Towards space-deployable laser stabilization systems based on vibration-insensitive cubic cavities with crystalline coatings.

We present the development of a transportable laser frequency stabilization system with application to both optical clocks and a next-generation gravity mission (NGGM) in space. This effort leverages a 5-cm long cubic cavity with crystalline coatings operating at room temperature and with a center wavelength of 1064 nm. The cavity is integrated in a custom vacuum chamber with dedicated low-noise locking electronics.

First-Principles Study of Electronic Conductivity, Structural and Electronic Properties of Oxygen-Vacancy-Defected SnO₂.

The use of computer simulations has become almost essential for prediction and interpretation of device's performance. In gas sensing field, the simulation of specific conditions, which determine the physical-chemical properties of widely used metal oxide semiconductors, can be used to investigate the performance of gas sensors based on these kinds of materials. The aim of this work was to evaluate the physical-chemical properties of tin dioxide employed for environmental and health gas sensing application and to investigate the influence of oxygen vacancies on its properties by means of density functional theory.

AFM and Raman study of graphene deposited on silicon surfaces nanostructured by ion beam irradiation.

Nanoscale structures were produced on silicon surfaces by low-energy oxygen ion irradiation: periodic rippled or terraced patterns formed spontaneously, depending on the chosen combination of beam incidence angle and ion fluence. Atomic force microscopy image processing and analysis accurately described the obtained nanotopographies. Graphene monolayers grown by chemical vapour deposition were transferred onto the nanostructured silicon surfaces.

Shungite Carbon as Unexpected Natural Source of Few-Layer Graphene Platelets in a Low Oxidation State.

The paper reports on the feasibility of obtaining graphene nanomaterials with remarkable structural and chemical features from shungite rocks. The investigation of the composition and structural modifications induced in the pristine, natural C-containing mineraloid by a specifically designed physicochemical purification treatment is performed by a combined use of several techniques (scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies). The adopted material processing enables efficient extraction of the C phase in the form of thin polycrystalline platelets of a few hundred nanometers sizes, and formed by 6-10 graphene sheets.

The role of incidence angle in the morphology evolution of Ge surfaces irradiated by medium-energy Au ions.

Germanium (Ge) surfaces have been irradiated with 26 keV gold (Au) ions at a constant fluence and at incidence angles varying from 0° to 85°. The evolution of the emerging nanostructures is studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The obtained results are compared with findings reported in the literature.