Double-side fabrication process and millimeter wave response of intrinsic Josephson junctions

We adopted double-side fabrication process to prepare intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) based on Bi₂Sr₂CaCu2O_8+x (BSCCO) single crystals. Using crystal cleavage and double-side argon ion milling, we have successfully fabricated very uniform IJJs with the thickness of single crystal slice less than 200 nm. Using quasi-optical system, the response of the IJJs to millimeter wave radiation was studied. With applied magnetic field perpendicular to a-b plane, we have observed Shapiro steps under millimeter wave radiation, and the Josephson oscillation of each junction was phase-locking. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 60571007, 10778602, 60721063, 60610050), National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2006CB601006) and the Fund of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK2007713)     

Enhanced parametric amplification in slow-light photonic crystal waveguides

We demonstrate both theoretically and numerically that slow light can enhance the parametric process of silicon in photonic crystal line-defect waveguides. Specifically, to get the desired gain, the pump power for a given gain medium length or the gain medium length for given pump power can be reduced by （c/vgn）^2 when slow light waveguides are used, where n is the material index of conventional waveguide, vg is the group velocity of the slow light waveguide and c is the light velocity in vacuum.     

Effect of Mach number on transonic flow past a circular cylinder

The effect of Mach number on transonic flow past a circular cylinder is investigated numerically for the free-stream Mach number M∞ from 0.85 to 0.98 and the Reynolds number 2×10^5 based on the diameter of the cylinder. The work provides an insight into several salient features, including unsteady and quasi-steady flow state, formation of local supersonic zone, and evolution of turbulent shear layer. Results show that there exist two flow states dependent of a critical Mach number Mcr around 0.9. One is an unsteady flow state characterized by moving shock waves interacting with the turbulent flow in the near region of the cylinder for M∞〈Mcr, and the other is a quasi-steady flow state with nearly stationary shock waves formed in the near wake for M∞〉Mcrs, suppressing vortex shedding from the cylin- der. Some flow behaviors in the unsteady and quasi-steady flow states are revealed. From time evolu- tion of flow structures, local supersonic zones are identified in the wake and generated by two typical processes, i.e. reverse flow behind the cylinder and shed vortices in the near wake. The convective Mach number Mc of turbulent shear layers shed from the cylinder is identified nearly as Mc〈I in the unsteady flow regime and Mc〉I in the quasi-steady flow regime, resulting in different evolutions of the shear layers.     

High pressure effects on the crystal structure and electric conductivity of perovskite like（Ca/Sr）2CuO2Cl2 compounds

The crystal structure stability as well as electric conductance of （Sr/Ca）2CuO2Cl2 compound with K2NiF4 structure was investigated up to 31 GPa using diamond anvil technique. It seems that （Sr/Ca）2CuO2Cl2 is quite stable under pressure but with obvious anisotropic compressibility. The equation of state （EOS） obtained shows relative large bulk modulus.     

C-H···Pd(II) interaction-driven homochiral M helix formation of neutral (R,R)-bis(pyrrol-2-ylmethyl- eneamino) cyclohexane palladium(II) complex

A chiral complex of (R,R)-Pd was prepared by reaction of optically pure (R,R)-bis(pyrrol-2-ylmethyl-eneamino) cyclohexane ligand with Pd(OAc)2·2H2O under the base condition at room temperature. The weak intermolecular C-H···Pd interaction was found to be responsible for the homochiral M helix for-mation of the neutral,chiral,mononuclear (R,R)-Pd in the crystal packing.     

A fluid dynamics route for producing graphene and its analogues

A novel fluid dynamics route for scalable and efficient production of graphene and its analogues is demonstrated. Atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses strongly suggest that the bulk layered materials （graphite, BN, MoS2, and WS2） are efficiently exfoliated into individual layers containing mono-and few-layer nanosheets. Computational fluid dynamics analysis indicates that multiple fluid dynamics events are responsible for efficient exfoliation. Cavitation and pressure release can generate normal force for exfoli- ation. The velocity gradient-induced viscous shear stress, the turbulence-induced Reynolds shear stress, and shear effects stemmed from turbulence and flow channel-induced collisions can generate lateral force for exfoliation, resulting in theses bulk layered materials self-exfoliation down to single or few layers through their intrinsically lateral self-lubricating ability.     

