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Most metal-doped lithium niobates (LiNbO3, LN) exhibit n-type conductivity. The absence of p-type conductive LiNbO3 limits its application. Based on the finding that p-type conductive LiNbO3 can be realized by doping with a non-metallic element N, we investigate the most stable defect configurations and formation energies of LiNbO3 doped with non-metal nitrogen (LN:N) by first-principles calculations. Nitrogen substitution, interstitial and quasi-substitution point defects in different sites and their effects were explored. The results show that N prefers to occupy the oxygen site with only little lattice distortion. Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations confirm the structural stability of an N ion occupying the O site. The charge-state transition level ε(0/−1) slightly above the valence band maximum (VBM) indicates that N point defects would contribute to p-type conductivity of LiNbO3. The analysis of the band structure reveals that the partially filled impurity levels can accommodate electrons that jump from valence bands and result in holes to become the main charge carriers. The calculation not only explains the occurrence of p-type conductivity in LN:N but also provides a simple and efficient way to discover p-type conductive candidates in numerous doped LiNbO3 crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel configuration of dual-channel line optical tweezers with a 'Y' shape is constructed for sorting of particles within a microfluidic chip. When yeast cells with different size pass the intersection of the specially designed line optical tweezers, they are separated and transported to different channels due to a difference in the forces exerted by the line tweezers that depends on the size of the cells. The influences of some experimental conditions, such as laser power and flow velocity, on the sorting efficiency are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanadium and magnesium co-doped LiNbO3 (LN) crystals were grown, and their photorefractive properties were studied in the visible spectral region. At 488 nm the shortest response time of 80 ms was achieved for an LN crystal co-doped with 0.1 mol% V2O5 and 6.0 mol% MgO, which is the more rapid than other reported doped LN crystals in the same wavelength region. The sensitivity of this crystal reaches 17 cm J−1 with an adequate diffraction efficiency of 4.0%. A schematic diagram for energy level is proposed and discussed. Through the analysis of defect structure and absorption spectra, we found that the change of the vanadium ions occupancy from Li sites to Nb sites is responsible for significant shortening the response time. The rapid response of vanadium and magnesium co-doped LN crystal can play an excellent role in the field of dynamic holography and practical holographic 3D-storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most metal-doped lithium niobates (LiNbO3, LN) exhibit n-type conductivity. The absence of p-type conductive LiNbO3 limits its application. Based on the finding that p-type conductive LiNbO3 can be realized by doping with a non-metallic element N, we investigate the most stable defect configurations and formation energies of LiNbO3 doped with non-metal nitrogen (LN:N) by first-principles calculations. Nitrogen substitution, interstitial and quasi-substitution point defects in different sites and their effects were explored. The results show that N prefers to occupy the oxygen site with only little lattice distortion. Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations confirm the structural stability of an N ion occupying the O site. The charge-state transition level ε(0/-1) slightly above the valence band maximum (VBM) indicates that N point defects would contribute to p-type conductivity of LiNbO3. The analysis of the band structure reveals that the partially filled impurity levels can accommodate electrons that jump from valence bands and result in holes to become the main charge carriers. The calculation not only explains the occurrence of p-type conductivity in LN:N but also provides a simple and efficient way to discover p-type conductive candidates in numerous doped LiNbO3 crystals.