Strain and Strain Recovery of Human Hair from the Nano- to the Macroscale.

In this study, in operandi SAXS experiments were conducted on samples of human hair with a varying degree of strain (2% within the elastic region and 10% beyond). Four different features in the SAXS patterns were evaluated: The intermediate filament distance perpendicular to and the distance from the meridional arc in the load direction, as well as the distances of the lipid bilayer peak in and perpendicular to the load direction. From the literature, one concludes that polar lipids in the cuticle are the origin of the lipid peak in the SAXS pattern, and this study shows that the observed strain in the lipids is much lower than in the intermediate filaments.

Mid-infrared interference coatings with excess optical loss below 10 ppm.

We present high-reflectivity substrate-transferred single-crystal GaAs/AlGaAs interference coatings at a center wavelength of 4.54 μm with record-low excess optical loss below 10 parts per million. These high-performance mirrors are realized via a novel microfabrication process that differs significantly from the production of amorphous multilayers generated via physical vapor deposition processes.

Mechanical properties of non-centrosymmetric CePtSi and CePtB.

Elastic moduli, hardness (both at room temperature) and thermal expansion (4.2-670 K) have been experimentally determined for polycrystalline CePtSi and its prototype compound CePtB as well as for single-crystalline CePtSi. Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy was used to determine elastic properties (Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio ν) via the eigenfrequencies of the sample and the knowledge of sample mass and dimensions.

Ba-filled Ni-Sb-Sn based skutterudites with anomalously high lattice thermal conductivity.

Novel filled skutterudites BayNi4Sb12-xSnx (ymax = 0.93) have been prepared by arc melting followed by annealing at 250, 350 and 450 °C up to 30 days in vacuum-sealed quartz vials. Extension of the homogeneity region, solidus temperatures and structural investigations were performed for the skutterudite phase in the ternary Ni-Sn-Sb and in the quaternary Ba-Ni-Sb-Sn systems.

Thermoelectric properties of a Mn substituted synthetic tetrahedrite.

Tetrahedrite compounds Cu(12-x)Mn(x)Sb4S13 (0 ≤x≤ 1.8) were prepared by solid state synthesis. A detailed crystal structure analysis of Cu10.