Publications

The Ca0.45CU0.55O phase was successfully produced from a mixture of Ca and Cu nitrate powders with cation ratio Ca:Cu = 1:1. The heat treatment for decomposition and the synthesis of the indicated phase were pet-formed at 710 degrees C in air and flowing oxygen, respectively. The Ca0.45Cu0.55O phase concentration increases with synthesis time. After 209 h of heat treatment, the concentration of the Ca0.45Cu0.55O phase determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis has reached 87% and the kinetic data have indicated that the material enters the saturation stage of the reaction, The secondary phases are CaO and CuO. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A series of compounds YbxM4Sb12, M = Fe, Co, FeCo, Rh,Ir, were synthesised by reaction sintering. From Rietveld refinements isotypism was determined in all cases with the LaFe4P12-(skutterudite)-type, space group Im (3) over bar - No. 204. These refinements also served to derive the Yb-content in the samples. There is a systematic trend for the Yb-occupancy in the parent lattice M4Sb12; revealing a gradual decrease of the Yb-content from x = 0.8 (M = Fe), x = 0.5 (FeCo), x = 0.2 (Co); x = 0.1 (Rh) to x approximate to 0.02 (Ir). This dependency seems to correlate with the thermal stability of the ternary compounds: a true ternary compound forms for M = Fe, whilst for M = Co, Rh, Ir stable binary skutterudite compounds MSb3 already exist. Measurements of various bulk properties revealed the absence of any long range magnetic order in this series of compounds. While the samples rich in Yb behave metallic like, the Rh and Ir based skutterudites show a semiconducting-like resistivity which at lower temperatures is characterised by variable range hopping in the presence of strong Coulomb interaction. Although Yb0.1Rh4Sb12 exhibits a Seebeck coefficient up to about 150 mu V/K, figures of merit ZT generally are below 0.1 near room temperature, primarily due to the large resistivities of the sintered material.

We calculate the ground state of a two-dimensional electron gas in a shea-period lateral potential in magnetic field, with the Coulomb electron-electron interaction included in the Hartree-Fock approximation. For a sufficiently short period the dominant Coulomb effects are determined by the exchange interaction. We find numerical solutions of the self-consistent equations that have hysteresis properties when the magnetic field is tilted and increased, such that the perpendicular component is always constant. This behavior is a result of the interplay of the exchange interaction with the energy dispersion and the spin splitting. We suggest that hysteresis effects of this type could be observable in magnetotransport and magnetization experiments on quantum-wire and quantum-dot superlattices.

A far-from-equilibrium preparation route and using a particular combination of starting materials led us to obtain nonstoichiometric Y(Fe,V)(12) and its interstitial carbide. Structural analysis and EDAX results reveal the formation of the main 1:12 phase with the ThMn12-type structure, with 13-15% vacancies at the 3d metal sites. Insertion of interstitial carbon increases the T-C and magnetization of the 1:12 phase, whereas the unit cell volume remains unchanged. The effects of vacancies and interstitial carbon on the Mossbauer hyperfine fields and isomer shifts are discussed with reference to the calculated quantities. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

The morphology and structure of a La0.6Y0.07Ca0.33MnO3 thin film is studied by transmission electron microscopy. The film was grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on an MgO-buffered silicon wafer. The as-deposited films are polycrystalline and show a columnar morphology. We present a detailed high-resolution transmission electron microscopy structural study concerning a possible monoclinic distortion of the orthorhombic LYCMO crystal cell. (Received February 22, 2000; accepted March 10, 2000).

Elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) has been applied to determine the composition of carbon nitride and hydrogenated carbon nitride films prepared by hollow cathode discharge process. The films were deposited on Si (111) substrates. The films were also characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The influence of the main deposition parameters (substrate bias voltage, nitrogen injection mode) on the film properties was investigated. (C) 1000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Carbon nitride thin films (CNx) were produced by UV laser (ArF, lambda=193 nm) induced chemical vapour deposition from C2H2/NH3 mixtures, on Si and TiN/Si substrates. The surface and bulk composition of the deposited layers were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), respectively. Nitrogen was found to be singly and doubly bonded to carbon, as revealed by FTIR spectrometry. Specific morphology of the films was evidenced by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), while selected area electron diffraction (SAED) confirms the presence of nano-crystallites in the layers. The calculated d-lattice spacings fit rather well with theoretical and experimental data for alpha- and beta-C3N4. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Photostimulated luminescence (PSL) and diffuse reflectance measurements on X-ray irradiated BaFCl:Eu2+ microcrystalline powders were performed. We have investigated the nature of radiation induced defects involved in the photostimulation effect and its recombination mechanism. The experimental data sustain that X-ray irradiation gives rise to (F(Cl-) - O-F(-) - EU2+) photostimulable complexes and we have proposed several geometrical configurations of these complexes. (Received January 27, 2000; accepted February 16, 2000).

The formation mechanisms of nanocrystalline composite structures are discussed, and results on co-deposited material system of C-60-Au, C-60-Cu as well as Al-SiOx are presented. Three type of structures are distinguished in the composite films, depending on the concentration of the additive. The decisive structure-forming phenomena are the kinetic segregation of the minority species and the chemical reaction of the deposited components. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.