Table of contents

In ferromagnetic alloys with shape memory large reversible strains can be obtained by rearranging the martensitic domain structure by a magnetic field. Magnetization through displacement of domain walls is possible in the presence of high magnetocrystalline anisotropy, when martensitic structure rearrangement is energetically favorable compared to the reorientation of magnetic moments. In ferromagnetic Heusler alloys Ni_2+xMn_1–xGa the Curie temperature exceeds the martensitic transformation temperature. The fact that these two temperatures are close to room temperature offers the possibility of magnetically controlling the shape and size of ferromagnets in the martensitic state. In Ni_2+xMn_1–xGa single crystals, a reversible strain of ~6% is obtained in fields of ~1 T.

The processes are considered in a cluster plasma consisting of a dense plasma of a buffer gas and a metal admixture. These processes involving clusters in a gas or plasma include nucleation processes in a supersaturated vapor, formation of metallic clusters in a dense gas from metal-containing compounds, and chemical processes in the course of this conversion, processes of cluster charging in a plasma and under the action of an electron beam. The basic methods are analyzed for cluster generation including formation and growth of clusters in free jet expansion of a gas, under laser action on the metallic surface, and growth of clusters in a plasma resulted from injection of metal-containing molecules into a plasma. Some applications of cluster beams are discussed, which include fabrication of thin films, new materials, and creation of a hot nonuniform plasma.

This paper is a 1969–2002 progress report on the development of solid semiconductor solutions of cadmium-mercury tellurides (single crystals and epitaxial layers) as well as of infrared photodetectors based on them (photoresistors and photodiodes, including the array variety).

The behavior of a charged particle in the field of a monochromatic electromagnetic wave is considered. The motion of a particle is determined not only by the wave field but also by the initial conditions. The trajectories of particles are calculated both by using the exact solution and by employing perturbation theory in the parameter η = eE/(mcω), the ratio of the energy the field transfers to a particle over a wavelength, to the particle's rest energy. Two kinds of electromagnetic waves, those with coordinate independent amplitudes (uniform waves) and those with coordinate dependent amplitudes (non-uniform waves) are treated. The motion of particles that either are at rest or move with prescribed velocity at the initial time, is investigated. It is shown that a charged particle performs not only an oscillatory motion but also a systematic drift in the field of a wave. In a non-uniform wave, accelerating ponderomotive forces also act on a particle.

Nonlinear current–voltage characteristics and domain instabilities are discussed for bulk (granular) ceramic samples at high electric current densities in the range from room temperature to premelting temperature.