Phase field simulation of monotectic transformation for liquid Ni-Cu-Pb alloys

Based on the subregular solution model, the liquid phase separation of ternary (Ni _x Cu_100−x )₅₀Pb₅₀ monotectic alloys is simulated by the phase field method. It is found that if the surface segregation potential is not incorporated, the dynamic morphologies of alloy melt show a transition from disperse microstructure into bicontinuous microstructure with the increase of fluidity parameter. When the surface segregation potential is coupled, Pb-rich phase migrates preferentially to the surface of the liquid alloy, and the Ni-rich phase depends on the Pb-rich phase to nucleate. With the extension of the phase separation time, the surface layer is formed through coagulation and growth, and its thickness gradually increases. The Ni-rich phase migrates to the central part, and finally a two-layer core-shell microstructure is produced. The concentration in the surface layer fluctuates more conspicuously than that inside the bulk phase, which subsequently transfers from the surface to the interior by a wave. The fluid field near the liquid-liquid interface is strong at the beginning of phase separation, and reduces later on. The surface segregation is essential to the formation of the surface layer, concentration profile variation, fluid field distribution and phase separation morphology. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50121101, 50395105)     

Quantitative structure-activity relationships of selected phenols with non-monotonic dose-response curves

Particular non-monotonic dose-response curves of many endocrine disrupting chemicals （EDCs） suggest the existence of diverse toxicity mechanisms at different dose levels. As a result, the biological activities of EDCs cannot be simply exhibited by unique EC50/LD50 values, and the quantitative structure-activity relationship （QSAR） analysis for non-monotonic dose-response relationship becomes an unknown field in the environmental science. In this paper, nine phenols with inverted U-shaped dose-response curves in lymphocyte proliferation test of Carassius auratus were selected. The binding interactions between the phenols and several typical EDCs-related receptors were then explored in a molecular simulation study. The estrogen receptor （ER）, androgen receptor （AR）, thyroid hormone receptor （TR）, bacterial O2 sensing FixL protein （FixL）, aryl hydrocarbon receptor （AhR）, and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor （PPAR） were the target receptors in the study. Linear regression QSAR models for the low and high exposure levels of the compounds were developed separately. The results indicated that the lymphocyte proliferation in the low-dose range might involve ER-mediated process, while the proliferation inhibition in the high dose range was dominated by the acute toxicity of phenols due to receptor occupancy and cell damage.     

Solidification characteristics of Pb-Sb hypereutectic alloy within ultrasonic field

The solidification of Pb-16%Sb hypereutectic alloy is investigated within ultrasonic field with a fre-quency of 15 kHz. It is found that the ultrasonic field promotes crystal nucleation and terminates the further bulk undercooling of the alloy melt. Theoretical analysis shows that the cavitation effect and the forced bulk vibration are the main factors that reduce the undercooling level. With the increase of ul-trasound intensity, the primary (Sb) phase experiences a growth mode transition from faceted to non-faceted branched growth, and the macrosegregation of primary (Sb) phase is gradually sup-pressed. In addition, the microstructures of Pb-Sb eutectic exhibit a conspicuous coarsening with in-creasing ultrasound intensity, and a structural transition of “lamellar eutectic—anomalous eutectic” occurs when ultrasound intensity rises up to 1.6 W/cm2. The ultrasonic field also changes the solute distribution adjacent to the solidification front, which lowers the Pb contents in primary (Sb) phase.     

Investigation on the key factors in the hydrothermal synthesis of BN： The way of introducing sodium azide

The way of introducing sodium azide (NaN_3) into the reaction solution played an important role in the preparation of cBN by hydrothermal synthesis method. The results showed that both cBN content and crystalline perfection of the samples improved with increasing R_N value, and pure cBN could be obtained at 300℃ and 10 MPa when R_N increased to 3:1. Here R_N is defined as R_N =NaN_3(I)/NaN_3(II), wherNaN_3(I) denotes the amount of NaN_3 (in molar) that is added into the autoclave at the beginning of threaction process, and NaN_3(II) is the amount of NaN_3 (also in molar) introduced into the autoclave ahigh temperature and high pressure (i.e. 300℃ and 10 MPa). In order to explain the experimental results, a preliminary model was proposed in this paper.     

