This dissertation covers several important aspects of relativistically intense laser-microplasma interactions and some potential applications. A Paul-trap based target system was developed to provide fully isolated, well defined and well positioned micro-sphere-targets for experiments with focused peta-watt laser pulses. The laser interaction turned such targets into microplasmas, emitting proton beams with kinetic energies exceeding 10 MeV. The proton beam kinetic energy spectrum and spatial distribution were tuned by variation of the acceleration mechanism, reaching from broadly distributed spectra in relatively cold plasma expansions to spectra with relative energy spread as small as 20% in spherical multi-species Coulomb explosions and in directed acceleration processes. Numerical simulations and analytical calculations support these experimental findings and show how microplasmas may be used to engineer laser-driven proton sources. In a second effort, tungsten micro-needle-targets were used at a peta-watt laser to produce few-keV x-rays and 10-MeV-level proton beams simultaneously, both measured to have only few-m effective source-size. This source was used to demonstrate single-shot simultaneous radiographic imaging with x-rays and protons of biological and technological samples. Finally, the dissertation discusses future perspectives and directions for laser-microplasma interactions including non-spherical target shapes, as well as thoughts on experimental techniques and advanced quantitative image evaluation for the laser driven radiography.

Compound Semiconductors 1998 explores research and development in key semiconductor materials and III-V compounds such as gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, gallium nitride, silicon germanium, and silicon carbide. It critically assesses progress in key technologies such as reliability assessment and reports on advances in the use of semiconductors in modern electronic and optoelectronic devices. Coverage in this volume reflects the increased interest and research funding in nitride-based materials; wide band-gap devices; mobile communications, including III-V-based transistors and photonic devices; crystal growth and characterization; and nanoscale phenomena, such as quantum wires, dots, and other low dimensional structures.

"You, 0 Sun, are the eye of the world You are the soul of all embodied beings You are the source of all creatures You are the discipline of all engaged in work" - Translated from Mahabharata 3rd Century BC Today, energy is the lifeline and status symbol of "civilized" societies. All nations have therefore embarked upon Research and Development pro grams of varying magnitudes to explore and effectively utilize renewable sources of energy. Albeit a low-grade energy with large temporal and spatial variations, solar energy is abundant, cheap, clean, and renewable, and thus presents a very attractive alternative source. The direct conver sion of solar energy to electricity (photovoltaic effect) via devices called solar cells has already become an established frontier area of science and technology. Born out of necessity for remote area applications, the first commercially manufactured solar cells - single-crystal silicon and thin film CdS/Cu2S - were available well over 20 years ago. Indeed, all space vehicles today are powered by silicon solar cells. But large-scale terrestrial applications of solar cells still await major breakthroughs in terms of discovering new and radical concepts in solar cell device structures, utilizing relatively more abundant, cheap, and even exotic materials, and inventing simpler and less energy intensive fabrication processes. No doubt, this extraordinary challenge in R/D has led to a virtual explosion of activities in the field of photovoltaics in the last several years."

Recent years have seen a growing interest in and activity at the interface between physics and biology, with the realization that both subjects have a great deal to learn from and to teach to one another. A particularly promising aspect of this interface concerns the area of cooperative phenomena and phase transitions. The present book addresses both the structure and motion of biological materials and the increasingly complex behaviour that arises out of interactions in large systems, giving rise to self organization, adaptation, selection and evolution: concepts of interest not only to biology and living systems but also within condensed matter physics. The approach adopted by Physics of Biomaterials: Fluctuations, Self Assembly and Evolution is tutorial, but the book is fully up to date with the latest research. Written at a level appropriate to graduate researchers, preferably with a background either in condensed matter physics or theoretical or physically-oriented experimental biology.

