Vol 60, No 2 (2018)

Ab initio calculations were used to study the properties of a series of hexagonal (Fe₂N-like) subcarbides M₂C, where M = Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Re, Os, Ir, and Pt, and to calculate their equilibrium structural parameters, electronic properties, phase stability, elastic constants, compression modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, compressibility, Pugh’s indicator, Poisson ratio, elastic anisotropy indices, and also hardness, Debye temperature, sound velocity, and low-temperature heat capacity. It is found based on these results that all the subcarbides are mechanically stable; however, their formation energies E_form are positive with respect to a mixture of d-metal and graphite. In addition, the calculation of the phonon spectra of these subcarbides shows the existence of negative modes, which indicates their dynamical instability. Thus, a successful synthesis of these subcarbides at normal conditions is highly improbable.

LSDA + U + SO calculations of the electronic structure of helicoidal Fe_{1 - x}Co_xSi ferromagnets within the virtual crystal approximation have been supplemented with the consideration of the Dzyaloshinski-Moriya interaction and ferromagnetic fluctuations of the spin density of collective d electrons with the Hubbard interactions at Fe and Co atoms randomly distributed over sites. The magnetic-state equation in the developed model describes helicoidal ferromagnetism and its disappearance accompanied by the occurrence of a maximum of uniform magnetic susceptibility at temperature T_C and chiral fluctuations of the local magnetization at T > T_C. The reasons why the magnetic contribution to the specific heat at the magnetic phase transition changes monotonically and the volume coefficient of thermal expansion (VCTE) at low temperatures is negative and has a wide minimum near T_C have been investigated. It is shown that the VCTE changes sign when passing to the paramagnetic state (at temperature T_S).

The behavior of the yield strength of steel and a number of aluminum alloys is investigated in a wide range of strain rates, based on the incubation time criterion of yield and the empirical models of Johnson-Cook and Cowper-Symonds. In this paper, expressions for the parameters of the empirical models are derived through the characteristics of the incubation time criterion; a satisfactory agreement of these data and experimental results is obtained. The parameters of the empirical models can depend on some strain rate. The independence of the characteristics of the incubation time criterion of yield from the loading history and their connection with the structural and temporal features of the plastic deformation process give advantage of the approach based on the concept of incubation time with respect to empirical models and an effective and convenient equation for determining the yield strength in a wider range of strain rates.

Simultaneous study of the dependences of the structural parameters, electrical, and magnetic properties of hafnium disulfide intercalated iron atoms in the dependence on the intercalate concentration and temperature has been performed for the first time. The temperature dependences of the electrical resistance are shown to exhibit the activation character with the activation energies characteristic of impurity conduction. The effective magnetic moments of iron ions in Fe_xHfS₂ is found to be significantly lesser than the values of free iron ions and to decrease as the iron content increases. The character of the temperature dependences of the effective magnetic moments and negative values of the paramagnetic Curie temperatures indicate possible interactions of the antiferromagnetic type between intercalated atoms. However, the dependences of the magnetization on field for Fe_0.33HfS₂ and Fe_0.5HfS₂ obtained at T = 2 K demonstrate the hysteresis phenomenon characteristic of the ferromagnetic state. The results are discussed assuming the existence of hybridization 3d electron states of intercalated iron atoms with the electronic states of HfS₂ matrices and the competition of various exchange interaction.

Some results of studying the direct-current (DC) conductivity of perylenetetracarboxylic acid dimethylimide films by cyclic oxygen thermal desorption are presented. The microscopic parameters of hopping electron transport over localized impurity and intrinsic states were determined. The bandgap width and the sign of major current carriers were determined by scanning probe microscopy methods (atomic force microscopy, scanning probe spectroscopy, and photoassisted Kelvin probe force microscopy). The possibility of the application of photoassisted scanning tunneling microscopy for the nanoscale phase analysis of photoconductive films is discussed.

The frequency dependences of dielectric parameters of zinc sulfide electroluminescent polycrystalline structures doped with copper are studied in the dark and under light excitation in the visible wavelength range. A positive photodielectric effect most pronounced in the low-frequency range was revealed. The experimental results are explained within framework of formation of a space charge in the bulk of a semiconductor. The analysis of data indicates they can be correlated with luminance characteristics of an electroluminescent layer.

