Integrating Al with NiO nano honeycomb to realize an energetic material on silicon substrate

Nano energetic materials offer improved performance in energy release, ignition, and mechanical properties compared to their bulk or micro counterparts. In this study, the authors propose an approach to synthesize an Al/NiO based nano energetic material which is fully compatible with a microsystem. A two-dimensional NiO nano honeycomb is first realized by thermal oxidation of a Ni thin film deposited onto a silicon substrate by thermal evaporation. Then the NiO nano honeycomb is integrated with an Al that is deposited by thermal evaporation to realize an Al/NiO based nano energetic material. This approach has several advantages over previous investigations, such as lower ignition temperature, enhanced interfacial contact area, reduced impurities and Al oxidation, tailored dimensions, and easier integration into a microsystem to realize functional devices. The synthesized Al/NiO based nano energetic material is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry

Dielectric properties of epoxy nanocomposites containing TiO2, Al2O3 and ZnO fillers

The paper presents results of dielectric spectroscopy and space charge (PEA) measurements on epoxy resin filled with 10% w/w micro- and nano- sized particles of TiO2, Al3O2 and ZnO. The results appear to show that the material from which the nano-particle is made is not highly significant in influencing these results. The results support the proposition that the dielectric properties of such nano-filled composites are controlled by Stern-Gouy-Chapman layers (“interaction zones”) around the particles

Assessment of crystallographic influence on material properties of calcite brachiopods

Calcium carbonate biominerals are frequently analysed in materials science due to their abundance, diversity and unique material properties. Aragonite nacre is intensively studied, but less information is available about the material properties of biogenic calcite, despite its occurrence in a wide range of structures in different organisms. In particular, there is insufficient knowledge about how preferential crystallographic orientations influence these material properties. Here, we study the influence of crystallography on material properties in calcite semi-nacre and fibres of brachiopod shells using nano-indentation and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The nano-indentation results show that calcite semi-nacre is a harder and stiffer (H {approx} 3–5 GPa; E = 50–85 GPa) biomineral structure than calcite fibres (H = 0.4–3 GPa; E = 30–60 GPa). The integration of EBSD to these studies has revealed a relationship between the crystallography and material properties at high spatial resolution for calcite semi-nacre. The presence of crystals with the c-axis perpendicular to the plane-of-view in longitudinal section increases hardness and stiffness. The present study determines how nano-indentation and EBSD can be combined to provide a detailed understanding of biomineral structures and their analysis for application in materials science

Photoacoustic detection of circular dichroism in a square array of nano-helices

A novel nano-structured material has been assembled by means of a focused ion beam technique. This artificial material is composed of a square array of nano-helices built upon a multilayered substrate. Optical measurements of circular dichroism of a sample are confirmed by photo-acoustic investigations, which allow to directly study the helix-field interaction apart from the dielectric substrate. The study is consistent with 3D numerical simulations, and demonstrates to be an efficient tool of investigation for the entire class of these novel structured materials

Electron pumping in graphene mechanical resonators

The combination of high frequency vibrations and metallic transport in graphene makes it a unique material for nano-electromechanical devices. In this letter, we show that graphene-based nano-electromechanical devices are extremely well suited for charge pumping, due to the sensitivity of its transport coefficients to perturbations in electrostatic potential and mechanical deformations, with the potential for novel small scale devices with useful applications

Optical Nanotransmission Lines: Synthesis of Planar Left-Handed Metamaterials in the Infrared and Visible Regimes

Following our recent theoretical development of the concept of nano-inductors, nano-capacitors and nano-resistors at optical frequencies and the possibility of synthesizing more complex nano-scale circuits, here we theoretically investigate in detail the problem of optical nano-transmission-lines (NTL) that can be envisioned by properly joining together arrays of these basic nano-scale circuit elements. We show how, in the limit in which these basic circuit elements are closely packed together, the NTLs can be regarded as stacks of plasmonic and non-plasmonic planar slabs, which may be designed to effectively exhibit the properties of planar metamaterials with forward (right-handed) or backward (left-handed) operation. With the proper design, negative refraction and left-handed propagation are shown to be possible in these planar plasmonic guided-wave structures, providing possibilities for sub-wavelength focusing and imaging in planar optics, and laterally-confined waveguiding at IR and visible frequencies. The effective material parameters for such NTLs are derived, and the connection and analogy between these optical NTLs and the double-negative and double-positive metamaterials are also explored. Physical insights and justification for the results are also presented.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in JOSA B, scheduled to appear March 200