This thesis investigates the effect of the magnetic field on propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), or surface plasmons for short. Above all, it focuses on using the magnetic field as an external agent to modify the properties of the SPPs, and therefore achieving active devices. Surface plasmons are evanescent waves that arise at metal-dielectric interfaces. They can be strongly confined (beyond the light diffraction limit), and provide a strong enhancement of the electromagnetic field at the interface. These waves have led to the development of plasmonic circuitry, which is a key candidate as an alternative to electronic circuitry and traditional optical telecommunication devices, since it is faster than the former and less bulky than the latter. Adopting both a theoretical and an experimental point of view, the book analyzes the magnetic modulation in SPPs by means of an interferometer engraved in a multilayer combining Au and Co. In this interferometer, which acts like a modulator, the SPP magnetic modulation is studied in detail, as are the parameters that have a relevant impact on it, simple ways to enhance it, its spectral dependence, and the highly promising possibility of using this system for biosensing. The thesis ultimately arrives at the conclusion that this method can provide values of modulations similar to other active methods used in plasmonics.

This book presents comprehensive studies of charge density waves (CDW) in a high-Tc cuprate superconductor using x-ray scattering techniques under uniaxial pressure. Specifically, the work addresses inelastic x-ray scattering studies under uniaxial pressure performed on the underdoped cuprate YBa2Cu3O6.67(p=0.12, Tc=65K) with incoming photon energy in the resonant (E=931.3 eV, Cu-L3 edge) and non-resonant conditions (E=17.794 keV). This is a completely new approach to the investigation of charge density waves. It revealed new features of charge density waves in cuprates, whose properties had previously been inaccessible..

In its combination of an advanced teaching standpoint with an emphasis on new perspectives and recent advances in the study of liquids formed by simple molecules, Molecular Liquids: New Perspectives in Physics and Chemistry provides a clear, understandable guide through the complexities of the subject. A wide range of topics is covered in the areas of intermolecular forces, statistical mechanics, the microscopic dynamics of simple liquids, thermodynamics of solutions, nonequilibrium molecular dynamics, molecular models for transport and relaxation in fluids, liquid simulations, statistical band shape theories, conformational studies, fast-exchange dynamics, and hydrogen bonding. The experimental techniques covered include: neutron scattering, X-ray diffraction, IR, Raman, NMR, quasielastic neutron scattering, and high-precision, time-resolved coherent Raman spectroscopy.

This book serves as an introduction to cryocooler technology and describes the principle applications of cryocoolers across a broad range of fields. It covers the specific requirements of these applications, and describes how the advantages and disadvantages of different cryocooler systems are taken into consideration. For example, Stirling coolers tend to be used only in space applications because of their high coefficient of performance, low weight and proven reliability, whilst Gifford-McMahon coolers are used for ground applications, such as in cryopumps and MRI shield cooling applications. Joule-Thomson cryocoolers are used in missile technology because of the fast cool down requirements. The cryocooler field is fast developing and the number of applications are growing because of the increasing costs of the cryogens such as Helium and Neon. The first chapter of the book introduces the different types of cryocoolers, their classification, working principles, and their design aspects, and briefly mentions some of the applications of these systems. This introductory chapter is followed by a number of contributions from prominent international researchers, each describing a specific field of application, the cooling requirements and the cryocooler systems employed. These areas of application include gas liquefaction, space technology, medical science, dilution refrigerators, missile systems, and physics research including particle accelerators. Each chapter describes the cooling requirements based on the end use, the approximate cooling load calculations, the criteria for cryocooler selection, the arrangement for cryocooler placement, the connection of the cooler to the object to be cooled, and includes genuine case studies. Intended primarily for researchers working on cryocoolers, the book will also serve as an introduction to cryocooler technology for students, and a useful reference for those using cryocooler systems in any area of application.

This open access book covers recent advances in experiments using the ultra-cold, very weakly perturbing superfluid environment provided by helium nanodroplets for high resolution spectroscopic, structural and dynamic studies of molecules and synthetic clusters. The recent infra-red, UV-Vis studies of radicals, molecules, clusters, ions and biomolecules, as well as laser dynamical and laser orientational studies, are reviewed. The Coulomb explosion studies of the uniquely quantum structures of small helium clusters, X-ray imaging of large droplets and electron diffraction of embedded molecules are also described. Particular emphasis is given to the synthesis and detection of new species by mass spectrometry and deposition electron microscopy.

