treatment. Transmission electron microscopy has been used for the native oxide thickness measurement and angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy used to determine the thermal oxide thickness. A change of absorption coefficient Delta alpha in the range 100-200 cm(-1) is obtained by evanescent-wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (EW-CRDS) for thermal silicon oxide overlayer, in agreement with the general trend from literature. The evaluation from the EW-CRDS experiments presents the used setup as a competitive method for measuring the absorption properties of thin overlayer.

2018. Hydrous RuO2/carbon nanowalls hierarchical structures for all-solid-state ultrahigh-energy-density micro-supercapacitors

Authors: Dinh, TM; Achour, A; Vizireanu, S; Dinescu, G; Nistor, L; Armstrong, K; Guay, D; Pech, D

Published: NOV 2014, NANO ENERGY, 10, 294, DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2014.10.003

Micro-supercapacitors have attracted considerable research attention for on-chip energy storage due to their unique properties and potential applications in various smart electronic devices. Although significant advances have been reported on their power performances, they still cannot compete with micro-batteries in terms of energy densities for mobile, portable and self-powered applications. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of vertically aligned carbon nanowalls (CNW) decorated with porous ruthenium oxide as a high-performance electrode for all-solid-state micro-supercapacitors. The decorated CNW electrode, essentially consisting of thin carbon sheets assembled from graphene domains, delivers specific capacitance in excess of 1000 mF cm(-2) (which is three orders of magnitude higher than state-of-the-art micro-supercapacitors) and energy density comparable to that of lithium-ion micro-batteries, but with superior power and cycling stability. Our findings demonstrate a route towards the integration of microfabricated supercapacitors combining fast charge/discharge rates with high energy densities. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

2019. Cobalt chromite obtained by thermal decomposition of oxalate coordination compounds

Authors: Mindru, I; Gingasu, D; Marinescu, G; Patron, L; Calderon-Moreno, JM; Bartha, C; Andronescu, C; Crisan, A

Published: NOV 2014, CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL, 40, 15258, DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2014.07.009

Cobalt chromites (CoCr2O4) powders have been synthesized via thermal decomposition of oxalate precursor compounds (NH4)(4)[CoCr2(C2O4)(4)(OH)(4)]center dot 7H(2)O (I) and (Na-4)(12)[CoCr2(C2O4)(8)(OH)(4)]center dot(NH4)(2)C2O4 center dot 12H(2)O (II). The oxalate precursors have been characterized by infrared (IR) and ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermal analysis. The structure, morphology and magnetic properties of CoCr2O4 powders have been investigated by XRD, SEM, IR and Raman spectroscopy (RS), UV-vis and magnetic measurements. XRD patterns confirmed the formation of spinel-type cobalt chromite, with average crystallite sizes calculated from XRD patterns of 38 nm and 58 nm, for spinel chromites from precursors I and II, respectively. SEM micrographs revealed particle sizes between 30 and 130 nm, with a low degree of aggregation of primary nanocrystallites. Both CoCr2O4 powders presented ferrimagnetic ordering below the Currie temperature (T-c) and a phase transition at T-s similar to 20 K attributed to the onset of long-range spiral magnetic order. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.

2020. Formation and Annealing of Metastable (Interstitial Oxygen)-(Interstitial Carbon) Complexes in n- and p-Type Silicon

Authors: Makarenko, LF; Korshunov, FP; Lastovskii, SB; Murin, LI; Moll, M; Pintilie, I

Published: NOV 2014, SEMICONDUCTORS, 48, 1462, DOI: 10.1134/S1063782614110141

It is shown experimentally that, in contrast to the stable configuration of (interstitial carbon)-(interstitial oxygen) complexes (CiOi), the corresponding metastable configuration (CiOi*) cannot be found in n-Si based structures by the method of capacitance spectroscopy. The rates of transformation CiOi* -> CiOi are practically the same for both n- and p-Si with a concentration of charge carriers of no higher than 10(13) cm(-3). It is established that the probabilities of the simultaneous formation of stable and metastable configurations of the complex under study in the case of the addition of an atom of interstitial carbon to an atom of interstitial oxygen is close to 50%. This is caused by the orientation dependence of the interaction potential of an atom of interstitial oxygen with an interstitial carbon atom, which diffuses to this oxygen atom.