Wenxuan Wu

Photoinduced reversible gel–sol transitions of dicholesterol-linked azobenzene derivatives through breaking and reforming of van der Waals interactions

A series of new symmetric dicholesterol-linked azobenzene gelators with different spacer lengths have been synthesized. The compounds with spacers of zero, two or six methylene units are denoted as DCAZO0, DCAZO2 and DCAZO6, respectively. A gelation test reveals that a subtle change in the length of the spacer can produce a dramatic change in the gelation behavior of the compounds. DCAZO2 obtains the minimum gelation concentration among the three gelators. For cyclopentanone gel of DCAZO2, the reversible gel–sol transitions by irradiation with UV and visible light are investigated by UV-vis absorption and circular dichroism (CD) spectra, SEM, TEM and XRD analyses. Upon UV irradiation of the gel, trans–cisphotoisomerization of the azobenzene groups occurs, the change in molecular polarity leads to the breaking of van der Waals interactions, resulting in the gel–sol transition. The gel can be recovered by the reverse cis–transphotoisomerization after the exposure to visible light. SEM, TEM and XRD studies reveal that the gelator molecules self-assemble into one-dimensional fibers with diameters 50–100 nm in an anticlockwise direction, which further crossed-linked to form three-dimensional networks.

Anisotropic-strain-induced antiferromagnetic-insulating state with strong phase instability in epitaxial (La0.8Pr0.2)0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films

We grow epitaxial (La0.8Pr0.2)0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films simultaneously on the lattice-closely-matched substrates, cubic (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 [LSAT(001)] and orthorhombic NdGaO3 [NGO(001) and NGO(110)]. While all as-grown films show a ferromagnetic-metallic (FM) ground state as observed for the bulk target, the annealed films show quite different magnetotransport behavior as follows: on NGO(110) they show a robust FM ground state, on LSAT(001) and NGO(001) however, they show surprisingly a coexisted antiferromagnetic insulating state with high phase instability in a wide temperature range. The phase coexistence being easily induced via the control of anisotropic epitaxial strain suggests that the phase separation in manganites could be elastically driven, and thus can be strain-engineered for devices applications.

Pseudomorphic strain induced strong anisotropic magnetoresistance over a wide temperature range in epitaxial La0.67Ca0.33MnO3/NdGaO3(001) films

Strong anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) was observed in La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 films grown coherently on the orthorhombic NdGaO3(001) substrates. With an increased orthorhombic lattice distortion due to the pseudomorphic strain, the films show not only a ferromagnetic-metal (FM) transition at TC of ∼265 K, but also the phase coexistence of FM and antiferromagnetic-insulator below ∼250 K. The phase competitions are very sensitive to the magnetic field, and more strikingly, to its orientations with respect to the crystal axes resulting in a large AMR in a broad temperature range, in addition to the conventional one peaked near TC. The films also show uniaxial magnetic anisotropy with the easy axis along the elongated b axis, suggesting that it is the strain induced spin-orbit-lattice coupling and the resultant phase competitions that control the AMR in epitaxial manganite films.

Optically controllable polarized luminescence from azopolymer films doped with a lanthanide complex

Two azopolymers (DACENO2 and DACEOCH3) with a special structure were designed and synthesized. The azopolymer films doped with the lanthanide complex Eu(TTA)3Phen were prepared by a casting method with a mixed solution of the azopolymer and lanthanide complex. UV-vis spectra show that the absorption peaks of the predesigned azopolymers DACENO2 and DACEOCH3 are separated from that of Eu(TTA)3Phen. Under this circumstance, the photo-induced anisotropy of the films could not be destroyed by excitation and emission during fluorescence measurements. Polarized luminescence of both oriented films was observed with polarization ratios of 3.0 for the DACENO2–Eu(TTA)3Phen film and 2.7 for the DACEOCH3–Eu(TTA)3Phen film at 613 nm, respectively. The luminescent properties of the film were found to be affected by the chemical structure of the azopolymer, the extent of the photo-induced alignment and the angle between the orientated direction of the film and the direction of the polarizer. All the results from this work revealed that the polarized luminescence from the azopolymer film doped with a lanthanide complex can be controlled by the extent of photo-induced alignment.