Preparation and magnetic properties of CoFe2O4/TiO2 composite films

Using （Ti（OC4H9）4） and metal chlorates as starting materials, CoFe2O4/TiO2 composite films were prepared by sol-gel method. The effects of heat treatment temperature and pH of the precursor on microstructure and magnetic properties were studied. The phase structure of the samples was examined by X-ray diffraction. The microstructure was examined by scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope and polarized microscope. The magnetic property was measured by vibrating sample magnetometer. The results show that the crystals of different phases grow up independently. CoFe2O4 is uniformly embedded into the TiO2 matrix in the prepared composite films, and the growth of composite films is dependent on the heat treatment temperatures and PH of the precursor. The average size of CoFe2O4 crystal is 19 nm in Nanocomposite film prepared when the heat treatment temperature is 800℃ and the pH of the precursor is between 2 and 3. The magnetism of the composite films is enhanced as the heat treatment temperature increases.     

The distribution characteristics of the flows in the near-Earth region： TC-1 observational results

TC-1 observational results clearly indicate that the velocity of the flows in the near-Earth region is dependent on the satellite location. The flow speed decreases while satellite moves close to the Earth. The plasma flow in the region close to the Earth tends to drift into the midnight region from the dawn and dusk region while the flow in the region away from the Earth shows an opposite drift. The observational results also show that the tailward flows are mainly located in the plasma sheet boundary while the earthward flow becomes dominant in the plasma sheet. It is found that both the strong tailward and earthward flows are distributed in the region around X= -11 Re, which coincides with the trigger region of the substorm onset. Hence, it may suggest that the flows are related with the trigger of the substorm onset. In addition, the BBFs coming from the mid-tail maily distributed in the region where X〈-9R E a n d ｜Z｜ 〈 3 R E that differs from the convection.     

Crystallization dynamics of supersaturated NaClO4 aerosols studied by high-speed photography

Single supersaturated NaClO4 aerosol droplets on a quartz substrate were observed by a high-speed video camera for their morphologic changes with decreasing relative humidity （RH）. The supersaturated droplets were found to form anhydrous NaClO4 at -10% RH. Three stages were roughly observed in this process, i.e., the main stem appearance, primary and secondary branches growth, and the deep dehydration. The main stem grew steadily and finished in 120 ms. Affected by both crystal precipitation and water evaporation, primary branches grew for 1200 ms, accompanied by a slower growth of secondary branches. The deep dehydration was more complicated, and lasted for a longer time.     

Rapid growth cost in ＂all-fish＂ growth hormone gene transsenic carp： Reduced critical swimming speed

Evidence has accumulated that there is a trade-off between benefits and costs associated with rapid growth. A trade-off between growth rates and critical swimming speed （Uc,t） had been also reported to be common in teleost fish. We hypothesize that growth acceleration in the F3 generation of ＂all-fish＂ growth hormone gene （GH） transgenic common carp （Cyprinus carpio L.） would reduce the swimming abilities. Growth and swimming performance between transgenic fish and non-transgenic controls were compared. The results showed that transgenic fish had a mean body weight 1.4--1.9-fold heavier, and a mean specific growth rate （SGR） value 6%-10% higher than the controls. Transgenic fish, however, had a mean absolute Ucr, （cm/s） value 22% or mean relative Ucrit （BL/s） value 24% lower than the controls. It suggested that fast-growing ＂all-fish＂ GH-transgenic carp were inferior swimmers. It is also supported that there was a trade-off between growth rates and swimming performance, i.e. faster-growing individuals had lower critical swimming speed.     

