The (001)-oriented surface of epitaxial off-stoichiometric Ni–Mn–Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloys was studied in both austenitic and martensitic phases. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) imaging of the austenitic surface reveals a well-ordered and reconstruction-free surface exhibiting predominantly Mn–Ga termination. We found that only one of the two atomic species (Ga or Mn) is visible ...

Using synchrotron based photoemission, we have investigated the Mn-induced changes in Ga 3d core level spectra from as-grown Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As. Although Mn is located in Ga substitutional sites, and therefore does not have any Ga nearest neighbors, the impact of Mn on the Ga core level spectra is pronounced even at Mn concentrations in the region of 0.5%. The analysis shows that each Mn atom affec...

We attempted a simple pretreating method consisting of solid-phase extraction using bonded silica gel with benzenesulfonic acid (SCX) as the solid-phase sorbent to determine trace elements in pure molybdenum samples by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Molybdenum was anionized by adding hydrogen peroxide solution to a sample decomposed with acid, and separated from...

River Swarna, a small tropical river originating in Western Ghats (at an altitude of 1,160 m above mean sea level) and flowing in the southwest coast of India discharges an average of 54 m(3)s(-1) of water into the Arabian Sea, of which significant part is being discharged during the monsoon. No studies have been made yet on the water chemistry of the Swarna River basin, even as half a million ...

The growing interest in ferromagnetic shape-memory Ni-Mn-Ga for implementation in actuator applications originates from the fact that this class of materials exhibits large strains when driven by a magnetic field. Large bidirectional strains up to a theoretical 6% are produced in these materials by twin boundary motion as martensite variants rotate to align respectively parallel or perpendicula...

Martensitic Ni-Mn-Ga alloys with the five layered modulated structure (10M) provide a way to produce motion by the magnetic shape memory (MSM) effect. MSM actuation is based on alternating the twin structure by applying a magnetic field and/or mechanical stress at suitable ranges. For the actuator use, it is necessary to understand the long-term cyclic magneto-mechanical loading behavior of the...

Drifting snow samples were collected at Asuka Station (71 degrees 32'S, 24 degrees 08'E, 930 m above sea level) over a period from July to December 1991; 36 elements (including Na, Mg, K, Ca, Fe, Al, Li, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Se, Rb, Sr, Cd, Pb, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, and Th) in snow were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-...

To establish a rapid trace-quantification scheme for elements contained in highly purified tungsten, we studied the most suitable conditions for separating the elements using solid-phase-extraction as a pretreatment for inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). We used chemically bonded silica gels belonging to the functional group of benzylsulfonic acid as extracting agent. Tungst...