This book has been written as part of a series of scientific books being published by Plenum Press. The scope of the series is to review a chosen topic in each volume. To supplement this information, the abstracts to the most important references cited in the text are reprinted, thus allowing the reader to find in-depth material without having to refer to many additional publications. This volume is dedicated to the field of dry (plasma) etching, as applied in silicon semiconductor processing. Although a number of books have appeared dealing with this area of physics and chemistry, these all deal with parts of the field. This book is unique in that it gives a compact, yet complete, in-depth overview of fundamentals, systems, processes, tools, and applications of etching with gas plasmas for VLSI. Examples are given throughout the fundamental sections, in order to give the reader a better insight in the meaning and magnitude of the many parameters relevant to dry etching. Electrical engineering concepts are emphasized to explain the pros and cons of reactor concepts and excitation frequency ranges. In the description of practical applications, extensive use is made of cross-referencing between processes and materials, as well as theory and practice. It is thus intended to provide a total model for understanding dry etching. The book has been written such that no previous knowledge of the subject is required. It is intended as a review of all aspects of dry etching for silicon semiconductor processing.

Singularities in Fluids, Plasmas and Optics, which contains the proceedings of a NATO Workshop held in Heraklion, Greece, in July 1992, provides a survey of the state of the art in the analysis and computation of singularities in physical problems drawn from fluid mechanics, plasma physics and nonlinear optics. The singularities include curvature singularities on fluid interfaces, the onset of turbulence in 3-D inviscid flows, focusing singularities for laser beams, and magnetic reconnection. The highlights of the book include the nonlinear Schr dinger equation for describing laser beam focusing, the method of complex variables for the analysis and computation of singularities on fluid interfaces, and studies of singularities for the 3-D Euler equations. The book is suitable for graduate students and researchers in these areas.

The objective of this book is to discuss the current status of research and development of boron-rich solids as sensors, ultra-high temperature ceramics, thermoelectrics, and armor. Novel biological and chemical sensors made of stiff and light-weight boron-rich solids are very exciting and efficient for applications in medical diagnoses, environmental surveillance and the detection of pathogen and biological/chemical terrorism agents. Ultra-high temperature ceramic composites exhibit excellent oxidation and corrosion resistance for hypersonic vehicle applications. Boron-rich solids are also promising candidates for high-temperature thermoelectric conversion. Armor is another very important application of boron-rich solids, since most of them exhibit very high hardness, which makes them perfect candidates with high resistance to ballistic impact. The following topical areas are presented: *Boron-rich solids: science and technology *Synthesis and sintering strategies of boron rich solids *Microcantilever sensors *Screening of the possible boron-based thermoelectric conversion materials; *Ultra-high temperature ZrB2 and HfB2 based composites *Magnetic, transport and high-pressure properties of boron-rich solids *Restrictions of the sensor dimensions for chemical detection *Armor

The thesis presents a systematic study of the Mpemba effect in a colloidal system with a micron-sized particle diffusing in a water bath. While the Mpemba effect, where a system's thermal relaxation time is a non-monotonic function of the initial temperature, has been observed in water since Aristotle's era, the underlying mechanism of the effect is still unknown. Recent studies indicate that the effect is not limited to water and has been studied both experimentally and numerically in a wide variety of systems. By carefully designing a double-well potential using feedback-based optical tweezers, the author demonstrates that an initially hot system can sometimes cool faster than an initially warm system. The author also presents the first observation in any system of another counterintuitive effect-the inverse Mpemba effect-where the colder of the two samples reaches the thermal equilibrium at a hot temperature first. The results for both the observations agree with theoretical predictions based on the Fokker-Planck equation. The experiments reveal that, for carefully chosen conditions, a strong version of both of the effects are observed where a system can relax to the bath temperature exponentially faster than under typical conditions.

