Publications

Ultracompact polarization components modeled and analyzed with Finite Difference Time Domain Photonics Simulation Software (FTDT) are: a wire-grid linear polarizer and a quarter waveplate for infrared (IR) domain. They will be integrated into a polarization state analyzer (PSA). The components will be manufactured with metamaterials (MTMs). These are composite materials consisting of artificial meta-atoms, i.e. conductive nano- or micro-structures regularly arranged in a dielectric or semiconductor matrix. These conductive structures are made-up smaller than the wavelength of the radiation work. MTMs show extraordinary electromagnetic properties, typically not found in nature, such as negative refractive index. They increase the interaction between radiation and matter. The use of optical polarization components in IR imaging systems dedicated to difficult conditions of visibility is a must, as it allows improving performance and reducing the dimension of optoelectronic devices used in air, car and naval navigation. We will focus on developing the components for applications of imaging polarimetry in long-wave infrared (LWIR) range.

The reasearch main objective is to obtain ceramic laser materials based on pure YAG (Y3Al5O12) and Nd doped YAG (Y-3-xNdxAl(5)O(12), with x = 0.5 and 1.0 at. %), by conventional solid state reaction method. Stoichiometric compositions of Y3Al5O12 (YAG), Y2.985Nd0.015Al5O12 (0.5 at.% Nd: YAG) and Y2.97Nd0.03Al5O12 (1.0 at.% Nd: YAG) were prepared using high purity Y2O3 (99.999%), Al2O3 (99.999%) and Nd2O3 (99.999%) nanopowders. Green bodies were sintered at 1750 degrees C for 16 h under vacuum (1.0 x 10(-3) Pa) and then annealed at 1450 degrees C for 10 h in the air.

In this study, dextrin coated iron oxide nanoparticles were obtained using an adapted chemical co-precipitation method. The size and morphology of the dextrin coated iron oxide nanoparticles (DIO-NPs) were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis depicted information on the morphology of DIO-NPs. The elemental analysis was conducted by Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX). The iron oxide particles coated with dextrin have a spherical shape at nanometric scale with a narrow size distribution. The cytotoxicity assay was performed by quantification of HeLa cells viability, while the antimicrobial activities of the DIO-NPs were determined against ATCC reference and clinical microbial strains, i.e. Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538) and yeast (Candida albicans 393). The obtained nanoparticles did not have cytotoxic effect on HeLa cells after a 24 h exposure to DIO-NPs and the morphology of the cells was not affected. A low toxic effect on HeLa cells was noticed after 48 h. The minimal inhibitory concentration of DIO-NPs was 1 mg/mL for both tested microbial strains.

Epitaxial La0.67Ba0.33Ti0.02Mn0.98O3 (denoted as LBTMO hereafter) thin films of approximately 95 nm thickness were deposited by a pulsed laser deposition technique onto SrTiO3 (STO) (001) substrates. High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations revealed that the films are epilayers with a four-fold symmetry around the [001] direction. Cross-sectional TEM and the presence of Pendellosung fringes in the XRD profiles demonstrate smooth interfaces. The STO substrate induces an in-plane compressive strain, which leads to a slight tetragonality of the film structure. The epilayers exhibit paramagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transitions at the Curie temperature T-C (286 K), close to room temperature. The magnetization easy axis lies in the film plane along the [100] direction of the (001) substrate. The magnetic entropy change (Delta S-M) associated with the second-order magnetic phase transition was determined via magnetization measurements in the temperature range between 210 and 350 K under different magnetic fields. The relative cooling power (RCP) of this film is about 220 J kg(-1), somewhat lower than that of bulk Gd (410 J kg(-1)) for a 50 kOe field change, making the LBTMO ferromagnetic thin films a promising candidate for micro/nanomagnetic refrigeration around room temperature. The proposed universal curve provides a simple method for extrapolating Delta S-M in a wide range of fields and temperatures, thus confirming the order of the magnetic transition in this system. The magnetic entropy (Delta S-M)(max) around T-C is proportional to (mu H-0/T-C)(2/3) in agreement with the mean-field theory, indicating the existence of long-range ferromagnetic interactions in epitaxial LBTMO thin films.

