We have measured low-temperature (T = 10 K) photoluminescence spectra of lnAs quantum dots embedded in a GaAs crystalline matrix under hydrostatic pressures up to 7 GPa. Below 4.2 GPa the spectra are dominated by the emission related to the I'-like electronheavy-hole exciton in the InAs dots. Above 4.2 GPa the spectra show two luminescence bands that shift to lower energies with increasing pressure. These bands are attributed to the type-I transition between X "and heavyhole states in the dots and the type-II transition from X states in GaAs to InAs heavy-hole states, respectively. In the I'-X crossover regime we 6nd evidence for a pronounced anticrossing behavior due to mixing between InAs I'-like and GaAs X-like states. The corresponding interaction potential is estimated to be 9 meV, which is an order of magnitude larger compared to mixing interactions reported for semiconductor superlattices.

The pressure behavior of Mn2+ emission in the 10-, 4.5-, 3.5-, 3-, and 1-nm-sized ZnS:Mn2+ nanoparticles is investigated. The emission shifts to lower energies with increasing pressure, and the shift rate (the absolute value of the pressure coefficient) is larger in the ZnS:Mn2+ nanoparticles than in bulk. The pressure coefficient increases with the decrease in particle size with the 1-nm-sized particles as an exception. Pressure coefficient calculations based on the crystal field theory are in agreement with the experimental results. The pressure dependence of the emission intensity is also size dependent. For nanoparticles 1 and 3 nm in size, the luminescence intensity of Mn2+ decreases dramatically with increasing pressure, while, for bulk and particles with average sizes of 3.5, 4.5, and 10 nm, the luminescence intensity of Mn2+ is virtually unchanged at different pressures. The bandwidth increases faster with increasing pressure for smaller particles. This is perhaps due to the fact that there are more Mn2+ ions at the near-surface sites and because the phonon frequency is greater for smaller particles. These new phenomena provide some insight into the luminescence behavior of Mn2+ in ZnS:Mn2+ nanoparticles.

Titanium carbide based cermets with additions of titanium nitride nanoparticles were fabricated by using ultrasonic dispersion and conventional powder metallurgy techniques. In order to characterise the microstructure, SEM and TEM have been utilised. The results show that the microstructure becomes ® ner with increasing additions of titanium nitride nanoparticles. The mechanical properties were also measured and the results show that the properties do not change monotonously with the amount of titanium nitride nanoparticle addition. Good properties can be obtained when the amount of TiN addition reaches 6 ± 8 wt-%. The improvement of properties is mainly owing to the re® nement of TiC grains as well as the de¯ection effect of titanium nitride nanoparticles on crack propagation.

The initial growth stage of the single-crystalline Sb and Co nanowires with preferential orientation was studied, which were synthesized in porous anodic alumina membranes by the pulsed electrodeposition technique. It was revealed that the initial growth of the nanowires is a three-dimensional nucleation process, and then gradually transforms to two-dimensional growth via progressive nucleation mechanism, which resulting in a structure transition from polycrystalline to single crystalline. The competition among the nuclei inside the nanoscaled-confined channel and the growth kinetics is responsible for the structure transition of the initial grown nanowires.