Study on crystallization phenomenon and thermal stability of binary Ni–Nb amorphous alloy

In this paper, a ribbon of binary Ni–Nb amorphous alloy was prepared by the melt spinning technique. Glass transition and crystallization phenomenon of the alloy were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. Thermal properties of the ribbon of binary Ni–Nb upon heating and cooling were analysed by DTA at a heating/ cooling rate of 0.5 K s-1 under the purified argon atmosphere. The thermal stability of Ni–Nb amorphous alloy was studied by using an X-ray diffractometer equipped with an in situ heating system. The structure and fracture morphology of the ribbons were examined by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy methods

Advances in photonic quantum sensing

Quantum sensing has become a mature and broad field. It is generally related with the idea of using quantum resources to boost the performance of a number of practical tasks, including the radar-like detection of faint objects, the readout of information from optical memories or fragile physical systems, and the optical resolution of extremely close point-like sources. Here we first focus on the basic tools behind quantum sensing, discussing the most recent and general formulations for the problems of quantum parameter estimation and hypothesis testing. With this basic background in our hands, we then review emerging applications of quantum sensing in the photonic regime both from a theoretical and experimental point of view. Besides the state-of-the-art, we also discuss open problems and potential next steps.Comment: Review in press on Nature Photonics. This is a preliminary version to be updated after publication. Both manuscript and reference list will be expande