The Science of Nanostructure Acoustic Vibrations.

A previous model for acoustic mode vibrations of a DNA molecule in water is extended to the case of an array of many DNA molecules, as occurs in the fibers studied in most experimental work on DNA. The acoustic modes of this system are found to consist of coupled modes of water sound vibrations and DNA acoustic modes. This model is used to study the electrostatic coupling of acoustic vibrations to the relaxational modes of the orientational degrees of freedom of the water molecules. It is found that the long-range or macroscopic electric field generated by the acoustic mode vibrations of the water-DNA system gives too small a damping and frequency shift of the acoustic modes to account for the observations on DNA fibers. Therefore, the observed damping and frequency shifts are most likely due to either friction between the surrounding water and the vibrating DNA, or coupling to the water orientation degrees of freedom resulting from the short range (i.e., screened) Coulomb interaction. The latter explanation (which is most likely the correct one) implies that the relaxation time of the hydration shell water is longer than the observed relaxation time by a factor of the static dielectric constant of the hydration water.

In the near field (for separation distances smaller than the thermal wavelength, of the order of some microns at ambient temperature), the radiative heat flow between two solids at different temperatures can exceed the blackbody limit by several orders of magnitude. Furthermore, at the atomic scale, close to contact, the vibrational modes of the crystal lattice are expected to play an important role in the heat exchange. While the contribution of acoustic phonons tunnel-ing due to Van der Waals forces and electrostatic interactions near the surface has been investigated [1–5], the radiative contribution of the acoustic modes has been neglected so far. Under the local assumption (wavevector k ≈ 0), optical modes are independent from the acoustic modes, and are the sole responsible for the thermal radiation for distances larger than a few nanometers. However at subnanometer distances, the electromagnetic response of solids is nonlocal (k ≠ 0) and both acoustic and optical modes are coupled, contributing together to the radiative heat exchange. In order to demonstrate the role of this contribu-tion, we calculate [6] the nonlocal dielectric permittivity of magnesium oxide (MgO) using molecular dynamics. In conjunction with fluctuational electrody-namics calculations, we are able to highlight the role of radiation between two polar crystals produced by acoustic modes compared to the expected results from the local theory. We show that this additional contribution can become the dominant channel for radiative heat exchanges at atomic scale in the cryo-genic regime (below 100 K). Since the acoustic vibration modes can be excited with the help of piezoelectric transducers, our work opens the possibility to the control of radiative heat exchanges at atomic scale using external mechanical actuation.

Thin film flexible/bendable acoustic wave devices: Evolution, hybridization and decoupling of multiple acoustic wave modes

Assuming an idealized piezoelectric bulk acoustic wave resonator, one typically calculates the velocity of the fundamental bulk acoustic mode as the measured frequency times twice the thickness of the piezoelectric film. In c-axis 6mm hexagonal crystals of (e.g., ZnO or AlN), both the longitudinal and thickness shear modes are peizoelectrically active using thickness excitation and lateral-field excitation, respectively. Without a loss of generality, we concentrate our study on ZnO films. The theoretical velocity of the pure thickness shear mode in sputtered ZnO, based strictly on reported material properties, is calculated to be approximately 2580 m/s. However, a variety of acoustic velocities for the thickness shear mode in ZnO have been reported in the literature ranging from about 3100–3500 m/s. These reported values represent a 20%–36% increase in acoustic velocity relative to the theoretical values. In the literature, this deviation is typically attributed to ZnO film inconsistencies and other phenomena which can be difficult to quantify. We propose that the reported inconsistencies may be attributed to a hybrid acoustic mode comprised of a coupling of shear and longitudinal particle displacements. In this paper, we present a theoretical description of a hybrid mode in ZnO solidly mounted resonator (SMR) devices. We begin first with an experimental verification of a mode with a changing velocity in a ZnO SMR with the only variable being the ZnO thickness. Using the acoustic velocity through the thickness as an effective velocity with which to reference the mode, we find the effective acoustic velocity to range from 3100–3900 m/s, with increasing ZnO thickness. We then start from the first principles of piezoelectric acoustic wave propagation and derive three coupled partial differential equations describing a hybrid mode comprised of the coupling between longitudinal and shear particle displacement and the corresponding piezoelectrically generated potential in the ZnO film. The qualitative findings described by the derived equations are then further investigated with finite element simulation (COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS®). We simulate the performance of our experimental devices using the COMSOL platform, examine the eigenfrequencies of the structure, and find a hybrid mode which is trapped both vertically and laterally in the ZnO film. Calculating the effective velocity of the simulated modes, we find the simulated effective velocities to be within 1.5% of our measured results. Finally, we compare simulation results to experimentally measured results of a previously observed hybrid mode and achieve a 0.2% agreement.

