Broadband metamaterials absorbers with high absorption, ultrathin thickness and easy configurations are in great demand for many potential applications. In this paper, we first analyse the coupling resonances in a Ti/Ge/Ti three-layer absorber, which can realise broadband absorption from 8 to 12 μm. Then we experimentally demonstrate two types of absorbers based on the Ti/Ge/Si3N4/Ti configuration. By taking advantage of coupling surface plasmon resonances and intrinsic absorption of lossy material Si3N4, the average absorptions of two types of absorbers achieve almost 95% from 8 to 14 μm (experiment result: 78% from 6.5 to 13.5 μm). In order to expand the absorption bandwidth, we further propose two Ti/Si/SiO2/Ti absorbers which can absorb 92% and 87% of ultra-broadband light in the 14–30 μm and 8–30 μm spectral range, respectively. Our findings establish general and systematic strategies for guiding the design of metamaterial absorbers with excellent broadband absorption and pave the way for enhancing the optical performance in applications of infrared thermal emitters, imaging and photodetectors.

A natural high-pressure phase of titanium oxide with α-PbO 2 -structure has been found in omphacite from coesite-bearing eclogite at Shima in the Dabie Mountains, China. High-resolution transmission electron microscope observations have revealed an orthorhombic lattice, corresponding to α-PbO 2 -type TiO 2 with cell parameters a = 0.461 nm, b = 0.540 nm, c = 0.497 nm and space group Pbcn. It occurs as nanometer-thick (<2 nm) lamellae between multiple twinned rutile crystals, providing additional evidence of very high-pressure, metamorphism at 7 GPa, 900 °C. This implies subduction of continental material to a depth of more than 200 kilometers. α-PbO 2 -type TiO 2 could be an extremely useful index mineral for ultrahigh-pressure.

Abstract:Influences of climatic change on the components of global hydrological cycle, including runoff and evapotranspiration are significant in the mid-and high-latitude basins. In this paper, the effect of climatic change on annual runoff is evaluated in a large basin-Songhua River basin which is located in the northeast of China. A method based on Budyko-type equation is applied to separate the contributions of climatic factors to changes in annual runoff from 1960 to 2008, which are computed by multiplying their partial derivatives by the slopes of trends in climate factors. Furthermore, annual runoff changes are predicted under IPCC SRES A2 and B2 scenarios with projections from five GCMs. The results showed that contribution of annual precipitation to annual runoff change was more significant than that of annual potential evapotranspiration in the Songhua River basin; and the factors contributing to annual potential evapotranspiration change were ranked as temperature, wind speed, vapour pressure, and sunshine duration. In the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s, changes in annual runoff estimated with the GCM projections exhibited noticeable difference and ranged from 8Ð4 to 16Ð8 mm a 1 ( 5Ð77 to 11Ð53% of mean annual runoff).

Non‐parametric methods including Mann–Kendall (M–K) test, continuous wavelet transform (CWT) and discrete wavelet transform analysis are applied in this paper to detect the trend and periodic trait of precipitation data series in Beijing area where the data set spans nearly 300 years from 1724 to 2009. First, the trend of precipitation variables is elaborated by the M–K test (Sequential M–K test). The results show that there is an increasing trend (the value of this trend is 1.98) at the 5%‐significance level and there are not turning points in the whole data series. Then, CWT and wavelet variance are used to check for significant periodic characteristics of data series. In the plots of wavelet transform coefficients and figure of wavelet variance, some periodic events affect the trend of the annual total precipitation series in Beijing area. 85‐year, 35‐year and 21‐year periodic events are found to be the main periodic series of long‐term precipitation data, and they are all statistically significant. Moreover, the results of non‐parametric M–K test are exhibited on seven different combinations of discrete wavelet components. D5 (32‐year periodicity) periodic component is the effective and significant component on data. It is coincident with the result (35‐year periodic event as one part of main periodicity) by using CWT analysis. Moreover, approximation mode shows potential trend of the whole data set because it is the residuals as all periodicities are removed from data series. Thus, the mode A + D5 is responsible for producing a real basic structure of the trend founded on the data. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ultra-broadband electromagnetically induced transparency using tunable self-asymmetric planar metamaterials J.

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