Zuojia Wang

Dielectric abnormities of complex perovskite Ba(Fe1∕2Nb1∕2)O3 ceramics over broad temperature and frequency range

Dielectric characteristics of Ba(Fe1∕2Nb1∕2)O3 ceramics were investigated over a broad temperature and a frequency range. Two dielectric relaxations following Arrhenius law were observed at 150–400 and 406–650K. An extremely high relaxorlike dielectric peak (202 270 at 5Hz, 91 930 at 1kHz, and 37 030 at 100kHz) with very strong frequency dispersion was observed at 406–650K, and it was not relaxor ferroelectric but an oxygen defect induced dielectric abnormity. The significant drop of dielectric constant at 146–400K was also frequency dependent, and it was nearly a Debye relaxation. Between these two dielectric relaxations, there was a frequency dependent dielectric constant plateau over a wide temperature interval.

Dielectric relaxations in Ba(Fe1∕2Ta1∕2)O3 giant dielectric constant ceramics

Dielectric relaxations of Ba(Fe1∕2Ta1∕2)O3 ceramics were investigated and discussed over a broad temperature and frequency range. Two dielectric relaxations following Arrhenius law were observed at 153–382 and 440–623K, where there was a giant dielectric constant step between them. The frequency dependent rapid drop of dielectric constant at 153–382K was nearly a Debye relaxation with the intrinsic nature, while the high temperature dielectric relaxation with an extremely high dielectric constant peak and very strong frequency dispersion was attributed to the defect ordering but not a typical relaxor ferroelectric behavior. The O2 annealing almost completely suppressed the dielectric peak and subsequently extended the giant dielectric step, while the low temperature dielectric relaxation and the magnitude of such step were not obviously affected.

Behind the change of the photoluminescence property of metal-coated ZnO nanowire arrays

The effect of metal coating on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of ZnO nanowire arrays has been investigated in detail in this letter. The Zn coating induces remarkable enhancement of the ultraviolet and green emissions of the nanowires, while the deposition of Ag leads to notable decrement of them. A model considering the type of contacts formed between metals and ZnO is proposed to interpret the change of the PL spectra. Also, this model is strongly supported by the PL variation of the nanowires after coating with other kinds of metals.

Neuroprotective effects of icaritin against beta amyloid-induced neurotoxicity in primary cultured rat neuronal cells via estrogen-dependent pathway

Beta-amyloid protein (Abeta) is the hallmark of pathogenic neurotoxins which contribute greatly to Alzheimers disease (AD)-associated cascade including severe neuronal loss. In present study, icaritin, an active natural ingredient from a Chinese plant, Epimedium sagittatum maxim, was investigated to assess its neuroprotective effect against the toxicity induced with Abeta(25-35) in primary cultured rat cortical neuronal cells as well as the underlying mechanisms. Abeta(25-35) induced neuronal toxicity, characterized by decreased cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, and neuronal DNA condensation, which is associated with both the loss of membrane potential and the alteration of the expression of Bcl-2 family proteins. The phenotype alternation induced by Abeta(25-35) could be reversed by icaritin. Furthermore, the neuroprotective effects of icaritin mentioned above were estrogen receptor dependent due to the blocking action induced by estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182,780 and well matched binding affinity with estrogen receptor by a receptor-ligand docking experiment. mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase inhibitor PD98059 weakened the protective effects, which implied mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway may also be involved in and partly contributed to the neuroprotective effects of icaritin.

Optical chiral metamaterials: a review of the fundamentals, fabrication methods and applications.

Optical chiral metamaterials have recently attracted considerable attention because they offer new and exciting opportunities for fundamental research and practical applications. Through pragmatic designs, the chiroptical response of chiral metamaterials can be several orders of magnitude higher than that of natural chiral materials. Meanwhile, the local chiral fields can be enhanced by plasmonic resonances to drive a wide range of physical and chemical processes in both linear and nonlinear regimes. In this review, we will discuss the fundamental principles of chiral metamaterials, various optical chiral metamaterials realized by different nanofabrication approaches, and the applications and future prospects of this emerging field.

l-Cysteine promotes the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells via the CBS/H2S pathway

Growing evidence has suggested that hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) acts as a novel neuro-modulator and neuroprotective agent; however, it remains to be investigated whether H2S has a direct effect on neural stem cells (NSCs). We report here that NSCs expressed cystathionine β synthase (CBS) and addition of exogenous H2S donor, L-cysteine, stimulated proliferation and increased the differentiation potential of NSCs to neurons and astroglia. Moreover, pre-treatment with aminooxyacetic acid, the inhibitor of CBS or knockdown of CBS in using siRNA, significantly attenuated the effects of L-cysteine on elevated H₂S levels and the cell proliferation; it also effectively suppressed L-cysteine-induced neurogenesis and astrocytogenesis. Further analysis revealed that L-cysteine-induced proliferation was associated with phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 and differentiation with altered expression of differentiation-related genes. Taken together, the present data suggest that L-cysteine can enhance proliferation and differentiation of NSCs via the CBS/H2S pathway, which may serve as a useful inference for elucidating its role in regulating the fate of NSCs in physiological and pathological settings.