The features of magnetorefractive effect (MRE) in metallic multilayer film Ni₄₈Fe₁₂Cr₄₀(50 Å)/[Co₉₀Fe₁₀(14 Å)/Cu(22 Å)]₈/Cr(20 Å) nanostructures, which exhibit giant magnetoresistance at room temperature, are investigated experimentally and theoretically. We show that the MRE in these structures reaches 1.5% in an applied magnetic field of 3.5 kOe, in a broad part of the IR region, and can change sign for both transmission and reflection of light. The refraction and extinction coefficients that are calculated for the nanostructures in an external magnetic field are in good agreement with our experimental data. The deduced formulas can be applied to estimating the MRE in multilayer metallic nanostructures.

Single-layer Fe_xNi_{1 - x} thin magnetic films have been investigated by the spin-wave resonance technique in the entire concentration range. The surface anisotropy and exchange stiffness constants for the films with a Ni content from 30 to 80 at % have been measured from the experimental standing spin wave spectra. The surface exchange spin wave penetration depth δ_C = 20–30 nm has been determined from the dependences of the surface anisotropy and exchange coupling constants on the Fe₂₀Ni₈₀ film thickness in the range of 250–400 nm.

The nanoindentation tests have been carried out for the quasicrystalline polygrain Al_62.4Cu_25.3Fe_12.3 alloy with the icosahedral structure i; the load P-displacement h diagrams have been used to estimate the contributions of plastic deformation (monotonic and intermittent), and the structures of the transverse microscopic sections have been studied in the vicinity of indentations by electron microscopy. It is shown that several systems of deformation bands are formed in the elasto-plastic zone in the vicinity of the indentations along the close-packed planes of the i lattice with the five-fold and two-fold symmetry axes; the bands often begin from cracks and manifest the signs of the dislocation structure. The traces of the phase transformation with the formation of the β-phase areas are observed only in a thin layer under an indenter. The effects of intermittent deformation are up to 50% of the total inelastic deformation and are related to the plastic behavior of the quasicrystal-activation and passage of deformation bands and also the formation of undersurface micro- and nanosized cracks.

The structural and magnetic properties of amorphous ferromagnetic microwires can undergo significant measurements under the action of external mechanical stresses and heat treatment. The study of transformations occurring in this case is important for designing various sensors of mechanical stresses, loading, and temperature and also for inducing in the wires a certain type of magnetic anisotropy that plays a significant role in the realization of various effects in them. In this work, the influence of external stresses and annealing on the processes of the magnetization and the magnetic impedance of Co₇₁Fe₅B₁₁Si₁₀Cr₃ microwires having a low positive magnetostriction (~10^-8) in amorphous state has been studied. The influence of external stresses leads to a sharp change in the character of the magnetization reversal curve, which was due to the change in the sign of the magnetostriction and the type of magnetic anisotropy. The amplitude of higher harmonics and the value of the magnetic impedance, respectively, are sensitive to mechanical stresses. Elastic stresses in the wires with a partial crystallization do not lead to a marked change in the magnetic properties; however, annealing can lead to a substantial increase in the axial magnetic anisotropy of the wires existing in the stressed state. The experimental results are analyzed in the framework of a magnetostriction model of induced magnetic anisotropy.

Experimental and theoretical piezospectroscopic investigation of A⁺ centers in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells doped with beryllium is presented. Spectra of linearly polarized photoluminescence are studied experimentally depending on applied uniaxial pressure. A model of the A⁺ center in the quantum well in the presence of uniaxial deformation in the plane of the quantum well has been constructed. Analytical expressions for the level energy, optical transition intensities, and polarization ratio have been obtained. In the framework of the proposed theory, the experimentally observed change in the polarization ratio depending on pressure and the shift of the line maximum towards short waves are explained.

The processes of molecular relaxation in solid binary carbonate-sulfate systems, such as Li₂CO₃-Li₂SO₄, Na₂CO₃-Na₂SO₄, K₂CO₃-K₂SO₄, have been studied by Raman spectroscopy. It has been revealed that the relaxation time of CO₃^2- anion vibration ν₁(A) in a binary system is higher than in an individual carbonate. It is shown that an increase in the relaxation rate may be explained by the existence of an additional mechanism of the relaxation of vibrationally excited states of a carbonate anion. This mechanism is associated with the excitation of the vibration of another anion (SO₄^2-) and the “birth” of a lattice phonon. It has been established that the condition for the implementation of such a relaxation mechanism is that the difference between the frequencies of these vibrations must correspond to the region of a rather high density of phonon spectrum states.

The theoretical problem of propagation dynamics of ultrashort optical pulses (light bullets) in a medium with inhomogeneous density of carbon nanotubes is considered. It is shown that light bullets propagate stably and steadily.

