X-ray emission spectra in the spectral range of 2–13 nm from 19 kinds of material with high atomic numbers (lanthanum through lead) were recorded with a grazing incidence spectrometer equipped with a microchannel plate detector. There is an intense, narrow spectral band in these spectra which shifts toward shorter wavelength and becomes weak in intensity with increasing atomic number. The materials were irradiated either by a 4 J/35 ns slab Nd:glass laser or by a 0.5 J/8 ns Nd:YAG laser. The absolute photon intensities of the spectra were determined with an absolutely calibrated charge coupled device camera. The peak spectral brightness of the emission at the peak intensity of the spectral band for lanthanum plasma was estimated to be 2.1×1016 photons/s/mm2/mrad2 in 0.1% bandwidth. The origin of the narrow, intense spectral bands in the recorded spectra and their dependence on target materials and laser wavelength are interpreted.

One of the long-standing problems to improve the resolution of organic electroluminescence devices has been related to the fabrication of very smooth, high-quality indium tin oxide (ITO) layers at room temperature. It seems that this problem could be solved by low-energy oxygen-ion-beam assisted electron-beam evaporation of ITO bulk material in vacuum. The oxygen ions were produced in an electron cyclotron resonance source with energies varied between 50 and 1000 eV. The growth rate changes from 0.04 to 0.23 nm/s. The structural, electrical and optical properties were characterized by x-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering, atomic force microscopy, Hall-effect and optical transmittance measurements. Crystalline structure, which depends only on the thickness of the deposited ITO films, can be easily obtained at room temperature. A very smooth surface of only 0.6 nm roughness (root mean square), almost one order smaller than that prepared by other methods, low resistivity of 7.0×10−4 Ω cm, high carrier density of 6.1×1020 cm−3, and high optical transmittance of 85% at wavelength 550 nm (including the glass substrate) could be repeatedly achieved at room temperature.

The initial process of Li-metal electrodeposition on the negative electrode surface determines the charging performance of Li-metal secondary batteries. However, minute depositions or the early processes of nucleation and growth of Li metal are generally difficult to detect under operando conditions. In this study, we propose an optical diagnostic approach to address these challenges. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy coupled with electrochemical operation is a promising technique that enables the ultrasensitive detection of the initial stage of Li-metal electrodeposition. The SPR is excited in a thin copper film deposited on a glass substrate, which also serves as a current collector enabling electrochemical Li-metal deposition. For a propylene carbonate (PC)-based Li-ion battery electrolyte, under both cyclic voltammetry and constant-current operation, Li-metal deposition is readily detected by changes in the SPR absorption dip in the reflectance spectrum. Electrochemical SPR is highly sensitive to metal deposition, with a demonstrated capability of detecting an average thickness of approximately 0.1 nm, corresponding to a few atomic layers of Li. To identify the growth mechanism, the SPR reflectance spectra of various possible Li-metal deposition processes were simulated. Comparison of the simulated spectra with the experimental data found good agreement with the well-known nucleation and growth model for Li-metal deposition from PC-based electrolytes. The demonstrated operando electrochemical SPR measurement should be a valuable tool for basic research on the initial Li-metal deposition process.

We report what we believe is the first observation of clear soft-x-ray lasing in Ni-like Ag, Te, La, Ce, and Pr and also in Nd covering the spectral range 14.3-7.9 nm. A curved slab target was irradiated with quadruple 1.053-microm laser pulses. The pulse-to-pulse separation for the first three pulses was 400 ps, and that between the third and the fourth pulses was 1.6 ns. The pulse duration and irradiance on the target were 100 ps and ~7 x 10(13) W/cm(2), respectively. For all the targets the most intense lasing was observed at the fourth pump pulse.

Pure indium oxide (In2O3) and SnO2-doped In2O3 (5 and 10 wt %) films were deposited on glass at different substrate temperatures (Ts) ranging from room temperature (RT=25 °C) to 350 °C using pulsed laser deposition. At low Ts (RT to 100 °C), pure In2O3 films yielded the lowest resistivity of (1.8–2.5)×10−4 Ω cm and the resistivity increased sharply with an increase in Ts, and the rise in the resistivity of pure In2O3 films resulted mainly from a decrease in carrier concentration and Hall mobility. For SnO2-doped In2O3 films, the resistivity decreased from 3.5×10−4 to 1.3×10−4 Ω cm with increasing Ts from RT to 350 °C and the reduction in the resistivity is associated with thermal activation of Sn leading to an increase in carrier concentration. Amorphous films were obtained at RT, but from Ts of 100 °C, the films appeared polycrystalline with orientation in the 〈111〉 plane. From atomic force microscopy, minimum surface roughness (Ra)⩽1.3 nm was obtained at RT and Ts>200 °C. Between 100 and 150 °C, Ra was maximum (2.5–4.9 nm). The films also exhibited high optical transmittance (>85%) to visible light.