Guangcun Shan

Flexible Transparent PES/Silver Nanowires/PET Sandwich-Structured Film for High-Efficiency Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

We have developed a kind of high-yield synthesis strategy for silver nanowires by a two-step injection polyol method. Silver nanowires and polyethylene oxide (PEO) (M(w) = 900,000) were prepared in a homogeneous-coating ink. Wet composite films with different thicknesses were fabricated on a PET substrate by drawn-down rod-coating technology. Silver nanowires on PET substrates present a homogeneous distribution under the assistance of PEO. Then PEO was thermally removed in situ at a relatively low temperature attributed to its special thermal behavior under atmospheric conditions. As-prepared metallic nanowire films on PET substrates show excellent stability and a good combination of conductivity and light transmission. A layer of transparent poly(ethersulfones) (PESs) was further coated on silver nanowire networks by the same coating method to prevent the shedding and corrosion of silver nanowires. Sandwich-structured flexible transparent films were obtained and displayed excellent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness.

Fabrication of FeF3 nanocrystals dispersed into a porous carbon matrix as a high performance cathode material for lithium ion batteries

FeF3/C nanocomposites, where FeF3 nanocrystals had been dispersed into a porous carbon matrix, were successfully fabricated by a novel vapour–solid method in a tailored autoclave. Phase evolution of the reaction between the precursor and HF solution vapour under air and argon gas atmospheres were investigated. The results showed that the air in the autoclave played an important role in driving the reaction to form FeF3. The as-prepared FeF3/C delivered 134.3, 103.2 and 71.0 mA h g−1 of charge capacity at a current density of 104, 520, and 1040 mA g−1 in turn, exhibiting superior rate capability to the bare FeF3. Moreover, it displayed stable cycling performance, with a charge capacity of 196.3 mA h g−1 at 20.8 mA g−1. EIS and BET investigations indicated that the good electrochemical performance can be attributed to the good electrical conductivity and high specific surface area that result from the porous carbon matrix.

New Family of Quantum Spin Hall Insulators in Two-dimensional Transition-Metal Halide with Large Nontrivial Band Gaps.

Topological insulators (TIs) are promising for achieving dissipationless transport devices due to the robust gapless states inside the insulating bulk gap. However, currently realized two-dimensional (2D) TIs, quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulators, suffer from ultrahigh vacuum and extremely low temperature. Thus, seeking for desirable QSH insulators with high feasibility of experimental preparation and large nontrivial gap is of great importance for wide applications in spintronics. On the basis of the first-principles calculations, we predict a novel family of 2D QSH insulators in transition-metal halide MX (M = Zr, Hf; X = Cl, Br, and I) monolayers, especially, which is the first case based on transition-metal halide-based QSH insulators. MX family has the large nontrivial gaps of 0.12-0.4 eV, comparable with bismuth (111) bilayer (0.2 eV), stanene (0.3 eV), and larger than ZrTe5 (0.1 eV) monolayers and graphene-based sandwiched heterstructures (30-70 meV). Their corresponding 3D bulk materials are weak topological insulators from stacking QSH layers, and some of bulk compounds have already been synthesized in experiment. The mechanism for 2D QSH effect in this system originates from a novel d-d band inversion, significantly different from conventional band inversion between s-p, p-p, or d-p orbitals. The realization of pure layered MX monolayers may be prepared by exfoliation from their 3D bulk phases, thus holding great promise for nanoscale device applications and stimulating further efforts on transition metal-based QSH materials.

D-Band Micromachined Silicon Rectangular Waveguide Filter

The 140 GHz silicon micromachined bandpass rectangular waveguide filters are firstly fabricated by the deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) processes for submillimeter wave applications. The filter circuit structure is once-formed using the ICP reactive ion etcher to etch through the full thickness of the silicon wafer, and then bonded together with the two metallized glass covers to form the waveguide cavity. The measured lowest insertion losses are lower than 0.5 dB. The unloaded quality factor can reach 160. It demonstrates a successful and practical way to fabricate these types of waveguide filters.

Shear dependent nonlinear vibration in a high quality factor single crystal silicon micromechanical resonator

The frequency response of a single crystal silicon resonator under nonlinear vibration is investigated and related to the shear property of the material. The shear stress-strain relation of bulk silicon is studied using a first-principles approach. By incorporating the calculated shear property into a device-level model, our simulation closely predicts the frequency response of the device obtained by experiments and further captures the nonlinear features. These results indicate that the observed nonlinearity stems from the material’s mechanical property. Given the high quality factor (Q) of the device reported here (∼2 × 106), this makes it highly susceptible to such mechanical nonlinear effects.