We report here the computation and measurement of inelastic light scattering from acoustic vibrational modes in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT's). The measurement was made possible by the preparation of a sample of oriented SWNT's, partially aligned by means of a magnetic field. Long-wavelength confined longitudinal acoustic modes are described by a shell model. Their interaction with light is described by a surface elasto-optic effect. From the dispersion relations of acoustic modes we obtain an estimate of the two-dimensional Young's modulus of the single curved graphenic plane forming the SWNT. The result is consistent with the reported SWNT elastic properties.

We present theoretical investigations of the intrinsic dynamics of long-wavelength non-equilibrium optical phonons in bulk and low-dimensional semiconductors. The theory is based on the application of Fermi's golden rule formula, with phonon dispersion relations as well as crystal anharmonicity considered in the framework of isotropic continuum model. Contributions to the decay rates of the phonon modes are discussed in terms of four possible channels: Klemens channel (into two acoustic daughter modes), generalised Ridley channel (into one acoustic and one optical mode), generalised Vallee-Bogani channel (into a lower mode of the same branch and an acoustic mode), and Barman-Srivastava channel (into two lower-branch optical modes). The role of crystal structure and cation/anion mass ratio in determining the lifetime of such modes in bulk semiconductors is highlighted. Estimates of lifetimes of such modes in silicon nanowires and carbon nanotubes will also be presented. The results support and explain available experimental data, and make predictions in some cases.

Non-ideal gases refer to deformable substances in which the speed of sound can decrease following an isentropic compression. This may occur near a phase transition such as the liquid–vapour critical point due to long-range molecular interactions. Isentropes can then become locally concave in the pressure/specific-volume phase diagram (e.g. Bethe–Zel’dovich–Thompson (BZT) gases). Following the pioneering work of Bethe (Tech. Rep. 545, Office of Scientific Research and Development, 1942) on shocks in non-ideal gases, this paper explores the refraction properties of stable compression shocks in non-reacting but arbitrary substances featuring a positive isobaric volume expansivity. A small-perturbation analysis is carried out to obtain analytical expressions for the thermo-acoustic properties of the refracted field normal to the shock front. Three new regimes are discovered: (i) an extensive but selective (in upstream Mach numbers) amplification of the entropy mode (hundreds of times larger than those of a corresponding ideal gas); (ii) discontinuous (in upstream Mach numbers) refraction properties following the appearance of non-admissible portions of the shock adiabats; (iii) the emergence of a phase shift for the generated acoustic modes and therefore the existence of conditions for which the perturbed shock does not produce any acoustic field (i.e. ‘quiet’ shocks, to contrast with the spontaneous D’yakov–Kontorovich acoustic emission expected in 2D or 3D). In the context of multidimensional flows, and compressible turbulence in particular, these results demonstrate a variety of pathways by which a supplied amount of energy (in the form of an entropy, vortical or acoustic mode) can be redistributed in the form of other entropy, acoustic and vortical modes in a manner that is simply not achievable in ideal gases. These findings are relevant for turbines and compressors operating close to the liquid–vapour critical point (e.g. organic Rankine cycle expanders, supercritical $\text{CO}_{2}$ compressors), astrophysical flows modelled as continuum media with exotic equations of state (e.g. the early Universe) or Bose–Einstein condensates with small but finite temperature effects.