Hyperbolic spoof plasmonic metasurfaces

Hyperbolic metasurfaces have recently emerged as a new research frontier because of the unprecedented capabilities to manipulate surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and many potential applications. However, thus far, the existence of hyperbolic metasurfaces has neither been observed nor predicted at low frequencies because noble metals cannot support SPPs at longer wavelengths. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate spoof plasmonic metasurfaces with a hyperbolic dispersion, where the spoof SPPs propagate on complementary H-shaped, perfectly conducting surfaces at low frequencies. Thus, non-divergent diffractions, negative refraction and dispersion-dependent spin-momentum locking are observed as the spoof SPPs travel over the hyperbolic spoof plasmonic metasurfaces (HSPMs). The HSPMs provide fundamental new platforms to explore the propagation and spin of spoof SPPs. They show great capabilities for designing advanced surface wave devices such as spatial multiplexers, focusing and imaging devices, planar hyperlenses, and dispersion-dependent directional couplers, at both microwave and terahertz frequencies. An artificial optical material known as a hyperbolic metasurface that operates at low frequencies has been made. Metamaterials can be designed to have optical properties not found in nature. One example is the hyperbolic metasurface, so called because the strongly anisotropic electric or magnetic response of the material creates a hyperbolic dispersion in the photons momemtum space. So far, only hyperbolic metasurfaces that operate at relatively high frequencies have been created. Now, Hongsheng Chen from Zhejiang University in China and co-workers has created a spoof plasmonic metasurface with exotic optical properties and that have low-frequency operation. They achieved this by using so-called spoof surface-plasmon polaritons that arise as light interacts with capacitances and inductances created by an array of H-shaped perfectly conducting surfaces. We propose and experimentally demonstrate spoof plasmonic metasurfaces with a hyperbolic dispersion, where the spoof SPPs propagate on complementary H-shaped perfectly conducting surfaces at low frequencies. In this way, non-divergent diffractions, negative refraction, and dispersion-dependent spin-momentum locking are observed as the spoof SPPs travel over the hyperbolic spoof plasmonic metasurfaces. They show great capabilities to design advanced surface wave devices such as spatial multiplexers, focusing and imaging devices, planar hyperlenses, and dispersion-dependent directional couplers, at both microwave and terahertz frequencies.Metasurfaces, with intrinsically planar nature and subwavelength thickness, provide us unconventional methodologies to not only mold the flow of propagating waves but also manipulate near-field waves. Plasmonic metasurfaces with topological transition for controlling surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) recently have been experimentally demonstrated, which, however, are limited to optical frequencies. In this work, we proposed and experimentally characterized an ultrathin metasurface with the topological transition for manipulating spoof SPPs at low frequency. We demonstrated rich interesting phenomena based on this metasurface, including frequency-dependent spatial localization, non-diffraction propagation, negative refraction, and dispersion-dependent spin-momentum locking of spoof SPPs. Comparing with traditional three-dimensional metamaterials, our metasurface exhibits low propagation loss and compatibility with the photonic integrated circuit, which may find plenty of applications in spatial multiplexers, focusing and imaging devices, planar hyperlens, and dispersion-dependent directional couplers, in microwave and terahertz frequencies.

Atomically thin nonreciprocal optical isolation

Optical isolators will play a critical role in next-generation photonic circuits, but their on-chip integration requires miniaturization with suitable nonreciprocal photonic materials. Here, we theoretically demonstrate the thinnest possible and polarization-selective nonreciprocal isolation for circularly polarized waves by using graphene monolayer under an external magnetic field. The underlying mechanism is that graphene electron velocity can be largely different for the incident wave propagating in opposite directions at cyclotron frequency, making graphene highly conductive and reflective in one propagation direction while transparent in the opposite propagation direction under an external magnetic field. When some practical loss is introduced, nonreciprocal isolation with graphene monolayer still possesses good performance in a broad bandwidth. Our work shows the first study on the extreme limit of thickness for optical isolation and provides theoretical guidance in future practical applications.

Origami-Based Reconfigurable Metamaterials for Tunable Chirality

Origami is the art of folding two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as a flat sheet of paper, into complex and elaborate three-dimensional (3D) objects. This study reports origami-based metamaterials whose electromagnetic responses are dynamically controllable via switching the folding state of Miura-ori split-ring resonators. The deformation of the Miura-ori unit along the third dimension induces net electric and magnetic dipoles of split-ring resonators parallel or anti-parallel to each other, leading to the strong chiral responses. Circular dichroism as high as 0.6 is experimentally observed while the chirality switching is realized by controlling the deformation direction and kinematics. In addition, the relative density of the origami metamaterials can be dramatically reduced to only 2% of that of the unfolded structure. These results open a new avenue toward lightweight, reconfigurable, and deployable metadevices with simultaneously customized electromagnetic and mechanical properties.

Ferroelectric properties of 0.87Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3–0.13PbTiO3 thin film prepared by metalorganic solution deposition

0.87Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3–0.13PbTiO3 thin film has been prepared by metalorganic solution deposition on Pt∕TiO2∕SiO2∕Si and SiO2∕Si substrates. The film shows good switching endurance under bipolar stressing up to 3×1010 switching cycles with a remanent polarization 2Pr of about 3μC∕cm2 and a coercive field Ec of approximate 56kV∕cm. The high frequency C–V curve is indicative of good film/substrate interface characteristics. The film could be used in storage capacitors, CMOS integrated devices, and insulation gate field-effect transistors.