We demonstrate the anisotropic features of the A(1g), B-2g and A(2g) vibrational Raman modes of phosphorene by performing for the first time a comparison of two orthogonal polarized Raman scattering studies in edge and top view measuring configurations. Despite the orthogonality between the vibration modes of A(1g) and A(2g), they exhibit intense and very weak Raman intensities under light polarized along and transverse to the armchair edge, respectively, while the B-2g mode is virtually non-existent. The B-2g mode significantly appears only in the top view configuration. The studies performed under different intensities of excited light in the top view configuration are detailed for the sample rotated at 0 degrees, 40 degrees, 80 degrees and 130 degrees about the incident laser beam. The studies reveal a quadratic opposite behavior of the A(2g) and B-2g modes and an unusual angle dependence of the A(1g) vibrational mode. An unexpected behavior of the A(2g) Raman mode at higher intensities, which still persists for the A(1g) mode, is shown. The anomalous behavior of the A(1g) mode from the edge and top view and the A(2g) mode in the top view configuration is explained in terms of the layer stacking structures of phosphorene.

The leakage current for a thin film metal-ferroelectric-metal device was modelled using an electron tunnelling approach. The potential energy through the device was obtained from an electrostatic argument and a balance equation was imposed for the incoming and outgoing currents. Using the obtained leakage current, experimental data was fitted in order to obtain qualitative values for the model parameters. Good agreement between the obtained dielectric constant and numerical calculations performed in the literature.

This study presents a novel method for the oxidative polymerization of thiophene (T) by employing cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots and CdSe-graphene oxide (GO) as activators of the polymerization system. The polymerization initiation mechanism is based on the difference between the HOMO-LUMO energy levels of the components, which permits the formation of a donor-acceptor exchange. Thus, T should act both as acceptor and donor for a component with suitable HOMO-LUMO energy levels. We have investigated the polymerization reaction evolution as well as the molecular weights of the obtained polymers. The resulting materials containing PT, CdSe quantum dots and GO have been characterized by FTIR, UV-vis, fluorescence, HRTEM, conductivity and AFM analyses.

In this work, the charge storage properties of trilayers with Ge nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in HfO2 matrix prepared by using two approaches for obtaining the intermediate layer with Ge NCs as nodes are investigated. Trilayer structures with tunnel and control oxides of HfO2, but with different intermediate layers of Ge and Ge-HfO2, respectively, were deposited by magnetron sputtering. Ge nanostructuring was achieved by subsequent rapid thermal annealing. Charge storage behaviour was studied by measurements of capacitance-voltage characteristics on MOS-like capacitors based on the annealed trilayers. The MOS samples with intermediate layer obtained by depositing a continuous Ge layer show hysteresis with memory windows up to similar to 1.3 V, while the ones with co-deposited Ge and HfO2 as intermediate layer present higher memory windows, similar to 1.8 V. In both cases, the memory windows are independent on the frequency demonstrating that the memory effect is due to storing the charge only inside Ge NCs. These show that the approach based on co-deposition of a Ge-HfO2 intermediate layer is more effective for charge storage with direct application in memory devices.

Wettability properties of thin TiO2 amorphous layers obtained by sputtering or sol-gel onto polyester textile materials were investigated. Contact angle (CA) measurements by the sessile drop method were used to evaluate these properties. Comparison was performed with coated samples of related poly(lactic acid) material. The samples coated by sol gel have CAs a few degrees higher than those coated by sputtering. Wetting properties were conversely changed under alternate darkness/illumination conditions. Photoinduced hydrophilicity was observed even for these amorphous coating particles, being higher for sputtered samples than for sol gel ones.