Solid solutions CaLa_2-xEu_xGe₃O₁₀ (x = 0.0–0.6, Δx = 0.1) have been synthesized for the first time. The compounds are isostructural to CaLa₂Ge₃O₁₀, they crystallize in the monoclinic system, space group P2₁/c, Z = 4. The low-temperature X-ray diffraction studies have revealed the strain anisotropy of germanate CaLa₂Ge₃O₁₀ crystal lattice in the temperature range 80–298 K, and the linear thermal expansion coefficients have been calculated. The optical properties of the activated phases have been studied, and the influence of the dopant concentration and the excitation wavelength on the luminescence characteristics of the synthesized compounds has been established.

Within the model of stable random matrices possessing translational invariance, a two-dimensional (on a square lattice) disordered oscillatory system with random strongly fluctuating bonds is considered. By a numerical analysis of the dynamic structure factor S(q, ω), it is shown that vibrations with frequencies below the Ioffe-Regel frequency ω_IR are ordinary phonons with a linear dispersion law ω(q) ∝ q and a reciprocal lifetime б ~ q³. Vibrations with frequencies above ω_IR, although being delocalized, cannot be described by plane waves with a definite dispersion law ω(q). They are characterized by a diffusion structure factor with a reciprocal lifetime б ~ q², which is typical of a diffusion process. In the literature, they are often referred to as diffusons. It is shown that, as in the three-dimensional model, the boson peak at the frequency ωb in the reduced density of vibrational states g(ω)/ω is on the order of the frequency ω_IR. It is located in the transition region between phonons and diffusons and is proportional to the Young’s modulus of the lattice, ω_b≃E.

FeO/Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized by thermal decomposition. Electron microscopy revealed that these nanoparticles were of the core-shell type and had a spherical shape with an average size of ~20 nm. It was found that the obtained FeO/Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles had exchange coupling. The effect of anisotropy on the efficiency of heating (hyperthermic effect) of FeO/Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles by an external alternating magnetic field was examined. The specific absorption rate (SAR) of the studied nanoparticles was 135 W/g in the experiment with an external alternating magnetic field with a strength of 600 Oe and a frequency of 310 kHz. These data led to an important insight: the saturation magnetization is not the only factor governing the SAR, and the efficiency of heating of magnetic FeO/Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles may be increased by enhancing the effective anisotropy. Mössbauer spectroscopy of the phase composition of the synthesized nanoparticles clearly revealed the simultaneous presence of three phases: magnetite Fe₃O₄, maghemite γ-Fe₂O₃, and wustite FeO.

A consistent description of phase equilibrium and surface phenomena in binary systems containing monodisperse spherical nanoparticles of arbitrary (including nanoscale) size is presented in the context of the classical method with separating surfaces. Using the obtained relations, we have calculated the composition of coexisting phases and interface layer, and interfacial tension on the boundary between nanoparticles and the matrix at different temperatures in Ti-Mo system. The results of the calculations are consistent with the available experimental data.

The dynamics of Newton interference rings appearing in the ablation area on the surface of various condensed media under irradiation with femtosecond laser pulses is analyzed (according to published data on fs ablation). The data on the refractive index evolution in the expanding material cloud from the metal, semiconductor, and dielectric surface, obtained by interference pattern processing. The mechanism of the concentration of the energy absorbed by a medium from the laser beam in the thin layer under the irradiated sample surface is considered. The appearance of the inner layer with increased energy release explains why the ablation process from the metal, semiconductor, and dielectric surface, despite the differences in their compositions and radiation absorption mechanisms, occurs similarly, i.e., with the formation of a thin shell at the outer ablation cloud boundary, which consists of a condensed medium reflecting radiation and, together with the target surface, forms a structure necessary for interference formation.

A numerical study of new regimes of reorientation of director field n̂, velocity v, and components of stress tensor σ_ij (ij = x, y, z) of nematic liquid crystal (LC) encapsulated in a rectangular channel under the action of a strong electric field E directed at angle \(\alpha \left( {\sim\frac{\pi } {2}} \right)\) to the horizontal surfaces bounding the LC channel is proposed. The numerical calculations performed in the framework of nonlinear generalization of the classical Eriksen-Leslie theory have shown that at certain relations between the torques and momenta affecting the unit LC volume and E ≫ E_th, transition periodic structures can emerge during reorientation of n̂, if the corresponding distortion mode has the fastest response, and, thus, suppress all other modes. Rotating domains originating within this process decrease the energy dissipation rate and create more favorable regimes of the director field reorientation, as compared with the uniform rotational displacement.