We present the first attempt at localizing in latitude the temporal variation of mode energy, energy supply rate, and lifetime of global acoustic modes. We use Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) and Michelson Doppler Imager data analyzed with the GONG peak-fitting algorithm to measure mode width and amplitude of individual (l, n, m) modes. While measured amplitude and width values are inherently noisier than frequency measurements, it is possible to use the (m/l) dependence of these mode parameters to extract their variation in latitude. With the currently analyzed data sets, we construct maps in time and latitude of acoustic mode energy, lifetime (inverse of mode width), and energy supply rate covering the rising phase of the current solar cycle from the previous minimum to the current maximum. We find that the energy and width of global modes vary in latitude as well as in time and that the variation is clearly related to the distribution of magnetic flux. After removing the average quantity, the residual mode width shows a linear correlation with magnetic activity with a correlation coefficient of 0.88, while the corresponding residual mode energy is anticorrelated with magnetic activity with a correlation coefficient of -0.90. These mode parameters derived from global p-modes respond to the local distribution of surface magnetic activity. The energy supply rate shows no correlation with the latitudinal distribution of magnetic activity within the limits of the current measurements. We estimate the variation of global mode energy in response to an individual magnetic feature, such as a plage, and find that the global mode energy and the mode lifetime are reduced by about 40% by an active region compared to the quiet Sun.

Using ultrafast spectroscopy, we investigated electron-lattice coupling and acoustic vibrations in self-assembled silver nanocolumns embedded in an amorphous Al2O3 matrix. The measured electron-lattice energy exchange time is smaller in the nanocolumns than in bulk silver, with a value very close to that of isolated nanospheres with comparable surface to volume ratio. Two vibration modes were detected and ascribed to the breathing and extensional mode of the nanocolumns, in agreement with numerical simulations.

UV radiation creates excited electronic states in DNA that can decay to mutagenic photoproducts. When excited states return to the electronic ground state, photochemical injury is avoided. Understanding of the available relaxation pathways has advanced rapidly during the past decade, but there has been persistent uncertainty, and even controversy, over how to compare results from transient absorption and time-resolved emission experiments. Here, emission from single- and double-stranded AT DNA compounds excited at 265 nm was studied in aqueous solution using the time-correlated single photon counting technique. There is quantitative agreement between the emission lifetimes ranging from 50 to 200 ps and ones measured in transient absorption experiments, demonstrating that both techniques probe the same excited states. The results indicate that excitations with lifetimes of more than a few picoseconds are weakly emissive excimer and charge transfer states. Only a minute fraction of excitations persist beyond 1 ns in AT DNA strands at room temperature.

For the first time detailed interactions between optical and acoustic modes in a silicon slot waveguide are presented. A new computer code has been developed by using a full-vectorial formulation to study the acoustic modes in optical waveguides. The results have shown that the acoustic modes in an optical slot waveguide are not purely longitudinal or transverse but fully hybrid in nature. The model allows the effects of Stimulated Brillouin Scattering and the associated frequency shift due to the interaction of these hybrid acoustic modes with the fully hybrid optical mode also to be presented.