Magnetoelectric and converse magnetoelectric res ponses in TbxDy1-xFe2-y alloy ＆ Pb（Mg1/3Nb2/3）（1-x）TixO3 crystal laminated composites

Measured results of magnetoelectric （ME） and converse magnetoelectric （CME） effects of TbxDy1-xFe2-y/ Pb（Mg1/3Nb2/3）（1-x）TixO3/TbxDy1-xFe2-y （TD/PMNT/TD） and PMNT/TD/PMNT laminated composites are presented. ME effect was determined by measuring laminate voltage output under a Helmholtz-generated AC field biased by a DC field （0-1 kOe） （1Oe = 79.58 A/m）. The CME effect was measured by recording the voltage induced in a solenoid encompassing the ME sample while exposed to a DC bias field and PMNT layer driven by a 10 V AC source. The ME and CME responses in the two laminated structure are linear. The highest values of ME coefficients in TD/PMNT/TD and PMNT/TD/PMNT composites are 384 mV/Oe and 158 mV/Oe, respectively, while the highest values of CME coefficients in the two composites are 118 mG/V and 162 mG/V （1 G=10^-4 T）, respectively.     

Core-shell microstructure formed in the ternary Fe-Co-Cu peritectic alloy droplet

The metastable liquid phase separation occurs in the ternary Cu₅₀Fe_37.5Co_12.5 peritectic alloy droplets during free fall. The separated alloy melt rapidly solidifies and evolves core-shell microstructure composed of L₁(Cu) and L₂(Fe,Co) phases. Based on the determination of the phase transition temperature, the core-shell microstructure evolution, the interfacial energy, the temperature gradient and the Marangoni migration are analyzed. The interfacial energy of the separated liquid phase increases with the decrease of the temperature. The temperature gradient changes from large to small along the radius direction from inside to outside in the alloy droplet. The Marangoni force (F _M) acting on the micro-droplet of L₂(Fe,Co) phase increases with the increase of the size of the L₂(Fe,Co) phase, and decreases with the increase of undercooling. Driven by F _M, the micro-droplet of L₂(Fe,Co) phase migrates from outside to inside in the alloy droplet, collides and coagulates each other during migration, and then forms different types of core-shell microstructures. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50121101, 50395105) and NPU Youth Scientific and Technological Innovation Foundation (Grant No. W016223)     

Spatiotemporal characteristics of the energy radiation sources of the three great earthquakes near Sumatra Island in September 2007

Three strong earthquakes with magnitudes of Mw 8.4, Mw 7.9 and Mw 7.0 occurred in the sea west of Sumatra Island on September 12 and 13, 2007. We relocated the epicenters and focal depths of the three events by means of the reversal-time imaging technique using broadband digital seismic data from worldwide stations ranging from 30° to 90°, imaged the spatiotemporal variation of the energy radiation sources by means of the nonplane wave array technique using the broadband digital seismic data from a generalized array made up of 33 stations of the Capital Region Digital Seismograph Network （CRDSN）, and obtained the rupture duration times, extents and rupture velocities. Also, we discussed the correlations between the locations of the energy radiation sources of the three events.     

Binding of Euplotes octocarinatus centrin with target peptide melittin

Interactions between model target peptide melittin (ME) and Euplotes octocarinatus centrin (EoCen) were investigated by fluorescence spectra, circular dichroism (CD) spectra and native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). In 0.1 mol/L N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N-2-ethanesulfonic acid (Hepes) and 150 mmol/L NaCl at pH 7.4, EoCen and isolated short C-terminal domain of EoCen (SC-EoCen) form 1:1 peptide:protein complexes. However, no detectable signal changes can be observed while isolated N-terminal domain of EoCen (N-EoCen) or isolated long C-terminal domain of EoCen (LC-EoCen) was added into solution of ME. The interaction between EoCen and ME is specified exclusively for the short C-terminal domain of EoCen. On the basis of fluorescence titration curves, the conditional binding constants of ME with EoCen and SC-EoCen were calculated to be logKME-EoCen = 6.81±0.33 and log- KME-SC-EoCen = 6.51±0.45, respectively.     

Superconductivity in Ba1−xSmxFFeAs and Eu1−xSmxFFeAs systems

We synthesized the samples Ba1-xSmxFFeAs and Eu1-xSmxFFeAs with ZrCuSiAs-type structure. These samples were characterized by resistivity and susceptibility. It is found that the substitution of rare earth metal for alkaline earth metal in the two systems suppresses the anomaly in resistivity and induces superconductivity. Superconductivity at 54 K in nominal composition Ba0.5Sm0.5FFeAs and at 51 K for Eu0.5Sm0.5FFeAs is realized, indicating that the superconducting transition temperatures in the iron arsenide fluorides is the same as that in oxypnictides with the same structure.