Indium substitution effect on the topological crystalline insulator family (Pb1−x_{1-x}Snx_{x})1−y_{1-y}Iny_{y}Te: Topological and superconducting properties

Topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) have been of great interest in the area of condensed matter physics. We investigated the effect of indium substitution on the crystal structure and transport properties in the TCI system (Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_{x}$)$_{1-y}$In$_{y}$Te. For samples with a tin concentration $x\le50\%$, the low-temperature resisitivities show a dramatic variation as a function of indium concentration: with up to ~2% indium doping the samples show weak-metallic behavior, similar to their parent compounds; with ~6% indium doping, samples have true bulk-insulating resistivity and present evidence for nontrivial topological surface states; with higher indium doping levels, superconductivity was observed, with a transition temperature, Tc, positively correlated to the indium concentration and reaching as high as 4.7 K. We address this issue from the view of bulk electronic structure modified by the indium-induced impurity level that pins the Fermi level. The current work summarizes the indium substitution effect on (Pb,Sn)Te, and discusses the topological and superconducting aspects, which can be provide guidance for future studies on this and related systems.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Thermal analysis comparison between two random glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic matrix composites bonded by adhesives using microwaves: preliminary results

[Abstract]: This paper compares the thermal analysis of two types of random glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic matrix composites joined by adhesives using microwave energy. Fixed frequency, 2.45 GHz, microwave facility is used to join thirty three percent by weight random glass fibre reinforced polystyrene composite [PS/GF (33%)] and thirty three percent by weight random glass fibre reinforced low density polyethylene composite [LDPE/GF (33%)]. The facility used is shown in Figure 1. With a given power level, the composites were exposed to various exposure times to microwave irradiation. The primer or coupling agent used was 5-minute two-part adhesive. The heat distribution of the samples of the two types of composites was analysed and compared. The relationship between the heat distribution and the lap shear strength of the samples was also compared and discussed

Soot formation and radiation in turbulent jet diffusion flames under normal and reduced gravity conditions

Most practical combustion processes, as well as fires and explosions, exhibit some characteristics of turbulent diffusion flames. For hydrocarbon fuels, the presence of soot particles significantly increases the level of radiative heat transfer from flames. In some cases, flame radiation can reach up to 75 percent of the heat release by combustion. Laminar diffusion flame results show that radiation becomes stronger under reduced gravity conditions. Therefore, detailed soot formation and radiation must be included in the flame structure analysis. A study of sooting turbulent diffusion flames under reduced-gravity conditions will not only provide necessary information for such practical issues as spacecraft fire safety, but also develop better understanding of fundamentals for diffusion combustion. In this paper, a summary of the work to date and of future plans is reported

Improving the image quality of photoacoustic tomography (PAT) by using a negative acoustic lens

Although a small point ultrasound transducer has a wide acceptance angle, its signal-to-noise (SNR) is low due to the high thermal-noise-induced electric voltages in the transducer, which is a result of its small active area. By contrast, a finite size flat transducer has high sensitivity (good SNR), but the acceptance angle is generally small, which limits its application in reconstruction-based photoacoustic tomography (PAT). In this paper, we report a negative lens concept to increase the acceptance angle for a flat transducer. We also provide phantom experiments that demonstrate this concept can greatly increase the detection region for PAT and without losing sensitivity

Negative lens concept for photoacoustic tomography

Although a small point ultrasound transducer has a wide acceptance angle, its small active area leads to a high thermal-noise-induced electric voltage in the transducer, thus the sensitivity is low. By contrast, a finite-size flat transducer has high sensitivity, but the acceptance angle is small, which limits its application in reconstruction-based photoacoustic tomography (PAT). Here, we propose a negative lens concept to increase the acceptance angle of a flat transducer without losing sensitivity. Phantom experiments demonstrate that use of this concept greatly increases the detection region for PAT with high sensitivity

Numerical investigation of particles turbulent dispersion in channel flow

This paper investigates the performance of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes model on dispersion of particles in wall turbulence. A direct numerical simulation of wall-bounded channel flow with particles suspensions was set as a benchmark. The standard k-ω model coupled with two different eddy interaction models was used in Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes model and compared to the direct numerical simulation. Detailed comparisons between direct numerical simulation and Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes model on particle distribution evolving over time were carried out

Three-dimensional combined photoacoustic and optical coherence microscopy for in vivo microcirculation studies

Photoacoustic microscopy is predominantly sensitive to optical absorption, while optical coherence tomography relies on optical backscattering. Integrating their complementary contrasts can provide comprehensive information about biological tissue. We have developed a dual-modality microscope that combines the two for studying microcirculation. Three-dimensional imaging of microvasculature and its local environment has been demonstrated at micrometer-order resolution using endogenous contrast in vivo

RF diffraction effect in RF-induced thermoacoustic tomography: calibration and distortion

Because the wavelengths of radio-frequency (RF) waves used in thermoacoustic tomography (TAT) are comparable with the size of detected objects, RF diffraction plays important roles in TAT. The RF diffraction affects not only the global distribution of the RF field in the tissue, but also local RF energy deposition. In this paper, we discussed these two major effects. Both numerical simulations and phantom experiments are done to demonstrate these phenomena. We also provide a partial correction method for the image distortion and a calibration algorithm for image calibration