National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

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.

A case where the electrode polarization occurs in dielectric spectroscopy measurements carried out on a liquid crystal cell in which there are paired ions with different transport properties in the presence of generation-recombination processes is discussed. The processes of adsorption/desorption take place at blocking electrode surfaces with different features. The theoretical approach consists in introducing new independent variables with simple significance and in reformulating the fundamental equation for the concentrations of charge carriers and Poisson equation for the electric field. The main purpose of the present mathematical method is to obtain a more convenient analytical expression of admittance and complex permittivity in a form that is easy to use for the interpretation of the experimental data. The expression of the admittance allows suggesting an equivalent electrical circuit according to the processes occurring in the sample volume and at the surface electrodes. The analytical form of the admittance highlights a distinctive term that is proportional to one adimensional parameter which estimates the relative effects of the bulk process in comparison with the interfaces process. Several cases are analyzed and for each an analytical expression is found. In some cases the formulas are available in a simple form.

This paper presents some studies about the preparation by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) technique of organic bulk heterojunctions made from the mixture of a star-shaped arylenevinylene compound, 4,4',4aEuro(3)-tris[(4'-diphenylamino)styryl] triphenylamine as donor and fullerene derivative, [6, 6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid butyl ester, as acceptor, in the weight ratio 1:2. The mixed layer has been characterized by spectroscopic (UV-Vis, Fourier transform infrared) and microscopic (AFM) methods, and the effects of the deposition conditions (number of pulses) and of a buffer layer of poly(aniline-co-aniline propane sulfonic acid) or poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) have been analyzed. The study of the electrical properties has revealed a typical solar cell behavior for the heterostructure glass/ITO/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)/4,4',4aEuro(3)-tris[(4'-diphenylamino)styryl] triphenylamine: [6, 6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid butyl ester/Al, confirming that MAPLE could be an adequate method for the preparation of active layer based on bulk heterojunction for solar cells.

Results of a comparative study on the growth from melt by the Bridgman-Slockbarger method of metadinitrobenzene (m-DNB) and benzil (Bz) crystals in the same experimental set-up and the same experimental conditions are presented. The incorporation of an inorganic (iodine) dopant in m-DNB was analyzed in the given experimental conditions from the point of view of the solid-liquid interlace stability. The limits for a stable growth and the conditions that favor the generation of morphological instability are emphasized. These limits for m-DNB are compatible with those previously determined for Bz, and therefore, even for a high gradient concentration at the growth interface, it is possible to grow mDNB and Bz crystals in the same experimental conditions characterized by a high AT and t', The optical properties were investigated in relation with the dopant incorporation in the crystal in the mentioned experimental conditions. Effects of the dopant (m-DNB/iodine in Bz and iodine in m-ONES) on the optical band gap and optical non-linear properties of the crystals are discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Sol-gel template method has been used to prepare BaFBr:Eu2+ nanophosphor-SiO2 hybrid entrapped within the nanopores array (of about 200 nm size) of a comercial anodized alumina (AA) membrane. Structural and morphological measurements using electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have shown the presence of the BaFBr:Eu2+ nanophosphor in the silica xerogel entrapped within the nanopores array; photoluminescence and X-ray excited luminescence measurements have shown Eu2+ luminescence at 395 nm accompanied by a broad band due to AA membrane. The method assures a relatively uniform spreading of the BaFBr nanophosphor into the AA membrane pores array without the nanoparticles agglomeration. Preliminary imaging tests have shown a spatial resolution in the micrometer range and even in the submicrometer range can be expected. As BaFBr:Eu2+ is a very efficient Xray phosphor the material might be used as X-ray micro-imaging detector. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

We demonstrate that under continuous single-beam excitation, one can generate an abnormal antiStokes Raman emission (AASRE) whose properties are similar to a coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering. The effect has been observed in mesoscopic materials, which possess intrinsically nonlinear properties [lithium niobate (LiNbO3), bismuth germanium oxide (Bi12GeO20; BGO), bismuth silicon oxide (Bi12GeO20; BSO)], which have a nonzero electric susceptibility of the third order, chi((3)) not equal 0. Corroborated Raman and coherent backscattering studies demonstrate that the occurrence of both effects is conditioned by the existence of a mesoscopic morphology of the sample, which is able to ensure efficient transport of the light inside the sample through a multiple light scattering mechanism. In this context, both AASRE and coherent backscattering effects are because of the Anderson localization of the light. (C) 2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

