Electron paramagnetic resonance, optical absorption and Raman spectral studies on a pyrite/chalcopyrite mineral

Pyrite and chalcopyrite mineral samples from Mangampet barite mine, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, India are used in the present study. XRD data indicate that the pyrite mineral has a face centered cubic lattice structure with lattice constant 5.4179 Å. Also it possesses an average particle size of 91.9 nm. An EPR study on the powdered samples confirms the presence of iron in pyrite and iron and Mn(II) in chalcopyrite. The optical absorption spectrum of chalcopyrite indicates presence of copper which is in a distorted octahedral environment. NIR results confirm the presence of water fundamentals and Raman spectrum reveals the presence of water and sulfate ions

Enhanced optical limiting in nanosized mixed zinc ferrites

Optical limiting performance of zinc ferrite, nickel zinc ferrite, and copper zinc ferrite nanoparticles is investigated at 532 nm using 5 nanosecond laser pulses. Enhanced optical limiting is observed in the mixed zinc ferrites, which is attributed to the relative longevity of self-trapped charge transfer states. Samples exhibit absorption saturation followed by a rapid onset of optical limiting as the input fluence is increased. This is advantageous in applications where detector sensitivity should be retained at the maximum value until the input fluence approaches the detector damage regime. The Z-scan results are compared to those measured in C-60

Tuning Perpendicular Anisotropy Gradient in Co/Pd Multilayers by Ion Irradiation

The tunability of Ar+ ion irradiation of Co/Pd multilayers has been employed to create depth-dependent perpendicular anisotropy gradients. By adjusting the Ar+ kinetic energy and fluence, the depth and lateral density of the local structural modification are controlled. First-order reversal curve analysis through X-ray magnetic circular dichroism and conventional magnetometry studies show that the local structural damage weakens the perpendicular anisotropy near the surface, leading to a magnetization tilting towards the in-plane direction. The ion irradiation method is complementary to, and may be used in conjunction with, other synthesis approaches to maximize the anisotropy gradient.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Anisotropic Vortex Dynamics Related to Screening Currents and Microwave Currents under Magnetic Fields on High T C Superconductors

Abstract Modulated microwave absorption (MA) was measured under magnetic field sweeping at liquid nitrogen temperature on superconducting c-oriented and a-oriented YBCO thin films for various filed configurations. The both samples show strong low-field MA peaks resulted from the surface Meissner current. The MAs for the perpendicular field to the superconducting plane increase with increasing the sweep rate, indicating the stronger transient screening current due to viscous vortex motion. Anisotropic vortex dynamics were clarified on the a-YBCO

Correlation of Defect-Related Optoelectronic Properties in Zn

Hydrozincite (Zn5(OH)6(CO3)2) is, among others, a popular precursor used to synthesize nanoscale ZnO with complex morphologies. For many existing and potential applications utilizing nanostructures, performance is determined by the surface and subsurface properties. Current understanding of the relationship between the morphology and the defect properties of nanocrystalline ZnO and hydrozincite systems is still incomplete. Specifically, for the latter nanomaterial the structure-property correlations are largely unreported in the literature despite the extensive use of hydrozincite in the synthesis applications. In our work, we addressed this issue by studying precipitated nanostructures of Zn5(OH)6(CO3)2 with varying quasi-fractal dimensionalities containing relatively small amounts of a ZnO phase. Crystal morphology of the samples was accurately controlled by the growth time. We observed a strong correlation between the morphology of the samples and their optoelectronic properties. Our results indicate that a substantial increase of the free surface in the nanocrystal samples generates higher relative concentration of defects, consistent with the model of defect-rich surface and subsurface layers

Enhanced Ultrafast Nonlinear Optical Response in Ferrite Core/Shell Nanostructures with Excellent Optical Limiting Performance

Nonlinear optical nanostructured materials are gaining increased interest as optical limiters for various applications, although many of them suffer from reduced efficiencies at high-light fluences due to photoinduced deterioration. The nonlinear optical properties of ferrite core/shell nanoparticles showing their robustness for ultrafast optical limiting applications are reported. At 100 fs ultrashort laser pulses the effective two-photon absorption (2PA) coefficient shows a nonmonotonic dependence on the shell thickness, with a maximum value obtained for thin shells. In view of the local electric field confinement, this indicates that core/shell is an advantageous morphology to improve the nonlinear optical parameters, exhibiting excellent optical limiting performance with effective 2PA coefficients in the range of 10 cm W (100 fs excitation), and optical limiting threshold fluences in the range of 1.7 J cm. These values are comparable to or better than most of the recently reported optical limiting materials. The quality of the open aperture Z-scan data recorded from repeat measurements at intensities as high as 35 TW cm, indicates their considerably high optical damage thresholds in a toluene dispersion, ensuring their robustness in practical applications. Thus, the high photostability combined with the remarkable nonlinear optical properties makes these nanoparticles excellent candidates for ultrafast optical limiting applications

Spectroscopic and structural characterization of pascoite

Pascoite mineral having yellow-orange colour of Colorado, USA origin has been characterized by EPR, optical and NIR spectroscopy. The colour dark red-orange to yellow-orange colour of the pascoite indicates that the mineral contain mixed valency of vanadium. The optical spectrum exhibits a number of electronic bands due to presence of VO(II) ions in the mineral. From EPR studies, the parameters of g, A are evaluated and the data confirm that the ion is in distorted octahedron. Optical absorption studies reveal that two sets of VO(II) is in distorted octahedron. The bands in NIR spectra are due to the overtones and combinations of water molecules