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At least 739 records · Page 41

Dependence of reflection and transmission of soliton on angle of incidence at an interface between chalcogenide fibre and gallium nanoparticle film by phase plane trajectories

In the present paper, we study propagation of a soliton at an interface formed between special type of chalcogenide fibre and gallium in three different phases with the help of equivalent particle theory. Critical angle of incidence and critical power required for transmission and reflection of soliton beam have investigated. Here it is found that if the incident angle of the beam or initial velocity of the equivalent particle is insufficient to overcome the maximum increase in potential energy then the particle (light beam) is reflected by the interface and if this incident angle is greater than a critical angle then light beam will be transmitted by the interface. From an equation these critical angles for α-gallium, one of a metastable phase and liquid gallium are calculated and concluded that at large incident angles, the soliton is transmitted through the boundary, whereas at small incidence angles the soliton get reflected on keeping the power of incident beam constant. These results are explained by phase plane trajectories of the effective potential which are experimentally as well as theoretically proved.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Kramers-Kronig analysis of soft x-ray reflectivity data of platinum thin film in 40-200 Å wavelength region

Reflectivity beamline at Indus-1 synchrotron source is used to determine optical constants of a platinum thin film in the soft x-ray wavelength region of 40-200Å by applying Kramers-Kronig (KK) technique on R vs wavelength data. Upto 150Å wavelength region the results of KK analysis are found in good agreement with the Henke’s optical constants and also with those obtained by the angle dependent reflectivity technique. A significant mismatch is observed above 150Å wavelength region which could be due to the presence of higher harmonics in the toroidal grating spectra of the reflectivity beamline.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Simultaneous parameter optimization of x-ray and neutron reflectivity data using genetic algorithms

X-ray and neutron reflectivity are two non destructive techniques which provide a wealth of information on thickness, structure and interracial properties in nanometer length scale. Combination of X-ray and neutron reflectivity is well suited for obtaining physical parameters of nanostructured thin films and superlattices. Neutrons provide a different contrast between the elements than X-rays and are also sensitive to the magnetization depth profile in thin films and superlattices. The real space information is extracted by fitting a model for the structure of the thin film sample in reflectometry experiments. We have applied a Genetic Algorithms technique to extract depth dependent structure and magnetic in thin film and multilayer systems by simultaneously fitting X-ray and neutron reflectivity data.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Observation of strong reflection of electron waves exiting a ballistic channel at low energy

Wave scattering by a potential step is a ubiquitous concept. Thus, it is surprising that theoretical treatments of ballistic transport in nanoscale devices, from quantum point contacts to ballistic transistors, assume no reflection even when the potential step is encountered upon exiting the device. Experiments so far seem to support this even if it is not clear why. Here we report clear evidence of coherent reflection when electron wave exits the channel of a nanoscale transistor and when the electron energy is low. The observed behavior is well described by a simple rectangular potential barrier model which the Schrodinger’s equation can be solved exactly. We can explain why reflection is not observed in most situations but cannot be ignored in some important situations. Our experiment also represents a direct measurement of electron injection velocity - a critical quantity in nanoscale transistors that is widely considered not measurable.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Microstructure and composition analysis of low-Z/low-Z multilayers by combining hard and resonant soft X-ray reflectivity

Microstructure and composition analysis of periodic multilayer structure consisting of a low electron density contrast (EDC) material combination by grazing incidence hard X-ray reflectivity (GIXR), resonant soft X-ray reflectivity (RSXR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are presented. Measurements of reflectivity at different energies allow combining the sensitivity of GIXR data to microstructural parameters like layer thicknesses and interfacing roughness, with the layer composition sensitivity of RSXR. These aspects are shown with an example of 10-period C/B{sub 4}C multilayer. TEM observation reveals that interfaces C on B{sub 4}C and B{sub 4}C on C are symmetric. Although GIXR provides limited structural information when EDC between layers is low, measurements using a scattering technique like GIXR with a microscopic technique like TEM improve the microstructural information of low EDC combination. The optical constants of buried layers have been derived by RSXR. The derived optical constants from the measured RSXR data suggested the presence of excess carbon into the boron carbide layer.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Reflection of terahertz monochromatic surface plasmon-polaritons by a plane mirror