The Raman light to vibration coupling coefficients Cαβ of the l=0 and the l=2 spheroidal phonon modes of quasifree spherical CdSe/CdS core/shell nanoparticles are calculated. Based on the Lamb model, the displacement vectors of acoustic phonon modes are obtained and the Cαβ is also derived. The Raman scattering from quasifree CdSe/CdS nanoparticles with various inner radii is investigated. For the l=0 acoustic modes, the bond polarizability model is adopted to calculate Cαβ, whose peak positions shift toward lower frequencies with the increase in the inner radius. It could be accounted for by the decrease in the averaged longitudinal and transverse sound velocities. Moreover, the ratio of the coefficients Aαβγδ {Montagna and Dusi, [Phys. Rev. B 52, 10080 (1995)]} between layers characterizes behaviors of peak heights of Cαβ. For the l=2 modes based on the dipole-induced-dipole model, the behaviors of peak positions are obtained by varying values of vL and vT of materials in both layers. As we treat the core/shell nanoparticle as a whole, the behavior of Cαβ peak positions on a CdSe/CdS core/shell nanoparticle is consistent with its dependence on the averaged sound velocities of the whole nanoparticle. Meanwhile, it also agrees with the calculated results for a CdSxSe1−x one {Ristić et al., [J. Appl. Phys. 104, 073519 (2008)]}. However, we observed that some peaks reach dramatically high values for given inner radii of the CdSe/CdS nanoparticles, which occur only in the spherical core/shell nanoparticles.

Flow over ducted cavities can lead to strong resonances of the trapped acoustic modes due to the presence of the cavity within the duct. Aly and Ziada (2010, “Flow-Excited Resonance of Trapped Modes of Ducted Shallow Cavities,” J. Fluids Struct., 26(1), pp. 92–120; 2011, “Azimuthal Behaviour of Flow-Excited Diametral Modes of Internal Shallow Cavities,” J. Sound Vib., 330(15), pp. 3666–3683; and 2012, “Effect of Mean Flow on the Trapped Modes of Internal Cavities,” J. Fluids Struct., 33, pp. 70–84) investigated the excitation mechanism of acoustic trapped modes in axisymmetric cavities. These trapped modes in axisymmetric cavities tend to spin because they do not have preferred orientation. The present paper investigates rectangular cross-sectional cavities as this cavity geometry introduces an orientation preference to the excited acoustic mode. Three cavities are investigated, one of which is square while the other two are rectangular. In each case, numerical simulations are performed to characterize the acoustic mode shapes and the associated acoustic particle velocity fields. The test results show the existence of stationary modes, being excited either consecutively or simultaneously, and a particular spinning mode for the cavity with square cross section. The computed acoustic pressure and particle velocity fields of the excited modes suggest complex oscillation patterns of the cavity shear layer because it is excited, at the upstream corner, by periodic distributions of the particle velocity along the shear layer circumference.

Flow over ducted cavities can lead to strong resonances of the trapped acoustic modes due to the presence of the cavity within the duct. Aly & Ziada [1–3] investigated the excitation mechanism of acoustic trapped modes in axisymmetric cavities. These trapped modes in axisymmetric cavities tend to spin because they do not have preferred orientation. The present paper investigates rectangular cross-sectional cavities as this cavity geometry introduces an orientation preference to the excited acoustic mode. Three cavities are investigated, one of which is square while the other two are rectangular. In each case, numerical simulations are performed to characterize the acoustic mode shapes and the associated acoustic particle velocity fields. The test results show the existence of stationary modes, being excited either consecutively or simultaneously, and a particular spinning mode for the cavity with square cross-section. The computed acoustic pressure and particle velocity fields of the excited modes suggest complex oscillation patterns of the cavity shear layer because it is excited, at the upstream corner, by periodic distributions of the particle velocity along the shear layer circumference.

Various types of surface acoustic waves are generated by femtosecond pulses on bulk silicon with aluminium stripe transducers. Rayleigh and leaky longitudinal surface acoustic wave modes are detected in the time domain for various propagation distances. The modes are identified by measuring on various pitches and comparing the spectra with finite element calculations. The lifetimes of the modes are determined quantitatively by spatially separating pump and probe beam, showing a significant difference in the lifetimes of both modes. We were able to excite and measure Rayleigh modes with frequencies of up to 90 GHz using a 100 nm period grating.