The 1990 Cargese Summer Institute on ZO-Physics was organized by the Univer- site Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris (M. Levy and J.-L. Basdevant), CERN (M. Jacob), the Universite Catholique de Louvain (D. Speiser and J. Weyers), and the Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven (R. Gastmans), which, since 1975, have joined their efforts and worked in common. It was the ninth Summer Institute on High Energy Physics orga- nized jointly at Cargese by these three universities. Because of the start-up of LEP in the summer of 1989, we broke with our tradition of having our Summer Institutes in the odd years. Indeed, it seemed to us that the many new data from LEP had to be presented in detail as soon as possible in order to prepare the young researchers in particle physics better for the experimental results with which they will be confronted in the coming years. The main theme of the school was therefore ZO-physics, with particular emphasis on the way the experiments at LEP are analyzed. We had one lecturer from each LEP experiment: they agreed among each other to present different topics in e+e- physics. Nevertheless, they made sure that all the major topics were discussed and that the results could be critically compared.

Covers the State of the Art in Superfluidity and Superconductivity Superfluid States of Matter addresses the phenomenon of superfluidity/superconductivity through an emergent, topologically protected constant of motion and covers topics developed over the past 20 years. The approach is based on the idea of separating universal classical-field superfluid properties of matter from the underlying system's "quanta." The text begins by deriving the general physical principles behind superfluidity/superconductivity within the classical-field framework and provides a deep understanding of all key aspects in terms of the dynamics and statistics of a classical-field system. It proceeds by explaining how this framework emerges in realistic quantum systems, with examples that include liquid helium, high-temperature superconductors, ultra-cold atomic bosons and fermions, and nuclear matter. The book also offers several powerful modern approaches to the subject, such as functional and path integrals. Comprised of 15 chapters, this text: Establishes the fundamental macroscopic properties of superfluids and superconductors within the paradigm of the classical matter field Deals with a single-component neutral matter field Considers fundamentals and properties of superconductors Describes new physics of superfluidity and superconductivity that arises in multicomponent systems Presents the quantum-field perspective on the conditions under which classical-field description is relevant in bosonic and fermionic systems Introduces the path integral formalism Shows how Feynman path integrals can be efficiently simulated with the worm algorithm Explains why nonsuperfluid (insulating) ground states of regular and disordered bosons occur under appropriate conditions Explores superfluid solids (supersolids) Discusses the rich dynamics of vortices and various aspects of superfluid turbulence at T 0 Provides account of BCS theory for the weakly interacting Fermi gas Highlights and analyzes the most crucial developments that has led to the current understanding of superfluidity and superconductivity Reviews the variety of superfluid and superconducting systems available today in nature and the laboratory, as well as the states that experimental realization is currently actively pursuing

This book provides the state-of-the art of the present understanding of avalanche phenomena in both functional materials and geophysics. The main emphasis of the book is analyzing these apparently different problems within the common perspective of out-of-equilibrium phenomena displaying spatial and temporal complexity that occur in a broad range of scales. Many systems, when subjected to an external force, respond intermittently in the form of avalanches that often span over a wide range of sizes, energies and durations. This is often related to a class of critical behavior characterized by the absence of characteristic scales. Typical examples are magnetization processes, plastic deformation and failure occuring in functional materials. These phenomena share many similarities with seismicity arising from the earth crust failure due to stresses that originate from plate tectonics.

Phase transitions are involved in phenomena ranging from the initial stages of the creation of the Universe to the existence of biological objects. It is natural to as whether any phenomena analogous to phase transitions are possible in disordered substances like liquids and glasses. The possibility of such transitions is still very much a matter of debate. Neither the nature nor the features of transformations in liquids and glasses are yet clear, nor is the nature of the order parameters. Investigations in recent years have shown that transformations in liquids and glasses lead to a drastic change of their physical properties and short-range order structure.
The papers collected here contribute to a better understanding of the physics of disordered systems and phase transformations in them. An unambiguous identification of transitions in liquids and glasses requires further high-precision experimental study of the thermodynamic and structural properties in the vicinity of transitions in order to test existing theoretical models and develop new, more accurate ones.