Using a free electron laser developed in Novosibirsk, we have studied the reflection of monochromatic ( λ = 130 μm) surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) from a plane mirror attached to a waveguiding surface. It is found that 100 % SPP reflection occurs not only in the perpendicular position of the mirror relative to the surface, but also when the mirror is deflected from the normal by the angle α being smaller than the limiting angle α * proportional to the SPP wave vector. When the mirror is deflected by the angle greater than α *, SPPs on a perfectly smooth surface must transform into a bulk wave, while, in the experiment, the SPP reflection coefficient decreases gradually to zero with increasing α , which is a manifestation of dispersion of the wave vector of monochromatic SPPs, caused by their scattering on the inhomogeneities of a real surface. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Reflective mode X-ray microscopy of inclined objects

We propose an optical configuration of a reflective mode X-ray microscope which operates by the reflection of radiation incident on an object at grazing incidence. Primary emphasis is placed on the image recording with minimal aberrations. Numerical simulations are used to estimate the spatial resolution and the field of view, and a comparison is made with the results of investigation of surface-modified objects with a reflective mode X-ray laser microscope operating at a wavelength of 14.9 nm. (laser applications and other topics in quantum electronics)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

On the nonlocality of the reflection of an electromagnetic wave from a flat surface upon excitation of surface waves

Diffraction phenomena arising due to reflection of a plane electromagnetic wave from a metal film, which are caused by a limited size of the incident beam aperture, are considered in the Kretschmann scheme used to excite a surface plasmon wave. It is shown that the wave reflection occurs nonlocally, that is, the region of the surface on which the wave is incident and the region from which it is reflected do not substantially coincide. The localisation of the maximum field is investigated when a surface plasmon is excited on a silver film. The absolute values of the gain in terms of the amplitude of the field on the free surface of the film are calculated. The proposed theory is applied to explain the Goos – Hänchen effect. (integrated optics)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

The NuSTAR view of reflection and absorption in NGC 7582

NGC 7582 is a well-studied X-ray bright Seyfert 2 with moderately heavy (N{sub H} ∼ 10{sup 23}−10{sup 24} cm{sup −2}), highly variable absorption and strong reflection spectral features. The spectral shape changed around the year 2000, dropping in observed flux and becoming much more highly absorbed. Two scenarios have been put forth to explain this spectral change: (1) the central X-ray source partially “shut off” around this time, decreasing in intrinsic luminosity, with a delayed decrease in reflection features due to the light-crossing time of the Compton-thick material or (2) the source became more heavily obscured, with only a portion of the power law continuum leaking through. NuSTAR observed NGC 7582 twice in 2012, two weeks apart, in order to quantify the reflection using high-quality data above 10 keV. We find that the most plausible scenario is that NGC 7582 has recently become more heavily absorbed by a patchy torus with a covering fraction of ∼80%–90% and an equatorial column density of ∼3×10{sup 24} cm{sup −2}. We find the need for an additional highly variable full-covering absorber with N{sub H} = (4–6) × 10{sup 23} cm{sup −2} in the line of sight, possibly associated with a hidden broad line region.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Near total reflection x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy: quantifying chemistry at solid/liquid and solid/solid interfaces

Near total reflection regime has been widely used in x-ray science, specifically in grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering and in hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In this work, we introduce some practical aspects of using near total reflection (NTR) in ambient pressure XPS and apply this technique to study chemical concentration gradients in a substrate/photoresist system. Experimental data are accompanied by x-ray optical and photoemission simulations to quantitatively probe the photoresist and the interface with the depth accuracy of ~1 nm. Together, our calculations and experiments confirm that NTR XPS is a suitable method to extract information from buried interfaces with highest depth-resolution, which can help address open research questions regarding our understanding of concentration profiles, electrical gradients, and charge transfer phenomena at such interfaces. Furthermore, the presented methodology is especially attractive for solid/liquid interface studies, since it provides all the strengths of a Bragg-reflection standing-wave spectroscopy without the need of an artificial multilayer mirror serving as a standing wave generator, thus dramatically simplifying the sample synthesis.

solid/solid interface↗

In situ laser reflectivity to monitor and control the nucleation and growth of atomically thin 2D materials*