On-site monitoring of atomic density number for an all-optical atomic magnetometer based on atomic spin exchange relaxation

We present a method for monitoring the atomic density number on site based on atomic spin exchange relaxation. When the spin polarization P ≪ 1, the atomic density numbers could be estimated by measuring magnetic resonance linewidth in an applied DC magnetic field by using an all-optical atomic magnetometer. The density measurement results showed that the experimental results the theoretical predictions had a good consistency in the investigated temperature range from 413 K to 463 K, while, the experimental results were approximately 1.5 ∼ 2 times less than the theoretical predictions estimated from the saturated vapor pressure curve. These deviations were mainly induced by the radiative heat transfer efficiency, which inevitably leaded to a lower temperature in cell than the setting temperature.

Abnormal thermal expansion, multiple transitions, magnetocaloric effect, and electronic structure of Gd6Co4.85

The structure of known Gd4Co3 compound is re-determined as Gd6Co4.85, adopting the Gd6Co1.67Si3 structure type, which is characterized by two disorder Co sites filling the Gd octahedral and a short Gd-Gd distance within the octahedra. The compound shows uniaxial negative thermal expansion in paramagnetic state, significant negative expansion in ferromagnetic state, and positive expansion below ca. 140 K. It also exhibits large magnetocaloric effect, with an entropy change of −6.4 J kg−1 K−1 at 50 kOe. In the lattice of the compound, Co atoms at different sites show different spin states. It was confirmed by the X-ray photoelectron spectra and calculation of electronic structure and shed lights on the abnormal thermal expansion. The stability of such compound and the origin of its magnetism are also discussed based on measured and calculated electronic structures.

Critical components in 140 GHz communication systems

In the super-heterodyne terahertz communication system, the proper design of the critical components like mixers and filters are of great importance for enhancing its performance. In this work, some issues on our newly developed system setup design for 140 GHz wireless communications and the key components subharmonic mixer (SHM) based on Schottky diode, as well as silicon micromachined bandpass rectangular waveguide filters are presented. According to ADS simulation, the optimum conversion loss of the 140 GHz SHM is about 8.2 dB. And the silicon-micromachined rectangular waveguide filters have been fabricated and the measured lowest insertion losses are lower than 0.5 dB.

Face Centered Cubic Co81.8Si9.1B9.1 With High Magnetocrystalline Anisotropy

Despite the composition close to glassy forming alloys, face centered cubic (FCC) Co81.8Si9.1B9.1, designed based on Co9B atomic cluster (polyhedral), are synthesized as singlephase ribbons successfully. These ribbons, with grain sizes of ca. 92 nm, show supreme ductility and strong orientation along (111), which couples with shape anisotropy leading to high magnetocrystalline anisotropy comparable to Co rich Co-Pt nanoscale thin films, with a coercivity of 430 Oe and squareness of 0.82 at room temperature. The stability and magnetic behaviors of the phase are discussed based on experimental electronic structure. This work not only develops low cost Co-based materials for hard magnetic applications, but also extends the atomic cluster model developed for amorphous alloys into the design of new crystalline materials.

Ultra-sensitive atomic magnetometer for studying magnetization fields produced by hyperpolarized helium-3

An ingenious approach to acquire the absolute magnetization fields produced by polarized atoms has been presented in this paper. The method was based on detection of spin precession signal of the hyperpolarized helium-3 with ultra-sensitive atomic magnetometer of potassium by referring to time-domain analysis. At first, dynamic responses of the mixed spin ensembles in the presence of variant external magnetic fields have been analyzed by referring to the Bloch equation. Subsequently, the relevant equipment was established to achieve the functions of hyperpolarizing helium-3 and detecting the precession of spin-polarized noble gas. By analyzing the transient response of the magnetometer in time domain, we obtained the relevant damping ratio and natural frequency. When the value of damping ratio reached the maximum value of 0.0917, the combined atomic magnetometer was in equilibrium. We draw a conclusion from the steady response: the magnetization fields of the polarized electrons and the hyperpolarized nuclei were corresponding 16.12 nT and 90.74 nT. Under this situation, the nuclear magnetization field could offset disturbing magnetic fields perpendicular to the orientation of the electronic polarization, and it preserved the electronic spin staying in a stable axis. Therefore, the combined magnetometer was particularly attractive for inertial measurements.