This book presents a collection of selected lectures discussing current problems in molecular physics and reviews the main cutting-edge advances in condensed and soft matter physics. It offers deep insights and a powerful basis for scientists and engineers to study complicated problems in physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. The unification of experimental, theoretical, and computational methods allows milestone results to be achieved in areas such as ionic and ionic-electronic liquids, magnetic liquid systems, liquid systems with nanoparticles, structural phase transitions and critical phenomena, and small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering in liquids and liquid systems. The lectures selected for this book were held at the 7th International Conference "Physics of Liquid Matter: Modern Problems" (PLMMP-2016), 27-31 May in Kiev, Ukraine.

This book starts with an introduction to the basic concepts of multistability, then illustrates how multistability arises in different systems and explains the main mechanisms of multistability emergence. A special attention is given to noise which can convert a multistable deterministic system to a monostable stochastic one. Furthermore, the most important applications of multistability in different areas of science, engineering and technology are given attention throughout the book, including electronic circuits, lasers, secure communication, and human perception. The book aims to provide a first approach to multistability for readers, who are interested in understanding its fundamental concepts and applications in several fields. This book will be useful not only to researchers and engineers focusing on interdisciplinary studies, but also to graduate students and technicians. Both theoreticians and experimentalists will rely on it, in fields ranging from mathematics and laser physics to neuroscience and astronomy. The book is intended to fill a gap in the literature, to stimulate new discussions and bring some fundamental issues to a deeper level of understanding of the mechanisms underlying self-organization of matter and world complexity.

The widespread interest this book has found among professors, scientists and stu dents working in a variety of fields has made a new edition necessary. I have used this opportunity to add three new chapters on recent developments. One of the most fascinating fields of modern science is cognitive science which has become a meet ing place of many disciplines ranging from mathematics over physics and computer science to psychology. Here, one of the important links between these fields is the concept of information which, however, appears in various disguises, be it as Shan non information or as semantic information (or as something still different). So far, meaning seemed to be exorcised from Shannon information, whereas meaning plays a central role in semantic (or as it is sometimes called "pragmatic") information. In the new chapter 13 it will be shown, however, that there is an important interplay between Shannon and semantic information and that, in particular, the latter plays a decisive role in the fixation of Shannon information and, in cognitive processes, al lows a drastic reduction of that information. A second, equally fascinating and rapidly developing field for mathematicians, computer scientists and physicists is quantum information and quantum computa tion. The inclusion of these topics is a must for any modern treatise dealing with in formation. It becomes more and more evident that the abstract concept of informa tion is inseparably tied up with its realizations in the physical world."

Providing a comprehensive overview of developments to both the academic and industrial communities, Compound Semiconductors 1996 covers all types of compound semiconducting materials and devices. The book includes results on blue and green lasers, heterostructure devices, nanoelectronics, and novel wide band gap semiconductors. With invited review papers and research results in current topics of interest, this volume is part of a well-known series of conferences for the dissemination of research results in the field.

This thesis focuses on the growth of a new type of two-dimensional (2D) material known as hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). It also presents several significant breakthroughs in the authors' understanding of the growth mechanism and development of new growth techniques, which are now well known in the field. Of particular importance is the pioneering work showing experimental proof that 2D crystals of h-BN can indeed be hexagonal in shape. This came as a major surprise to many working in the 2D field, as it had been generally assumed that hexagonal-shaped h-BN was impossible due to energy dynamics. Beyond growth, the thesis also reports on synthesis techniques that are geared toward commercial applications. Large-area aligned growth and up to an eightfold reduction in the cost of h-BN production are demonstrated. At present, all other 2D materials generally use h-BN as their dielectric layer and for encapsulation. As such, this thesis lays the cornerstone for using CVD 2D h-BN for this purpose.