The growth of atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) layered and other quantum materials is typically performed without in situ monitoring or control. Here, a simple laser reflectivity approach is demonstrated to provide in situ control over sub-monolayer thickness and growth kinetics during pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of MoSe 2 layers. First, the general technique is presented with emphasis on designing the maximum sensitivity of the optical contrast through consideration of Fresnel's equations with proper choice of layer thickness, substrate, and laser monitoring wavelength, incidence angle, and laser polarization. Then the 632.8 nm optical reflectivity of MoSe 2 layers on SiO 2 /Si substrates was predicted and compared with in situ monitoring of MoSe 2 growth by PLD under actual growth conditions using a probe HeNe laser beam. The measurements showed high sensitivity and excellent agreement with MoSe 2 surface coverages calculated from atomic resolution STEM analysis of 2D layers deposited in arrested growth experiments. Finally, growth kinetics revealed by these measurements showed sigmoidal nucleation and growth stages in the formation of the 2D MoSe 2 layers that are described by a simple model, indicating the promise of the laser reflectivity technique for in situ monitoring and control of 2D materials deposition.

2D materials↗

Deep-learning-guided high-resolution subsurface reflectivity imaging with application to ground-penetrating radar data

Subsurface reflectivity imaging is one of the most important geophysical characterization methods for revealing subsurface structures. In many cases, accurate subsurface reflectivity imaging is challenging because of, for example, random or coherent noise in the data and sparse source-receiver observation geometry. Here, we develop a deep-learning-guided iterative imaging method to improve subsurface structure imaging. Specifically, we train a supervised neural network to infer a noise-free, high-resolution image from a noisy, low-resolution image and use this estimated image as guidance to regularize least-squares imaging. We develop a systematic method to generate high-quality synthetic training data (data-label pairs) to train the guidance neural network. The trained neural network can provide high-fidelity predictions even for field-data images that are not in the training data. We validate our new imaging method using one synthetic and two field ground-penetrating radar data examples, and find that our method can produce clean, high-resolution subsurface reflectivity images where existing single-pass and least-squares imaging methods fail due to noise and insufficient data coverage.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Femtosecond tracking of carrier relaxation in germanium with extreme ultraviolet transient reflectivity

Extreme ultraviolet (XUV) transient reflectivity around the germanium M 4,5 edge (3d core-level to valence transition) at 30 eV is advanced to obtain the transient dielectric function of crystalline germanium [100] on femtosecond to picosecond time scales following photoexcitation by broadband visible-to-infrared (VIS/NIR) pulses. By fitting the transient dielectric function, carrier-phonon induced relaxations are extracted for the excited carrier distribution. The measurements reveal a hot electron relaxation rate of 3.2±0.2ps attributed to the X-L intervalley scattering and a hot hole relaxation rate of 600±300fs ascribed to intravalley scattering within the heavy hole (HH) band, both in good agreement with previous work. An overall energy shift of the XUV dielectric function is assigned to a thermally induced band gap shrinkage by formation of acoustic phonons, which is observed to be on a timescale of 4-5 ps, in agreement with previously measured optical phonon lifetimes. The results reveal that the transient reflectivity signal at an angle of 66° with respect to the surface normal is dominated by changes to the real part of the dielectric function, due to the near critical angle of incidence of the experiment (66°-70° for the range of XUV energies used. Finally, this work provides a methodology for interpreting XUV transient reflectivity near core-level transitions, and it demonstrates the power of the XUV spectral region for measuring ultrafast excitation dynamics in solids.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Extending the capillary wave model to include the effect of bending rigidity: X-ray reflectivity and diffuse scattering