Annealing assisted substrate coherency and high-temperature antiferromagnetic insulating transition in epitaxial La0.67Ca0.33MnO3/NdGaO3(001) films

Bulk La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 (LCMO) and NdGaO3 (NGO) have the same Pbnm symmetry but different orthorhombic lattice distortions, yielding an anisotropic strain state in the LCMO epitaxial film grown on the NGO(001) substrate. The films are optimally doped in a ferromagnetic-metal ground state, after being ex-situ annealed in oxygen atmosphere, however, they show strikingly an antiferromagnetic-insulating (AFI) transition near 250 K, leading to a phase separation state with tunable phase instability at the temperatures below. To explain this drastic strain effect, the films with various thicknesses were ex-situ annealed under various annealing parameters. We demonstrate that the ex-situ annealing can surprisingly improve the epitaxial quality, resulting in the films with true substrate coherency and the AFI ground state. And the close linkage between the film morphology and electronic phase evolution implies that the strain-mediated octahedral deformation and rotation could be assisted by ex-situ annealing, and moreover, play a key role in controlling the properties of oxide heterostructures.

High-sensitivity temperature sensor based on Bragg grating in BDK-doped photosensitive polymer optical fiber

A single-mode polymer optical fiber (POF) with highly photosensitive core doped with benzil dimethyl ketal (BDK) is fabricated and used for writing Bragg grating through the two-beam interference method. The Bragg wavelength of the grating is about 1570 nm, while the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the reflection peak is 0.3 nm. The temperature response of POF Bragg grating is theoretically analyzed and experimentally measured in contrast to silica optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The result shows that the temperature character of POF Bragg grating is negative, which is opposite to the silica optical FBG. The absolute value of the temperature response of POF Bragg grating is one order of magnitude higher than that of the silica optical FBG, making POF Bragg grating appear to be very attractive for constructing temperature sensors with high resolution.

Large area sub-wavelength azo-polymer gratings by waveguide modes interference lithography

Except for the commonly used surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), in this letter we demonstrate that waveguide modes (WMs) can realize the large area sub-wavelength gratings. Both transverse-magnetic (TM) and transverse-electric polarized beams can be used in this method, while for the lithography based on SPPs only TM polarized beam is applicable. The WMs interference lithography has the advantages of low heat loss and much suitable for thick photo-resist films. Large area gratings were inscribed on the azo polymer film at period of 187 nm and 189 nm, which are smaller than the half wavelength of the incident beam.

Reversible All-Optical Modulation Based on Evanescent Wave Absorption of a Single-Mode Fiber With Azo-Polymer Overlay

An etched single-mode fiber with azo-polymer overlay is made by the chemical etching method. The fibers cylindrical symmetry is maintained and the refractive index of the azo-polymer is controlled to be lower than that of the fiber to keep the waveguide structure. By altering the refractive index of the azo-polymer in course of its photoisomerization, the evanescent wave absorption is controlled, based on the penetration depth changing of the evanescent wave, and eventually modulates the optical power transmitted though the fiber. Under cyclical irradiation of UV light and visible light, reversible modulation of the transmitted optical power at 1550 nm is achieved.

Self-generated in-plane superlattice in relaxed epitaxial La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 films

The strain relaxation and its effect on the in-plane superlattice formation of epitaxial La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) thin films on the (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 (001) [LSAT (001)] substrates were investigated as a function of film thickness by x-ray diffraction. Rocking curves and reciprocal space mappings around (002) and (103) reflections reveal that the film with a thickness above 27nm is almost fully relaxed and has a modulated superlattice structure. The recovery of the pseudocubic angle of LSMO resulting from the relaxation of the shear strain introduced by the growth of rhombohedral LSMO on cubic LSAT was suggested to be the origin of the superlattice structure.

Doping dependence of the Josephson coupling in Bi2Sr2Ca1−xGdxCu2O8+δ single crystals

The Gd and oxygen doping effects on the Josephson coupling in Bi2Sr2Ca1−xGdxCu2O8+δ single crystals have been studied systematically. It was found that a pseudo-transition at temperature TcJ, attributed to the Josephson coupling between CuO2 layers, shifts dramatically to lower temperature with increasing magnetic field, and the temperature dependence of the pseudo-upper-critical-field HcJ associated with the coupling shows a clear upward curvature. For the Gd-doped as compared with the oxygen-doped crystal, the value of TcJ is smaller at the same carrier density, which implies that the substitution of Gd for Ca reduces the Josephson coupling more severely. The characteristics of the pseudo-transition associated with the Josephson coupling between CuO2 layers are different from those of the superconducting transition occurring in the CuO2 layers.