Using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and photoluminescence (PL) studies, new data concerning the electrochemical oxidation both of poly[(2,5-bisoctyloxy)-1,4-phenylene-vinylene] (BO-PPV) and the BO-PPV/HIPCO single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) composite are presented in this paper. The SERS studies performed at the excitation wavelengths of 752 nm and 532 nm of the BO-PPV/SWNTs composite that ensure the resonant excitation of the semiconductor and metallic nanotubes, respectively, reveal that the mixing of the two constituents results, on the one hand, in an isolation of semiconducting nanotubes from the bundles containing both metallic and semiconducting tubes and, on the other hand, in a functionalization of metallic SWNTs with BO-PPV. The isolation of semiconducting SWNTs is demonstrated by the narrowing of the G band and the change of the ratio between the intensities of the Raman lines situated in the low-frequency range that are assigned to the radial breathing vibrational modes. An additional isolation of the semiconducting nanotubes from the SWNTs bundles is reported when an electro-oxidation of the BO-PPV/SWNTs composite was performed in the potential range of (0; +2) V vs. Ag/AgCl. According to the Fourier transformed infra-red (FTIR) spectra and the SERS studies performed at an excitation wavelength of 1064 nm, the chemical interaction of BO-PPV with HIPCO SWNTs reveals a charge transfer between the two constituents that leads to the formation of BO-PPV covalently functionalized SWNTs. The BO-PPV luminescence quenching effect induced by the presence of SWNTs that consists of a change in the relative intensities of the three PL bands of the polymer peaked at 1.73 eV, 1.9 eV and 2.07 eV is due to the metallic tubes. The appearance of a new emission band at 2.32 eV was regularly observed when electrochemical oxidation of the BO-PPV/SWNTs composite was performed in the potential range of (0; +2) V. The PL band at 2.32 eV corresponds to ClO4- ions, which compensates the positive charges of BO-PPV generated during the electrochemical doping process. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Relaxor ferroelectrics have neither long range ferroelectric order nor structural transformation down to the lowest temperatures, and display isotropic optical properties like quadratic electro-optic effect. However, if an anisotropy is forced through an external agent, like electric field or uniaxial strain, a ferroelectric and structural long range order can be induced in these materials. Here, we show that epitaxial strain in relaxor ferroelectric thin films can be employed to induce a linear electro-optic effect, opening the path to new strain-controlled electro-optic materials. Epitaxial thin films with Pb1-3x/2LaxZr0.2Ti0.8O3 (x = 0.22) composition grown by pulsed laser deposition on (001) SrRuO3/SrTiO3 single crystal heterostructures become tetragonal below the susceptibility peak, which occurs at a temperature 140K higher as compared to bulk. These films show piezoelectric properties and almost linear electro-optic behaviour. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

ZnO structures were deposited using a simple chemical bath deposition technique onto interdigitated electrodes fabricated by a conventional photolithography method on SiO2/Si substrates. The X-ray diffraction studies show that the ZnO samples have a hexagonal wurtzite crystalline structure. The scanning electron microscopy observations prove that the substrates are uniformly covered by ZnO networks formed by monodisperse rods. The ZnO rod average diameter and length were tuned by controlling reactants' concentration and reaction time. Optical spectroscopy measurements demonstrate that all the samples display bandgap values and emission bands typical for ZnO. The electrical measurements reveal percolating networks which are highly sensitive when the samples are exposed to ammonia vapors, a variation in their resistance with the exposure time being evidenced. Other important characteristics are that the ZnO rod networks exhibit superhydrophobicity, with water contact angles exceeding 150 degrees and a high water droplet adhesion. Reproducible, easily scalable, and low-cost chemical bath deposition and photolithography techniques could provide a facile approach to fabricate such ZnO networks and devices based on them for a wide range of applications where multifunctionality, i.e., sensing and superhydrophobicity, properties are required.

A new composite material was synthesized via the electrochemical oxidation of 2,2'-bithiophene (BTh) and pyrene (Py) monomers dissolved in a solution of LiC1O(4) in CH3CN onto a working electrode of Au coated with a film of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The interaction of the poly(2,2'-bithiophene-co-pyrene) (PBTh-Py) with the SWNTs and the orientation of the copolymer on the working electrode were studied by anti-Stokes and Stokes Raman scattering and FTIR spectroscopy in the grazing-incidence angle reflection geometry. The Raman lines at 1464 and 1435 cm(-1), attributed to the symmetric stretching modes of the C=C bond in the quinoid and aromatic rings of the PBTh-Py copolymer, were observed when the working electrode is either a blank Au film or a Au support coated with a SWNT film. In the latter case, charge transfer occurs at the interface of the two constituents. This charge transfer leads to functionalization of the carbon nanotubes with the copolymer molecules. The presence of enhanced anti-Stokes Raman lines at -1461, -1435 and -1187 cm(-1) indicates a resonant optical excitation process of the PBTh-Py/SWNT composite. The FTIR spectra acquired under polarized light for the PBTh-Py copolymer electrosynthesized on a bare Au support reveal significant changes in the absorption bands situated in the spectral ranges of 1000-1150 and 1550-1650 cm(-1) that originate in the surface-enhanced IR absorption (SEIRA) processes. The functionalization of the SWNTs with the PBTh-Py copolymer is evidenced by the enhancement of the absorption of the FTIR bands at 793 and 846 cm(-1), which are assigned to the C S C deformation vibrational mode and the substituted benzene ring, respectively, due to the effects of steric hindrance that are induced for the copolymer molecules by the binding of carbon nanotubes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.