The surface roughness of a thin film at a liquid interface exhibits contributions of thermally excited fluctuations. This thermal roughness depends on temperature (𝑇), surface tension (𝛾), and elastic material properties, specifically the bending modulus (𝜅) of the film. A nonzero 𝜅 suppresses the thermal roughness at small length scales compared to an interface with zero 𝜅, as expressed by the power spectral density of the thermal roughness. The description of the x-ray scattering of the standard capillary wave model (CWM), which is valid for zero 𝜅, is extended to include the effect of 𝜅. The extended CWM (eCWM) provides a single analytical form for both the specular x-ray reflectivity (XRR) and the diffuse scattering around the specular reflection, and recovers the expression of the CWM at its zero 𝜅 limit. This theoretical approach enables the use of single-shot grazing incidence x-ray off-specular scattering (GIXOS) measurements for characterizing the structure of thin films on a liquid surface. The eCWM analysis approach decouples the thermal roughness factor from the surface scattering signal, providing direct access to the intrinsic surface-normal structure of the film and its bending modulus. Moreover, the eCWM facilitates the calculation of reflectivity at any desired resolution (pseudo-XRR approach). The transformation into pseudo-XRR provides the benefit of using widely available XRR software to perform GIXOS analysis. The extended range of the vertical scattering vector (𝑄 𝑧 ) available with the GIXOS pseudo-XRR approach allows for a higher spatial resolution than with conventional XRR. Experimental results are presented for various lipid systems, showing strong agreement between conventional specular XRR and pseudo-XRR methods. This agreement validates the proposed approach and highlights its utility for analyzing soft, thin films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Study of interface reaction in a B 4 C/Cr mirror at elevated temperature using soft X-ray reflectivity

Boron carbide is a prominent material for high-brilliance synchrotron optics as it remains stable up to very high temperatures. The present study shows a significant change taking place at 550°C in the buried interface region formed between the Cr adhesive layer and the native oxide layer present on the silicon substrate. An in situ annealing study is carried out at the Indus-1 Reflectivity beamline from room temperature to 550°C (100°C steps). The studied sample is a mirror-like boron carbide thin film of 400 Å thickness deposited with an adhesive layer of 20 Å Cr on a silicon substrate. The corresponding changes in the film structure are recorded using angle-dependent soft X-ray reflectivity measurements carried out in the region of the boron K-edge after each annealing temperature. Analyses performed using the Parratt recursive formalism reveal that the top boron carbide layer remains intact but interface reactions take place in the buried Cr–SiO2 region. After 300°C the Cr layer diffuses towards the substrate. At higher temperatures of 500°C and 550°C the Cr reacts with the native oxide layer and tends to form a low-density compound of chromium oxysilicide (CrSiOx). Depth profiling of Si and Cr distributions obtained from secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements corroborate the layer model obtained from the soft X-ray reflectivity analyses. Details of the interface reaction taking place near the substrate region of boron carbide/Cr sample are discussed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

A Total Internal Reflection Photoconductive Switch

We demonstrate a novel illumination technique for extrinsic photoconductive switches based on the creation of a total internal reflection trap to increase the optical path length. The optimal geometry is a square substrate illuminated from one of the corners along the diagonal, ensuring that the total internal reflection condition is maintained after any reflection off the device lateral sides. The optical absorption uniformity throughout the device bulk was improved by designing the entry window to have a cylindrical shape and by using a square core optical fiber as an illumination source. In conclusion, the concept is experimentally validated on a vanadium-doped silicon carbide device that shows approximately four-fold improvement in responsivity compared to normal illumination.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

The Numerical Computation of Clear-Sky Transmittance and Reflectance of Solar Radiation for the Modeling of PV System Performance

Modeling of photovoltaics (PV) system performance requires numerical computation of plane-of-array (POA) irradiances that are influenced by atmospheric absorption and scattering. Clear-sky transmittance and reflectance of diffuse irradiance are essential for the understanding of solar radiation related to multiple reflection between land surface and clouds. This study analytically solves the radiative transfer equation for clear-sky conditions and numerically computes the transmittance and reflectance of diffuse irradiance as functions of the optical thickness of the atmosphere. The computation will be implemented in all-sky radiative transfer models to improve their computational efficiency.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

The Effect of Specular Reflectances on the Interaction of an Electromagnetic E Wave with a Thin Metal Film Placed between Two Dielectric Media

The interaction of an electromagnetic E wave with a thin metal film placed between two dielectric media is calculated in the case of different specular reflectances q{sub 1} and q{sub 2} for the reflection of electrons from the surface of the thin metal layer, in the case of variations in the values of dielectric permittivities ε{sub 1} and ε{sub 2} of the media, and in the case of different values of angle of incidence θ of the electromagnetic wave. The behavior of reflection coefficient R, transmission coefficient T, and absorption coefficient A in relation to the frequency of the external field is analyzed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